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Every other week or so I go on a cruise through MySpace music and check out as many new bands as I can in the time permitted to me. On my latest cruise through I stumbled across the band "Forever Always" a band from Montreal, Quebec. I was refreshed to hear their upbeat sound and clean vocals and quickly got into their song "Never Say Goodbye". It's a great tune, fun to sing along to and groove with!

I got the chance to talk to Matthieu, the vocalist for Forever Always and discuss the band, the music, and the influences! Enjoy!

“The fact that we could be important to some kids, whether by our music or our lyrics, is the best feeling ever.”
Matthieu Joly - Forever Always.

For our readers who don't know who you are, could you please introduce yourself and what you do for the band?

My name's Matthieu Joly and I'm the singer of the band. I also write all the lyrics of the songs, and I even invite fans to send me their suggestions about topics I could write about.

How did Forever Always come to be, and where did the name come from?

It's a long story because a lot of changes have taken place in the last months, but to make it short, I was in another band with my prior bassist (more punk-rock) and I told him I would like to start a band in the Simple Plan, Yellowcard style, and he was pretty excited about it, so he contacted other guys he knew and we formed the band. Later on, the bassist and I left the band because of tensions between band members, and recently, I found other people to rebuild the line-up, and this time it's for good. The prior bassist isn't anymore in the band because of a lack of time, but I'm still in very good terms with him.

What has been the biggest moment for the band? What has been the biggest challenge?

I'd say the biggest moment is to come, because the band is now fully funcional and very dedicated. The biggest challenge was for me to rebuild the line-up and find people who liked this style.

Alternative Promotion voted you Best Unsigned Artist of the Month of April, how did it feel?

Well it's always pretty cool to know that some people think we have potential, and we hope we'll soon be the best SIGNED artist of the month haha.

You're from Montreal, what is the local scene like? Have you found it particularly hard to crack?

The pop/punk scene in Montreal isn't particularly strong because Montreal is a big place for music of different styles. We didn't do any concert recently because we have to practice with the new line-up, but we should do some shows soon enough, probably in December.

What inspires your lyrics? Is there one specific lyrics that means the most to you?

I rarely talk about personal facts of my life in the songs. well at least, not in the songs you can hear on the Internet. I'd say that any issue of society inspires me: love, friendship, suicide, family. I try to turn around these topics and write lyrics where people can recognize themselves and relate it to their lives.

What kind of message are you trying to get out with the band?

I'd say that pop/punk isn't dead and that there are very good anglophone bands in Quebec. There's only Simple Plan who made it internationally here in Quebec, but we want to prove we'll be able to make it also.

For the kids out there trying to form a band and break into their own local scenes, what advice would you give them?

Being with people you get along well and that have the same ambitions as you is the first thing to do. Second, do music you want to do, don't do it for money or sucess. If money comes along, fine. Also, be passionate about the music you do and try to show it to your fans in concert. If your public feels you like what you're doing and feels you're doing it for them, your fan base will grow rapidly.

For those readers who haven't seen you play live, can you describe your live show? What gets the best reaction from the crowd?

As I said earlier, concerts are to come, so I can't really describe anything for the moment!

What keeps you going in this industry? What fuels your passion?

Good question. I'd say the fact that it's a real challenge to get in this industry. The 5 of us are so excited about the band that we're ready to do the necessary sacrifices to make it through. The fact that we could be important to some kids, whether by our music or our lyrics, is the best feeling ever.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

You can expect to see 5 guys with great passion for what they're doing. You can also expect a Canadian tour hopefully, so be ready to sing along!

Here at the Sound Faction we are five of the most random people you will ever meet, so we like to end our interviews on a less serious note with five random questions. Are you up for that?

Yeah of course, we're pretty random too anyway haha.

What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?

Oh my god I must admit it's somewhat hard to remember what were my Halloween costumes. I just asked my mother and she told me I had a Ninja Turtles costume and a Batman costume. Seems like I appreciated super heroes haha.

Who would you want to win a date with?

Without any doubt Jessica Alba. Don't think I have to tell you why.

If you could pass a law for the world, what would it be?

Mmm good question, can I come back on that another day?

If you could have lunch with any fictional character who would it be and why?

The girl in Tripping the Rift because I believe she has interesting assets. Do you agree?

What girls fashion trend confuses you the most?

Mmm I'd rather not say anything about this in case some of our fans come to my house to assassinate me.

And here's your shameless self-promo spot: anything you'd like to add about yourselves, the music, or anything else?

Well I could only tell you to go vote for us on http://www.ourstage.com/epk/foreveralways, we could win some cash to record other cool songs!

Also, don't hesitate to emit your comments on our myspace page we try to answer to each of them!

Thanks to Matthieu for talking to us! If you want to hear samples of songs by Forever Always, head to their MySpace and check them out!