The Void: An excuse to hang out
Hailing from Canada, The Void didn’t receive too much attention from European fans so far. Still their music is definitely worth to be heard. Interesting and experimental, not getting boring at any time, they have been playing their particular sound since 2006. Mastermind Jon Vornbrock spent some time answering a few questions and introduces The Void to you STALKER readers.
Hi guys, how are you doing? Could you first introduce the band and its members for the ones who don’t know you yet?
Great for the most part. We are The Void from Lethbridge Ab Canada. My name is Jon Vornbrock, I’m the Singer/Guitar player, Rob Cooper plays the lead Guitar, Jonny Little plays the Bass & Dean Wilson plays the Drums.
You are influenced by bands like Smashing Pumpkins and T-Rex, to name just a few . How would you yourselves describe your music?
We like to describe it as heavy mellow. We play with a lot of dynamics, but for the most part, no matter how loud or how soft we play, there is always something driving the song.
It’s honestly not the easiest thing to find information about you guys. So the band was formed around 2007 by Jon, how did the idea for this band come up and what happened since then in the band history?
I was in a post punk/indie rock band in 2007 & I would find myself writing acoustic rock songs or garage rock songs that were in the same realm as the Strokes or the International noise conspiracy & I needed a project to toss all these songs into, that essentially turned into the Void. In the beginning it was a lot of Bowie & T-rex type songs, but once I started playing live Void shows, the songs started to get louder & fuzzier. Dean & I were in a Rockabilly band called The Phantom Creeps & our singer quit. Rob & I were in a Hardcore band called Berserker & we couldn’t keep a drummer. Jonny Little just moved back to town & wanted to start playing in a rock band again. The timing was perfect.
In May 2013 you released your first full record is that right? It was called RobotSpaceLove. What should people expect from the record? And where can they get it?
Yes, it’s the first Void record with a full band & it won’t be the last. I’d say you can expect a heavy mellow rock record with great songs from some real people. A lot of the songs are vague & let you interpret them the way you want to. It’s available digitally on Itunes & Amazon. Hard copies are available via Bandcamp.com
I guess you guys already have some experience as musicians, what projects have you been involved before?
I guess I touched on this a little bit so I’ll give you the short list.
Dean – Zombie Birdhouse, Phantom Creeps, Bent Eight, Dirti Speshuls
Jonny – The Forever, Atrophy Manuscript, Moby Dicks, Deadbeats
Rob – Berserker, Dirti Speshuls, Calgary & the Flamers (it might have been Iggy & the Flamers)
Jon – Atrophy Manuscript, Phantom Creeps, Dirti Speshuls, Berserker. The Dirti Speshuls are still active.
What is the most fascinating thing about being a musician, for you guys?
I’d say the best part about being a musician is being able to be with my friends a lot more than I would if I were a suit & briefcase kind of guy. It’s like being a kid again with an excuse to hang out. But the most fascinating part is the moment you’re able to make someone get up & dance or walk out angry or disappointed at a show. I think most people pre determine that before a show anyway, but it’s neat to think about having that kind of control.
You have some funny pictures on your Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/musicisvoid#!/musicisvoid ) with a tiara, how did it come to these pictures?
That was a new years gig. Not sure why but tiaras seem to be a thing people wear on new years. Pretty sure that was just for the picture.
So you guys are hailing from Lethbridge, Canada how does the rock scene there look like? Is it easy for a band to get gigs? Do you get paid for it or how is it?
Lethbridge is a small city 80-90 thousand people, so getting to know the people that book shows is pretty easy. It’s a university town, so the music scene is more active in the spring & fall. We get paid enough to make it worth our time. Not enough to quit our jobs or anything.
Looks like there is a lot going on in Lethbridge anyway, what are the main points our readers shouldn’t miss if they ever visit Lethbridge?
Make sure you stop @ The Slice Bar & Grill or The Owl. Those are the best music venues in Lethbridge & maybe even Canada in my opinion.
Nowadays all the music gets spread over the internet and it slowly kills the Music-Biz. What do you guys think about it and what do you think record labels should change to make it more attractive again for the people to buy the records?
I work in a record store & I think about this every day. I think the internet is great for independent artists because it’s an easy way to get your music out there & to make contacts. If the record labels tank, there will still be good music out there. I just might be out of a job. I think record labels need to stop signing people who just won a televised karaoke show & focus on people who can actually write a good song.
What goals do you guys want to reach? Is a tour in Europe an option anytime soon?
I think the main goal is to be in a band without having the pressure of holding down a day job. We would love to tour Europe. Hopefully soon.
You had a couple of shows in September, what other plans do you have for the rest of the year?
The September shows were great. It was good to be on the road for a bit. We’re going to be working on some ep’s & will start recording a new full length next year.
I wish you all the best guys! Thank you for your time.
Thank you. Cheers.
More information about THE VOID at: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/musicisvoid?fref=ts
