Fresh ActInterviews

Kiss Of A Shovel – Fresh Act February 2017

It was their music video (check it out below) that directed my attention towards this Canadian Heavy Rock/Sludge Metal act, formed in 2013 in Drummondville, Quebec, by Lead Vocalist Yann Latour and Guitarist Carl Bouchard. Lead guitar player Francois Galaise, Drummer Marc Laflamme and Bassist Alex Bedard were added to the KISS OF A SHOVEL line up the following year. Jerome Martin came to complete the current line up in spring of 2016 after Alex’s departure.

Was it a particular incident or song that inspired you to become musicians in first place?
I can only speak for myself (Yann) but when I was about 10 years old I saw my first rock concert. A Canadian Pop/Rock band called The Box. Seeing these guys perform live was just mind blowing for me. Was hooked!!

Aggressive guitar tones, powerful rhythm section mixed with grinding vocal harmonies gives Kiss Of A Shovel its distinctive sound. Taking its influences from a large spectrum of renowned acts such as epic Prog bands like Genesis and Tool as well as Heavy/Sludgy riffs and dark vocal moods from bands like Type O Negative and Alice in Chains.

In which bands have you played before? Do you all still have other side projects?
Hum!! I guess the list would be quite long (we’re not getting any younger… Ha!!) We’ve all played in numerous projects and currently still do.

Even though Kiss Of A Shovel could be considered somewhat like a new venture, its members would not be considered as newcomers to the industry. Combined experiences spanning well over 30 years in diverse musical scenes and projects such as Victory Records hardcore band A Perfect Murder, world acclaimed (Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins authorized) Genesis tribute The Musical Box as well as a multitude of other projects helped build the band’s solid foundation.

How do you write your music and lyrics, is it teamwork?
Lyrics are a solo thing (Yann). Music could be ideas coming from generally Carl or myself (Yann) and then polished with the band or just jamming all together.

How did you come up with the band name – is there a story behind it?
For some reason… I’ve always loved the aesthetics and sound of combining 3-4 words in a band name…don’t ask me why…that’s just the way I see/hear it I guess. Also love the combination or contrast between the beautiful & crude or unpleasant. So… A beautiful soft Kiss on the side of the head by a Shovel… there you go. You’ve got the image right?

2014 marks the release of KOAS first album, an impressive 4 song EP (simply titled) Extended Play recorded at The Wild studio in Quebec by renowned engineer Pierre Remillard.

A video of the single “Running out” co-produced by KOAS and Keven St-Pierre Productions was also released in early April 2015.

Is there a particular story behind this music video – why did you choose this song, where did you shoot it and how long did it take to complete it?
I don’t know if there’s a big story around the video… I mean aside the fact that we wanted it to have a certain “vibe” that the song has. The lyrics talk about a guy losing is mind so this kind of what we are going for. We left it kinda of vague. Theres quite a few characters in the video… there’s room to interpret it the way you want it. Video was shot in an local empty warehouse one full night. From 6pm to 6am.

 

What is it like in your country to be a Rock / Metal band (playing the particular style you are playing)?
I guess it’s like pretty much the same as anywhere else in the world now… It’s F’n hard. Plus we are all very busy in various other projects. But we love making music together. This project is still fairly new… we’ve only begun to scratch the surface.

What are your goals, dreams, what do you want to achieve with your music?
We just want to F’n play… get out on the road and play for people that wanna rock with us.

What are you doing ”in real life”, when you are not making music?
Most of us are in the music industry or arts in some form or the other, Music store owner, Studio recording, Producer, Sound design & Painter.

Are you looking for a record company or would you prefer to stay in the DoItYourself mode?
Both options are OK for us. But of course getting the right deal and getting a good push to help promote our music would be great.

What are your live shows like? What´s the perfect venue/show for you?
We are currently working on the theatrical side of things right now…so the upcoming shows will be quite different and could even get a little bit freaky!!!

Do you have a weird /absurd story to tell, e.g. about mishaps at a gig/tour?
You’d need a full interview with Carl… He’s got a bunch haha!!

If you could freely choose a band to tour with, who would it be, and why?
Of course touring with a major act like Metallica would be awesome. Just for the fact of playing stadium+ size crowds means tons of exposure. We could probably come up quite a big list, but for now if I could personally pick a few it would be: Faith No More, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Deftones, Ghost, Tool, Rammstein…. Like I said… list could go on & on. Oh ya!! Foo Fighters… I just wanna have a few beers with Dave Grohl… hahaha!!

What are your plans in the (near) future?
Keep on Fuckin Rockin!!!!!

(photos: band)

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Klaudia Weber

reckless and merciless dictator, so KNEEL! In other words, editor-in-chief, translator, website and ad admin, "Jane of all trades" - - - addicted to books (everything between Lord Of The Rings & quantum physics) and music, mainly Metal made in Finland. Furthermore, there's painting, drawing, movies, theater... so you can expect some variety on this website too. MA Master of Arts, English and American studies & Media communication = completed two full studies parallel within 5 years; very proud of my achievement - a bit later in life thanks to a scholarship - as a working class girl in a highlyconservative-romancatholic nation...

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