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Manda vs. Aberdeen
I was on Facebook one day and saw that a friend of mine was going to be attending a show by a band of the name Aberdeen. Well, honestly, there was a bit of a running gag between the SF girls about the name (in regards to our own Natty screwing up "Anberlin" and referring to them as Aberdeen), and when I saw that this was actually a band, who was from Toronto, I had to check them out. I was more than pleasantly surprised, and knew I had to talk to them. When I saw they'd be playing a benefit show for Hope For The Sold at a local venue, I decided to look into properly meeting up with the boys and talking with them.
They were awesome enough to agree, and we got to talk more about the cause, their background in music, and, well, why you should never play a show with Supernova.
"A lot of musicians don't think of themselves highly enough. Like, you can get money to play music. That's how the Red Hot Chili Peppers are millionaires!"
- Al Rowe: Aberdeen
For our readers who don't know who you are, roll call! Can you introduce yourself and tell us what you do for the band?
Al: My name is Al Rowe, I sing and I play guitar.
Adam: I'm Adam Dugas, I play bass, and sing back up vocals.
Adam: I'm Adam Dugas, I play bass, and sing back up vocals.
How did Aberdeen come to be?
Al: It was a long, tedious process of being in bands and meeting other people in other bands and then finally figuring out that these four people were the best people among all of these bands, so... screw them! Let's make our own good band.
That actually ties into my next question, because I read on your MySpace that you've only been together about a year-
Al: Yeah! Our birthday is in this...
Adam: Three days!
Al: This Sunday, yeah!
Adam: The nineteenth.
Adam: Three days!
Al: This Sunday, yeah!
Adam: The nineteenth.
Very close to a year, then!
Al: Happy birthday to us!
Yes, happy birthday in advance! I'm very impressed by the quality of your work so far for only being together for such a short time, and if you've been in a whole bunch of bands prior to this, it makes sense, but what do you attribute the quality and success of your work thus far to?
Al: Experience. Yeah, I'd say experience. I've been going to school for three years at Humber College for voice. So I'm getting a lot of experience that way.
Adam: We're all very into music production programs. I actually met our drummer, John, at Seneca College. We took independent music production. So we got to touch on entertainment law, writing, recording, pretty much everything that you could imagine. We finished that program, and our lead guitarist, Darren, is at Durham-
Al: He was at Durham. He completed Durham in music management. And he's worked for live sound companies and stuff, so we've all got these different areas of the industry under our belt. But I would say not only that but synergy between members of the band. Like... you know, the product is definitely greater than the sum of it's parts. When you're working with... guys like me and Adam will get together, and we're two singer / song writers, and we'll come together to make something new, and Darren's a writer, and John's a writer, and we're all good enough players that we can all give each other pointers and give each other criticisms and throw ideas around without it being awkward,
Adam: We're all very into music production programs. I actually met our drummer, John, at Seneca College. We took independent music production. So we got to touch on entertainment law, writing, recording, pretty much everything that you could imagine. We finished that program, and our lead guitarist, Darren, is at Durham-
Al: He was at Durham. He completed Durham in music management. And he's worked for live sound companies and stuff, so we've all got these different areas of the industry under our belt. But I would say not only that but synergy between members of the band. Like... you know, the product is definitely greater than the sum of it's parts. When you're working with... guys like me and Adam will get together, and we're two singer / song writers, and we'll come together to make something new, and Darren's a writer, and John's a writer, and we're all good enough players that we can all give each other pointers and give each other criticisms and throw ideas around without it being awkward,
Or feelings getting hurt?
Al: Yeah, exactly.
Adam: Everything comes together.
Al: We all know that we're all really good, and that's why we're here. So we work together to create something better.
Adam: Everything comes together.
Al: We all know that we're all really good, and that's why we're here. So we work together to create something better.
So what is it that inspires your lyrics, and is there one lyrics that means the most to you?
Al: Uh... I write pretty songs about pretty girls.
Aww!
Al: Yeah... that's where my lyrics come from. But pretty girls aren't so nice to you all the time. You know, that creates the song, which is words and music, and... uh... yeah. What inspires my lyrics? Just stuff. I've also always studied relationships between people. Not romantic relationships necessarily, but friendships, and marriages, and like, acquaintances, or you know, business relationships. I'm always interested in how people behave around each other and how do people treat each other in certain situations, and what factors have to be present to all of a sudden change that.
Adam: It's such a relatable topic. Everybody goes through relationships.
Al: Yeah, everyone knows what that's about. So I find that even though a songs inspired by a relationship I've had with a girl, it ends up just being blown way out of proportion and becoming much bigger than that and something that more people can sort of relate to. A meaningful lyric to me... jeeze, they've all got something...
Adam: I like "Words as weapons, once more for our hearts to break through", that's like, my favorite.
Al: I don't know, I'll have to get back to you with that.
Adam: It's such a relatable topic. Everybody goes through relationships.
Al: Yeah, everyone knows what that's about. So I find that even though a songs inspired by a relationship I've had with a girl, it ends up just being blown way out of proportion and becoming much bigger than that and something that more people can sort of relate to. A meaningful lyric to me... jeeze, they've all got something...
Adam: I like "Words as weapons, once more for our hearts to break through", that's like, my favorite.
Al: I don't know, I'll have to get back to you with that.
Well then, we'll have to get a follow up so we can find out.
Al: Heyyy! Yeah! Alright.
We're in suspense now! For those who haven't seen you play live, how would you describe your live show, and what gets the best reaction from the crowd?
Al: ...Adam?
Adam: Live. Fury. We're insane on stage. We get into the music, we feed off each others energy, and more than that we feed off the crowd. Generally, for every five okay shows, there's that one really good show, and tonight's going to be one of those shows. There's going to be a lot of people here, so we're really excited for that. One thing that sets us apart is that we do a lot of vocal harmonies, there's four active vocalists in the band, and we take advantage of that. So that being said, I think it's the vocal harmonies and the intense stage antics that pretty much wins over the crowd every time. I think from just personal band experience, we make connections with the fans. Instead of being the MySpace guys that just add everybody, and being on billboards, and doing that whole thing, we would much rather take the personal approach and make a personal contact with them. If we make them our friend, that's more than just trying to make them a fan. We go the extra step for sure.
Al: We're not a band that leaves right after we're done. When we're done, then that's half of our job. Then the other half starts, and we make sure that we're talking to every single person that wants to talk to us, and maybe some of the people that don't want to talk to us. Getting them involved and learning their name.
Adam: And getting them on MySpace. On tour, we toured eastern Canada this summer, and we made a backdrop, just a bed sheet and we spray-painted our name on it, and we got everybody at every show to write their name on it, and we went back and added all of them to Facebook. We send them updates, we let them know when we're going to be out there again. So I think that the next time we go out there, it will be very beneficial that we took the time to make a personal connection.
Adam: Live. Fury. We're insane on stage. We get into the music, we feed off each others energy, and more than that we feed off the crowd. Generally, for every five okay shows, there's that one really good show, and tonight's going to be one of those shows. There's going to be a lot of people here, so we're really excited for that. One thing that sets us apart is that we do a lot of vocal harmonies, there's four active vocalists in the band, and we take advantage of that. So that being said, I think it's the vocal harmonies and the intense stage antics that pretty much wins over the crowd every time. I think from just personal band experience, we make connections with the fans. Instead of being the MySpace guys that just add everybody, and being on billboards, and doing that whole thing, we would much rather take the personal approach and make a personal contact with them. If we make them our friend, that's more than just trying to make them a fan. We go the extra step for sure.
Al: We're not a band that leaves right after we're done. When we're done, then that's half of our job. Then the other half starts, and we make sure that we're talking to every single person that wants to talk to us, and maybe some of the people that don't want to talk to us. Getting them involved and learning their name.
Adam: And getting them on MySpace. On tour, we toured eastern Canada this summer, and we made a backdrop, just a bed sheet and we spray-painted our name on it, and we got everybody at every show to write their name on it, and we went back and added all of them to Facebook. We send them updates, we let them know when we're going to be out there again. So I think that the next time we go out there, it will be very beneficial that we took the time to make a personal connection.
You'll probably need a bigger bed sheet.
Adam: (Laughs) Yeah for sure. Flip it over.
Use both sides.
Al: Well the ink kind of bleeds through.
Adam: Yeah, that's true.
Adam: Yeah, that's true.
So going from your MySpace, You've received a lot of positive attention from Canadian radio, how does it feel to get that kind of praise?
Al: Well... I guess it's praise... I don't know!
I was reading it, and it looked like praise to me!
Al: Well, when you go to a lot of stations like we do, most people are just like, 'get out of here, we're busy,'.
Adam: We solicit ourselves first, we make the personal contact.
Al: So it feels like we haven't gotten that much praise, but I suppose we've got some praise from some pretty big stations, like The Edge, 1010 CFRB, we even got on MuchMusic. So yeah, it feels good. I think it comes from, at this stage in the game, it's more us getting out there and us being like, 'Hey, check us out,' as opposed to critics acclaiming our CD. There's this whole movement, I guess it's always existed, but the Indie rock thing, where everybody's album is critically acclaimed to be something amazing. You hear it, and maybe it's good, and maybe it's not, music's a matter of opinion anyways, but we've yet to get the kind of attention where people are all over our record. We've only been around for so little time, you know? It's from going out and making the connections, and then, that guy at The Edge will turn around and be like, 'Oh yeah, maybe I'll check this CD out,' and then from there-
Adam: Next thing you know, he tells a friend who knows somebody, and it's just that. It's spreading amongst people, word of mouth is probably the quickest way to get our stuff anywhere. The more hands we can get it in the better, and that's only because we know they're going to be impressed by the hard work, and the hard work is what gets us to where we need to be. I think that's going to turn around and really help us, and people will be showing it to everybody. Everybody possible, and that's the key. For us at least.
Al: Yeah. For sure.
Adam: We solicit ourselves first, we make the personal contact.
Al: So it feels like we haven't gotten that much praise, but I suppose we've got some praise from some pretty big stations, like The Edge, 1010 CFRB, we even got on MuchMusic. So yeah, it feels good. I think it comes from, at this stage in the game, it's more us getting out there and us being like, 'Hey, check us out,' as opposed to critics acclaiming our CD. There's this whole movement, I guess it's always existed, but the Indie rock thing, where everybody's album is critically acclaimed to be something amazing. You hear it, and maybe it's good, and maybe it's not, music's a matter of opinion anyways, but we've yet to get the kind of attention where people are all over our record. We've only been around for so little time, you know? It's from going out and making the connections, and then, that guy at The Edge will turn around and be like, 'Oh yeah, maybe I'll check this CD out,' and then from there-
Adam: Next thing you know, he tells a friend who knows somebody, and it's just that. It's spreading amongst people, word of mouth is probably the quickest way to get our stuff anywhere. The more hands we can get it in the better, and that's only because we know they're going to be impressed by the hard work, and the hard work is what gets us to where we need to be. I think that's going to turn around and really help us, and people will be showing it to everybody. Everybody possible, and that's the key. For us at least.
Al: Yeah. For sure.
So, tonight you guys are performing at the Hope For The Sold benefit, can you tell us a little more about that, and what it was that made you decide to get involved?
Adam: Hope For The Sold actually contacted my photographer, well, our photographer, Matt Vardy and myself, and I got a phone call, and they were just letting us know what goes on in the world, they had watched the film- it's a new film out called Trade, and it's all about trying to stop the sex trafficking that's happening in the world, and it happens everywhere and effects everybody. Per year, over eight hundred thousand women are forced into the sex trade. After watching the video we knew it was something we wanted to be a part of, and try to help raise funds for, raise awareness for, and again, it's like the word of mouth thing. If we can tell more people about it, and let everybody know we're associated with it, and that we're not afraid to put our name behind somebody that's doing something for a good cause, and trying to help people who are need. That's kind of how we got involved, it was just a matter of them contacting us, and we hopped on board as soon as we knew what it was. A lot of people don't even know that it's happening or that it's such a big deal. The more that we can spread about it the better. So we're really happy to be playing tonight, for sure, because there's going to be so many people here, and we get to expose the cause to them, they're going to know what it's all about, and we get to play for them, so it's perfect.
Al: What happened was like, Matt and Adam got involved in the charity before any of this even happened. So it was just natural that they'd want to get us in here and play. I had no idea about he cause until Adam was like, 'Do you wanna play a show in January?' and I was like, 'Hell yeah,'. Then I started to learn more about it, and it's something I really want to get behind myself. It's a worldwide issue, and you think that it's only happening overseas or whatever, in less privileged parts of the world but-
Adam: It happens everywhere. You get a phone call from an agency saying, 'Come to the airport, we'll take care of you, we'll make you a star,' and the next thing you know, you're in a van, and that's the last people hear from you. That's exactly shown in Trade, and when we saw that, we knew that something had to be done, and it's just crazy what's going on.
Al: Matt was saying to me that Canada is not only a place where people maybe get kidnapped from, but businesses buy these people. Like, clubs downtown, strip joints, will buy these people, and make them work. That's disgusting. We're supposed to be a G8 nation or whatever, we're supposed to be ahead of the curve, we're supposed to be new thinking, democratic thinking, all this stuff, which is great. I don't mean to slag the government at all, I love living here and I think it's a great place to be, but I mean, but at the same time, you can't be letting things like this go on!
Adam: The thing is it can happen to your mother, your sister, your girlfriend, it relates to everybody, and you never know who's going to get taken. Just from a random meet-up. You might be part of an agency and model for a photo shoot and the next thing you know you're being sold and it's going on and on and on, and the next thing you know you're in... Well, a big part of it was, there's this lady in the Ukraine, who's huge into it, who's like, the biggest person involved in it. You wouldn't think that a woman in Ukraine is like, making so much money off of it. It's so crazy the stuff we've learned, just from watching the video. If you go to MySpace.com/HopeForTheSold you'll see all the details that are up there, and everything to the best of our knowledge. The proceeds from tonight, everything that we make tonight, on Monday, we're sending it off to Thailand, to an organization to help there. Which I believe Jen [The woman behind Hope For The Sold] went and visited, so she knows that it's legit, and we're going to try and help out.
Al: That's the upside, right? It's very exciting to be part of something that's going to affect peoples lives, and hopefully change some bad things that are happening. You can look back and be like, 'Hell yeah! We helped do that! That's sick!' you know? So it's totally good.
Al: What happened was like, Matt and Adam got involved in the charity before any of this even happened. So it was just natural that they'd want to get us in here and play. I had no idea about he cause until Adam was like, 'Do you wanna play a show in January?' and I was like, 'Hell yeah,'. Then I started to learn more about it, and it's something I really want to get behind myself. It's a worldwide issue, and you think that it's only happening overseas or whatever, in less privileged parts of the world but-
Adam: It happens everywhere. You get a phone call from an agency saying, 'Come to the airport, we'll take care of you, we'll make you a star,' and the next thing you know, you're in a van, and that's the last people hear from you. That's exactly shown in Trade, and when we saw that, we knew that something had to be done, and it's just crazy what's going on.
Al: Matt was saying to me that Canada is not only a place where people maybe get kidnapped from, but businesses buy these people. Like, clubs downtown, strip joints, will buy these people, and make them work. That's disgusting. We're supposed to be a G8 nation or whatever, we're supposed to be ahead of the curve, we're supposed to be new thinking, democratic thinking, all this stuff, which is great. I don't mean to slag the government at all, I love living here and I think it's a great place to be, but I mean, but at the same time, you can't be letting things like this go on!
Adam: The thing is it can happen to your mother, your sister, your girlfriend, it relates to everybody, and you never know who's going to get taken. Just from a random meet-up. You might be part of an agency and model for a photo shoot and the next thing you know you're being sold and it's going on and on and on, and the next thing you know you're in... Well, a big part of it was, there's this lady in the Ukraine, who's huge into it, who's like, the biggest person involved in it. You wouldn't think that a woman in Ukraine is like, making so much money off of it. It's so crazy the stuff we've learned, just from watching the video. If you go to MySpace.com/HopeForTheSold you'll see all the details that are up there, and everything to the best of our knowledge. The proceeds from tonight, everything that we make tonight, on Monday, we're sending it off to Thailand, to an organization to help there. Which I believe Jen [The woman behind Hope For The Sold] went and visited, so she knows that it's legit, and we're going to try and help out.
Al: That's the upside, right? It's very exciting to be part of something that's going to affect peoples lives, and hopefully change some bad things that are happening. You can look back and be like, 'Hell yeah! We helped do that! That's sick!' you know? So it's totally good.
So what is it that fuels your passion for what you do?
Al: Everything. Everything like... just, putting a guitar on at some point in the day and just playing some music is so fun, and showing up here and doing interviews in front of camera's-
Jen: ...It's a crap camera. (Laughs)
Al: (Laughs) Who cares? That's cool! Getting on stage, playing, playing with Adam, making faces at each other! There's that, and playing music is just fun. Sharing music, the greatest thing that people can ever say to me is, 'I listened to your album, and I love it,' and people do that all the time, and it's crazy. It's just some songs! But apparently, like, it means a lot to some people.
Adam: And then you have those people who are like, 'man, I swear that song was about me and my boyfriend,' or whatever, and, just, wow, that means a lot.
Al: That's crazy.
Adam: The main motive behind writing is to share it with people that can connect with it.
Al: And then there's the other side. When you're trying to be a musician, you're trying to be like, 'this is my career,' each of us, this is our career. When I'm done school, I'm done school, I'm not going to go to a high rise building downtown and start working in an office.
Adam: We slum it hard. On tour we slept on the steering wheel, we slept anywhere we could fit.
Al: When you choose something like that, when you're going against the grain, people will laugh at you. They'll be like, 'what do you do,' and you're like, 'play in a band.' That's like, what people remember from high school, when their thirteen-year-old friends tried to play some music.
Adam: On tour, we ended up in Quebec, and we were at this line dancing club with a bunch of old people, and we just started drinking, and the next thing you know, we woke up, we were on the grass, we had stumps in our back, and it was terrible. That sleep, it didn't matter how cold it was, it didn't matter how uncomfortable we were, and how sore we were in the morning, we had a show that night and that was all that mattered. We just look forward to getting to the next show and doing it all again.
Al: And it's fuel on the fire with every time someone says to you, 'you can't do that, that's a joke. That's a dream, you're dreaming, your head's in the clouds,'...I don't want to swear on camera, but you tell them where to go, and then you use it. When you have success, they're going to be the ones that are like, 'oh, I know that guy!'
Adam: They'll be rejoining your Facebook group (Laughs). After they left because they didn't think you were going anywhere. That's when the numbers will really climb!
Al: Everything is fuel for the fire.
Adam: And then you have those people who are like, 'man, I swear that song was about me and my boyfriend,' or whatever, and, just, wow, that means a lot.
Al: That's crazy.
Adam: The main motive behind writing is to share it with people that can connect with it.
Al: And then there's the other side. When you're trying to be a musician, you're trying to be like, 'this is my career,' each of us, this is our career. When I'm done school, I'm done school, I'm not going to go to a high rise building downtown and start working in an office.
Adam: We slum it hard. On tour we slept on the steering wheel, we slept anywhere we could fit.
Al: When you choose something like that, when you're going against the grain, people will laugh at you. They'll be like, 'what do you do,' and you're like, 'play in a band.' That's like, what people remember from high school, when their thirteen-year-old friends tried to play some music.
Adam: On tour, we ended up in Quebec, and we were at this line dancing club with a bunch of old people, and we just started drinking, and the next thing you know, we woke up, we were on the grass, we had stumps in our back, and it was terrible. That sleep, it didn't matter how cold it was, it didn't matter how uncomfortable we were, and how sore we were in the morning, we had a show that night and that was all that mattered. We just look forward to getting to the next show and doing it all again.
Al: And it's fuel on the fire with every time someone says to you, 'you can't do that, that's a joke. That's a dream, you're dreaming, your head's in the clouds,'...I don't want to swear on camera, but you tell them where to go, and then you use it. When you have success, they're going to be the ones that are like, 'oh, I know that guy!'
Adam: They'll be rejoining your Facebook group (Laughs). After they left because they didn't think you were going anywhere. That's when the numbers will really climb!
Al: Everything is fuel for the fire.
I went to Film School, so I know exactly what you're talking about.
Al: Nice! Yeah, see?
Jen: We get that all the time, about the site, from so many people.
Al: Well screw them!
Adam: It happens, but you've gotta use that as motivation.
Adam: It happens, but you've gotta use that as motivation.
Exactly, yeah. So what has been the biggest moment for the band so far, and what has been the biggest challenge?
Al: There's a couple big moments. Before our CD was even out, we met George Stroumboulopoulos, and had an interview with him on nationwide radio. It's actually on our MySpace page, and you can hear it. He was like, 'so guys, what do you think about this?' and then my squeaky little voice comes out, 'Well George, uh-' (Laughs). So it's kind of funny.
Adam: But it was a good high point for us.
Al: Yeah, it was such a good pump up. Our CD release was the next week, and we were on top of the world. So that was huge. And he is a terrific guy, one of the nicest guys I've ever met, one of the coolest guys I've ever met.
Adam: Any obstacle that we've hit, I would say we've gotten around it pretty well. Right before tour, originally, when I joined the band, our CD release was our first show, we didn't play anything before that to leak the material. So when we played that show, it was a packed audience, and I actually joined he band playing guitar, and after a couple of months, we got the opportunity to go on tour, so we were going to take it. The next thing we knew our bass player decided that wasn't for him. We love the guy, but it just didn't work so I switched over from guitar to bass.
Al: And I started playing guitar. I played guitar before.
Adam: He switched back to guitar, because he was just mobile and singing, now he was playing guitar and singing again, and I was playing bass and doing back-ups, and everything fit back together and we just got up and went three days later and went on tour.
Al: Oh man, I remember when we had that shock, oh jeeze, I just stayed in my room all day just practicing, practicing, practicing, because I wasn't used to playing guitar anymore. I thought I was a rock star, but... (sighs) I had to get back on the act so it's just... When these big things come up, what are you going to do? Are you going to crack under the pressure, or are you just going to say, 'No, we're going to do this, and this is how!' ...And then go do it.
Adam: But it was a good high point for us.
Al: Yeah, it was such a good pump up. Our CD release was the next week, and we were on top of the world. So that was huge. And he is a terrific guy, one of the nicest guys I've ever met, one of the coolest guys I've ever met.
Adam: Any obstacle that we've hit, I would say we've gotten around it pretty well. Right before tour, originally, when I joined the band, our CD release was our first show, we didn't play anything before that to leak the material. So when we played that show, it was a packed audience, and I actually joined he band playing guitar, and after a couple of months, we got the opportunity to go on tour, so we were going to take it. The next thing we knew our bass player decided that wasn't for him. We love the guy, but it just didn't work so I switched over from guitar to bass.
Al: And I started playing guitar. I played guitar before.
Adam: He switched back to guitar, because he was just mobile and singing, now he was playing guitar and singing again, and I was playing bass and doing back-ups, and everything fit back together and we just got up and went three days later and went on tour.
Al: Oh man, I remember when we had that shock, oh jeeze, I just stayed in my room all day just practicing, practicing, practicing, because I wasn't used to playing guitar anymore. I thought I was a rock star, but... (sighs) I had to get back on the act so it's just... When these big things come up, what are you going to do? Are you going to crack under the pressure, or are you just going to say, 'No, we're going to do this, and this is how!' ...And then go do it.
And it works.
Al: Well yeah, for the most part.
Adam: So far.
Adam: So far.
For the most part. For kids out there with bands of their own that want to crack into the industry, what words of advice do you have for them?
(Laughs)
Al: We were talking about this earlier! DO NOT, EVER play a show hosted by Supernova, or Paragon, or anything similar to those businesses. Because, and I'll tell you why, they will make you play for free, and you have to sell tickets for them, and then they will give you a time slot depending on how many tickets you sold. And if you don't bring the right amount of people, they make you play at three in the afternoon, to nobody, and then you're told to leave, and then, if you do bring a lot of people, you work really hard, get out on the streets, you're getting people to your show. Say you bring a hundred people, that's a thousand dollars, you're holding a thousand dollars in your hand, and you go meet them before the show, hand that money to them, and that's the end of it.
Adam: Just from being one of the bands that have been crushed by them, we don't like crushing or bashing in any capacity. But you don't have any positive way to create or build a fan base. You're just bringing out your friends over and over again, and you can really only count on your friends to come out so many times. Next thing you know, you go to play a show out in the real world, at a real venue and there's nobody there, because your friends have seen you eight hundred times, and they've paid a crap load of money that's going to somebody else, and you're sitting there broke, playing in a venue to nobody, and back at square one. You look back on it and say, 'What did we do that, far?' and once you get away from that, and start doing some stuff, working as a business, looking at yourself as a business, you'll start making some money and you'll be able to afford things like merch.
Al: A lot of musicians don't think of themselves highly enough. Like, you can get money to play music. That's how the Red Hot Chili Peppers are millionaires! It can be done. They say that it's a pipe dream and all that stuff, but if you're willing to really buckle down and work hard, you can get paid, and you deserve to get paid, so you should be asking for money. First and foremost, to any band that's starting out, you've gotta practice like crazy.
Adam: Don't try to be like anybody. Do what comes out from everybody's writing perspective. Sit down, see what comes out, make it the best you possibly can and then take it from there. Don't try to be like anybody because then, if you're trying to be like someone who's popular now, you're not going to be cool in three months. Just do what comes out naturally, and write the best songs you can write.
Al: A lot of people have told me, and I'm sure Adam, you've heard the same thing, if you're creating something that is true to your feelings, and what you want to do, people are going to like it, because they can sense that it's genuine.
Adam: There's always an audience for good music.
Al: Even if you're not someone who's a music aficionado, anybody can walk into a show and pick out whether a band is being genuine or just dressing up and playing music that doesn't mean anything to them so they can make money. People can tell that, and if you're being genuine and you've practiced like crazy and you sound good. You're out on the street making personal, face to face connections with people, you're shaking their hands, you're asking their names, you're telling them about what you do, then... slowly but surely, very slowly, but surely, things will build up. We've only been together for a year, and we've gotten some things done. We're not enormous, we're not signed, we're not any of those things. We look after our finances, we make sure we're losing as little money as possible- and you will always operate on a deficit. Always.
Adam: But we know that one day we will be signed, but we're not those people that just live to get signed. We've had offers, but you don't take the first offer that comes to you, because you never know. Unless you've taken the courses that we've taken, you never know what you're getting yourself into. So, you know, if you do some research on it, AllMusicIndustryContacts.com, just watch the videos, and understand. That's the quickest way to gather any kind of info on it. Just get a good perspective on what you're getting yourself into before you sign any papers.
Al: Yeah, understand business, and always, always get someone who knows what they're doing to read over contracts and all that stuff, because I have no idea... I mean, you think you know what you're reading, but it's all semantics, it's all how something is worded, and how something is phrased, and that's why lawyers get paid millions to do what they do.
Adam: We got Fighting For Love licensed with Toronto Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment, and we had it looked over before we agreed to anything because we understood it as much as we possibly could. We sat down and talked about it, there were a couple of things we weren't sure about, we sent it away, got a professional opinion, and now... it's licensed! It's up there.
Al: That was even at the point, we were like, 'No, I think I know what we're going here,' and there was one line that we were like, '...I'm not sure what this means,' and we were like, 'you know what? We're going to get this looked at.' We're glad we did! He said, 'No, that's fine,' that's all he said, but now we know. Because if it wasn't fine, they could own all the rights to our songs like that. ...Wow, that was a really long winded explanation! But young bands, every band, ever, always needs to practice, all the time.
Adam: You can't be too good at music.
Al: You can never be too good. Always be mastering your craft. Music is your craft, as an artist, and that's why I'm spending twenty five thousand dollars and four years of my life going to school learning how to sing. So I don't sound like every singer who just decided that he was okay and could start a band. Master your craft.
Adam: When I met David Foster, the most inspirational thing I heard him say, and he's like, my hero, but the main thing that stuck out was, whatever you do with music, be the best at it. If you're going to be a pop singer, be the best. If you're going to be an emo band, be the best emo band there is. Whatever you're going to do, do it to the best of your ability. Be the best at what you do.
Adam: Just from being one of the bands that have been crushed by them, we don't like crushing or bashing in any capacity. But you don't have any positive way to create or build a fan base. You're just bringing out your friends over and over again, and you can really only count on your friends to come out so many times. Next thing you know, you go to play a show out in the real world, at a real venue and there's nobody there, because your friends have seen you eight hundred times, and they've paid a crap load of money that's going to somebody else, and you're sitting there broke, playing in a venue to nobody, and back at square one. You look back on it and say, 'What did we do that, far?' and once you get away from that, and start doing some stuff, working as a business, looking at yourself as a business, you'll start making some money and you'll be able to afford things like merch.
Al: A lot of musicians don't think of themselves highly enough. Like, you can get money to play music. That's how the Red Hot Chili Peppers are millionaires! It can be done. They say that it's a pipe dream and all that stuff, but if you're willing to really buckle down and work hard, you can get paid, and you deserve to get paid, so you should be asking for money. First and foremost, to any band that's starting out, you've gotta practice like crazy.
Adam: Don't try to be like anybody. Do what comes out from everybody's writing perspective. Sit down, see what comes out, make it the best you possibly can and then take it from there. Don't try to be like anybody because then, if you're trying to be like someone who's popular now, you're not going to be cool in three months. Just do what comes out naturally, and write the best songs you can write.
Al: A lot of people have told me, and I'm sure Adam, you've heard the same thing, if you're creating something that is true to your feelings, and what you want to do, people are going to like it, because they can sense that it's genuine.
Adam: There's always an audience for good music.
Al: Even if you're not someone who's a music aficionado, anybody can walk into a show and pick out whether a band is being genuine or just dressing up and playing music that doesn't mean anything to them so they can make money. People can tell that, and if you're being genuine and you've practiced like crazy and you sound good. You're out on the street making personal, face to face connections with people, you're shaking their hands, you're asking their names, you're telling them about what you do, then... slowly but surely, very slowly, but surely, things will build up. We've only been together for a year, and we've gotten some things done. We're not enormous, we're not signed, we're not any of those things. We look after our finances, we make sure we're losing as little money as possible- and you will always operate on a deficit. Always.
Adam: But we know that one day we will be signed, but we're not those people that just live to get signed. We've had offers, but you don't take the first offer that comes to you, because you never know. Unless you've taken the courses that we've taken, you never know what you're getting yourself into. So, you know, if you do some research on it, AllMusicIndustryContacts.com, just watch the videos, and understand. That's the quickest way to gather any kind of info on it. Just get a good perspective on what you're getting yourself into before you sign any papers.
Al: Yeah, understand business, and always, always get someone who knows what they're doing to read over contracts and all that stuff, because I have no idea... I mean, you think you know what you're reading, but it's all semantics, it's all how something is worded, and how something is phrased, and that's why lawyers get paid millions to do what they do.
Adam: We got Fighting For Love licensed with Toronto Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment, and we had it looked over before we agreed to anything because we understood it as much as we possibly could. We sat down and talked about it, there were a couple of things we weren't sure about, we sent it away, got a professional opinion, and now... it's licensed! It's up there.
Al: That was even at the point, we were like, 'No, I think I know what we're going here,' and there was one line that we were like, '...I'm not sure what this means,' and we were like, 'you know what? We're going to get this looked at.' We're glad we did! He said, 'No, that's fine,' that's all he said, but now we know. Because if it wasn't fine, they could own all the rights to our songs like that. ...Wow, that was a really long winded explanation! But young bands, every band, ever, always needs to practice, all the time.
Adam: You can't be too good at music.
Al: You can never be too good. Always be mastering your craft. Music is your craft, as an artist, and that's why I'm spending twenty five thousand dollars and four years of my life going to school learning how to sing. So I don't sound like every singer who just decided that he was okay and could start a band. Master your craft.
Adam: When I met David Foster, the most inspirational thing I heard him say, and he's like, my hero, but the main thing that stuck out was, whatever you do with music, be the best at it. If you're going to be a pop singer, be the best. If you're going to be an emo band, be the best emo band there is. Whatever you're going to do, do it to the best of your ability. Be the best at what you do.
That's awesome. Now, with all our interviews, we try to end them with five random, off the wall questions to leave everything on a light note, are you guys up for that?
Al: Absolutely!
Alright, awesome!
Al: Rapid fire!
What's your favourite dinosaur?
Al: Oh! Ah... ... (Looks at Adam) ...GO!
(Laughs)
Adam: Stegosaurus!
Al: I can't remember the name of it! I think it's triceratops... that's my favourite...
(Laughs)
Adam: Stegosaurus!
Al: I can't remember the name of it! I think it's triceratops... that's my favourite...
The one with three horns?
Al: OH! No, no... that one's kind of lame.
Adam: Wait! Is a rhinoceros a dinosaur?
Adam: Wait! Is a rhinoceros a dinosaur?
(Laughs) ...no.
Jen: ...It can be, since that was epic!
Adam: Then I'm going with rhinoceros!
Al: ...I like giraffes...
Adam: (Laughs) Giraffes are your favourite dinosaur?
Al: ...I like giraffes...
Adam: (Laughs) Giraffes are your favourite dinosaur?
(Laughs) Who would you want to win a date with?
Adam: Ashlee Simpson.
Al: ...Uhh... Megan Fox.
Adam: I almost wanted to say Tad Hamilton, because that was a pretty good movie.
Al: ...Uhh... Megan Fox.
Adam: I almost wanted to say Tad Hamilton, because that was a pretty good movie.
Jen: (Laughs) You could have said it, and then a real answer.
We've had people do that. (Laughs)
Al: Sailor Moon!
Nice!! What's your favourite five letter word?
Al: ...Radar.
Adam: Silly.
Al: Choch...
Adam: (Laughs)
Al: (Laughs) That could be six, though.
Adam: Or dirty. Dirty's a good word.
Al: Dirty's good! Oh man.
Adam: ...Or moist.
Al: Oooh...
Adam: Silly.
Al: Choch...
Adam: (Laughs)
Al: (Laughs) That could be six, though.
Adam: Or dirty. Dirty's a good word.
Al: Dirty's good! Oh man.
Adam: ...Or moist.
Al: Oooh...
I hate that word!!
Jen: Oh good god!
Al: All girls do.
(Laughs) If you were a scented candle, what would you smell like?
Adam: Lavender.
...I like how quick you had that answer!
Al: Oh, he's got it down.
Jen: Everyone who says lavender has it right there.
Al: Mine would be Bon Jovi.
Adam: My back-up would be patchouli. Patchouli is a nice scent.
Adam: My back-up would be patchouli. Patchouli is a nice scent.
And what's one female fashion trend that confuses you?
Al: Oooh...
Adam: OH! Those shirts that go over the butt, like... under the shirt, over the butt shirts!
Al: That's hot!
Adam: ...What are those?
Al: Those are hot!
Adam: OH! Those shirts that go over the butt, like... under the shirt, over the butt shirts!
Al: That's hot!
Adam: ...What are those?
Al: Those are hot!
Oh! Like tank tops almost?
Al: Yeah yeah yeah!
Ok!
Al: Do that! It's hot! You know what else is hot-?
Adam: While we're on the topic, what was it we were talking about that girls do? Remember when we were like, 'Why do girls do that?'-
Al: Go to the bathroom in pairs?
Adam: Yeah!
Al: Because one of them runs the hand drier while the other one pees so they don't have to listen to each other pee!
Adam: I think it's because they gossip since they've got those little mail boxes in the stall.
Adam: While we're on the topic, what was it we were talking about that girls do? Remember when we were like, 'Why do girls do that?'-
Al: Go to the bathroom in pairs?
Adam: Yeah!
Al: Because one of them runs the hand drier while the other one pees so they don't have to listen to each other pee!
Adam: I think it's because they gossip since they've got those little mail boxes in the stall.
[ Honestly, at this point in the interview, we needed to stop for a moment because myself and Jen were laughing far to hard. Boys... you do not want what's in those little "mail boxes"... trust us...]
Al: Another thing you need to do as a girl, is wear the pink Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys. Like... oh my god, yeah, anyway: The Beehive! ...What the hell? You've got this thing, you lacquer it up, and then I heard that... you just leave it like that for years because you don't want to do that sh*t again! But when they undo it-
Spiders!
Al: Yeah! There's like bugs in it and like... possums and stuff! And they're crawling out of your head! My question is why would you do that to yourself?
Jen: ...Maybe they want a pet possum? ...I'm sorry!
Al: Uhm... there's gotta be more!
Adam: Uggs.
Al: Ugss!
Adam: Uggs and throwing your underwear on stage... that's getting old.
Al: Yeah...
Adam: I mean, I've seen underwear before... I can't wear that...
Adam: Uggs.
Al: Ugss!
Adam: Uggs and throwing your underwear on stage... that's getting old.
Al: Yeah...
Adam: I mean, I've seen underwear before... I can't wear that...
Like, 'I'm flattered, but...'
Al: Yeah, but I can't wear this! But Uggs though, [Motions to Jen and Myself]... and imitation Uggs.
Jen: ...Thank you.
Al: ... Can you explain it to me?
They're so warm!
Al: Okay! And now I know!
Adam: The thing I don't like about them is you get all that road salt on them.
Al: Yup. You know what's a good alternative? Those ones that lace up all the way around with the pompoms? Those are gorgeous.
Adam: Crocs, too!
Adam: The thing I don't like about them is you get all that road salt on them.
Al: Yup. You know what's a good alternative? Those ones that lace up all the way around with the pompoms? Those are gorgeous.
Adam: Crocs, too!
Ugh, Crocs. I. Hate. Them.
Adam: Let me just put my foot in like... a left over spaghetti container! You're walking around with like... this soup can on your foot.
(Laughs)
Al: 'Oh, this is so comfortable! It's made of used condoms!'
(Laughs)
Adam: Gross!
Al: And it looks so hip! Check out my new shoes!
Adam: ...My dad got a pair, and he wears them, and they're camouflage, and I said 'that doesn't make it any better. I can still see them!'
(Laughs)
Al: Apparently they're really comfortable.
Al: 'Oh, this is so comfortable! It's made of used condoms!'
(Laughs)
Adam: Gross!
Al: And it looks so hip! Check out my new shoes!
Adam: ...My dad got a pair, and he wears them, and they're camouflage, and I said 'that doesn't make it any better. I can still see them!'
(Laughs)
Al: Apparently they're really comfortable.
(Laughs) Alright, last thing... this is your shameless self promo spot. If there's anything you'd like to say-
Adam: MySpace.com/Aberdeen ... uhm... buy our CD. Buy our CD for your friends, there's no shame-less in this, is there? No! Because we promote ourselves a lot!
Al: Yeah... we have no shame.
Adam: Add us on MySpace. Look up the Aberdeen Music Group on Facebook, all that stuff! Listen to the songs, tell your friends, put a banner on your page, we've got a new layout now, on MySpace, so that's pretty bomb.
Al: Yeah, it's really good now.
Adam: And check out our YouTube series, Mysteries of the World, where we answer questions correctly, no matter what it is, we're right, and you can't tell us otherwise.
Adam: Add us on MySpace. Look up the Aberdeen Music Group on Facebook, all that stuff! Listen to the songs, tell your friends, put a banner on your page, we've got a new layout now, on MySpace, so that's pretty bomb.
Al: Yeah, it's really good now.
Adam: And check out our YouTube series, Mysteries of the World, where we answer questions correctly, no matter what it is, we're right, and you can't tell us otherwise.
...I like it!
Al: Like what would happen if you crossbred a beaver with an octopus?
Jen: ...Boctopus?
Adam: We had that! What was it? A Centipede?
Al: No! A spider! Think about it.
Al: No! A spider! Think about it.
...That's true!!
Al: SEE!?
Adam: And we had, what makes a unicorn, and it was a rhinoceros and a horse!
Al: Oh, I was in the bathroom for that one.
(Laughs)
Adam: And what is in milk?
Al: What is in milk?
Adam: You know what? It's just liquid cheese... and... little bits of cloud, I think.
(Laughs)
Al: ....yeah, so MySpace, really! MySpace.com/Aberdeen is the most important website you could ever remember. We have a whole new online merch store where you can buy our stuff, straight from the MySpace page! We send it to you ourselves, so there's no overhead charge, there's no third party charge, we made sure that we could send it out. People can give us requests! Like we got a request like, 'Can you include a picture of yourself that you autograph for me?', and I was like '...sure!'
Adam: Another store wouldn't be able to do that! It'd be like, 'We'd sign it, but we're not the guys you're looking for!'
Adam: And we had, what makes a unicorn, and it was a rhinoceros and a horse!
Al: Oh, I was in the bathroom for that one.
(Laughs)
Adam: And what is in milk?
Al: What is in milk?
Adam: You know what? It's just liquid cheese... and... little bits of cloud, I think.
(Laughs)
Al: ....yeah, so MySpace, really! MySpace.com/Aberdeen is the most important website you could ever remember. We have a whole new online merch store where you can buy our stuff, straight from the MySpace page! We send it to you ourselves, so there's no overhead charge, there's no third party charge, we made sure that we could send it out. People can give us requests! Like we got a request like, 'Can you include a picture of yourself that you autograph for me?', and I was like '...sure!'
Adam: Another store wouldn't be able to do that! It'd be like, 'We'd sign it, but we're not the guys you're looking for!'
Alright!
Al: ...MySpace.com/Aberdeen.
Thank you so much to Al and Adam for taking the time to talk to us. If you want to take a listen, you can find their MySpace, as was mentioned, at MySpace.com/Aberdeen, and to learn more about the cause, Hope For The Sold, you can find it here.
