Latest / HEAVY Music Interviews / More Horns, More Members, Same PROTOMARTYR

Transcript

More Horns, More Members, Same PROTOMARTYR · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: First of all, welcome to Heavy Mag. How are you?
• 0:02
  Speaker 3: Great.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Excellent, excellent. And you're a band of the Proto Martyr.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so you guys have had some pretty exciting stuff
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: happen recently. Do you want to tell the good listeners
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: here at Heavy a little bit about yourselves.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: And what's been going on?
• 0:18
  Speaker 3: Well, we're the band Proto Martyr. We have a new
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: record coming out on September 25th. And yeah, it's our
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: seventh record. And we're excited for everybody to hear it. Excellent, excellent.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: And so how would you describe the music that you
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: guys put out?
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: Really shitty. No, it's great. I guess it started out
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: as punk, and then we got better at our instruments,
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: and so people call us post-punk now. Their songs are longer.
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: But yeah, we're a loud, yelly band from Detroit.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Nice, nice. And it sounds great. Sounds just like all
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: the good stuff that we like to listen to.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, we're in good company.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Look, it's all three chords and a lie is what
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: we say.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: It's the simple stuff sometimes that I think makes for
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: some good tunes and the classics that long last for sure.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: I hope so. Yeah.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: It's always good.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: And so you guys are touring as well as part
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: of your new release?
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're going to do a tour of America in
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: October and November, and then we're going over to Europe.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: We were just in Australia earlier this year just for
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: four shows, but hopefully we'll be back next year is
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: the hope.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: And so you guys obviously got a pretty good following
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: down here. Did you enjoy your time when you were
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: in Australia?
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah. It's never enough time. It's always one of
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: those things where you play a show and then you
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: fly someplace else and you play a show. Yeah. But, yeah,
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: we love it down there.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, nice. And was that the first time as a
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: band or you've been until before down here?
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: Second time.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Second time. Yeah. Yeah.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it's one of those things where it's a
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: country so big you've got to fly from, you know,
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: city to city. It's not quite the same as doing
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: a Europe or a States tour.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: It's a little.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: Bit more wide. I mean, I wish in America we
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: could fly to each place because the drives are always
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: very tedious.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: But, yeah. Yeah, you learn to get close to your
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: bandmates pretty quick, I imagine.
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: That's correct, yeah.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and so obviously they're doing The States and Europe
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: later on. And what are some of the highlights you're
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: looking forward to with the tour and the new album?
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: Well, with the new album, you're always excited to see
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: if the new songs can survive live.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: You know, this new album has a bunch of trumpets
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: on it and horns for some reason. That's what we
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: had to figure out. to do it and just to
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: see how that's going to work and you know it's
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: um i i think you know as much as it's
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: fun recording a record it's even better to put it
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: out there and see what people think and you never
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: know what the song is going to be that people
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: latch on to is that's the one they like so
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: you gotta play them all at least once and figure
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: it out so it's exciting.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: That's true that's true and sometimes you might find in
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: different countries you know, different songs are a big hit,
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: which is always interesting to hear other artists, you know,
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: give their details of that. And it's sometimes most obscure
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: one that, you know, that they don't.
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: We played France once and we had one song that
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: the French really liked and we're like, that's weird. And
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: then a guy that we knew that was French was like, Oh,
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: it's because it has the French drum beat that they
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: like so much. And then he played a bunch of
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: songs that had the exact same drum beat and it's
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: true the French latch on to one specific drum beat
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: that they really, really like.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: It resonates with them.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: That's cool.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: And so you mentioned that you've got some trumpets and
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: horns on this album, which is, you know, I really
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: like that sort of stuff.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: I think it elevates, you know, music and really gives
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: it a new edge.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: And it sounds good, you know, and you hear it
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: in all different genres of music, like, you know, hip
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: hop and, you know, to your punk and, you know,
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: post-punk and that kind of stuff. And even, you know,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: I've heard it in metal before and, Actually, I got
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: to experience Rivers of Nile earlier in the year who
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: have a saxophone in like heavy, hardcore, dark metal, which
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: was really cool. So yeah, I think that kind of stuff,
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: when you bring those elements to it, really can lift
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: it up.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: So that'd be interesting.
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: To see how it resonates with your audience and whether
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: they enjoy it as well.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, it's always, I think it's kind of Greg,
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: the guitar player wanted to use horns because he wanted to,
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: to try to be heavy in a different way as
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: opposed to just cranking up the guitar. It's like, and
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: sometimes you have big mass horns can be scarier or louder.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Than the guitar.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: So hopefully it will work. We'll see.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: No, it's always good to experiment as well. You never
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: know until you try it. And that's how it keeps
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: it fresh, I guess, is when we start bringing you
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: different elements that you might not necessarily think first up
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: go together.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: And if it works, it works, which is always fun.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: You get to play scientists with your music. Right. Excellent.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: And so, yeah, so yourselves, how long have you guys
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: been doing, you know, for now? It's been a little while.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: You guys have been a band.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: Right. We've been a band since, it's been 16 years. Yeah.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: That's quick, doesn't it?
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah. When I started, I was the old guy in
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: the band. And now the guys that were young at
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: the time are now older than I was when we started.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: So now they're also old. but I'm still the oldest,
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: but they caught up to me in some ways.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: I think you get to a certain age where it just,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: you know, you just exactly like you said, you know,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: you're old together.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: It doesn't mean the age difference doesn't matter.
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Sleeping in a van evens out everybody's age.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: So yeah, that's true. That's true. That's true. And so, yeah.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: So what are some of your most memorable moments, I guess,
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: on the road as a band together, some of the
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: best shows that you've played?
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: Well, we played Paris. I keep on talking about France
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: for some reason. We played Paris right after there was
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: that terrible tragedy there. And it was the best crowd
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: we've ever played to ever as far as like they
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: really wanted to go. It was like a week after.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: People really wanted to go to a show and have
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: a cathartic experience. So that was probably the most profound
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: show we've ever played. You know, just playing, you know,
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: every show is fun. Definitely playing the big festivals sometimes
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: can be overwhelming and like, wow, we've made it, you know. But,
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: you know, I still like playing small bar shows in
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: Detroit and that kind of thing.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think sometimes, you know, the intimacy of, you know,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: a smaller venue can make it feel like a much
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: bigger experience just because of, you know, closeness and, you know,
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: you really– the crowd will usually really get right into it, whereas,
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: you know, when you're playing thousands of people, it can
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: be a bit overwhelming. As amazing as it is, it's
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: certainly on different ends of the scale, that's for sure.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I've been to shows that are where I'm,
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: you know, hundreds of feet away from the stage, and
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: it's awe-inspiring, but it's not as great as being in
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: a sweaty club and being close to the stage and,
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: you know.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, feeling it go through you.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah. To the point you always get motion sickness. Mm-hmm.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: They're the best stories, I think. Yeah. No, it is.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: It's always interesting to always hear, you know, people's experience. And, yeah,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: I often, it's often relayed that, you know, some of
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: the smaller shows, like you said, are some of the
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: most memorable where, you know, you really see the appreciation
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: in your fans as well, which is always nice.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: And so with the new album, you know, musically, obviously
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: you've tried to, like, reach out and do something a
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: little bit different. Is it, you know, sonically quite similar
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: to what you have done, or is it, you know,
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: still that same, you can recognize, you know, your signature
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: sound or is it, you know, quite different?
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: Well, Greg, the guitar player, he always tries to, he
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: always tries to push himself to write something completely different
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: than what the last record sounded like.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: But it's one of those things where no matter what
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: they do, I'm the lead singer. I, the way I
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: sound is kind of stuck in the way it sounded
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: when we first started. So no matter what happens, people
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: can listen to it for 30 seconds and be like, oh, yeah,
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: that's Protomartyr because the way that I sound. So the
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: music behind me can change quite a bit and I'm
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: still plodding ahead with shouting. So, yeah, I mean, I
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: think that we decided early on that if we were
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: going to change your sound, it has to be incremental.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: We don't want to alienate people or. try something that
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: completely blows up in your face. So, but if I'm,
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: if I'm yelling on it, then it will be a
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: broader song, no matter what's happening behind me.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: I guess that's, you know, kind of gives the band,
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: you know, that bit of freedom and leeway to, you know,
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: to be more expressive and to experiment and reach out
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: with their music and do different things where if, you know, your,
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: your sound is the signature sound, I guess that kind
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: of makes it a little bit doable and, you know,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: not freak out that fans are going to go, Oh,
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: what is this? It sounds nothing like our stuff. um
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: yeah i think that's you know kind of a key
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: thing with some of the like you know the most
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: memorable bands that are around is that you know if
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: it's them because usually you know they're singer it's that
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: on the point it's you can identify straight away which
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: it allows that different sort of music to uh come
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: through and to be welcomed and and uh with open
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: arms and appreciated so it's nice yeah yeah yeah and
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: so yourselves how do you feel about um you know
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: doing that sort of you know different kind of music
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: does it Does it make a difference when you guys
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: are performing or is it?
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: Well, yeah, I'm glad that there, the reason why we're
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: a band so long is because we are trying new
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: things and, you know, I would like, you know, in
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: the beginning, I probably would have liked to have not
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: changed at all, but change is good. And the only
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: issue is that we've kind of, It's one of those
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: things where we're a four-piece, and then it's like, well,
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: we're adding a lot of extra guitar. We need to
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: bring in a fifth member. And then now this new tour,
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: it's like, well, we really need a horn or something
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: that sounds like a horn. And so you just kind
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: of keep on adding members, which is great. But then
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: you have to pay them all. So you have to
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: figure it out.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: But that's the price of trying to change and do
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: different things is you have to kind of follow your muse,
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: you know.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: Well, no, that's, but yeah, like you say, it's always
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: good to expand, but then it becomes a financial decision
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: at the end.
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: Like why do we bring a tuba player on the road?
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: Because I imagine that they're not cheap to hire. No, no. They,
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: you know, they earn their keep, that's for sure. Yeah.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: So that's good.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, look, congratulations on your new album that you've
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: got coming out.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: And all the best with your upcoming tour that you
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: have for the States and the U.S.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: So what date does– 25th of September, you said it
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: comes out.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Yep, 25th of September. Excellent, excellent.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: And hopefully we'll see you guys down under in 27 maybe.
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, fingers crossed. It was too long in between the
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: first and the second time, so now we're really going
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: to push to come back because it was so great.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: earlier this year.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: Oh, we'd like to hear that. We'd like to hear that,
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: and we would certainly love to see you again. So
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: thank you so much for your time today, Joe, and
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: all the best, and we'll definitely chat again soon.
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: All right. Thank you so much. Nice talking to you.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: Bye-bye.