Our Lady Peace

I don't watch television too often. When I do I usually flip on A&E and watch crime shows or Showcase in hopes of catching my favorite show The Trailer Park Boys. By now we should all know that reality t.v. is scripted, and I think it's better to take made up characters in a made up environment and make it seem like "reality". It may not be real but it's light years better and far more entertaining than a random group of morons being asked to go to rehab when we all know they are doomed to fail anyway.

I thought I would write this because late the other night I caught a "reality show" about a band who want to sign a deal and become famous. They said they were "real" and had a sound that would change the music industry. That is when I started to think about everything Hail The Villain has been doing over the past few years. I began contemplating why most bands believe themselves to be different or unique and better than anyone else around them. Why do we all feel that someone should take notice of what it is we all are doing?

As a rock band, we basically all play the same instruments as the band going on stage before and after us. There is usually four, five or six members, each song consists of the same elements with versus and choruses, it's loud, it has passion and it is always using the same notes put in different order to make up a sound. Nothing special about it. After that, the only thing separating each band is the level of talent and cohesiveness they have with one another.

I believe a better band or a band that can change the way people view the world of music is no different sonically than any other band. That is just a matter of taste and someone's general view of what good music is. A band that will sell millions of records and sell out arenas have something more in their personality and chemistry. A quality that distracts us from the daily routine so that we can be introduced to their universe.

I am a fan of music. I love bands and I can find special nuances in almost anything that is creative. I spend many hours breaking down songs and studying lyrics because I enjoy understanding where an individual is coming from. Even if I don't agree with it. The bands themselves don't have to tell me that they are unique or special. I will find it if I believe it is there. To tell me that it is great won't help alter my opinion and will in fact cause me to see a red flag before I even have a chance to care.

This is how Major Labels have failed the industry. People don't like to have shit shoved down their throats and they especially don't like to be told what is good to listen too. For example, I honestly did not care about Nirvana until after Kurt Cobain had died. The machine had sold millions of records and the world seemed to stop when they heard Nirvana was about to do something but I just didn't take the time to care. When I finally did, I found a wealth of greatness in their rawness and lyrical content that have forever influenced me as a songwriter. I know for a fact that I just wasn't the type to jump on the band wagon because everyone else said it was awesome.

Maybe I have no right to say this being that Hail The Villain is now signed to a major label. But what I do know is that we as a band will always "call the shots" and it is with great pride that we control all things creative. Hell I know how this works and I don't believe there is any other way than to do it yourself if you want to stay true and "real". No one knows us better than us so we have to be the ones who make it!

The whole point I am trying to make, for no greater reason than because I want to, is that music, like art, is personal. I love my band and we make music that we hope many people can relate to. If you don't then who am I to tell you why you should. That would defeat the purpose of creating something that begs to be loved or hated. You decide and we just keep making shit. I think that is fucking awesome.

Bryan