Perscription for protest

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Q: What has the last year been like for Prescription For Protest ?
Has your sound changed?
A: This past year for Prescription For Protest has been, in a nutshell, intense. We've play the most shows to date, wrote and recorded our frst EP, spent alot of time in repulsing hotel rooms, and have had our personal lives ripped apart and amiturily stitched back togeather. Our lives have changed completely in the last year, and our sound and song writting has changed to reflecte that growth. There are epic times of change in everyones life; a time when your perception of reality feels like nothing more then a naive child-like point of view, and it is harshly exchanged for a more experienced persective, which will one day be turned upside down in exchanged for yet another more experienced view. For us, this year has been one of those times.

Q: What makes Prescription For Protest different than other bands?
A: - We concentrate on solid honest song writting, while having an intense and energetic live show to back it up. We feel that both the lyrical and musical content of our songs is very important. They work together to get out pure emotion, a message, and a story. There isn't one song on Remebering August that is about nothing. We're not into filler. Every song needs a purpose for being. We take advantage of many different styles of music, giving us a unique sound and style of writting. There seems to be less and less bands caring about content apposed to catchyness. A good artist is able to have both, we strive for that.

Q: Have you changed much as a group or personally?

A: Jay - We have been through so much personaly and as a band in the last year and a half, which has made us extremely tight as a band and as friends. The best way to put it is that a god-awful summer, homelessness, and a few epic break-ups can change the world.

Q: What has been the biggest obstacle?
A: Jay - The biggest obstacle we have to deal with are the people that tell you to quit. There are so many negative people out there that try to put down anyone who wants to be something more then a gas attendent. People look down on you when your in a band, as if you're unintelligent and should be spending your time slaving away at construction sites. Or the college kids that think they are a step above your intellect because you're not in school. Just dealing with plain ignorance is an everyday struggle.

Q: What motivates Prescription For Protest ?
A: - A love of art and expression. The simple fact that we could not invision ourselves to be anything else but musicans. Proving anyone who has ever said we suck wrong. After been through alot of hard times, i.e. being poor and and sometimes homeless. We have no shortage of experiences to drive us forward.

Q: Of your original music, who comes up with it? What’s the process like?
A: Justin - Jay comes up with the basics of the songs. He writes the lyrics and most melody lines, then we expand on it as a band. Each person offering their thoughts and persecptives on the songs.

Q: What do you think of the North Bay scene?
A: Jay - The North Bay scene is one of the most fickle scenes around. Most of the kids here in the scene are very much into the flavour of the week... or rather the anti-flavour. Whatever is the least popular at the time is what they seem to thrive on. It's ironic, since most of them claim to be non-conformists; they have fallen neatly into the anti-Emo era. In my opinion they are slightly misinformed since I once heard someone call Alexisonfire and Emo band. So if you're not a Lamb of God metal band, or you're not intense techno your basicaly an Emo band. Being that we are a post-hardcore-type-punk band we dont realy fit into the scene here to say the least. But we have managed to build a solid fan base apart from your typical scensters, and we love to play to the crowds we get out.

Q: What are the bands future plans?
A: - We are setting off on a Canadian & US tour; kicking it off with our CD release party October 19th. We're hitting Europe in 2008. We basicaly plan to spend the winter doing what we love to do, playing as many shows as we possible can. After that it's back into the studio in May to record our follow up to Remembering August.

Q: Do you have any merch available?
A: Jeff - There is a whole line of merch available. Guys & girls t's, sweaters, tank tops, pins, even girls underwear.

Q: Where can people go to listen to you?
A: Jeff - Anyone interested in seeing us can check out our myspace, www.myspace.com/prescriptionforprotest for up coming tour dates.

Q: How did you get into music?
A: Jay - I've always had a love for music. I used to take my dad's old guitar out from under his bed and just strum random noise. I realy got into it around grade nine though. It was music or film making. I went for music.
A: Jeff - I just got eased into it, really. My dad used to play music so we had been introduced to it early on, but I didnt take an interest in it until I was about 18.
A; Justin - I've always felt like I was born into music, not even knowing what it was. My uncle used to tour in a couple of bands, and my mom has some serious singing chops, so I just thought it was normal to like music. I guess it was only natural that when the time came to seriously consider a post-secondary education, I thought persuing a music career would be a better idea.

Q: How did you guys meet? How did the band/you get started?
A: Jay - I had known Justin for years; we went to high-school together. But it was when I heard he played guitar that we realy talked. At the time he played guitar, but I had other plans for him. Sometimes when looking for a bass player you have to use a little strategy. I invited him over showed him how I played and we talked about ideas for bands. I basicaly talked him into becoming a bass player. Then he played some keys and I thought 'jackpot'. He's lived with me ever since.
A: Justin - Yeah, I remember getting conned into trading six strings for four, but I'll never regret it. Living and touring with these guys is rediculously fun. I met Jay and Jeff years ago in elementary school, and I remember thinking they were crazy. They'd been transfered to my school because kids played tag with knives at their last school at the time, so I kinda just stayed out of their way, hahaha. We met up in high-school again, and once we started talking about music, it all started to come together pretty fast.

Q: Where did the name come from?
A: - The band was sitting around writting one day and Justin came out with this lyric "Here's a prescrition for your protest". The lyric was about all the people telling us to go get real jobs and become pop-collared college boys. Looking at the line 'Prescription For Protest' seemed to pop out. We felt it embodied the emotion we wanted in a band name. From then on we were known as Prescription for Protest.

Q: How would you describe your sound?
A: - Noting that we hate puting bands into neat little boxes, our sound is an edgy post-hardcore mix of punk and hard rock. It's a mix of sing/scream vocals. Dramatic lead vocals are pushed by dynamic and full sounding backing vocals. Well thought out bass melodies enforce and compliment the mood and feeling of the songs. The drums bring out the raw emotion, while the guitar and vocals tell the story.

Q: What do you want people to remember after going to see you perform live?
A: Jay - We want them to walk away having forgotten the world around them exists.

Q: What inspires The Band/you to write your music?
A: Jay - I writte when the mood hits me. Its basicaly a snap-shot in time of how I felt about life at a particular moment. Its difficult to describe what inspires my writting because its seldom the same influence twice. And if it is then its from a differenet persective that I've found myself in. It helps me deal with life. Hopefully people can relate to my obsucre and sometimes extreme ideas and feelings. Maybe it can help them deal with it as well. But we are constantly writting new matterial. Even though we have just recorded our ep we have more then enough songs for two more eps, and in some cases its better then the stuff on the ep.

Q: What's the most fun about touring, what places have you enjoyed the most?
A: Jay - The most fun about touring is going to towns with kids that love to see bands. Some cities are more into music then others, and when you hit a place that really enjoys good bands, there's no better place in the world to be. Besides our hometown, we've enjoyed every place we have played.

Q: All the good bands out of Canada, name the best five?
A: Jay - Billy Talent, The Cancer Bats, Alexisonfire, Tom Cochrane, Metric.
A: Justin - Honourable mention goes to Nickleback. They're busy boys.

Q: If you could, describe what it feels like to perform on stage ?
A: Justin - You know when you're on a rollercoaster, one that seriously scares you to the core, and you reach a point somewhere in the middle of the ride where you just aren't scared anymore? It's that point when you love it to death all of a sudden and all you feel is excitment, andrenaline, awe and wonder of what you're doing and what's going on around you... that's what it feels like. Like some sort of euphoria where nothing even remotely negative exists. It's like... the sexiest part of one of those sex novels with the female protagonist where she has the best orgasm of her life with someone she doesn't know, but he's the most amazing lovemaker in the world. That's the experience I share on stage with the crowd.

Q: Any final thoughts?
A: Justin - I have the best job in the world!
A: Jeff - Live to Live, Live to Drum.

photo by Shawn Duffin