At montreal-clubs.com we have always liked to break stories first, and get royally pissed when others steal our
scoop and up with all the cred. Well, we are doing it again, cause our trustworthy correspondent managed to
get out of his AA meeting in time to chat with Seamo (Seamus Cowan) from
Bullmoose. And when
these guys hit off their first tour, the Night Danger Tour, at Le Swimming on March 17 (9PM on a Thursday),
you can be sure you'll hear about it in the "main stream" press. It doesn't matter, cause we already
asked them the hard hitting questions, anything after this will be child play for these rockers.
The answers were just slightly modified in order to suit a public of all ages.
Rock'n'Roll can get pretty hard core sometimes, we all know that.
Is Guns N'Roses a role model for the perfect rock'n'roll life style and
if it is, how closely do you guys follow it?
Seamo Yes and No. You know why? Well, yes because they succeeded in rocking
the shit out of people for years and there tunes, however dated they may
sound now are considered classic. They're almost canonized! I mean, they
represent a point in music where and when people just didn't give a shit
and wanted to go out and party with whoever wanted to be there. Party.
There's a lack of that ideal happening right now though I think it's on
the upswing. There's growing segregation thing rampant in the current
"good" music scene where not only certain styles attract a definitive
demographic but also deter. I want it to be simple, accepted and exciting
for anyone to go to a show and rock the night away! We all need this as
musical artists because we all benefit from it. We need to mix with
each other. We need to communicate with each other. We need to burst
each other's bubble and flow together!
I guess I have to continue with the "no" side to this question. I would
say simply that, no they are not a great model because they broke up but
obviously that is something way more complex than I explain as we don't
know all the reasons why. I guess like a relationship, people just grow
apart and develop new interests...Not everyone can be the Stones or
Zeppelin though we all know that those stories don't have the happiest of
endings either!
Do you sometimes have to take a hit for the team (the band) and hook up
with groupies you don't want, just to create extra buzz around the band?
S I'd like to say that's an easy one Evgeny but you know what, it's all
about evolution and we're all at different points in relationships, I
guess all the time. Tell you what, let's let that one slide but no, we
try to do boring things like let the music and facial contortions do the
buzz making for the band.
Some messed up stories about being on the road, sleeping in weird
places, getting in fights with other bands?
S We've been pretty lucky actually when it comes from messed up shit on the
road but we did however have a fully debaucherous session in TO @ Kim
Cattrall's apartment. No fights. Slept in all kinds of wack places,
dirty pillows. Lindsay, Ontario has always been full on
morning-til-you-puke style. A couple domestics you know. Oshawa too.
Travelling around the countryside is the only way to have yourself exposed
to it all.
You know I almost got thrown into the think tank one night outside a club
Ontario called Duck's. I was with our soundman in our van with a beer in
one hand and a joint in the other. The van was running because we were
checking out some Gov't Mule when a cop comes around the corner, barks at
me, we both bark back and I get sent to the cruiser. I got lucky.
How does a Canadian band go about making its self heard in the US and
are the Americans snobing our bands?
S How? You tell me! It's tough enough in the Canadian market to get
"heard". There are many factors, including the old "being in the right
place at the right time" deal, that determine your success. I think we
can all agree in Bullmoose that we are here to make an impression in
Canada before we do so anywhere else. That's why we worked our asses off
to release "Lessons Learned" (our first CD last year) and also tour as
much as possible. We're really psyched to be doing our first Western
Canadian Tour this spring.
The one thing I can say about US/Canadian music relations is that it would
be a whole lot easier for us as Canadian musicians limited to a small
amount of ears in our own country to have an open boarder. I was talking
about this the other day and the fact that you can have a really genre
specific act these days in the US and really be successful at it! You can
reach SO many more eyes and ears. You can be a part of a nationwide scene
a lot easier though the net is helping with that too.
We all know that touring is one of the most important things a band can do
to get themselves out to the world. I just hope that some options might
come up in the future that will allow us to travel more freely across
boarders. I'm going for metaphors here man!
Is there still a revival of Montreal rock like what seems to have
occurred with Sam Roberts, The Stills and others or is this just a
temporary thing?
S I think Montreal is a great place to be period. Look at this place!
Everyone wants to be here that has ever been here. The one thing that
seems to prevent a lot of folk from staying is the language barrier but in
a way it's becoming easier for people to stay here. I'm not denouncing
the culture or anything because I think that the uniqueness of French
culture is one of the main attractions the city provides. There's
heritage here. People seem to really give a shit about the image and soul
of the city. Keeping it old and timeless is a priority.
When it comes to music, there is a lot of tradition here. Some of
Canada's greatest artists have come from the city and I think there are
many more to come honestly. There is a huge mix of people here that
sometimes blows my mind! We three come from two small towns in Ontario
just north of Kingston about 3 hours from here and I would never have
thought, living there most of my youth, that I would have experienced so
many cultures and art in one tiny area we know as Montreal.
Everyone's talking about Montreal as being an incredible hotbed for
artists now...I think it's cool though I think it can sort of be harmful
to artist's natural progression to just produce without extraneous pressures
and expectations. Look at Sam Roberts, The Arcade Fire, The
Stills... They've all got it going on for sure but they're all under the
gun to produce the next big thing each record now. I don't necessarily
think that they are all thinking of it that way but you can bet their fans
have high expectations. I think it's great to push yourself as sometime's
it's the only way to get off your ass and perform. I just hope that
everyone stays true to what they're doing and keep this shit next level.
It's so important to make what's important to you and not the fame. I
call it blurry vision.
Hey, we're feeling it here and are glad to be a part of this beautiful
scene. I get to look out my window and see a mountain in the middle of my
city. I love this city so much! Rock and roll is here to stay no matter
they have to say.
Check out Bullmoose online at www.bullmoose.ca and get their first album Lessons Learned.
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