The Artist Life starting riots?
For having an EP entitled Let's Start a Riot, The Artist Life are actually pretty calm guys.
“The name came from a song we wrote,” said Dean Richards, one of the band's two writers, on the way back from an in-store performance and signing north of Toronto. They were there with The Stereos, with whom The Artist Life will be sharing the stage on November 9 at the London Music Hall.
“We always called it our beef song because we take aim at a lot of different things, one being the education system in Canada, another one being some things that we've seen in the music community, another one being [things] we've seen in the homeless community in Toronto. We kind of threw all of those things together into one song and when the chorus came up it was just about… voicing yourself if there's something you don't align yourself with or something that you're confused about. The message is to start talking about it and start a discussion.”
I suppose Let's Start a Discussion wouldn't be nearly as catchy, especially for a band playing a mix of punk rock somewhere along the lines of Rancid, Hostage Life, even Blink 182.
It's the type of music The Artist Life grew up with. “[Punk rock] spoke to us. I think each and everyone in the band had a period as adolescents or teenagers where we felt like outsiders, and I think punk rock brought us into a community that we felt we belonged to when we couldn't find ourselves a part of any other community.”
That doesn't prevent Richards from expressing his love for pop singers like Michelle Branch though. “We're all suckers for pop music and hooks when it's done the right way. There's of course stuff out there [with] no substance to it, but we [still love] a really big and catchy and hooky chorus. That's something that every listener always wants to hear. But at the same time we're always going to stay true to the music that we grew up on and started us out on our path as musicians.”
That dedication to punk rock hasn't gone unnoticed, and in 2008 The Artist Life earned a Punkorama F-U award for Best Upcoming Artist. They were nominated again in 2009 for Song of the Year, and the awards ceremony was MC'd by none other than Jason Mewes (Jay of Jay and Silent Bob fame). The Artist Life became quick friends with Mewes, and several months later, he ended up directing The Artist Life's music video for Let's Start a Riot, released last Friday.
“It really was an amazing experience for everyone,” remarked Richards. “There was a lot of excitement in and around the band and the label and the entire Underground Operations crew because half the bands on the roster were there and everyone had an amazing time.”
It's a huge accomplishment for the band, one of which they are well deserving. Each member has cut their teeth, so to speak, playing in now-defunct bands like The Fullblast, Grade and At the Mercy of Inspiration. The Artist Life has also pursued concurrent career paths to support their artistic endeavours.
Ian Blackwood, The Artist Life's other guitarist/singer acted for several seasons on CBC's teenage-centred Instant Star, and Richards works as a private school ESL teacher when not on tour.
But eventually, a band must function as a business in and of itself, Richards says. “That's a reality that everyone in a band has to face at some point because at the end of the day there are costs that are required to be in a band. At the beginning those aren't always at the forefront. You're just kind of working your own job, doing your thing and you can kind of afford to do that out of your own pocket, but there comes a point in any business where those costs continue to increase and it's something that we're always aware of and that we're always struggling with.”
One of the best ways to recoup those costs is through touring, and after several trips across Canada and through the States, The Artist Life have become veterans of the cross-country road trip.
“The first time you go through, Canada's really vast, but the more times you do it… the more kids [there are] singing along and it makes it… easier every time you come back to a city. The only thing that's going to stay the same is the distance between cities and that's a matter of fact in the country we live in, there are only so many cities to play shows in to get you across, so we just make the most of each city we're in.”
Now, on tour with The Midway State and The Stereos, The Artist Life are preparing to hunker down in the winter to record their much-anticipated full length album.
And though their auto-tune pop punk tourmates have become successful in their own right, Drew promises to not let it influence them too much. “I don't think you're going to hear any T-Pain or any of that shit on the next Artist Life album,” he laughed.
“The name came from a song we wrote,” said Dean Richards, one of the band's two writers, on the way back from an in-store performance and signing north of Toronto. They were there with The Stereos, with whom The Artist Life will be sharing the stage on November 9 at the London Music Hall.
“We always called it our beef song because we take aim at a lot of different things, one being the education system in Canada, another one being some things that we've seen in the music community, another one being [things] we've seen in the homeless community in Toronto. We kind of threw all of those things together into one song and when the chorus came up it was just about… voicing yourself if there's something you don't align yourself with or something that you're confused about. The message is to start talking about it and start a discussion.”
I suppose Let's Start a Discussion wouldn't be nearly as catchy, especially for a band playing a mix of punk rock somewhere along the lines of Rancid, Hostage Life, even Blink 182.
It's the type of music The Artist Life grew up with. “[Punk rock] spoke to us. I think each and everyone in the band had a period as adolescents or teenagers where we felt like outsiders, and I think punk rock brought us into a community that we felt we belonged to when we couldn't find ourselves a part of any other community.”
That doesn't prevent Richards from expressing his love for pop singers like Michelle Branch though. “We're all suckers for pop music and hooks when it's done the right way. There's of course stuff out there [with] no substance to it, but we [still love] a really big and catchy and hooky chorus. That's something that every listener always wants to hear. But at the same time we're always going to stay true to the music that we grew up on and started us out on our path as musicians.”
That dedication to punk rock hasn't gone unnoticed, and in 2008 The Artist Life earned a Punkorama F-U award for Best Upcoming Artist. They were nominated again in 2009 for Song of the Year, and the awards ceremony was MC'd by none other than Jason Mewes (Jay of Jay and Silent Bob fame). The Artist Life became quick friends with Mewes, and several months later, he ended up directing The Artist Life's music video for Let's Start a Riot, released last Friday.
“It really was an amazing experience for everyone,” remarked Richards. “There was a lot of excitement in and around the band and the label and the entire Underground Operations crew because half the bands on the roster were there and everyone had an amazing time.”
It's a huge accomplishment for the band, one of which they are well deserving. Each member has cut their teeth, so to speak, playing in now-defunct bands like The Fullblast, Grade and At the Mercy of Inspiration. The Artist Life has also pursued concurrent career paths to support their artistic endeavours.
Ian Blackwood, The Artist Life's other guitarist/singer acted for several seasons on CBC's teenage-centred Instant Star, and Richards works as a private school ESL teacher when not on tour.
But eventually, a band must function as a business in and of itself, Richards says. “That's a reality that everyone in a band has to face at some point because at the end of the day there are costs that are required to be in a band. At the beginning those aren't always at the forefront. You're just kind of working your own job, doing your thing and you can kind of afford to do that out of your own pocket, but there comes a point in any business where those costs continue to increase and it's something that we're always aware of and that we're always struggling with.”
One of the best ways to recoup those costs is through touring, and after several trips across Canada and through the States, The Artist Life have become veterans of the cross-country road trip.
“The first time you go through, Canada's really vast, but the more times you do it… the more kids [there are] singing along and it makes it… easier every time you come back to a city. The only thing that's going to stay the same is the distance between cities and that's a matter of fact in the country we live in, there are only so many cities to play shows in to get you across, so we just make the most of each city we're in.”
Now, on tour with The Midway State and The Stereos, The Artist Life are preparing to hunker down in the winter to record their much-anticipated full length album.
And though their auto-tune pop punk tourmates have become successful in their own right, Drew promises to not let it influence them too much. “I don't think you're going to hear any T-Pain or any of that shit on the next Artist Life album,” he laughed.
