Heavy Static is a band on a mission. And it plans to break all the rules to achieve it.
These love punk saboteurs formed in late 2013 and immediately took its hometown of Toronto hostage. Heavy Static came together not out of boredom, but utter necessity – needing to show the world that true rock bands still exist.
The three-piece believes in the ’70s way of approaching rock and roll: turning the volume up to 11, playing hard, melting a few faces with guitar solos, and looking bloody good while doing it. Influenced by ’80s campy horror movies, WWII, The Cure, Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie, and The Clash, Heavy Static is proof that catchy guitar riffs and infectious choruses aren’t a thing of the past.
The band – featuring Christian Patrick (lead vox/guitar), David Vasey (bass/backing vox), and James Young “Gun” (drums/backing vox) – released its debut EP Face The Night in May 2015 amid much curiosity from fans who’d been intrigued by its effervescent, energetic, and somewhat mysterious live shows (in which the band’s individual identities are somewhat obscured).
Wear a gas mask, because Heavy Static is the next epidemic.
In this interview, we discuss influences, the newest project, and more.
Full Q&A, links, and streams below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
Rock and roll, punk and heavy metal is what I grew up with. My older brother was a metal head so all the records he had consisted of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, etc. As I got older and started to discover music on my own, I veered towards British bands like The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode and The Cult. Guitar music has always been in my blood. Same goes with our bassist Dave (Vasey). James Young, our dummer, also has an affinity for guitar-based music. So, it’s only natural our sound would reflect that. I’ve tried writin electro/synth-based songs, but they always end up with too much guitars. Can’t fight what you are, I suppose.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
As Heavy Static, we’ve been creating music for about two years. We released our debut EP, “Face The Night” last year and just released our sophomore EP “Here Comes The Fear” a couple weeks ago. We’re still quite a young band with plenty of music left in us!
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
The biggest influence for me in terms of playing guitar has been James Dean Bradfield from the Manic Street Preachers. Just a genius on the guitar. I doubt I’ll ever reach his level, but he’s a source of inspiration because his songwriting has never become stale. As far as what motivates me to keep going; I’d say passion is the No. 1 thing a musician needs. Anyone can play an instrument, but it takes passion to see it through. There are probably more let-downs as a musician than good times, so you need passion to help overcome all the bullshit that comes along with being in a band.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
With our new EP, Here Comes The Fear, my main focus was broadening Heavy Static’s sound. I wanted to add more of a contemporary sound to the ’70s-infused guitar licks. “Face The Night” was a nice introduction; like a punch in the face saying “here we are!” The new EP is more of a “let’s hang out and chill now that we’re getting to know each other.” It’s the sound of an ever-evolving band. We could have done another heavy-set EP/album, but why write the same songs twice? I’ll never understand what bands like AC/DC get out of recording the same album over and over again.
What was the last song you listened to?
The last thing I listened to was a song called “Curse Curse” by James. They are a classic British band who have been around since the late ’80s; one of the rare bands who are still releasing music that is relevant.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Cassette tapes! That’s what I grew up with and it’s how I listened to music in the car whenever we were driving around. I always loved that sound that plays at the beginning of each side of a cassette tape. It’s as comforting as chicken soup.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I’m all about Spotify as a consumer because everything is pretty much at your fingertips music-wise. As a band, Spotify gets our music out to anyone who may or may not be looking for it. It’s a good platform for bands who’ve always struggled to have their music heard. That being said, Spotify compensates musicians minimally. But it is what it is.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
When I was younger, there weren’t a lot of bands in Toronto. Now, everyone I meet is doing music on some level. Technology has been really good at fooling people into believing they are good musicians. So on that level, I think the simple over-saturation of bands in Toronto makes it difficult to stand out from the crowd. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack in being noticed and heard. The same goes for playing shows. Toronto is a hard market to break, especially if you’re a local band. There are so many shows going on at any given night of the week that people are spoiled in terms of entertainment, so if you’re a lesser-known name people don’t really care. Also, clubs in Toronto act like they are doing bands a favour by letting them play. That attitude sucks because as performers we aren’t respected. I noticed now that clubs have started the practice of having bands pay for sound people for the show. That’s weird to me. The sound person is an employee of the club. Why the fuck are we on the hook for your employee? Can you imagine going to a restaurant and the restaurant tells you to pay the chef after you’ve eaten your food? It’s ridiculous.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
We used to play a lot more, but over the last year we’ve taken it down a notch to concentrate on writing music.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
The best place to find our music is on Soundcloud – www.soundcloud.com/heavystatic
You can also listen to all our music, watch our videos and et up to date news at www.theheavystatic.com
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Buy our music on iTunes!
