Tag: Constellation Records

Ep. #118: Steve Sladkowski of PUP

Post author By vish
Post date July 24, 2014

Steve Sladkowski plays guitar and sings in a Toronto punk-infused pop band called PUP. Originally called Topanga, PUP changed their name ahead of releasing their first, self-titled debut album, which is out now via Royal Mountain Records. PUP plays Guelph’s Hillside Festival on Saturday July 25. Here, Steve and I discuss staining fences in Toronto, living in Guelph and putting on shows and working for the Guelph Jazz Festival, touring the U.S. with the Menzingers, single A baseball in Iowa, America is weird, this is Texas, talking to Americans about baseball, the Oakland A’s and Moneyball glitches, regular seasons are a drag, why the Skydome sucks and seeing baseball in America rules, I don’t think I like Toronto, talking to people outside of Canada about Rob Ford, playing ska-punk, Protest the Hero, the 3tards, and the Reverb, working with Dave Schiffman on the PUP record, pathetic use of potential, Toronto punk is thriving, when Weezer was wonderful, my membership in the Weezer fanclub and contributing “Mykel and Carli” to its first covers compilation, Rivers Cuomo goes back to the shack, impersonating Fucked Up at the Halifax Pop Explosion, feeling honoured to get to do cool stuff, it comes and goes, self-promotion, not needing day jobs but working harder than ever, their Polaris Music Prize nomination, the status of hard music in Canada, Peter Bradley is in Alaska, Constellation Records, forced conversation, Tanya Tagaq should win awards, PUP’s new songs, throwing down, writing songs in extreme emotional places, marrying real-life with fictional narratives, the song “Guilt Trip,” and then it is outta here!

Related links: puptheband.com royalmountainrecords.com hillsidefestival.ca vishkhanna.com

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Ep. #93: Ought

Post author By vish
Post date April 22, 2014

Ought is a young punk band based in Montreal that consists of keyboardist Matt May, bassist Ben Stidworthy, drummer and violinist Tim Keen, and vocalist and guitarist Tim Beeler. The band formed in 2012 but have already honed a distinctive and explosive sound, which is captured beautifully on their debut LP, More Than Any Other Day. With its mix of righteous but mischievous poetry and charging music and dramatic vocals, Ought have conjured one of the most refreshing and inspiring rock records of the year. More Than Any Other Day is out April 29 via Constellation Records and here all of us chat about the band’s living arrangements, its impact on their music and how such arrangements might have made sense for the Jesus Lizard, why they chose to conduct this interview (the band’s third) as a group and what that says about the nature of their collaboration, how Ought might ba “new metal” band, the conscientiously democratic nature of their creative process, how this band came together in Montreal, landing on the same page without saying a thing, how Ought is not a ‘genre band’ but maybe Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth have seeped their way into the sound in some ways, Australia and a lazy reference to crocodiles, lyrics and poetry and whole milk and Jonathan Richman, righteousness and irreverence, the influence Montreal has had on Ought, student protests and how the feelings they conjure can infiltrate a band’s music, how the ‘you’s’ and ‘I’s’ in Ought’s songs are generally quite indirect pronouns, the making of More Than Any Other Day and what’s next, the video for “The Weather Song,” the song “Gemini,” and not one more thing.

Related links: cstrecords.org/ought vishkhanna.com

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Tags "new metal", Australia, Ben Stidworthy, Constellation Records, crocodiles, Jonathan Richman, Matt May, Montreal, More Than Any Other Day, Ought, Sonic Youth, The Jesus Lizard, Tim Beeler, Tim Keen, whole milk, Yo La Tengo

News Podcast

Ep. #62: Efrim Menuck of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra + Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Post author By vish
Post date January 15, 2014
10 Comments on Ep. #62: Efrim Menuck of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra + Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Efrim Menuck is a founding member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, and the esteemed Hotel2Tango recording studio in Montreal. Menuck has led a very prolific artistic life; this past fall GYBE won the Polaris Music Prize for their album Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! and on Jan. 21, a new SMZ LP greets the world. It’s called Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything and is available via Constellation Records. In a candid conversation, Efrim and I discuss Capital Steez and musicians who die young, how parenthood makes you look at the world from a childlike perspective, the significance of clips featuring the voices of Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, Poly Styrene, and Efrim’s son on this new SMZ record, the MC5, why music is work, the humour and comedy within GYBE and SMZ, the rock band Shellac, the recording engineer Greg Norman, the way GYBE dealt with winning the Polaris Music Prize and why, future SMZ releases including a Record Store Day 12-inch and a long EP, the song “Austerity Blues,” and much more.

Related links: cstrecords.com vishkhanna.com

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Tags Capital Steez, Constellation Records, Efrim Menuck, Fred 'Sonic' Smith, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Greg Norman, MC5, Polaris Music Prize, Poly Styrene, Record Store Day, Shellac, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra