What are your names?
Dan, Matt, Joseph and Nick
What is the bands name?
Bend Sinister
How did you come up with the bands name?
It comes from the Vladamir Nabakov Novel titled (You guessed it) Bend Sinister
What is your genre of music?
Rock N Roll with Synth Pop sensibility
Give us a little bio about you as a band and individuals.
It’s a common thing to hear after touring in a band for 12 years. Your friends and family start saying “Man, you must have some crazy stories, you should write a book!” And yeah, I guess it’s true. 12 years in vans, airplanes and busses, travelling different places every night, you get a few stories. But what are the old battered clichés that are worth uncovering and telling again? Is it the bleary-eyed lobby calls on a gruelling US fly in tour? The time we ate McMuffins with the guitar player from Deep Purple? The 16 hour haul across the Canadian shield in a van with a broken muffler? Or maybe it’s the 3 am fist fight in a New York hotel room fueled by too much booze and not nearly enough sleep?
Maybe it’s getting invited to play a private show for John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl and shaking hands with the rocknroll elite. Maybe it’s watching the sun rise over Paris from the window of the tour bus. Maybe it’s the feeling of hearing an amplifier ignite through festival speakers and the realization that for the next hour; you’re the loudest thing for miles around. That one never gets old.
Yeah, there are a lot of stories. But the ones that count have already been recorded. They’re in the 7 albums that Bend Sinister has released. The stories are woven within the 13 days spent in San Diego recording Animals, in the Toronto rehearsal space where the band pieced together Small Fame. The stories are in the blissed-out youth that was Through the Broken City and Stories of Lovers, Tales of Brothers.
The stories that matter are pressed in wax. They live in the hearts of a dedicated cult fan base, in the couple from Alberta who followed the band for a week on a Canadian tour for their wedding anniversary, in the lungs of the kids in Munich screaming out for a song that they had to get from an import CD. The story lives in the fan who bought a flight from Arizona to see the band’s first show in LA. It’s been told through hundreds of shows in a dozen countries, to people who want to keep hearing it over and over again.
It’s a rough thing playing in a band, but there are still more stories to tell, and we’re not finished yet. We’ve been through the grinder. Agents, labels, managers, crazy highs and pummeling lows. But there has always been the audience. We’re writing this to YOU. The listener, the concert ticket buyer, the fan that has kept the band alive. We have so many more stories to tell.
So this is our next chapter, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve signed to Cordova Bay Records and have two more records ready to put out. So dust off your record player, turn the volume up loud and come see us on the road.
What made you go in to music?
Rock N Roll made us do it!!
Are you a signed?
Yup, we are signed with the lovely Cordova Bay Records
You have released your new single ‘ Heard It All Before’ ,tell us about about the song.
It’s a tale as old as time! Living life is always a beautiful challenge, everyone has their demons knocking at their door, and Heard it All Before follows that internal monologue struggling with the constant conversation in your head, trying to find a way out, looking for answers, and attempting to be better every day.
What was the writing process like?
A melding pot of passionate ideas delicately put together and baked until perfection!
It’s always a fun and exciting challenge to write; bouncing a ton of ideas around, and suiting the songs the best we can, while still keeping everyone’s passion in the room!
What was the recording process like?
We self produced this record, working with some talented engineers to get all the tones and sounds we were looking for, putting it all down on Tape.
Our recording process has always been pretty classic, we like to get those raw, timeless tones, and try to capture our live sound everytime we hit record, while not wasting a ton of time in the process.
What was the inspiration behind the single.
The inspiration started with a riff, that blossomed into chorus, which grew into a song. But lyrically the inspiration came from the struggles we all face, from battling inner demons, to facing them head on, finding the light at the end of the tunnel.
You are set to release a new album soon, can you give us some spoilers of what to expect?
Spoiler Alert: THIS RECORD KICKS ASS! We’ve got prog delights, pop gems, power ballads, foot stompers and even some tropical vibes!
If I did that, I’d have to tell you all the tracks that aren’t released yet 😉
Here’s two words to describe all of them: TURBO RAD!
You may also some live shows coming up, where are you thinking of going?
Right now the plan is to tour Canada in support of our upcoming record, and hopefully get down to States and Europe by Fall!
What can we expect from the shows, will you be having support at each shows?
You can expect a high energy, Rock N Roll, sweaty dance party every show!
What else can we expect from you this year?
World Domination?
Do you have any collaborations coming up with any up coming artists?
No plans, but we are always down for a good Collab!
Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you? and who would they have to contact?
Totally. Contact us directly on any of our socials @Bend_Sinister or bendsinisterband@gmail.com
We kind of have to, if we are going to play in a bad ass Rock N Roll band 😉
Who are your influences?
Everything from Queen, Supertramp, Elton John, to Garth Brooks, Nick Cave and Madonna.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
I’m weirdly always inspired to write a song, it doesn’t take much to get me in writing mode!
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
On the Moon drinking Kombucha with Matthew Mcconaughey.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
We all have our own lives outside of music, and keep busy with side business’, hobbies, and hot tubs!
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more into the music scene?
There wasn’t that ONE song that made me say, ‘Damn, I gotta Rock’, but I imagine for all of us, it was a moment of actually playing a gig, or with friends, that told us, ‘Hey…… maybe…. I Gotta Rock’.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Don’t eat yellow snow.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Make great art, or go be a dentist.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
“You gotta Rock Shit Hot”
Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
My hometown is Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and you must go check out Bessborough Hotel and walk down by the river. Or, go to Buds and Broadway, have some beers and check out some Blues.
Your coming off tour;
1/ Where do you go first?
Bed.
2/ Who do you see first?
My Dog.
3What do you eat first?
Sushi.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Tune, Plug In, Turn on Amp, Turn up Volume, Rock Shit Hot.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
You know it!
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Website
