Our little interviewing machine, Angie Lalonde, gives us another interview, this one with rising Canadian band Closet Monster. Click READ MORE to get the full interview with Adam and London [including just what is up with their connection to Avril Lavigne].
A- First congratulations with getting on Union Label Group, what does this mean for Closet Monster?
Adam- Another chapterâ¦
L- Yeah I guess another chapter it means we donât have to do it all on our own now. We can focus more on music and our team gets a little bigger.
A- Youâre getting great distribution now?
L- Oh yeah for sure, itâs really getting better, itâs just great that we can find people like them, just good people that want to help put out good music, thatâs the bottom line. To us it doesnât even feel like a record deal or anything itâs âcool you guys want to help, thatâs awesomeâ.
A- Is Union going to be distributing your âKilled The Radio Starâ records since youâve already released it on Underground Operations.
L- Yeah, itâs sorta of like a split thing right now, theyâre dealing with the distro and the pressing aspect of it and we all work together on everything else.
A- Last time I saw you guys was with âThe Getawayâsâ, have you seen a lot of familiar faces, a following at shows from that tour?
Adam- Yeah definitely
L- Yeah actually a lot of positive responses from that tour, on the East Coast it was great when we got out there, it was crazy, like P.E.I, Halifax and Sydney, it was the same kids and all new kids coming out, it was a really great experience I guess we partied a little too hard, when we got to Quebec we were fucking toast.
A- Now that Closet Monster is no longer D.I.Y howâs this tour been so far having Duncan at Union taking care of booking everything for you, no longer dealing with shady promoters, having contracts nowâ¦?
L- Itâs a good step in a direction where for once we donât have to worry about where weâre getting our food. We get fed and we get watered itâs great
Adam- And we get to play. ..
L- And our shows donât fall through, now were dealing with really good scene promoters kids that promote because thatâs where their heart is, instead of promoting to get their band on bills with other bands kind of business.Â
Itâs really cool itâs a good network and weâre really happy to be a part of it.
A- After this tour you guys are going to Europe for the âFight War Tourâ, is this your first time?
Adam- Yeah itâs my first time, I canât wait.
L- Iâve been a couple of times but as Closet Monster this is my first time.
A- Did you ever think Closet Monster would make it, to tour Europe?
L- Honestly I think that was the end goal when we started we always said all we ever want to do with this is be able to go to Europe and travel and see the world and do it our way now six years later weâre finally doing it our way weâre going to Europe itâs fucking awesome.
Chris- Itâs going to be hectic though, hectic and tiring but super sweet though!
A- Okay London I hate to do this to you but thereâs so much bullshit on the punknews message board about you playing in Avrilâs band. You were yes, now you no longer are, it has no reflection on Closet Monsterâ¦
L- It never did⦠but I donât know it just sucks that people⦠Well itâs seems like Avril is just in everybodyâs face that itâs the first thing that they want to talk about, itâs the first thing that they think about and it sucks that the major side of the music industry has that affect on people. Closet Monster was around before, it was around when I did it and weâre still around now, we havenât changed, it was a job, a job that I did for less than six months.
A- Only six months?
L- Yeah, really it drives us nutsâ¦
A- Youâre really having trouble getting away from thisâ¦
L- Completelyâ¦
Adam- it seems like it dies down then comes back up then it dies againâ¦
L- Yeah like whenever she gets a push it comes to us as well, theyâll push her on a tour this tour coming up then all of a sudden itâs back, weâre sorta of almost beating it into people that Closet Monster has nothing to do with that. She getting a push right now and again itâs all back in our faces againâ¦
Adam- Some guy asked me tonight, so I heard you guys are Avrilâs back up bandâ¦
Chris- Yeah thereâs always that one guy in the crowd that either has to bust out one of her lyrics while were playing a song of be like hey arenât you with Avril?
L- We take it in stride though, in a sick sadistic way I kind of like it because it gives us something to prove when we get on stage and to that one guy that wants to say it, itâs like okay watch what we do and if you saw us before all that shit youâd know. Itâs cool that now we get to prove ourselves, as long as people understand itâs not us and it never was and nothing about us relates to any of it then thatâll be alright but that will never happen so weâll just keep on fighting it.
A- Now life after MTV would you ever want that level of success for Closet Monster?
Adam- No!
L- No never, not at all. I think the success that she has is manufactured, it will never have the integrity that we are desperately trying to hold onto. Itâs not about if your video is played on Much Music itâs about, who you are as a band and what youâre trying to do with your art and if youâre making videos as art with ideas in mind that you want to get out and itâs not just about selling units and breaking markets. Itâs about presenting your art to kids that maybe see it on MTV that maybe gets them into punk and acts as a doorway. My first shit that I saw was a Gob video on MTV and that got me into Gob which got me into something else but it helps and it shows kids that thereâs more shit out there than the shit thatâs there, so why canât bands like us make videos and make art instead of making product commercials as videos and say kids check this shit out, thereâs more than Britney Spears, thereâs music scenes out there with people doing what they want to do and itâs fucking beautiful, I say why not sneak onto enemy lines and maybe weâll suck some kids out of that shit.
A- How was Closet Monster first received at shows being so young and politically involved, do you think you were taken seriously at first?
L- No I donât think so, we had a lot of people who did but we had a lot of opposition. Itâs a growing long, long thing thatâs been going on for awhile and slowly in time, that person that saw us in 98â and was like âah you fucking raver ska punkâ¦â blah, blah bullshit, itâs like look at us now weâre still doing it, what are you doing? Weâre not going to quit, itâs about putting your heart into whatever you do in life, thatâs all itâs about in the end.
A- I read somewhere that quoted you saying (London) "We believe punk rockâs not just about music. Itâs about creating an alternative through education and unity to the world that we live in" do feel itâs kind of like your responsibility when you guys are up on stage to relay a message and gets kids thinking?
L-Not really our responsibility, I mean it doesnât even have to be something political it could be anything I think why not try and inspire someone, why not try and present something that they can take and use in their life in any way that can be positive maybe itâs negative but itâs some kind of action, then from action that cause affecting something will happen. If you put your soul into something and show people that you can do that, that alone you donât even have to say something political maybe theyâll be like âI want to be in a band, I want to go up there and just lose my mind on stageâ in the end thatâs all we want kids to do.
Adam- Thatâs all I want to do.
A- And you have a new EP coming out?
L- We have a Closet Monster EP thatâs been sort of in the works and out of the works, we have three days off next week and weâre trying to get into the studio to do it then.
A- Do you know when it will be released?
L- Probably in May, just before we leave for Europe but this isnât going to be a release that weâre putting on shelves, itâs more our own project. Itâs probably going to be something that weâre going to sell on stage or hand out. Itâs going to be more art based than music based, itâs going to be cardboard sleeves with cut stamps, maybe spray-paint on it very D.I.Y, something that we want to do, we feel like itâs time to go into the studio and lay out a few songs and maybe some political art tracks of noise, make a little project out of it and see what happens, weâll see.
A- Have your views regarding world governments and power changed a lot since the War on Iraq started and will we see this reflect over into your lyrics?
L- My views on the world seem to be reinvigorated it makes us really mad to see whatâs going on, itâs sadâ¦
A- I noticed a lot of your lyrics are more applicable to world situations now then beforeâ¦
L- Itâs true, the world and everything that is going on, itâs really scary, itâs proof that big business and large powerful countries can run the world and can bully people around. As far as it affecting our music, our music is our passion and if this is affecting us in a passionate way you can definitely expect to find our next releases to have a lot of whatâs going on.
A- To be on tour with Closet Monster are you guys a bunch of straight-edge sleeping early no after party bunch or do you guys indulge in festivities and stimulants while causing chaos on the road?
L- We love to party, I think thatâs the weird misconceptionâ¦
A- I thought you were straight-edgeâ¦
L- Oh yeah everybody does.
Brandon- I live for drinking, actually Iâm going to go drink now
L- To each their own, like Brandonâs vegan and weâre all vegetarian, Chris doesnât drink or do drugs and weâre all pot-heads love to drink, it doesnât matter what you do with yourself as long as it doesnât affect anyone negatively around you but fuck yeah we love to party!
A- If you guys could go see any band in the world anywhere you pleased whoâd it be and where?
Chris- I want to see The Cure, In Britain where theyâre from for sure!
L- Iâd like to see a Sex Pistols show and I donât give a fuck where, well not in America.
Brandon- Iâd want to see the Beatles.
Adam- Since weâre all going with classicâs Iâll go with Elvis, he died on the can man.
A- I found out that Elvis didnât even write any of his own songs!
L- I found that out too recently.
Adam- he had his own catalogue, they Elvis-sized him.
L- Iâd also love to see Operation Ivyâ¦
A- Anything else guys�
(Russ from Ann Beretta adds in) âCookie Monster rules!â