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Jonathan in Canadian group Unfinished War plays
guitar and sings. He was surprised when I was
contacting them. Now we have done an interview.
February-2018
Please tell me a little bit history of the
group?
-We
met through adds on the internet in April 2015.
After a couple of practices, we dove right into
the writing process and managed to record 2
songs. In between, we also made some new friends
in the local scene and played some shows around
Québec and even made one in the province of
Ontario. So far, we released 2 EP : Our First
Report To The World in September 2016 and
The Last Generation in September 2017. A
music video for Anthropocene is available
on Youtube in support of the latest EP.
Please tell me a little about every member in
the group right now, age, family, work,
interests and something bad about everyone?
Earlier bands?
Other bands on the side?
-Gab,
22 years old, is from Pont-Rouge and sings. When
he’s not writing lyrics, he works at a grocery
store.
Jay plays drums and he’s from Rimouski. He’s 30 and he’s a foreman for a
window company. Jay can tell you a whole lot
about windows.
Jonathan plays guitar and sings some parts too. He’s the most experienced
one because he played bass in two bands
previously : Each On Set and Wasted
Sunday. He’s 35 years old and he’s a
mailman.
I can hear much different influences but mostly
hardcore and punk etc? Favorites from the past?
-Everyone
in the band has different influences. Here’s how
eclectic we are in terms of musical tastes : In
Flames, Silverstein, Godspeed You! Black
Emperor, Brian Eno, Talk Talk, Zozobra, The Fixx
to name a few.
Unfinished War are you satisfied with the name?
How did it came up?
You weren’t afraid that some other band
would be named like this? Which is the best
bandname you know?
-The
name comes from a chapter in the powerful book
Slavery By Another Name by Douglas A.
Blackmon. This book is a must read, a game
changer, if you want to understand how
african-americans were treated so much harsher
(words cannot describe their treatments) after
the Civil War then when they were slaves. People
think its the opposite, but it’s not. After
reading it you can only make connections between
the modern prison system (mostly in the US) and
how african-americans are much more susceptible
to be arrested/killed on spot (Michael Brown,
Tamir Rice). We think it’s a good band name
because we all live personal unfinished wars
with ourselves.
What´s the best thing with playing live?
-Discovering
new bands, meet new people/musicians, talk with
new fans at our merch table, sweating during our
set.
And where is best to play? And the worst place?
-There’s
many cool venues in Québec city : L’Anti, Bar La
Source, Le Méduse to name a few. In our short
existence, I can safely say the best place is
l’Anti. The sound is incredible and the venue is
just the right size. For the worst place, we’re
gentlemen : We’ll keep it quiet.
How is to play this sort of music in Canada
right now? Which types of bands do you have
concerts together with?
-The
weird thing about our band is that we’re kind of
unlabeled. By that I mean we can be the softest
or heaviest depending of the lineup. The music
scene in Québec is so diversified : Punk Rock,
Hardcore, Metal, Djent, Rock. We think it’s a
great time for playing music in Québec. As for
the one time we played outside Québec, people
liked us I think (5-6 men were slamming).
How would you describe your music in three
words?
-Music
that touches.
What does punk mean to you, is it only a word or
is it a lifestyle?
-Definitely
a lifestyle. We all cherish the punk ethic. We
are very DIY and tend to support local bands in
any way we can.
How do you see on downloading, mp3 and that
stuff?
-For
the downloading aspect, I think it’s important
to give at least a little bit of money to the
artist. If we don’t, it’s gonna be hard for the
artist, that makes you dream or what ever
his/her music brings to you, to carry on and
write some music. I tend to buy their vinyl or a
shirt.
I’m more of a vinyl guy, but Spotify and all the
streaming services are fine for me.
I just love the fact that vinyls come with a
download card. It’s the best of both world.
How is it to live in Canada right now?
Politically?
Fascists?
-There’s
city politics, province politics and Canada
politics. Every aspect of politic and its topics
are always changing. About Canada, we have a
prime minister who looks like Barack Obama :
image over substance (his
Instagram, his socks, her wife…).
I don’t how he’s perceived in the rest of the
world, but you know. One major step the
government took was to apologize to Natives. A
good read about fascists is
: American Fascists: The Christian Right and the
War on America
from Chris Hedges.
Is there any good bands from Canada now?
Is the punkscene/hardcorescene big? How
is it in your hometown?
-There’s
so many good bands in Québec : Death Note
Silence, Caravane, Oversight, Hitch’N Go, Get
The Shot, Boundaries, Mute… I could go on
forever. Check out
www.quebecpunkscene.net.
From Canada, there’s Throne To The Wolves and
From Nothing To No One. Really cool guys!
What do you know about Sweden?
-Home
of
Spotify,
Abba AND of so many other influential bands. We
only hear good things about Sweden.
Have you heard any good bands from Sweden?
-Adhesive, Randy, Satanic Surfers, 59 Times The
Pain, Millencolin, Raised Fist, Refused,
Meshuggah, The Hives.
Your lyrics, who does them and what influences
you?
Is it easier to do lyrics now or was its easier
to do it when you was younger?
Never in French?
-When
it comes to lyrics, every one in the band throws
idea and we make a general agreement on its
final version. I tend to say that reading books
helps a lot in the creating process. Reading
novels or non-fiction helps in making links with
a topic for a song. I think the writing process
is much easier as you grow old. We may write in
french, but in the short term : not.
Is there any subject that you never will write
anything about??
-We
heard a guy in a show who was talking about his
next topic for a song : Drinking, puking and
cutting a woman’s throat. Not gonna happen in
our band.
Politic and music, does it goes hand in hand?
Which is your most political song?
-When
I see and hear Propagandhi or Refused, I think
politic and music goes hand in hand. There’s
just something ballsy of seing a band with a
message. Our most political song is Anthropocene.
The title comes a talk I listened from Noam
Chomsky.
Best political band/artist?
-Argh!
I gotta go with three : Propagandhi, Refused,
Vulgaires Machins (From Montréal).
Do you think that music(lyrics and so on) can
change anyones life, and then I mean people who
listens to music?
-Of
course. So many bands helped me in so many
periods of my life. Music was my gateway.
There’s nothing more beautiful and impactful
than music.
Your cover on your CD looks really nice, is it
important to have a record cover which shows
people which type of music you play? Your
favorite recordcover?
Who does your covers?
And do you have any good recordstores in
your hometown?
-I
do think it’s important and it has to reflect
the vibe of the band. My favorite record cover/
sleeve is Less Talk More Rock from Propagandhi.
I spent so many time reading it while sitting on
a toilet… If you’re in Québec city, you have to
stop at Le Knock-Out. It has so many diversified
vinyls, CDs and cassettes too.
Is it important to get out physical records of
your stuff? Why or why not? Vinyl, CD, cassette,
what do you prefer if you could choose whatever
?
-With
the digital and streaming era, I think it’s
important to have a physical copy. I think it
forces you to create a unique piece of history
when it comes to the physical content. We tend
to make only a 100 CDs just to be sure they’re
unique. Maybe our next will be on vinyl.
Please tell me a funny thing which have happened
during your career and under some gig?
-Our
bass player was caught smoking a cigarette in
our room in a hotel in Oshawa. When it was time
to pay the room, the clerk told our guitar
player he caught someone smoking and we had to
pay a fine. We all knew who he meant because our
bass player is the only one smoking. You should
have seen his face when we translated the
situation in french…
How does your audience look like? Which people
do you miss on your concerts? Which is the
biggest band you ever have played together with?
-The
audience is pretty much composed of guy and
girls in their mid twenty and up. The biggest
act we played with in our really short carrer is
Feed Her To The Sharks from Australia.
Please rank your five favoriterecords, five
favoriteconcerts and five most important things
in life?
-5
favorite records (a tough one, so many I left)
-Refused / Shape Of Punk To Come
-Godspeed You! Black Emperor / F# A#
-Talk Talk / Laughing Stock
-Propagandhi / Today’s Empire Tomorrow’s Ashes
-Jimmy Eat World / Bleed American
5 favorite concerts :
-Refused in New York city at their reunion tour on April 22 2012
-Green Day Québec city in 2008
-Bryan Adams Festival d’été de Québec in 2014
-Adhesive in Québec city 2000 (the whole show is on Youtube)
-Warped Tour 2000 in Montreal
5 most important things:
-Fun
-Honesty
-Desire to acquire knowledge
-A good sound system with a good record on vinyl
-Coffee
First, last and most expensive record ever
bought?
-First
: Dance Mix 95
Last: Dustin Kensrue / Carry The Fire
Most Expensive: Cave In / Perfect Pitch Black European Vinyl Edition (40
euros I think it was)
Is it boring with interviews? Is it much
interviews??
-Absolutely
not. I think it’s with interviews you discover
who the person/band really is.
If you could choose five bands from the past and
the history and nowadays and both dead and
living bands to have a concert together with
your band. Which five have you been chosen?
-I
would love to see Miles Davis, Talk Talk, Fine
Young Cannibals, Tangerine Dreams, The Outfield.
Is music a good way to get out frustration and
become a nicer person outside the music?
-We
are all good persons inside and outside the
band. Music is just an excuse to create loud and
heavy music.
Which is the most odd question you ever have got
in an interview?
-We
don’t have a lot of interviews in our lifetime.
No weird question encountered yet.
Which is the question you want to have but you
never get. Please ask it and answer it?
-You
already asked : Where does your name come from?
Nobody asked us before.
Futureplans for the band?
-More
writing and trying to play shows in Europe,
South America or in Japan. If there’s any
booking agent reading please contact us.
For yourself?
-My
girlfriend and I are waiting for a child.
Wisdomword?
-It’s
only when we stand upon the shoulders of giants
that we see the farthest. A professor at my
university told me this quote. I never forgot.
Something to add?
-Thank
you so much for doing this. Never in a million
miles I thought I would respond to a swedish
interviewer. |