interview with Project Versus
What does the name "Project Versus" stand for? Project Versus represents the struggle against pretty much everything. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a person versus person.
What made you call the band "Project Versus"? Just before the release of our first album, the band decided to terminate our old name “RIFT” so while eating at a burger joint, we sat down and started to throw some names. For some reason, Carlos and I love the word Versus so we tried to come up with something that utilized that word. Project Versus came up and it felt simple, meaningful and good.
How was the band formed? I used to play in a cover band with our bassist Chris and while it was fun playing music, doing covers bored us. I have been writing music pretty much all my life and Chris asked me to bring some of my stuff. Eventually the cover band died but Chris and I kept recording little demos and thinking about how we could make this work with a full fledged band. So we asked my childhood friend to jam with us and since then, things evolved into what we have today.
What made you form the band? Writing music is a passion and it’s something that I have done for nearly all my life. I didn’t really tried to form a band, things just happened and when I saw the opportunity, I went in while never looking back. To be honest though, the one guy that told me to form a band was Bart Frydrychowicz from the band Quo Vadis. We were at a party of a mutual friend and we were talking about music in general. I had some very basic demos in my minidisc player and wanted his opinion. I guess he enjoyed the music and then suggested that I should start a band and give it a try. Did he make a difference? I don’t know but the encouragement did put everything into gear.
Can you briefly introduce your band and who you are? Project Versus is a band from Montreal/Canada. We’re a melodic heavy rock band with an important emphasis on atmospheres and ambiances. Our music is quite varied but focused with a unique signature of our own. Our riffs are emotionally charged and our song structures tends to be unpredictable. My name is Nick Bergeron and I’m the lead composer of the band.
Where are all bandmembers from? Who does what in the band?
Carlos Martin is a guitarist from Peru and acts as our producer, sound engineer and secondary composer.
Christian Belanger is our bassist and he’s from Montreal/Canada. Chris is the guy that structures our songs, he usually works more on polishing our work. You could say, he’s our QA guy.
Sebastien Ranger is from Montreal/Canada and he’s our new drummer and percussionist.
I’m the lead composer and a guitarist of the band.
Unfortunately, at the time being, we do not have a singer. We’re currently in the middle of auditioning several potential candidate. The next singer will be our 4th to join the line-up.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Oh my, that’s a hard one. Well, I guess our ambition was become the next big thing. Now, don’t get me wrong, that was a dream more than anything but deep down, everyone wants to be the next big thing right? Today, we’re a bit wiser hehe.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you?
Well, the band has two eras. The first one was brutal, unforgiving and yet, it had those brilliant little moments where the storm would calm down. Project Versus music is very dynamic and does not necessarily focus on being “heavy”.
While we haven’t changed these rules by a lot. Today’s Project Versus is much more focused, tight and controlled. We’ve also made the switch from Death Growls to clean vocals. We’re still heavily influenced by bands such as In Flames, Soilwork, Darkest Hour but we’ve made a sound of our own. The biggest addition to our songwriting are the grooves. We want people to dance, jump around and have a good time.
Where was your first gig? Our first gig was at little downtown Montreal bar named BarFly. Our first gig managed to fill up the place to maximum capacity. (which btw is 100 at most haha!)
Where was the latest gig? Our last show was in December 2011 at L’Alizee in Montreal.
Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? We usually leave Chris and the singer to focus on songwriting. Carlos and me are the ones that writes the initial music.
Who has the best sense of humor in the band? I’ll give this one to Chris. He’s the one that introduced me to so many funny things in this world.
What's good/bad with the band? What genre do you feel you are? The bad about Project Versus is that we’re all musicians with a different career. Unfortunately, we do not live of music and we can’t always put the time and efforts to keep PV constant. We’re slow to get back on stage, finding a new singer and finishing new songs. The good is that our songs are usually well received and worth the listen. We do not just write music for ourselves, we think about our audience and make songs for them. As for the genre, let’s keep it simple, we’re a metal band.
Why did you pick that particular style? What are your songs about?
Well, we haven’t really picked that style. It picked us!
Our first album talks about war from various perspectives. From a man attending to the funeral of his brother to a soldier getting ready to enter a battlefield. Our first singer was really a intelligent and well thought guy, his lyrics are quite deep.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We write our own songs but we're not against playing covers.
Have you made any albums? If yes what are they? We’ve made one album and one unreleased EP. The album is called Welcome Down To Earth and our EP was supposed to be called: Legacy
Do you have any clips on YouTube? At the moment, no.
How old are you? What got you started in music? I’m 31 years old and I got into music because of my family. My father is a guitarist and my mom used to sing and dance.
At what age did you start playing? I started to play the piano at the age of 4 but I only got into guitar at the age of 20 or so.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage?
The band was around 8 months old and that was in 2007.
What year was the band started? Officially, 2006
How old were you the first time you saw a live band play? 5 or 6
How old were you at your first gig? 15 years old, I was a guest vocalist covering a song of Korn.
Best/worst gig you've played?
The best gig we’ve played was at L’Hemisphere Gauche in Montreal. That show attract nearly 300 people and the entire night was simply amazing. The opening band “Crossbone” were true gentleman's to us. They took the time to really hype the crowd for us and warmed up the place like pros.
The worst gig we played was in a little city that I honestly do not remember the name. The organization was terrible, the headliner were being jerks and didn’t want anyone to touch their gear, forcing bands to swap the drums and amps. Our booker got severely screwed by the other bands that he had to change us from third act to opening. The sound on stage was so bad that we had to stop in the middle of song because we honestly, didn’t know where we were at…
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? I do not know. We’re going to start booking in early 2014.
Where have you played from then till now? We’ve mainly played in the province of Quebec. We’ve done over 50 shows around the province and have played at clubs such as the Foufoune Electrique.
What songs are in your live set's? Every songs of our repertoire can be played live.
Is it always the same set's live? Nope! It actually depends of the type of crowd we’re expecting. We have several setlists that covers various flavours. For example, if we’re matched up with bands that are not too heavy, we have a setlist that mainly digs into our softer repertoire. Of course, we also have an extremely heavy one and a mixed one.
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? Our last show at L’Alizee featured a background video completely in synch with our music. There was also added synths and effect throughout the show. This was our most complex and best show to date.
Have you had any bigger tours from start till now? Hehe, we’ve only did one tour.
How big crowds do you usually play for? We’ve been in the underground scene for a very long time, we’re usually playing for crowds between 50 to 300 at most.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? We’re working very hard on coming back as soon as possible with a much more solid lineup. Right now, we’re working on new songs, website and we’re hunting for a new singer.
Where do you usually play? Small clubs, local bars and sometimes a festival.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? It depends. We’re very calm guys so we usually just chill with a few beers and talk with the local folks.
What are your goals with your music? The current goal is bring our music to a much broader and different level. While many may say that we’re going to try to sell out, that’s false. We’re focusing on making music that we and the crowd will enjoy and hopefully, attract new fans.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? I’ve always been all in, as long as my wallet allows it.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Both
What are your sources of inspiration? Pretty much everything I hear and see. I often inspired myself from a landscape or the weather outside. Musically, I found that listening to music that is completely different from what we play is the best source of inspiration.
What's the first step when making a new song? Launching Pro Tools :p
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? It doesn’t bother me at all. If the artist made a good album, I’ll buy it for sure. If people wants to copy our music, that’s fine with me. We make money from shows, not from selling albums.
What would be your dreams for the band? Well, let’s face it. It would be great to live of our own labor.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I adore J-Rock and have been listening for years to Asian Kung Fu Generation, Yui, Shakalabits and UVERworld. I’m also a great fan of In Flames, Soilwork, Opeth, Sentenced, Children of Bodom, Protest The Hero, Lamb of God and pretty much anything that’s vintage. As for genres, well, it really depends on the mood but I honestly love pretty much anything.
What do you hold most dear? My time with the band.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? That we decide to split up and never go back on stage.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then?That we stop playing in the middle of a song again… that was really the worse experience and feeling ever.
What songs and what years were they released?
Hurt by NIN 1994
Alone by Yui 2011
The Jester Dance by In Flames 1998 (I think)
So many more… :)
Have you been part of any other projects? Yes, I was part of a project known as Societe Perdue in the late 90s. I’ve played for a other random projects here and there. I am currently working on The Flow Within project. www.reverbnation.com/theflowwithin
Have you been in any other bands? nope
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I’m a project manager, video game and movie addict.
What would you do if there was no music? I would be something artistic. When I’m not playing music, I’m doing photography, 3D modeling, writing or etc...
How important are your fans? Fans are important for sure and that’s the reason of our current re-focusing of our music.
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? There’s one really sweet and cool lady known as Caro that shows up at almost every show. Throughout the years, she’s become a good friend of ours and while she never did anything funny, it is the most memorable thing a fan did for us.
How often do you rehearse? The full lineup, once or twice a week for at least 4 to 5 hours per session.
Where do you rehearse? At the famous jam space Cite 2000.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment?
Veil Of Stars - Not yet released but it is above anything we’ve ever done!
Versus 1 and 2 - This is our personal “Iron Maiden: Iron Maiden” song hehe
What do you feel is the best liveband you've seen? Nine Inch Nails - Lights In The Sky
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? Playing music is a powerful therapy. When I crank up my amp and start playing, nothing else matters in the world. It’s a moment where I’m at peace with myself. I think this is true for any musicians in the world. Playing music and trying to live on it is hard but there’s always a tiny chance that we can make it and that’s only possible if you keep trying and working hard.
Do you have any webpages? Closed for the time being. Please refer to our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/projectversus
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? No matter what, go forward. Even if you arrive at a venue with 5 spectators, give it your best. Always do your best out there. Make friends, help out fellow bands and for the love of god, do not start fights between each other. If a band is being a douche, just ignore it, do what you have to do and ignore it. Your goal is only one thing, to move forward. No matter how far the step, a step forward is a step forward.
Describe your show, visually and musically Visually, we’re 5 normal folks playing metal and hopefully, in the future we will keep using videos and light effects in our show. Musically, we’re quite technical, precise and quite complex. While this may seem extreme, we’re actually very careful about how things are presented and our music tends to avoid exaggerations.
How do you view the musicindurty of today? Complicated and in Quebec, if you’re not part of the gang, you’re not going anywhere.
What advice would you like to give other bands? Same as above, go forward!
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Gear, money and booking
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? Clubs are fun in general and it’s usually not really complicated. The staff is used to have bands so things are usually smooth sailing. The issue with smaller clubs is that they invite 4 to 5 bands to play in one night… The crowd usually leaves before the end.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? Project Versus has already proven to be quite a competent band when it comes to originality, playing and impact. Well, all I can say is that when we do come back on stage, we’re going to blow your mind. Everything you’ve heard about us has been reworked and re-polished to completely new levels. I am very confident that Project Versus 2014 will leave a solid mark.
How would you describe your sound in one sentence Charged!
What is your favorite crappy instrument? My 90$ bass at home.
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? When we kicked our last singer out of the band. Things got very chaotic and several mini fights broke off.
Whats your Pre-show ritual? 1 Beer and some guitar warm up
What do you feel a band/muscian should spend their money on? It’s important to always keep your gear updated and in good shape. Cheap pedals and instruments will only get you so far. Take the time to invest in your work tools. We gained a lot of new fans simply because of that. A lot of people out there appreciate a band with a good sound. The second thing you should greatly invest in is your music production. Throughout the years, we’ve invested in microphones, pro tools licenses, good mixing monitors and mic stands, headphones, in-ear monitors and so on. If you’re serious about your band, you’re going to invest in it and build something out of it. The band also has a bank account where all the money we make is accumulated for future upgrades. Just start slowly, intelligently and with a sense of priorities.
Would you like to add anything else? I’ve learned that the hard way but if you’re going to start a band, you’re going to have to lead it and you need firm but respectful towards the other members. However, at the end of the day, you're the leader and do not let whiners have things their way.