Vesuvius interview done by Mike De Man.
Vesuvius is a metal band out of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that is barreling through the local scene and doing some great things along the way.
With so many bands out in the scene right now, there is always competition when it comes to who can create the best design. What do you think is the most important part of a merch design when it comes to band merchandise?
Merchandise is an incredibly important part of how a band chooses to market itself. The visual experience is the second most crucial element of what defines a musical artist, so we are taking it slow to make sure we perfect what it is we want by the release of our debut record. For us, the two key essentials to a merchandise design is that they epitomize the theme of the music or lyrics, and that they are fashionable and suitable for those who support us; if we wouldn’t wear it, we won’t put it out.
When writing a song, what is the first thing that Vesuvius tries to set in stone?
When writing our first record, the chronology of the process typically starts somewhere in the middle. Almost all of the songs are written around an emotional crux that highlights the overall lyrical theme of the rest of the track. The stanza of the bridge that starts with “Father, where has the light fled?” in our first single “This House is Not a Home” is an example of this; this segment is the centerpiece of the rest of the song and was the most heart-wrenching in the vocal booth.
Lyrically speaking, what do you think is your most intimate bar that gets across the most important message?
This is a difficult question. Our debut record “My Place of Solace and Rest” (shortened by us to “My Place”) is still in the mixing process, so the last recording session of which spans half the running time of the album is still fresh and exhilarating to us. My Place is a record conceptually molded anecdotally around personal experiences. Each song in and of itself is a reflection on a painful childhood moment or period, and thus altogether the album conceptualizes resolve through human development with a focus on family dynamic (hence the references to Mother/Father). I suppose put simply, if each song were to have one lyric that creates the skeleton of the overall message, it would look something like this:
Mother, where has the sun gone? Father, where has the light fled? I will carry you wherever I may roam. This is the last note I’ll ever sing. I am a storm that has found relief. I am free. Now, I’m okay. I have come to find my depth; my place of solace, my place of rest.
Growing up to be what you are today, what are some influences that made you want to create the type of metal that you do today?
When the idea of separating from our first project and beginning the writing process for what would become Vesuvius became serious, the main influence behind the music was mostly just the ability to perform what we want, how we want. A big part of this was allowing the influence of the music we fell in love with growing up to play a dominant character. Billy and I (Ben) wrote the entirety of the first record – although we do share influences, we also have very eclectic and separate tastes. As an adolescent, Billy was into the vast expanse of metal sub-genres, I grew up with mostly the emo/alternative crowd, mostly into bands like The Used and My Chemical Romance. We use these as a tool to craft something original; a black metal riff, maybe a beatdown part, throw in a gigantic late 2000s rock chorus and have them coexist within the same six minutes. Translate that into an energetic, metalcore-esque performance and you have Vesuvius.
Since every local scene is different, there is sometimes a concern of how helpful local promoters and venues can be when it comes to a band’s success. Do you think the Ottawa scene has helped you more than hurt you?
At this point, I would say most of the ongoings of the local scene are irrelevant. We’ve carried our successes and failures upon our own shoulders through this past four months of Vesuvius being a live band and don’t commend or require any help. When we had a vision starting out, we had an end goal that we knew would have to be achieved independently, and we are working closer and closer towards it everyday. That being said, the Ottawa local scene is home to incredible talent and lots of very supporting individuals.
About five months ago, you released a lyric video for “This House Is Not A Home”. What are the struggles that inspired the writing of that song?
The lyrical content in “This House is Not a Home” was written around the time of June, 2014. This was a period of my life where I had come to terms with the fact that I didn’t see myself belonging in a conformist society where I felt obligated to spend an eon and thousands of dollars to be compartmentalized into a miserable systematic occupation. I come from a family of academics and although they support my decision to part from post-secondary and pursue art, I feel like I had in a way let myself down by not following in the footsteps of those I looked up to most. My natural reaction to this was to isolate myself from reality and become depressed as a result. The first lyric I wrote to that song begins at the first chorus: “Mother, where has the sun gone?”. This lyric was written under a bridge at 3 am during the contemplation of life or death after I had gotten myself into a bit of trouble and did not sense any option of who to turn to. Since then, Vesuvius has been the output that has rebuilt me into a human with embedded goals and aspirations in ways that I never had experienced before. Putting out THINAH was the difference between being passionate about music, and becoming the music itself.
What would you say is a solid five year plan for the band? Is there anywhere specific you’d like to be as a group by that time?
So many things can be made possible in five years’ time that it’s difficult to picture. Our plan from here is to keep working on the conceptualization and writing process of album #2 with the help of our most recently acquired members, Mike on guitar and Carter on drums. Hopefully we’ll have a follow-up to My Place ready to release by 2017. Our dream is to be on the road amongst all walks of life by that album cycle. We really want to spend most of our young adult lives seeing the world, meeting wonderful people, and performing to the extent that our ability allows. Maybe in five years, we’ll have a sophomore record out and tour even harder on that. We’re also all musically inclined as individuals; I’d personally love to have a solo record out by then. We also want to move to LA and be featured on the Eric Andre Show, but that’s secondary to music.
Seeing as Vesuvius is a rather new project, what advice do you have for other local bands that are struggling to grow as quickly as you did?
Three points of advice:
Three points of advice:
i. Do lots of soul searching to determine that this is in fact what you want to do. Being both a studio musician and performing artist is incredibly demanding, both physically and financially. If you don’t have the willpower to dedicate a decent fraction of your paycheck to your craft, don’t bother. If you are playing music as a hobby, make sure your musical counterparts are aware of this; making a little cash as a cover band is sweet, but if you have no plans to hit the road for months at a time, do not waste the effort of dedicated musicians.
i. Do lots of soul searching to determine that this is in fact what you want to do. Being both a studio musician and performing artist is incredibly demanding, both physically and financially. If you don’t have the willpower to dedicate a decent fraction of your paycheck to your craft, don’t bother. If you are playing music as a hobby, make sure your musical counterparts are aware of this; making a little cash as a cover band is sweet, but if you have no plans to hit the road for months at a time, do not waste the effort of dedicated musicians.
ii. Work with a real goddamn producer. Your shitty basement recording is just that: shitty. Bombshell, I know. You could have written the most intricate piece of music, but your expertise would go to waste because nobody can bear to listen to a garbage mix. Even if a lo-fi sound is what you’re going for, you can always send a producer reference mixes and they should and hopefully will charge you accordingly. Producers have also been seasoned with many different bands; many of them may change a note or two in a chorus or maybe a guitar riff in order to make your song more listener-oriented. If you’re somebody who is passionate about the production element of creating art, then that’s great also. Just remember that if your mix doesn’t fit a certain standard, it will likely be ignored by the perpetrators of an over-saturated industry.
And finally, iii. Don’t be afraid to start over. Learning through mistakes is a very developmental process and is what shapes the psyche of a living creature. Even if you think you nailed it the first time, if nobody is biting, it will be very difficult and strenuous to turn said project into a lengthy career. If you’re serious about dedicating your life to music, don’t be afraid to lay low, write the best possible tunes you can, and explode back onto your local or regional scene with tons of fresh content, updated to cater to those who follow what is popular at that given moment. The more spontaneous, original, and exciting you are via social interaction, the more attention you will draw from people who matter. Follow this alongside the other two guidelines, and I hope to see you on the road someday.
