(Photo courtesy of Joel Pilotte)
SFS consists of:
Don Tuer - Vocals | Sam Sheppard - Drums | Josh McGregor - Bass | Jeff Folkes - Guitar | James McLeod - Guitar/Vocals
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Well, currently a cat is sitting on my lap playin’ hussy to try and get some attention. Cats always want attention. What is their deal? As for the rest of the guys, most likely living the dream of sweaty summer work.
Let's start with the basics for people just getting to know you guys. What is SFS's reason for rockin? How did the group come about to form what you are now? How did you guys end up with the band name?
Our ORIGINAL reason for getting together was to try and create a cosmic rip in time and space, simply through rocking, similar to what might happen if you crossed the streams with a Proton Pack (that’s Ghostbusters if you weren’t aware), but then we found out none of us are Peter Venkman, so we started making music we all enjoyed playing to mend our saddened scientific hearts.
Jeff, Sam and I were a part of a band before and upon that project’s closure, we were open to a new direction with new possibilities. I have known Josh for years and played in groups with him before so we approached him for the bass position, and he accepted. Jeff and I met Don at a bar one night and we got into conversation about music and past bands that Don had known, and after plenty of slurry juice, we discovered he was a music man as well. After a few jams together we realized things felt right so we locked it in. The band name is somewhat of a play on the unknown. ‘Satellites’ doesn’t have to mean metal objects orbiting a planet; it can stand for many wondrous things.
London music scene been good to you guys? Do you feel you've been getting good reception from your hometown?
London has always been the backbone of our band. We started up here a couple years ago with support from so many people and growing. Some might think it the contrary, but it is a truly humbling experience when people react positively to something you create. It’s important to all of us to never forget how things start and who is there to help you start it. London will always be our Bat Cave.
How'd you guys manage to grab a support spot for the Architects Show? You guys fans of any of the others bands on the bill? (I'm personally a huge fan of the new Architects album, Structures will be a beast of a band as well.)
I can tell you personally that I was more than excited to get offered the spot. Architects are one of our favourite bands all around. We are all fans of the bands playing so to be added to such a line up is going to be a great experience. Our hat must be tipped to Brandon Eedy of Summercamp Productions here in London for getting us the show. He thinks we’d be a good fit, and we can’t help but concur :).
(Photo courtesy of Christina Kuefner)
I see you have also thrown your support behind Assassinate The Following last show. It must seem like a bummer to see fellow SW Ontario acts calling it quits.
You know, it’s always a bummer when good people you’ve met along the way decide to fold things up. ATF was composed of dedicated people who loved their craft and that came out in their music. However, It’s always good to remember that there’s a bright side to pretty much everything, and the gentlemen in ATF now get to venture into new endeavours that might tantalize your ear buds even further.
Does something like this (ATF calling it quits) give you guys any fuel for the fire to keep writing, touring, playing, etc?
One thing that happens when another band decides to split is a sort of brief mourning period, and then you’re thankful for what you have, so it kind of does that yeah. Just another way of staying positive.
How was Warped Tour this year? Did you guys feel you got a good amount of exposure from hitting up a massive tour like that?
Warped Tour was incredible. We had the opportunity to play in a location with lots of heavy traffic and I find that when people are in the open just walking by, they are actually interested in stopping for a listen. We were super happy with our crowd and hope people spread the word so we can come back next year.
What bands were you looking forward to seeing at Warped Tour?
Too many groups to list haha. I mean you have so many amazing bands playing in one spot and how does your brain not explode? You have to appreciate bands like The Ghost Inside and Every Time I Die for persevering through the rain and stage closures to still play at the end of the night and rip your socks off. Then you have bands like Taking Back Sunday, who instantly teleport you to your youth. Overall a great day!
Being that the touring schedules seem to be building up, does family and friends find it hard that you guys can be away from home for so long?
It’s always tough leaving your pals and family for a stint on the road, but their support is what allows us to do what we love doing. It can be a struggle, but it makes it even sweeter to come home to.
(Photo courtesy of SFS Facebook)
When finishing a show all exhausted and hungry as hell, what's the best after show grub?
Sam and I are huge fans of Taco Bell to start. Yeah I know what you’re thinking, but I also know that deep down inside you want a cheesy gordita crunch with a fries supreme and Dr. Pepper sliding down your gullet as you read this, so don’t be judgin’. Other great ways to fill the pie hole include pizza, or pizza with a beer.
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OK, so let's talk songs. Where is the inspiration for your lyrics coming from?
Most of our lyrics loosely come from things that are going on in our lives. It’s definitely a main source of inspiration to take things you are experiencing and turn them into something you can release through song. On the other hand, we also like to create stories that aren’t based on anything, which is fun because then the possibilities are endless.
"...lyrically this EP is more personal, more abrasive, aggressive, and is all about the demons and hardships we face every day."
Can you site any specific songs where personal situations formed into a track?
There’s a sort of slow jam we wrote for this record that was essentially a manifestation of frustration in oneself. Sometimes we get in a funk where we don’t have motivation to do anything progressive for ourselves and this song was our way of flushing those emotions into something tangible that maybe others can relate to.
Where did the name "Hellhounds" come for the 6 track EP?
Hellhounds sort of came together as we started to realize that the EP had somewhat of a theme to it. We felt the songs had sort of an “inner demons” mentality, so after playing around with a few different ways to word it, we decided on ‘Hellhounds’.
Can we get any inside info into who will be featured as guest vocalists?
We have a few pals that leant their sweet throats to our efforts on this record. Drew Harwood, Adam and Chris Lambert from Farewell to Freeway, and Johl Fendley from Baptized in Blood were kind enough to come into the studio for some hangs and guest vocals. All of which turned out great so we’re excited for you to hear.
Where did you guys take care of the recording process?
We went to our trusty magic man Siegfried Meier at Beach Road Studios to track this record. We love his laid back environment and secluded atmosphere. It makes for a great creative process, not to mention the man can weave engineering spells you wouldn’t believe.
(Photo courtesy of SFS Facebook)
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Every band always gets haters. How does SFS deal with trollers and shit disturbers you see online more often than none?
Haha trollers… To be honest, no matter what you do in life, someone is going to feel differently about it. People are entitled to like whatever they like about a band, or not so. Some people like to voice that opinion more than others, which they are also free to do, but we don’t pay any attention to negative things people might say. Negativity gets you nowhere fast.
What's your favourite track from the SFS EP thus far and why?
Oh dear, I’d have to say this fast-paced track we have on the record always gets the whole band’s blood flowing. It just has a good energy right from the start which we enjoy.
Ahhh, I see. Not giving away any secrets about the EP are we. OK, so what's one goal your band wants to reach but hasn't attained it yet?
I think a huge milestone in our band would be obtaining show dates all over our neighbours down in the U.S. of America. Being a band from Canada, a tour in the U.S. always seems to be that sweet pot of gold at the end of the rainbow you’ve been kidnapping leprechauns all your life to try and pluck for yourself.
(Photo courtesy of SFS Facebook)
One all-time favourite band you would like to play a show/tour with?
I think collectively as a band we wish we could do a tour with Architects ironically enough. To be able to play this show with them is a bit of a surreal situation.
Words of wisdom to share to inspiring musicians/bands?
All I can say is treat people you meet and play in front of with respect and kindness, and they’ll come again. Also, don’t be one of those bands that bring their friends out to a show, play their set, and then leave before the next band can even set up. When you are involved in the scene, you’re involved. Stay a while and converse with people and other bands especially. You’ll never know the awesome people you might one day call good friends unless you stick around.
One musician you would like guest on a SFS track?
I personally think Rody Walker from Protest the Hero would be amazing on an SFS track. His voice has to be one of the strongest, most unique voices of our generation and would improve any track really. Now it’s up to all of you to spam him until he’d be willing to do it!
Favourite album of 2012 thus far (no bias! haha)?
In all honesty, Architects’ “Daybreakers” album that dropped this year has been on repeat in my car stereo since its release, along with the new The Ghost Inside album. If you don’t have either of these, it looks like you have a music store to hit up after this paragraph. They still have music stores right?
For more info on these guys, be sure to check em at any of the following official links. Drop a comment, leave some words of encouragement or just simply say hi. I'm sure these guys would appreciate it, as most musicians would Keep up the great work guys!
- Tumblr: searchforsats.tumblr.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/searchingforsatellitesmusic
- Bandcamp: searchingforsatellites.bandcamp.com
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/searchforsats
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/searching4satellites
- Lyrics: www.plyrics.com/s/searchingforsatellites.html
- MySpace: www.myspace.com/searchingsatellites
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