Miramichi Spotlight: Lionsault

Recently, I had the chance to sit down with local Miramichi artist Taylor Sheasgreen and Kortni Nicols, two of the founding members of the rock and roll group Lionsault. A kick- ass band that delivers hard-hitting distorted guitar and rage fueled vocals with effortless and passionate drum beats. Lionsault is blasting over local airwaves and social media.

I was invited over to Taylor Sheasgreen house to conduct the interview, upon my arrival I was greeted by Kortni and Taylor and was welcomed inside. We sat around the kitchen table and just caught up on the passing years before we conducted the interview.

With a name like Lionsault, they have been constantly asked what the meaning behind the name is and it’s very simple answer.

Kortni: “It’s a wrestling move by Chris Jericho, I’m waiting for the day, Chris Jericho serves us a fucking lawsuit..it’s either that or he’s going to ask us to open up for Fozzie!”

After we shared a laugh, Taylor and Kortni informed me that they were just a cover band. Before they were known as Lionsault.

Taylor: “we’ve been playing together for 8 years, around 2009. But Lionsault, us writing music and making our own stuff, was almost 2 years ago”

Kortni: “June 20th, 2014

During the first eight years of jamming and playing local gigs, Taylor and Kortni sat down with local musician James M to discuss the possibility of mixing and mastering and releasing their first album as Lionsault.

Kortni “We got bored with covers, so we started writing and we were talking to James about mixing and mastering for us and we said, yeah were gonna do an EP and he said fuck the EP thing, do a full album!”

Taylor: “We just hammered down and started writing songs, we pretty much set a mission of creating an album and we just did it!”

After years of playing together, Lionsault decided to stop covering songs and start writing their own material but was not set on their sound or the genre they were going to play on their upcoming album.

Kortni: “We tried different genres, obviously Taylor was writing metal stuff, I was writing shitty pop-punk stuff and we try writing those sort of genres and it just didn’t work until we tried bluesy-rock and then it felt effortless”

Taylor: “It changed when we discovered Monster truck, we seen them live and we didn’t know who they were and thought it was pretty cool and decided we should start writing like that.

Monster truck is an award-winning Canadian rock band from Hamilton, Ontario and has opened for big name bands such as Alice Cooper.

With the genre of Rock and Roll set in stone, Lionsault began working tirelessly on their first album. The 10 track album entitled “Are You Feeling Lucky?”was released on September 19th 2015.

Kortni “We wrote the songs, Taylor would come to us with a riff as an idea and we would work around it, I guess I would take charge in structuring it more I guess?, and then we would sit down and write the lyrics together. Taylor wrote most of the lyrics but I wrote all the melodies. Then we would record everything ourselves too. Once recorded, we sent it away to Under Tone studios in Saint John and It was mastered by a guy named Adam Dincorn

Taylor: “He did a really good job and were probably going to go back to him. When the first album was out. We sent it to all kinds of album review website and I probably sent out a shit-ton of them and probably like 20 different websites all came back super positive!

With Humble begins, I asked Taylor and Kortni, how they got into music and what their first instruments were?

Taylor: “I was 13. I wanted to play drums, just listening to Nirvana and Metallica and that kinda changed. My first instrument was acoustic guitar that mom had lying around but then I got a drum set and played that for a while then i stopped drums and got serious on guitar.

Kortni: “First instrument was a guitar when I was 13, it was my step-dads fathers guitar and it had like 4 strings on it and I would just play around with it when I was 11. So I use to listen to songs and figure out the melodies, I couldn’t play chords.”

Being from a generation when high-speed internet wasn’t available and dial-up was prominent, musicians would have to learn on their own without the help of online tablature

Kortni “We had dial-up. We couldn’t go online to learn, I couldn’t do that. So I had to figure out things by ear, like I learned to play smoke on the water first, once I learn that I’d move on to other things. I didn’t get guitar lessons until I was 13 and started to play bass. I would bring a CD to the teacher and he would figure it out by ear and then write it out on white paper for me, the chords and everything.

Taylor “It’s funny that It’s easier to learn now, more than ever but no one wants too“

Every band in the existence of music has always been inspired and influenced by other bands or singers. Kortni and Taylor shared their influences with this writer.

Kortni: “I saw School of rock when I was 10! ….No seriously, I never had any talents, like never, Then one day, one of my moms friends said I had a pretty voice and I was like I’m gonna roll with that and then I saw School of Rock and that’s when it clicked that I wanted to make a rock band. I don’t know? …. Anything I saw where girls were playing instruments, I said” “I wanna fucking do that“

After a shared laugh, and all agreeing that Jack Black saved the day once again, Kortni went onto explain more of her influences

Kortni “Haley Williams, from Paramore, I was the biggest Paramore fan in high school. Like growing up when I was younger, it was bands like Blink-182.

Taylor: “I was always a big James Hetfield guy!

Being a musician is a very difficult job as well as being very costly. Even though the achievements and recognition is very rewarding. The constant expenses of instruments and accessories, as well as lodging and fuel and dining out on the road can be very expensive. In order to fund their dreams and inspirations, Taylor and Kortni have to find the time to work in between the gigs and practice.

Taylor: “I give guitar lessons and work at a hotel”

Kortni: “Every time I do an interview, my answer changes. I do bookkeeping, I took a course in business accounting at a car dealership.”

With more recognition and more fans, the members of Lionsault become more prominent in the eye of the public and when I asked if they were ever recognized outside of gigs, Taylor shared a very funny moment that he experienced at work.

Taylor: “I was at work one night, and I was checking people in, and this one guy, he was like hey are you in a band?”

“And I guess he just asked that from the look of me so I said yes”

“And he asked me what band?”

“So I said Lionsault,”

“He goes OH! I’ve known Taylor for a long time!….”

“I just stood there for a moment and said..Me?”

“Luckily he saved himself by saying he just knew who I was. I should have played along with it.”

Over the last year, Lionsault has made significant strides in music with constant gigs all throughout the Atlantic provinces. Live interviews with local radio stations. Being printed in local newspapers. Creating music videos and winning the 2016 “New Goal Song” music contest that was held through MusicNb for the Moncton Wildcats Hockey team, entitled “In The Wild”, Lionsault performed live in front of 6000 people at the Moncton Colosseum.

Kortni: :We played in front of 6000 people, and we had no vocal monitors, our amps were on stage, we had no way of hearing each other, all we had was like an echo and we were just up there, it was tough because the red carpet was slippery.

Taylor: I was nervous, brand new song, on ice, slippery as hell, in front of 65 hundred people and we couldn’t hear ourselves, so it made me really nervous.

Kortni: “On top of that, they wanted us to get the crowd going and all that, it was rough”

Taylor: “But we got through it!, we just had to play a small part of the song and it was great!”

In April of 2017, Lionsault leaped even further in their musical career by winning the 2017 “Loud Recording Of The Year”

Kortni: “You apply for the E.C.M.A. Thankfully we had Don from Motorleague, and he sort of talked to Taylor about the do’s and don’ts and what to apply for. He told us It’s your first year, don’t expect to win anything, so we applied for some showcases and also applied for loud recording of the year.”

During the E.C.M.A, bands in each category, play a showcase, a half hour set to perform live. The E.C.M.A award for Loud Recording Of the Year is prominently for artist who specializes in the metal genre but that didn’t stop the members of Lionsault from giving it all they got.

Kortni: “At the showcase, we played a set, so were playing with Orchid’s Curse, Abysseral Throne and Last Call Chernobyl. All these super heavy and super tight bands and were just like, I felt out-of-place, I was saying guys, we don’t have a chance. so whatever, let’s just have fun. and then…. when we won! my grandmother screamed and like threw her scarf in the air…. like we didn’t see it coming…. we didn’t think we would win at all.”

An amazing accomplishment for a band just starting out, Lionsault Won the 2017 Loud Recording Of The Year and became a household name in Miramichi N.B and Recognized by the community.

Taylor: “Our phones were blowing up!

Kortni: “When we left the venue, and loading up our gear, everyone from the venue was like standing outside and we got this huge applause, I felt like the fucking queen of the E.C.M.A for a few minutes.

As we came to the end of the interview, I simply asked what any writer would ask someone. What’s next?

Taylor: “World Domination!….Just kidding, expect more material and tour dates very soon!”

I would like to thank the members of Lionsault: Taylor Sheasgreen and Kortni Nicols for sitting down with me and sharing their stories with Modern-Typewriter. I look forward to all your music accomplishments in your career. You can check out their Facebook page here and buy their first album here.

Thank you

Regards

The Modern Typewriter

Lucas Durelle

Album Review: Roger Waters “Is This The Life We Really Want”

Roger Waters latest album “Is This Life We Really Want” is like seeing an old friend that you haven’t encountered in over 40 years. Everything about it seems familiar enough but something deep is hidden and you patently wait to find out what it is.

“When we were young” is the first track of the album and it delivers hypnotic waves of Roger waters eerie voice as he echoed through my speakers delivering a mantra-like chant with frightening reverb and multiple voices that begins to layer heavily as it progresses. focusing on what he is trying to say, you become more tuned to the ambient noise. A ticking clock begins ticking faster and faster in the background, increasing up the tone of anxiety. The anger of his voice sets the mood of the album almost immediately as the a faint sound of an airplane is flying in the distance.

As the clock keeps ticking faster and faster, it fades into a seamless transition into the second track of the album “Déjà Vu“.

The acoustic guitar begins to play a familiar rhythm, the simplistic strums will remind you of their 1979 hit “Mother” that debuted on “The Wall” album. The sweet swoops of the string quartet adds a soothing lullaby to his soft, aging vocals. The simplistic piano chords scaling upwards as his vocals raise higher and higher as he let out his signature scream. A sudden crash of shattering glass and ruin is highlighted as he sings “If I were a drone“. The overall theme I believe he was aiming at was the after effects of war and devastation. The title is very fitting, the entire song is a faded memory of the wall single “Mother” with the political themes of “The Wall” album

The third track “The Last Refugee” switches over almost immediately, The title opens to a static broadcast of a variety of news anchors reporting in. Similar to Roger waters single “The Final Cut” and a small hint of “Fletcher Memorial” as the drums play a steady beat and the complimentary piano helps paint the atmosphere. Roger Waters sorrow vocals is accompanied with haunting synth piano as soft sounds of seagulls and crashing waves fade out.

The fourth track “Picture that” is a rage filed roller coaster where he ask the listeners to picture a variety of scenarios over and over, describing a world of fear and intolerance to outsiders.

The fifth track “Broken Bones” begins with simplistic acoustic guitar strumming with single melodies being picked in between each strum. It seems almost uplifting at first until the haunting sounds of the E-Minor chord is struck and the saddening sound of slide guitar is added to his soft low vocals as he lets out an exhausting lyrics “who gives a shit anyways” until the drums kick in and Roger Waters scream at the top of his lungs “How could we abandon thee” This tracks main focus is how we should have looked back at all these wars and political leaders who steered a country into war and instead of learning from our mistakes, we repeat them over and over. The final verse of the song is a powerful statement “we will not listen to, your bullshit and lies”

The sixth track ” Is This The Life We Really Want” is opened with a static voice clip of Donald Trump talking to CNN about chaos, as soon as the clip is over, Rogers waters delivers his depiction of the latest political election with obvious evidence as he sang “Every time a nincompoop becomes president” this track is a clear depiction of the current state of fear and chaos in the United States . Fear is the main theme in this track, A song filled with haunting string instruments and random protest in the background. As the song progresses, Roger Waters lists a series of events throughout the song such as “Every time a journalist rots in jail” or “every time a student is run over by a tank” He began to paint a depressing picture as the listener slowly realizes that we as the public, have caused all of this, all these events he list has actually happened over the course of time and continues to happen because we refuse to see the error of our ways. He answered his own question as he sang “Is this the life we really want, it surely must be so, for this is a democracy and what we all say goes”

The seventh song “Bird In A Gale” is a continuation of the sixth track and features a strong presence of synth wave, the type of music you would hear in a 80’s horror movie. Once again the static of random news anchors are present during the wide opening of the song. Although the song only has 11 stanzas, the song is 5 minutes of synth wave music and recurring background noise of news anchors, chiming bells, reverse guitar, a News anchor repeating “A Happy New Year” as well as “on the first of January” with random lyrics of Roger waters repeating the last verse of the song. A confusing tone to say the least as the ambient noise is suddenly stopped by the incoming sound of a missile hitting the ground, followed by applauded cheering.

The Eighth song is titled “The Most Beautiful Girl” Roger Waters tells the love story of a young woman, whose life was diminished to nothing more than a causality by a committee of men in an underground bunker who decided to use a nuclear bomb during a war escapade, a simple song with a strong message.

The ninth track entitled “Smell The Roses” is Roger waters anti-war message. As a society, we should all stop and smell the roses and realize that war is destroying all the beauty around us. as the song progresses, the listener is no longer smelling the pleasantries of roses but the decaying smell of war and death.

the 10th,11th and 12th tracks entitled “Wait for her” ” Oceans apart” and “Part of me Died” is a continuous song split into 3 tracks. The first track is a simple pairing of a grand piano and acoustic guitar with hints of strong distorted guitar leads and crashing waves of cymbal drums and a mellow tone of synth piano all accompanied by Roger waters soft and mellow raspy voice.

“Oceans Apart” bridges the previous track into the final track “Part of me died“.

The 3 tracks when listen to in consecutive order, tells a grand story of a man who is clinically depressed by the evilness of life and he begins to provided a list of his own fears and doubts in life. By the end of “Part Of Me Died” he meets this girl and she becomes is everything he will always need to get through this hatred filled life because he would rather die in her arms then die in a lifetime of regret and constant state of fear. The three-part song is a perfect ending to a perfect album. 10/10

I can safety make the assumption that “Is This The Life We Really Want” is his depiction of the current political status in the united states and the destruction that follows with war. This album fits his anti-war and political stances almost to perfectly. “Is This The Life We Really Want” is a flooded memory of Roger Waters when he was in his prime and almost feels like an encore performance to Pink Floyd 1979 album “The Wall“.

I cannot express enough how much I loved this album. I would not expect anything less from a true rock legend. If you’re a Pink Floyd or a Roger Waters fan, this is a must have and If you are not a fan, I encourage you to listen to the album and truly focus on the story he is trying to convey. This album is not a variety of music trying to fill an empty space. It’s an album tell the story of Roger Waters depiction of politics, war, greed, death and destruction.

Thank you

Regards

The Modern Typewriter

Lucas Durelle

Round & Round We Go On Life’s Carousel

As we ride this merry-go round we call life, often times we are faced with hardships and negative people. The stress of those events and people can be crippling on ones self-esteem and we are left with the numbing feeling of being flustered, vulnerable and hurt.

Life sucks, we know that. It’s a constant uphill battle, paved with loose gravel and with each step, you are constantly slipping. Life comes in waves, the constant barrage of bills, health scares, death and diseases. No wonder as a society we are clinically depressed and heavily medicated just to deal with said shit.

In a world filled with wrong doings, snarky remarks, constant pressure and hate. It’s sometimes overwhelming and difficult to find the good in people and when a good act is done upon us, we often question it’s purpose or if there’s a catch to it.

It’s a cynical feeling almost, in the way of “why is this person being nice to me and what do they want?”

The seed of doubt is often planted in our minds by past experiences with those who have wrong us. Always wondering if there’s a second motive to each action which can be quite stressful and irritating.

although we must remember that not all people are struck with the flag of negativity. Important qualities we find in people, are comforting. Trust is a huge quality we all look for in a person and in a world of unexplained actions, trust is a hard quality to find.

Life’s hard enough and here we are constantly trying to make it harder by stiring shit on those we don’t like. Gossiping. Telling rumors. Attacking and assaulting those who don’t submit or agree with your opinion…f**k those people, your never going to please them so why waste your time trying.

Fortunately we all find a crutch to help us stand against the crashing waves of life and the swarming congregation of ill-toungued people.

Some of us find religion. Most of us find love. Some find the endless bottom of a bottle and others light the end of a cigarette. Inevitably we find something or someone to help battle the unbeatable goliath called life and it makes everything easier and worth going through.

So when life gets you down and work has you stressed out. Be like the lost children of Neverland, find your happy thought. Think about the one you love. The beers shared among friends. The pretty girl who smiled at you that one time. Anything positive to occupy your mind to help get you through the day.

The only thing that should matter to anyone is the ones that love you and want to be surrounded by your presence. Don’t waste your time and energy on changing the opinions of others to shine a better light on yourself. Devote the effort to those who already know you’re an amazing person. So to tell it in laymen terms, let the haters hate and surround yourself with those who appreciate.

“Stop watering dead plants” ~anonymous

Regards

The Modern Typewriter

Lucas Durelle

A Night At The Miramichi Vogue Theater

Over the weekend, I was invited to attend a blues and funk concert being held at the classic Miramichi Vogue Theater, I was thrilled to gain access to such an event. As I pulled up to the old vogue theater, The brightly lit neon sign read Roxy And The Underground Soul Sound and opening up for them was Jacob Strang And The High Class Hussies.

The crowd surrounded the entrance and the line up was out the door. I made my way into the building and was handed a ticket. I made my way past the usher and walked into the dimly lit theater that was filled with a talkative and excited crowd of people and a stage that was filled with instruments.

The Orange glow of the stage lit up the curtain that draped the background, as the lights dim, a silence fell through the crowd when a crashing boom of the drums echoed through the hall, the band started in unity as the electric sound of funk and soul filled the room in a hazy glow.

The lead singer Jacob Strang, ran onto the stage sporting a black fedora and grabbed the microphone. He captured a unique energy as he danced across the stage to the beating of the drums and hip swaying sound of the rhythm guitar as his vocals let out a whiskey soaked howl.

The Crowd went wild as the song came to an end and he introduced himself and his band members. The lead guitarist began to play a familiar riff as the crowd screamed with excitement, the drums soon followed as the bass let out a solid lead as Jacob Strang let out a raspy scream and immediately you recognized the song. “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin. It was a surprising treat that sounded perfect.

The band went on to play a few more of their original songs then ended with a duet with the lead singer of the other spotlight band Roxy And The Underground Soul Sound. The room was lit up with energy as the band thanked everyone for coming and made their way back stage.

There was a brief intermission before the featured act of Roxy and the Underground soul sound. The crowd shared their excitement, others stepped outside for a quick smoke or to order another drink.

——————-

After the intermission, people returned to their seats and waited in anticipation as the headline act was coming in stage.

This is the first band that I experienced live that includes a brass section. The saxophone player blows kisses of sweet sorrow as the trombone player pairs nicely with the excitable lead guitar player as his fingers dance across the frets. You can barely contain your feet from tapping to the steady groove of the drums. I can only describe the sound of the band as a mellow vibe that hits your soul.
The lead singer, Roxy, has a voice that I can only describe as anger soaked with sadness with a reverb of soul and seduction but don’t let that fool you as she smiles and dances weightlessly across the stage as she moves with the rhythm of the guitars.

As the night went along, one song stood out that I can only describe as perfection. Entitled “Fought The Battle”, Roxy explained that she wrote the song to help her overcome a dark period in her life. “Fought The Battle” The song of sadness, a raw emotion is captured by Roxy as she softly sings a lullaby followed by crashing waves of instrumental pieces as she belts out painful lyrics that echoes throughout the vogue theater. As the song comes to an end, she falls to her knees as she vocally holds a trembling note of sorrow, The crowd is silent and in awe of the performance in front of them. Perfection.
Encore! the crowd screamed as Roxy and the underground soul sound exited the stage. When the lead singer Roxy and her band the underground soul sound came back onto the stage, she invited Jacob Strang to accompany her on stage as they shared a duet entitled “Etta” A brilliant song that time traveled you back to a simpler time as it captured a unique chemistry between the two singers. It was an excellent ending to a perfect night.

As the crowd dispersed and the lights came on and the show was over. I made it back to my car and simply sat there in silence for a few moments to reflect on the night.

I wish everyone in Miramichi could have witness that concert and if those bands do return, I encourage all my readers to attend and enjoy a soulful night of music.

The vogue theater itself was an amazing, memorable experience. The atmosphere. The catering. The classic popcorn stand and the vintage vibe of the building itself, sets the bar quite high for other venues. It truly was an excellent night of entertainment and good music.

Thank you

Regards

The Modern Typewriter

Lucas Durelle

The First Experience

Everyday, we experience something new. From the time of being an infant and taking your first steps to saying your first bad word your uncle taught you.

To being a kid and going to the first day of school and making your first best friend, ready to conquer the world.

The first time you get behind the wheel of a car and you feel your foot on the gas pedal, is an amazing experience. When your driving down the road with your favorite song blaring over the radio and the sun sets in the distance as a warm glow of orange covers your face.
A sense of freedom draws over you as you realize you could go anywhere the road will lead you. The traffic is zooming by as you catch the small glimpses of blurred people on the side-walk and the land is covered in green grass and grey asphalt. You feel a sense of comfort. A sense of ease. A sense of accomplishment.

When you get a little older and your age hits into those dreaded teen years. You begin to develop who you are as a person, by experiencing new taste of music, clothes and friends and trying to find your own lifestyle in the mix of things.

The first time you sneak your first drink of liquor you stole from your parents liquor cabinet, hoping your parents don’t notice the liquor bottle is a little lighter than it use to be.

Experiencing college years for the first time is an amazing experience, It could be a drunken haze of excitement and partying or a chance to recognize ones self. The constant pressure of deadlines and test while being inspired by learning something your interested in. Figuring out what you want in life and what makes you the person you are.

Experiencing love for the first time is truly a scary, lustful, exciting, wonderful feeling wrapped in a ball of anxiety.

When you nervously go on your first date, not knowing if you’re gonna make enough small talk to make the night interesting. Cautiously attempting to hold hands as you walk closely together. As the night grows cold and you feel her pressed up against you as you make your move and you watch as her trembling lips grow closer to yours. The first feeling of cautiously kissing someone you like and the overwhelming feeling of joy as they kiss you back. The silence that follows with a trembling smile. The passion between two people, It’s almost like poetry.

The first time your heart is broken and everything seems grey, cold, empty and nothing makes sense in the world. You don’t know how to mend it back again until someone comes along and sew the pieces back together and the one you use to care about is nothing more than another chapter in the big book of your life.

The first time your out on your own in that big open world as an adult and life slaps you in the face with taxes, rent and bills that are over due while working a job that doesn’t pay enough to cover it all.

While all that does sound scary and stressful, it is merely a small spec of sand in the grand scheme of adult life. Freedom to do what your passionate for and experiencing new things is the biggest upside of being an adult.

Just because you age and as life happens, and you don’t land that dream job but you luckily find someone you love and you get married, have children and build that white picket fence you hear everyone talking about. What more can you ask for?. As long as you aim for happiness and new experiences, you will never miss out on the big game of life.

I find some of my most interesting experiences come in the form of conversation with people, I wouldn’t normally converse with.

Recently while I was sitting on a bench, taking my break from work. I was encountered by an old man carrying a very heavy book bag, he sat down next to me with tattered clothing and bummed a smoke. We sat there in silence for a few minutes when I realized that I should be asking him what his story was.

He went on to tell me that he doesn’t know where he went wrong in life but he knows the world isn’t like it use to be when he was young. I sat with him for the duration of my break, just talking about nothing and when I turned to leave he said something that I found to be quite astonishing.

“Times are a changing, People are too afraid to talk to each other anymore.”

Sadly, He’s right. Throughout the day, we do very little for the people around us, even though some are strangers, we should try to take the time to experience what we have to say and do for each other because in the end, that’s all we are. Just people trying to survive this hurricane shit storm of a world and make friends while we do it.

So go out in that big scary world and experience new things. Watch the sun as it sets over still waters, Compliment a stranger that has an awesome t-shirt that you think is cool. Experience something new for the first time.

Tell someone they are beautiful and watch as there smile lights up the room. Travel to exotic places and taste the food and wines of their world.

Do what excites you, Do things that you want to experience in your life. Jump in head first and be adventurous. We all share a common experience and that experience is called life.

As Always

Regards

The Modern Typewriter

Lucas Durelle

Time And The Forgotten Word Called Boredom.

Time.. A man made conception built to be used by people who have their shit together. Unfortunately I am not one of those people and if you meet someone who says they are, well don’t believe a word they ever say again.

The truth is that I’m usually 5 minutes late for work, every morning, guaranteed. No matter how early I wake up or how prepared I am the night before, I seem to awkwardly walk into work during that morning meeting and be greeted by nervous eyes and uh oh smiles.

Having said that, It’s not being lazy or unorganized. It’s simply living in the moment with a hint of procrastination and when you’re a procrastination, time is a bitch always working against you.

My old man always told me, “You don’t realize how fast time goes by until you get older” and it’s true. I never noticed time until I met my wife and we had 3 beautiful children. I fondly remember sleeping in until noon and staying up past 1:00 am watching movies and playing video games, just being care free and not worrying about scheduling or time.

Now however, is the complete opposite. I believe that many parents and adults will agree that trying to balance between work and family life alone is tedious and time-consuming without adding a social life and personal hobbies in the mix as well.

The truth here is that, none of us have a lot of time to do the things that we truely want to do anymore. Life went ahead and got itself too busy and here we are, rapidly aging while we miss out on the little things in life-like watching our children grow up and learning new things. Enjoying the company of good friends or trying to find the time to write an article on your weekly blog. Nobody has time for spontaneous fun anymore.

We, as a society, are constantly trying to fill in any boredom we can with as much as we can fill it with. I remember the big thing in the 90’s was when you were sitting around with your friends and their was nothing to do and with a sighing breath you would say “I’m bored” …A statement that is no longer spoken in our busy lives today.

Boredom has vanished as the rise of technology and social media has risen to an all time high and I’m not complaining. I’m constantly on my phone either Googling, Redditing or on Facebook and that is the problem. Hardly ever do I, as an individual or we as a group take moments of life and enjoy them without constantly gazing at our small illuminated screens to fill in those awkward silences.

Rarely, do we ever just live in the moment and enjoy our surroundings. Hardly ever do we go to a concert to enjoy the performance of the band without documenting our own existence of being there or enjoying our food while it’s hot and ready to eat without taking a few minutes to capture a photo of the perfectly made cheeseburger with the appropriate amount of sesame seeds so we can post it on Instagram and look back throughout the years and fondly remember that beautiful burger on that very non-eventful day…..yeah.

We’re busy, plain and simple. Time is slipping away and we can’t control that. So take moments of life as it is, just day by day. Go ahead and take a couple extra minutes out of your busy schedule to do the things that you enjoy. Hug the one you love a little longer or have that second cup of coffee in the bright light of the morning as the sun rises. Be alittle less worried about time and alittle more focused on life.

The worlds wont end because you went outside your schedule and did something spontaneous. Tomorrows another day to try to be better at managing time.

Lets Put our phones down and engage in conversations with the ones that surround you. Leave your work life at work and go home and enjoy the rest of the day with the ones you love and take the time to stop and smell the proverbial roses and live in the moment because you might look back one day when your time is up and the only thing you want back are those precious moments that you missed.

“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you actually left them” ~ Andrew Bernard

Thank you

Regards

The Modern Typewriter

Lucas Durelle

Miramichi Spotlight Featuring Aftersurf

During my last interview with local musician Dillon Ryan, He mentioned a band named Aftersurf. I got in contact with the bands front man Riley H and set up a meeting to discuss their music and their passion.

I decided to bring my long time best friend Mackenzie Morris along with me to enjoy the show, Mackenzie Morris being an independent guitar player himself, he truly was excited.

Aftersurf wanted to meet at their studio and after circling around a couple of times, I finally found the location. I was immediately greeted by the front man Riley H.

Riley H. stood on the deck and waved me into the studio where I was greeted by the rest of the band.

They all took turns introducing themselves. Riley H started his music career by learning to play the drums.Being the front man of Aftersurf, He takes the role of lead vocals and rhythm guitar.

R.H “I played drums from the time I was 10 and still do, for other bands. I only seriously started playing guitar 3 or 4 years ago.

As I made it around the room with the introductions and shook the hands of the band members. I was then introduced to the backup and harmony singer Jill H. Riley described her singing as being very fluid, and being able to sing in any genre and any style comfortably.

J.H – “I’ve been singing since I was young, Ive never sang in public until I was 15.

The hardest thing to find when forming a band is the bass player. Luckily, Aftersurf landed one hell of a bass player, Robbie O. When I asked him how long he’s been playing bass and why he chose bass over guitar, Robbie had a perfect answer.

R.O – “I’ve been playing bass for 18 years, I actually play guitar but its much easier to get in a band if you play bass.”

The room shared a laugh at the joke Robbie made and then I was introduced to the drummer, Joey S. A carpenter by trade, but a roaring drummer by night, I asked how long he has been playing, and I was shocked to find out the answer.

J.S – “Two months!” I don’t know what happened but it worked. I’ve always had interest in the drums, music in general actually”

R.H – “He learned to play drums in one night”

Riley smirked over to his drummer as they nodded to each other in appreciation. Once the formalities of introductions were over, the band picked up their instruments and showed me their set list.

The first song of their set was entitled “You Wanted Too”. As Riley H strummed his first chord, it had echoed the entire room. The drums carried a very solid beat that kept you tapping your foot, and the groovy rhythm of the bass flowed throughout the song, complimenting the harmonic melodies of Riley H. and Jill H.as they sang in union, never missing the pitch. It truly was groovy in the sense of an outer world experience.

When the song ended my accomplice Mackenzie Morris and I clapped and let them know they have a solid sound

Immediately after the first song ended. They kicked into a much faster and heavier style of song entitled “Gimme A Shot in the Arm”. A hard rocking beat that features Joey S. heavy drums and a solid bass lead by Robbie O. that simply compliments each other’s sound. Before the chorus, Both Riley H. and Jill H. have a slow melodic vocal moment that weaves you into a trance then jumps back into a hard-hitting chorus.

The band practices two to three times a week and have only been together for over 5 weeks and I must say, it is amazing how far these four talented individuals came together as a group and focused all their energy and passion into their album.

The album by Aftersurf is a group collaboration by the four members is a ten track album and it is entitled Solipsism. Puzzled, I asked what the significance of that title.

R.H- “Your gonna have to Wikipedia that one”

Once again we shared a laugh and in fact, I did Wikipedia that term and I don’t believe I am the right person to explain it. So if your intrigued to its meaning, I’m going to have to quote Riley H. on that matter. Your just gonna have to Wikipedia that one.

When I asked the band what song they were gonna play next, Riley H. gave a smirk and approached the Microphone.

R.H- Joe? what’s the name of the next one?

J.S – “Tell me what you want me too”

Riley H let out a laugh and corrected the title.

R.H – “Tell Me When You Want Me Too”

J.S – “Ah f**k!, I’m just filling in”

The group is a very fun-loving, having a good time band with constant jokes and quick one liners, They simply seem to pour out a positive energy. Throughout the night the constant sound of laughter carried on through the studio.

Immediately after the joke, The guitar lead into the song entitled “Tell Me When You Want Me Too” The guitar and bass played back and forth in complimentary harmony and follows with the high pitches and soft harmonies of the vocals of Riley H. and Jill H. the song ends with Joey S. rattling the cymbals.

The way music is made is almost always influential by other bands or songs that are being heard. I decided to ask the members of Aftersurf what their biggest influence was.

R.H – “Currently I’m listen to a couple different bands, my music is very fluid but right now I’m listening to King gizard and the lizard wizard.”

J.H – “I don’t know, I truly listen to absolutely everything from the Beatles to what’s playing on the radio today”

R.O – “For me, Its guns and roses for sure, biggest influences for sure”

J.S – ” The Beatles for sure and Queen, I like a lot of music”

Even though the band has only been playing together for over 5 weeks, The professionalism in their music is very united, working like a well oil machine. They can’t really define their music by genre at the moment but it has been spoken of.

J.H – “I find it very groovy”

I suggested and found their sound could be compared to psychedelic rock while Mackenzie Morris compared their sound to old school Beck. They all agreed.

R.H – “I try to make every song the feeling you get when your watching space jam and the space jam song comes on. gets you pumped” “we’re more interested in creating original art, the four people who are here, they want to create original art with me, that’s what we want to do.”

A topic I brought up in my last spotlight article was how difficult it can be for the artist to deal with the pressures of putting yourself out there and receiving any criticism.

R.H – “I think when you create original art, you always have a little bit of self doubt and I think when we are in this room, we are in our own world and it’s interesting when we go to other places like Moncton, we bring a little of our world to the audience and see their reaction. The four of us understand the nod and the wink of playing live.”

As they played their third song from their set list entitled “To Be True” I watched the band jam in harmony from the steady beat of the drums keeping time, to the harmonic vocals of Riley H and Jill H.

Throughout the night, The band keep calling their recent song ” The One” while they all agreed that it was the highlight song of the set list entitled “Enterview” Joey S. and Robbie O. we’re very excited to show this track and I now understand why, it truly is, A great song.

I can only describe the second last song on their set list as perfection, as the guitar starts off strong and the bass running behind following the lead with a single note at first when a sudden quiet lull happens and you hear the drums being kicked into a powerful boom. The little melodies played by Riley H as he jumps back and forth between the microphone and his drummer. The strong lead of the bass powerfully being strummed by Robbie O. and the kick ass sound of the drums being kicked in by Joey S. is all accompanied by the energetic voice of Riley H as he screams out a loud “HEY!” It brings an energy to a crowd.

When the song ended, the band, my accomplice Mackenzie Morris and myself cheered in union as a sudden strike of energy lit up the room, it was simply a rocking experience.

As the night came to an end, they played their final track on the set list and the title was “Enterlude”. I can only describe the sound as a very fluid, jazzy, melodic tune that sort of makes you at peace with yourself.

As we departed for the night, I was asked to sign the diamond-shaped mural, A tradition amongst the band for all other artist who have visited the studio. It was a one of a kind experience to hang out with Aftersurf for a few hours and gain insight into their music.

Make sure to check them out live for yourself. Aftersurf will be playing at Creative Grounds Café on April 21st 2017 then again at Plan B In Moncton on April 26th 2017 and their final show for the month of April being at The Well Pub on April 29th 2017.

I would like to thank AfterSurf once again for the opportunity for this interview and for allowing Mac Morris and I to be apart of your musical experience.

As Always.

Regards.

The Modern Typewriter.

Lucas Durelle.

Who’s Modern Typewriter? And He Said What?

Often times, people will ask you what do you do for a living? In an age of labels and titles, it can be difficult to describe who you are as a person. I was recently asked what my style of writing is and truth be told, all I know is that I’m simply a writer.

I like capturing the stories of others and my own ideas on paper and simply releasing them into the world like the unboxing of flying doves at a wedding. I don’t have one area that I stick with or a niche.

My writing styles tend to differ from topic to topic, how I convey myself during an interview article is not how I would convey myself if I was writing a novel or a personal blog. Hell, how I convey myself socially isn’t how I portray myself in my writing.

I do know that the one thing I want to achieve in my writing is to give my readers just a moment of entertainment, a moment of reflection and maybe an eye-opening experience if I’m going to be posh.

In a previous blog, I introduced a new segment called Miramichi Spotlight which highlights local talent from the great city of Miramichi NB. The segment allows me to reach out to the community and provide an uncensored platform for artist to share their passion with the community. I find that when I meet these artist it’s not about questions and answers, it’s about the conversation, the message they are trying to get across.
Recently I had the opportunity to interview a couple of local musicians and not only did the artist enjoy the conversation but also enjoyed the opportunity to talk about their upcoming projects and being able to speak their mind without censorship or a planned agenda. it was simply a good conversation.

Over the last couple of days, I talked to one of my readers and the individual stated that even though they thought my content was good, they didn’t feel that I should include profanity in my writing, that it’s not professional. Let’s clarify this shall we?

I agree that the over use of profanity can damper the message that is trying to be conveyed, although I’m nowhere near a professional yet, I find profanity can be used as a tool to set the tone of the conversation while capturing the humanity of the interview or the article I am writing. Can you imagine a world without colorful language or a tone of voice?, sounds boring and something you would see on an old black and white propaganda films. It’s impossible to censor anyone in this day and age and why should we be so quick to censor? If we feel the need to add color to our language then it should be expressed freely.

I know, for myself, when I write, I like to capture each moment of excitement, joy, sadness, anger, frustration, happiness or attitude of the conversation to add to the scenery of the topic.

I believe creating a portrait with only text is achievable with enough detail and attention. If I find the use of profanity can capture the heat of the moment, I will not be reluctant to include it in any article
I like providing the opportunity of an uncensored platform for myself and artist to speak their mind and talk about what excites them and their passion which allows the reader to be apart of the conversation and seeing the person at their most comfortable.

If you take anything away from this piece, I hope it’s the fact that you as the reader, individually, shouldn’t be afraid to express yourself and vocalize what you want in life!

The one thing you have to remember, it’s your life, no one else’s. Convey yourself and your passion in any manner of your choosing. Opportunity isn’t going to find you, you have to find the opportunity.

So go ahead, swear a little, drink that fourth beer, talk to that pretty girl you’ve been too scared to talk to and simply enjoy who you are and be proud of what you’re accomplishing in life.

I’m going to end this article with a quote that I found to be profound.

“When the whole world tells you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world” — “No, YOU move.”

Thank you

Regards

The Modern Typewriter

Lucas Durelle

Miramichi Spotlight Featuring Dillon Ryan

Recently I sat down with local musician Dillon Ryan and had a conversation about his upcoming projects and his passion for music.

When I first pulled up to his residence, I noticed Dillon was standing on his porch, wearing a blue and black plaid shirt with a jacket slung over his shoulders. I pulled my car next to him and as he hopped in, he handed me a copy of his album.

“Can you listen to it when I’m not in the car, I still can’t listen to myself on my own album”

We both shared a laugh and I agreed to listen to the album after the interview was done.

We then proceeded to the nearest coffee shop to get our fix of caffeine and baked goods. we decided to drive downtown to the waterfront, parked the car and began the recorded conversation.

“My first album was a 5 piece EP that came out in 2014 titled Charlotte Street Haze, I recorded it on Charlotte Street in Fredericton”

Dillon Ryan left Miramichi, NB for Fredericton, NB for a few years to gain some experience in a bigger city and to experience a different atmosphere.

“I find that travelling and getting a sense of a city and getting into the mindset, can really inspire a creative mind because when I listen to my first record, I think that sounds like something that would come out of Fredericton”

While Dillon Ryan and I spoke, he mentioned his upcoming project that he is currently working on in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“I’m currently working on a new album up in Halifax and it really resonates with the Halifax music scene, It’s sorta like the culture and the environment and your surroundings sort of defines the production of your music.”

After Dillon mentioned that he is currently working on a new album in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I was curious as to whom he was working with.

“I’m currently working with a producer in Halifax named John Mullane. He plays in a very popular east coast band named In-Flight Safety and I’m a real big fan of his work and we have been working together, sort of bonding.

The old expression “creative minds think alike” comes into play when creative people get to work with each other and achieve a common goal creatively in a positive environment.

“It’s really exciting playing with a creative mind that’s on the same page as you but you both have slightly different influences”

Over the last 10 or 12 years, Dillon Ryan has been no stranger to a variety of instruments. He performs comfortably and professionally between guitar, drums and keyboard. All of which fueled his passion and creativity through the starting years of his music career.

“I’m sure certain people see me as a drummer from other bands but primarily I prefer guitar. I never see myself as a guitarist or a drummer, I like to see myself as a musician. I like to write whatever compliments the song I am working on”.

Dillon Ryan stated that his favorite guitar has to be his Rickenbacker 330 and he referenced that his influences for that specific guitar would be Johnny Marr, Roger Mcguinn and John Squire who all used the same guitar during some of their recordings.

“I find I use a lot more guitars that are associated with complimentary and modest guitar playing. I like making melodic guitar parts that compliments the context of the song.”

Dillon Ryan had mention Johnny Marr several times during our interview and he was lucky enough to do the one thing that all of us have only dreamed about. Dillon Ryan met his idol Johnny Marr.

“I met him after a concert in Toronto and he’s really been an inspiration on me, not just musically but how to conduct yourself on stage and just overall personality wise. A lot of musicians develop this massive ego but when I met him, he couldn’t be a nicer guy”.

Many times you will notice in the media that some artist believe they came to stardom naturally, that they did it all on their own without the help of fans or anyone else. Most people know that a musician without its fans support, may never fly higher with their career as an artist.

“The reason people grow in this industry is the fraternity of people who make it grow and the people that are buying records. The people that are going to the show and if you can’t be grateful for the people that made you what you are, then that’s kind of fucked up”.

Whether you are just starting out as a musician or you are a seasoned pro, every musician dreams of landing their first gig.

The first time performing on stage as the hot lights shine down on you and the silence covers the room as they anticipate your show, the first moment when you strike that E chord and nod off to your drummer is the most thrilling moment a musician can experience.

“When your first starting out, trying to get your name out there, your messaging anywhere you could possibly play and there’s some places that are not interested in what you play and there is places that’s like”, “yeah we will book you in for this date” But now, certainly in New Brunswick, there’s a good handful of places that know what I do, respect what I do and they just keep me in the rotation of things. I don’t take that for granted what so ever.

To have such an established feeling in the province of New Brunswick, I asked if he is interested in performing outside our province.

“When my new record comes out, I’m actually doing some dates in Nova Scotia, Pei, and Quebec.

The city of Miramichi has always been very proud of its heritage and its local artist and with the dominating music genre being Country, Folk and Blues. I asked Dillon if he found it difficult to resonate his style of music with the community.

“You know, I would never be the kind of artist who tailors my music or my set list to what city I’m playing in. I’ve played everywhere in Miramichi and I know which places are responsive for what I do and play at”.

“I try and write music that’s different but also accessible to people. I love pop melodies like the Beatles but I also like this music that’s a bit more other worldly, so it’s my natural instinct to unify those two things and make it a bit more like abstract pop”.

Dillon Ryan mentioned that David Bowie was a very big influence in his early career and is still a constant to this day.

David Bowie passed away on January 10, 2016 after a 18 month battle with cancer. The world was shocked and sad to see not only a brilliant musician pass away but an icon too musicians everywhere.

“I woke up early that morning and I had opened up my phone and it said four new messages and I had different friends telling me about it, It was a very profound moment”.

“I was very emotional about it”.

After the passing of one of Dillon Ryan’s biggest influences, he recorded a tribute song with local artist James McClafferty. The song of choice was David Bowie popular hit of 1983 “Let’s Dance”

Musicians will often take the opportunity to strike at a subject they don’t agree with and use their music as a platform to publicly announce it and for Dillon Ryan’s new album, he has included a special track that does just that.

Our conversation moved onto a small local media station and how he perceives it and he felt inspired to write the track entitled “In The lies Between” I asked him what the significance of that track was and he stated.

“In the lies between is a play on words for in the lines between. it’s about small town journalism and how coming from a small town, we should be very communal and out to help each other but iinstead this local media is more about adding comedic value to people’s imperfections.

Dillon Ryan went on to express his disinterest in that particular news outlet even though he was not personally targeted in any article that was published, He did state that he personally knew people and heard of people who were publicly humiliated.

“It’s a small town outlet for bullying because someone can do such a small crime and the administration of that site will go on someone’s Facebook, find the most unflattering photo of them and add a comedic headline. They take pride in publicly humiliating the people of this city. That’s faux journalism.”

After a couple of sips of coffee, we steered our conversation back on track to the topic of music. Dillon Ryan mentioned that he was nominated for an award and even though he did not win, he found it was a nice feeling.

“You take award type things for what they are, it’s nice but some of my favorite bands never got any type of award. It’s just a committee of thirty people who give their opinion, it’s not the end all of be all.”

Often times most creative people are scared of public opinion and are afraid of negative criticism.

When you finally muster the courage to show the world your work whether you’re writing poetry, an article, a song or creating the next Mona Lisa painting. You are opening up a part of you and showing the world your passion, which can leave you vulnerable and open to criticism. Fortunately as every artist knows, the creation of your passion is for yourself and yourself only and if other people like what you created, well that’s a bonus.

“In the start, you’re a bit more precious and bit more insecure and when someone says you got a really good voice but you got to work on your confidence, your first instinct is to tell them to fuck off but that’s still your audience and if they didn’t think you had any promise, they would have said anything to you in the first place.”

“There’s certain people I trust their opinion but i have to understand that there’s certain people that have different taste but no I never get offended at someone criticism because at the end of the day, you can’t force someone to like something.”

I asked Dillon Ryan if he had any words of encouragement for fresh artist who are just starting out, who are too scared to jump into the deep end of the proverbial pool.

He sat in silence as he contemplated the idea, his eye’s shifted to the floor, he took a sip of his coffee and let out a quick sigh.

“I don’t know, you have to accept that; it’s for yourself first, then I don’t think there’s anything to be ultimately scared of, whether your successful or unsuccessful in this business is inconsequential”.

“As long as your successful and true to yourself, that’s more important”.

“I think that if you’re expecting anything as far as validation from others, your expecting to much”.

We finished the interview with a drive home and just talking as two old friends who haven’t seen each other in a very long time.

I met Dillon Ryan over 10 years ago when we were just starting out as frustrated teenagers who were pissed at the world, not knowing where the road of life will take us.

We talked about our passions and reminisced of old times. As I drove over the countless potholes on the road, We talked about the one great thing about living in a small town, it’s the community and how it supports its own people.

“I think that coming from a smaller city, makes you a little naive and makes you dream a bit bigger”.

“I think if I grew up in a much bigger city like Moncton or Halifax, I wouldn’t have as much hope for my dreams because coming from a small town city, it’s easy to dig out what you want to the people of your city”.

“I feel if I tried to do what I’m doing now in a bigger city, I would have been lost in the shuffle”.

As I pulled into Dillon Ryan residence, I thanked him for his time and he told me to give his album a listen and I did just that.

I cracked the seal. Opened the cover and played the album.

As I drove away, The sound of the first track “out of touch” echoed throughout the car. I was pleased.

Thank you.

Regards.

The Modern Typewriter.

Lucas Durelle.

New Segment: Miramichi Spotlight

I’ve recently decided to expand on my blog to include a section called “Miramichi Spotlight” where I write articles and post interviews with the local talent in the community to help fuel their exposure.

It’s an area that I’ve been contemplating with for quite sometime and I’m finally ready to execute the idea.

It would be a good opportunity to help expand my own writing skills as I have never interviewed anyone before.

I am very excited to enter this field and look forward to interviewing many local artist and possibly small business owners who contribute to this great community.

If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations on who should be featured on Miramichi Spotlight, feel free to email me or leave a comment.

Thank you

Regards The Modern Typewriter Luke