interview with Talk-Sick
How was the band formed? The Band was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2006. The original members met while in prison during a Magic; the Gathering tournament.
Can you tell about your band? Talk-sick is a super serious Punk Rock Anarcho-Syndicalist collective driven by a common love of drawing penises on everything.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band?
Dorian - vocals/lead guitar/yelling at us when we play bad - Mean Streets, Toronto, Canada
Pike - vocals/lead guitar - Labrador, Canada (North of the Wall)
Travis - vocals/rhythm guitar - Labrador Canada (North of the Wall)
Jesse- drums - Cape Breton, Canada
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Open for NOFX. Find women interested in marriage and bearing our children.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you?
The Short Boring Answer: fast, disappointing skate/street punk,
Long, More Exciting Answer: Have you ever wondered what kind of sound a dinosaur makes when it makes love to your girlfriend? Why would you think about that? that's a really weird thing to think about.
Where was your first gig? Some basement somewhere
Where was the latest gig? Fatal @ Fattal in Montreal with The Ripcordz and Sale Gauloise.
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? It's a collaborative effort. Everyone writes lyrics except Jesse because he's shitty at writing lyrics.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? Jesse - he's quite possibly the funniest and best looking person in Canada. Most people want him to be Prime Minister.
What's good with this band? Playing shows and drinking beer.
what's bad with this band? The small, and the existential terror that comes with the knowledge we will all one day die alone.
What genre do you feel you are? Genre: Definitely Post-Crust, Anarcho-Oi! Disco-fusion.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We picked punk because most of us are bad at our instruments. Our songs are about a lot of things - religion, war, man's inhumanity to man, masturbating too much, not masturbating enough, etc....
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? we write our own music, but occasionally cover The Dayglo Abortions.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they?
yes, we have albums:
1. Waste (2007): http://unknownrecordsofficial.bandcamp.com/album/waste-u-r-025
2. Wish You Were Beer (2010): http://dumpstermusic.blogspot.ca/2011/11/talk-sick-wish-you-were-beer-2010.html
3. ,Genetics (2012): http://scumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/talk-sick-genetics-canada
Do you have any clips on YouTube?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbMAMIsKGb0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL7dgaiXFXE
How old are you?/What got you started in music? We are all in our late 20's and early 30's. We all got into music for different reasons but mostly because television told us it would allow us to meet women and wear cool clothes.
At what age did you start playing? I (Jesse) started playing music at age 6, but starting playing drums at 16.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? 5 - pre-school Christmas concert. I fucking slayed that gig.
What year was the band started? 2006
Best/worst gig you've played?
Best gig: Playing with The Dayglo Abortions
Worst gig: Driving 7 hours to London Ontario to play a show for 3 people.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Various places in Montreal; TRH bar, Deathouse, Katacombes.
Where have you played from then till now? This is an interesting question. One could infer you are asking us to list all of the places we have ever played in the last 8 years. As you can imagine, that would be a long, and boring list. Instead, I've decided to list the band's three favorite movies:
1. Back to the Future 2
2. Back to the Future 2
3. Back to the Future 2.
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Iron Maiden
Is it always the same songs live? What, are they not good enough for you? Fine, Mr. Grumpy Gus, we'll switch it up next time! Jeez!
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? none of our gigs are promising, but the Daylgo Abortions gig was probably the best. Second place would be opening for SNFU.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? This seems like another open ended question that would require a very long, boring answer so, instead I've decided to list the band's 3 favorite US supreme court justices.
1. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar
3. Potter Stewart
How big crowds do you usually play for? Anywhere from 3 to 500
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Wow, who are you? My Dad? Can't you just leave us alone? Why does everything need a plan? This is why mom left.
Where do you usually play? Mostly in places that allow for performances of live music. We've attempted to play in places that are not set up for performances of live music, but the results were sub par.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? alcohol
What are your goals with your music? Besides making us wealthy beyond our imaginations, we would like our music to annoy as many people as possible.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? This band is and will always be 100% half-in for the music.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I (Jesse) am the only person in the band who listens to music made after 1999, so it would be fair to say most of our inspiration comes from older bands.
What are your sources of inspiration? 90's skate punk, anything with a d-beat, Hall & Oates, and our profound hatred for mankind.
What's the first step when making a new song? Towards the instruments
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? Downloading is usually wrong, unless it's that new Taylor Swift album. Everyone should have that album for free because it's, like, the best thing EVER!
What would be your dreams for the band? A really hot foursome in the back of our car....wait, you meant dreams FOR the band, not ABOUT the band! Right! Um, I wish we can continue to play shows and make albums until one of us dies.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Mostly that new Taylor Swift record.
What do you hold most dear? Family and a type of Polish food that involves a chicken drumstick stuffed with ground pork.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? The inevitable heat death of the universe.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? incontinence
What songs and what years were they released?
1. "Mad World" - Tears for Fears (1983)
2. "Because of You" - 98 Degrees (1998)
3. "Cleansed in Pestilence" - Morbid Angel (2003)
Have you been part of any other projects? We have all been in a number of other bands before Talk-Sick. Mostly punk bands.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? We all have really boring, corporate jobs outside of music, except for Dorian who is both a Gem Wizard and warehouse drone.
What would you do if there was no music? Pursue a career in life sciences
How important are your fans? We love and respect each of the four people that like our band.
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? No joke, a dude got our logo tattoo'd on his forearm. We love you Josh!
How often do you rehearse? Once a week
Where do you rehearse? In our rehearsal space.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? "Poor Me" and "Chicken fried Chicken"
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Iron Maiden! Weren't you listening this first time you asked?
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Chronic delusion mixed with methamphetamine addiction
Do you have any webpages? http://www.talk-sick.com/
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Stop now and consider a career in chartered accountancy. Outside of that, write a bunch of songs and play shows, and shut the fuck up about your band on social media unless you are promoting a show you are playing. Noone gives a shit about your 15 sec video teaser for your Myspace concept EP.
Describe your show, visually and musically Most of our shows devolve into fistfights within the first 15 mins. In terms of our visual aesthetic, our bass player wears Crocs and socks, so take from that what you will. Musically, we play 25 min sets that contain 18 songs. Dorian usually likes to tell at least two stories that make people uncomfortable.
How do you view the musicindurty of today? From a distance
What advice would you like to give other bands? Robex, I am starting to fear you may suffer from some form of Alzheimer's or memory disorder. Please seek help.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Location; Canada is a very, very big country.. It's also full of wolves.
What is best/worst with playing the clubs?
best: when the club provides you with free alcohol
worst: when the club does not provide you with free alcohol
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? December 9th - THR Bar, Montreal, QC w/ Orally Fixated and No Chaser
How would you describe your sound in one sentence. "Talk-Sick sounds like good not garbage"
What is your favorite crappy instrument? It's a toss up between crappy guitars and crappy saxophone.
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? Deciding who was in charge of answering all of these questions.
Whats your Pre-show ritual? Drink beer and then do naked push ups.
Do you have anything to add? Thanks for the interview!