by marcs77I won't write much as an introduction to this interview since the interview itself we did with this Edmonton, Canada based band called “The Maddigans” comes as an introduction to this young hard touring pop-punk ensemble.
Their touring roads lead the threesome to Lodi, North Italy to play a weekend show at CLAM on a snowy pretty freezing night together their French touring buddies in Mary Has A Gun.
We actually didn't plan this interview to happen but after their bouncing well received show I stepped over to the stage where Sam (guitar) was still packing up said Hi! and requested them whether they were into being interviewed right there.
gan: Please introduce your band to gotanerve-zine. Who you are, who play what, you know the usual...
I'm Benn and I play drums in The Maddigans
Alex: I'm Alex and I play bassTrisha: I'm Trisha and I sing
Seb: I'm Sam and I play guitar
gan: And what information about your band you wanna add?Trisha: We're a pop rock / pop punk group from Canada and we've been a band since 2008. We've just been touring a lot around out of America. We've done three tours of the UK and this is our first tour in the main part of Europe. So it's been really exciting for us.
gan: Tonight you are in Italy and...I don't know what kind of expectations you may have or normally about shows, has tonight's show been a good one?
Seb: It was okay it was like...it wasn't bad. It was kinda in the middle a guess. You know, some shows are better some shows are worse. There was quite a few people.
Yeah, it was good. Probably the crowd has been pretty quiet but it's hard when you're from a different country so...Trisha: You can't really ask people questions. It's hard to relate.
gan: Hehe...I just heard you asking how many guys were speaking English among the crowd...
Trisha: Next time when I come back I'll try learning something in italiano hehe...
gan: You told me you're pop-punk band and that's what I'd label you if I had to but what are some of your personal influences.Trisha: probably the Yellowcard, The Main...
Mary Has A Gun...
Italian bands like No Time For...Vanilla SkyTrisha: good bands...that kind of stuff. I guess Paramore but we have a happier sounding.
gan: I'm just impressed you guys know Vanilla Sky...really hehe...Trisha: we did some research before we came...
gan: The Maddigans is a name I relate to punk rock. How did you choose this for your band?
Tricia: yeah, it's kinda punk rock thing to name the band like that and when I was at high school I really liked this band called The Johnsons and I just thought their name was so cool and they broke up and it was a shame. At the time we were looking for a new name and my friend Jane whose last name was Maddigans...and I thought Maddingans was really cool so I asked her if I could use it basically hehe...It just happened...it just stuck so...yeah...
gan: And how many records you have out?
We've technically four CDs...Trisha: two of them are have been released officially...
The other two we did tour on but you can't get them anymore.Trisha: They were like demo...or early stuff so...but the ones that we played today are from “The Way To Start This” EP and “The Love Vs. Passion” EP. Which was released last Summer 2012.
gan: And after the release of your latest work I guess you've been touring on that...Trisha: I haven't been home in seventh month...Ben wanted to go home to visit his family on holidays...Christmas but beside that we've just been practicing and touring and...
We have been touring in the UK...Trisha: in the UK basically...
We haven't toured on “The Love Vs.Passion” EP in Canada yet because after the recording we came to UK and we have our first Canadian tour on that CD this Spring.
gan: Maybe it's still bit of an early stage for this but are you guys working on new stuff? I don't know whether you guys are that kind of band always working on new ideas...
Yes, maybe...after the EP...after we finished writing and recording we maybe took a break for like a month or two from writing songs just for...I don't know...focus on the release of the songs but pretty much after that there is not really stopping ideas come in...we've been working on a lot of guitar parts...we have added drums on them...Tricia has been working on some vocals...so we've been constantly working on something. We are gonna make a longer release next year definitely...Trisha: hopefully an album...
Or at least a long EPTrisha: whatever we can afford hehe...as many songs as we can do...
gan: In your view how a young a band can get their music out to as many people as possible today? I don't wanna see punk and hardcore music as a shitty industry/business thing since I'm definitely more into the DIY approach to it...
Yeah...DIY...that's what we do.Trisha: You have to do...I mean...it's really hard to get a major label backing...a good label anyway as far as a financial and marketing team goes so...
I think what actually makes a break for bands is how hard they actually try...how much care and time they put into promoting and getting their music out there.
Then practicing...I mean...there's so much to do.
You have to be your own label basically. It is hard but if it's what you wanna do then you're gonna do it.Trisha: we're not looking to be famous we just try to be sustainable and just play as much as we can.
In the past people told us how we should sound...Trisha: And it never worked out hehe...
Obviously we didn't take their advice hehe...
gan: And what about the channels available on the net?
We have been touring in the UK...Trisha: in the UK basically...
We haven't toured on “The Love Vs.Passion” EP in Canada yet because after the recording we came to UK and we have our first Canadian tour on that CD this Spring.
gan: Maybe it's still bit of an early stage for this but are you guys working on new stuff? I don't know whether you guys are that kind of band always working on new ideas...
Yes, maybe...after the EP...after we finished writing and recording we maybe took a break for like a month or two from writing songs just for...I don't know...focus on the release of the songs but pretty much after that there is not really stopping ideas come in...we've been working on a lot of guitar parts...we have added drums on them...Tricia has been working on some vocals...so we've been constantly working on something. We are gonna make a longer release next year definitely...Trisha: hopefully an album...
Or at least a long EPTrisha: whatever we can afford hehe...as many songs as we can do...
gan: In your view how a young a band can get their music out to as many people as possible today? I don't wanna see punk and hardcore music as a shitty industry/business thing since I'm definitely more into the DIY approach to it...
Yeah...DIY...that's what we do.Trisha: You have to do...I mean...it's really hard to get a major label backing...a good label anyway as far as a financial and marketing team goes so...
I think what actually makes a break for bands is how hard they actually try...how much care and time they put into promoting and getting their music out there.
Then practicing...I mean...there's so much to do.
You have to be your own label basically. It is hard but if it's what you wanna do then you're gonna do it.Trisha: we're not looking to be famous we just try to be sustainable and just play as much as we can.
In the past people told us how we should sound...Trisha: And it never worked out hehe...
Obviously we didn't take their advice hehe...
gan: And what about the channels available on the net?
Lots of people would say that illegal downloading has hurt album sales and so on but we wouldn't have almost any of the fans that we have today without Facebook, Twitter, Tublr and all the social networks.
It's like you can get more word of mouth now... sitting on a laptop you can create word of mouth across the world.Trisha: Just downloading and sharing...I don't mind when people download our music for free...I mean...if they buy the CDs I really appreciate it but if they don't and they spend their time to find our CD for free and they find it...good for them
gan: Can you picture out the times where bands were recording old cassette demo and sending them out to labels, zines, promoters as a way to let the world know they were around?Trisha: phoning promoters and faxing them contracts
gan: I guess you read it on the books...Trisha: hehe...yeah...it's funny how nowadays people really don't put out posters anymore and they don't do flyering because of the expense of paying for posters and stuff and prefer put that money in advertising on the internet but we still go around and hand out flyers and we try and hand out flyers to as many people as we can...I mean it's funny how little that actually does compared to just spending an hour on the computer...on facebook.
gan: Are you guys trying to do this band full time?Trisha: Yes, we do this full time we don't have any other jobs. We, sometimes like before recording an album, get a job or if we have to pay for plane tickets we'd get a job. I haven't had a proper job in years because of touring.
gan: Okay, before wrapping this up I just wanna ask you about some of the plans you have aligned in the near future or even further onward...let's say if you had to picture your band in three years time...
hehe...for the rest of the year it's just basically touring I mean, we have the rest of this tour for the rest of March and then a couple of months in Canada and maybe try to come back to Europe and tour the UK over the summer and tour Russia later in the autumn and then we'll starting recording a new album or something like that but basically touring, touring and touring...Tricia: as far as progressing as a band goes in the next three years I hope to be a better band and hopefully have more supporters listening to us. Write better songs...
gan: I hope the best for you.
Thanks
gan: That's really it. If you have something else to add...
If you wanna check us out go to facebook.come/themadigans or twitter.com/themaddigans, youtube...anything The Maddigans...Tricia: just google our band and you'll find something.
Check: www.facebook.com/themaddigans
It's like you can get more word of mouth now... sitting on a laptop you can create word of mouth across the world.Trisha: Just downloading and sharing...I don't mind when people download our music for free...I mean...if they buy the CDs I really appreciate it but if they don't and they spend their time to find our CD for free and they find it...good for them
gan: Can you picture out the times where bands were recording old cassette demo and sending them out to labels, zines, promoters as a way to let the world know they were around?Trisha: phoning promoters and faxing them contracts
gan: I guess you read it on the books...Trisha: hehe...yeah...it's funny how nowadays people really don't put out posters anymore and they don't do flyering because of the expense of paying for posters and stuff and prefer put that money in advertising on the internet but we still go around and hand out flyers and we try and hand out flyers to as many people as we can...I mean it's funny how little that actually does compared to just spending an hour on the computer...on facebook.
gan: Are you guys trying to do this band full time?Trisha: Yes, we do this full time we don't have any other jobs. We, sometimes like before recording an album, get a job or if we have to pay for plane tickets we'd get a job. I haven't had a proper job in years because of touring.
gan: Okay, before wrapping this up I just wanna ask you about some of the plans you have aligned in the near future or even further onward...let's say if you had to picture your band in three years time...
hehe...for the rest of the year it's just basically touring I mean, we have the rest of this tour for the rest of March and then a couple of months in Canada and maybe try to come back to Europe and tour the UK over the summer and tour Russia later in the autumn and then we'll starting recording a new album or something like that but basically touring, touring and touring...Tricia: as far as progressing as a band goes in the next three years I hope to be a better band and hopefully have more supporters listening to us. Write better songs...
gan: I hope the best for you.
Thanks
gan: That's really it. If you have something else to add...
If you wanna check us out go to facebook.come/themadigans or twitter.com/themaddigans, youtube...anything The Maddigans...Tricia: just google our band and you'll find something.
Check: www.facebook.com/themaddigans
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