After some time away from the blog due to exams and such, I'm back with a new interview. This time Comeback Kid vocalist Andrew Neufeld chose to dedicate his time to answer a handful of questions I'd cooked up - mind that the interview questions were made before Victory launched pre-orders for Symptoms + Cures.
I asked Andrew some questions about the new record, his views on hardcore and what brought him to where he is music-wise. Here's his 2 cents...
So Andrew, how are things going with your new record - recording, artwork and such?
Everything is going good. We are now just coming to the end of some down-time (touring-wise). The new album is done. It's called Symptoms + Cures and it's coming out on August 31. We finally finished the artwork and getting packaging together. It's been a lot of work recording and post-recording but we have it ready and we're excited to get back on the road and play around the world.
How's the process been so far - had any problems or set-backs?
We had to push mixing back about a month or so because we couldn't get finished in time. We had a tour with Set Your Goals in the USA and couldn't get everything done in time, so we decided to come back and mix the album after the tour. I think it was a smart move because it allowed us more time to be prepared.
Can you unveil any details about the new record?
Symptoms + Cures is our 4th full-length. We recorded it in Toronto, Canada with Eric Ratz ad Kenny Luong. Our friends in Cancer Bats recommended them to us. We just kind of wanted a switch in studios, since our last two albums were with The Blasting Room in Colorado. It was cool for CBK to work with some fresh ears.
If the vulnerability of comparison allows us: How do you see the new record compared to your previous releases?
Musically, I feel like it's a bit of a throwback to our earlier material, but it's much more heavy and urgent vocals. More singalongs, and more of a punk twist to it. We wanted to have the album sound tight but raw, and have it screaming through the speakers as opposed to the clean sound you hear nowadays.
Please elaborate on what you want to do with the record musically?
This is our take on the hardcore/punk we want to play. We wanted to do some new things and expand with our genre. We wanted to write an album that would mostly translate live. There are some fun beer-spilling-over-the-red-cups-singalong songs, and then there are some more in your face hardcore songs.
Symptoms + Cures is being released through Victory Records just like your two previous records. A lot of bands have had their beef with Victory Records, but maybe that list of bands does not include you?
Every band/label that have been together for a few years have issues. It's a relationship like any other (business/personal), we have ups and downs. What I will say is that Victory has been so supportive of us as of late and really getting behind this record. They are really good to deal with and I'm in contact with them most days. We hope that they are as excited about our new album as we are.
You guys have been touring a lot. I remember me and a friend went to Hamburg, Germany to see you with Defeater. We ended up lost there because apparently the venue used to be on another location. So we did not attend anything (as our plan B, Have Heart - playing in Hamburg the same day, ended an hour before we got there)... Are you guys gonna make up for this any time soon?
Yes, we will be in Germany for Area 4/Highfield Festival. It's crazy that we're playing alongside Blink 182/Queens Of The Stone Age/Etc. so it will be an experience. We are coming back for a full European tour with Parkway Drive, Bleeding Through, Your Demise, etc. (red. see tour-dates here)
How did you get into hardcore? What was the scene like when you were new, and which bands made an impression on you?
I got into hardcore through the local scene in Winnipeg. I grew up listening more to skate punk in the 90's. Propagandhi was probably my first punk band, and then I would listen to NOFX, Lagwagon, etc. In the small city Winnipeg where we grew up, when I went to shows it was punk, oi, hardcore and metal bands all playing together. So there would be HC kids, punks, skins all circlepitting for all the different bands. Genres at shows weren't so separated then. So when I was about 14 after liking the Fat Wreck style stuff, I was introduced to Earth Crisis, Strife, Harvest (who were a new band in my area), Warzone, Lifetime, and Gorilla Biscuits. I was introduced to HC as a whole big diverse music scene, and that's why our influences are all over the place. We have a traditional HC base, but adding new elements to that.
How do you see the hardcore scene today? Is there anything that bugs you or fascinates you?
I love that HC is opening up in different parts of world, like SE Asia, South America, (we're actually touring South America with Sick Of It All in a few months - so excited!), and just a lot of places we've started to go to with strong local scenes, and now bands are able to tour these places. It blows my mind and we want to take advantage of these opportunities.
Pick 1 band from the 80s era - Sick Of It All/U2 haha
Pick 1 band from the 90s era - Propagandhi/Madball/Nirvana
Pick 1 band from the 2000s era - Twilight Singers/Mew
Pick 1 current band - Alberta Cross is kicking my ass right now.
Pick 1 record you'd kill to own - I don't have a home so I'd have nowhere but my storage unit to put my vinyl haha.
Pick 1 reunion show you'd kill to attend if it were to happen - Chain Of Strength!
Any last comments?
Thanks for the interview!
Pre-orders for Symptoms + Cures are up at the Victory Webstore now - go grab it!
That's it. Next interview will be posted in mid-August.
Yours truely,
//Rune
