INTERVIEW: JOE CASSIS: UNCONVENTIONAL HARDWORKER
It's 5 o'clock in the afternoon on a Friday in April in downtown Montreal. It finally feels like spring has truly arrived; no mind boggling snowstorm in sight. Maison Leaves cafe is filled with students probably trying to finish final assignments as the end of the university semester is dangerously close. I am also sitting down at a table; however I am (luckily) not working on a mandatory assignment. I am waiting for my guest as I am about to conduct my second interview (ever) for this blog I love dearly. I have known Joe for a few years as I saw him perform on different occasions with his old post-hardcore band norescue. I also had the pleasure of writing about two of his past releases: an album from Common Cycles and a long form poem entitled "Fever Dream in a Porcelain Skull: HUM" . As he arrives and we start discussing, I am instantly reminded how unapologetically himself he is. That's fucking awesome. This exchange made me discover that Joe is even more talented and driven than I thought he was. I hope you find Joe's stories as captivating, insightful, and endearing as I did during this nearly ninety-minute-long conversation we had.
You have been part of different projects (Common Cycles, norescue). What makes Sewn Together different from all of your previous projects (specifically norescue)?
The norescue sound came from me and Iann. The other two broke off and did different kinds of genres. Will is in a bunch of bands. We became norescue 2.0. Sewn Together is just a better name. We became fed up with searching for other musicians.
How difficult is it to play drums and sing at the same time?
I have terrible cardio and I drink way too much. It's fucking tough. I definitely threw up on stage during tour; not as much as during the Eyes Set to Kill show though. That was embarrassing.
How was tour?
Tour was fun. We played to a bunch of great crowds. The best show was in the basement of a bowling alley. It was filled with kids. Iann and I are in the process of trying to understand how we'll release music. We are sitting on some music. Kids started coming to us after shows: "I know you said you weren't going to release anything; Slam, that's a good song! You should release that!" Iann and I looked at each other without saying anything. We just gave each other a look. I looked at the kid and said: "I could just send it to you. Follow us on Instagram and I'll send you whatever you want." That's what we started doing on tour; almost creating like a mailing list. It was a great response. It was kind of nuts. I don't think either of us expected to be as loved, especially at that bowling alley show.
Joe updates me on Sewn Together and Common Cycles
Sewn Together is in a weird state. After norescue broke up, we didn't really want to start a band. We felt like it sucked the fun out of jamming. We just jammed. We were jamming for three months or something. The thing is Iann and I were already writing songs together. We were way ahead of them (other members of norescue). It just happens that I am very lucky to have learned how to play drums when I was a kid. It's not my normal style but because him and I have something really special; it just works out. Before we even jumped into jamming, we had 10 to 12 songs. He started programming drums. We were able to create whole tracks. Right now, I think Sewn Together has 30 songs in the can, We're really productive. If I go to his house, we record. There are new songs all of the time. We try to put aside new songs so we can finish other ones. There would be days where I would ask: "put on something new!" I think it's a defense mechanism. Realistically, we both know the songs are truly a release for our negative mental health. That's why being in a band sucks balls. You have to play those songs over and over, and over. We have an idea for a full record. I don't think it will come out online. I think you'll have to buy the CD. It will be funny to be at our merch table. "Can we find this on Spotify?" "No, absolutely not! Fuck that place!"
I have a new band for Common Cycles and I cannot control that. I believe Common Cycles deserves a shot even now after 17 years. I was having a moment. "I'm getting too old for this." Doing the same thing over and over and expecting results is insanity. You cannot keep me away. Things for Common Cycles are going pretty well. We have a full band now. I worked with our drummer at one point. I just messaged him out of the blue to jam some songs. "They're easy but they're fun." "I am charismatic." We jammed a couple times and we agreed he would be a live drummer. After the 3rd practice, he looked at me and was like: "honestly dude, I love playing music with you and I love your music. This is fun. It gets me stretching. I would totally be in your band if you let me. A drummer who has no other band...what? In my head, I am like: "dude, this guy had his own recording studio." It was like a movie. It was perfect. That's how we recorded Hard Times (Forever and Always) . It's a 9-minute song.
Ever since seeing you perform for the first time (in 2019), I have always admired your personal style. What made you want to wear dresses and other pieces of clothing still considered unconventional by many for people who look like dudes?
Two main reasons: One, I'll go with the more wholesome reason; I was privileged to grow up in a family where it did not even cross my mind why it would be weird. My parents were artists. I played women in plays all of the time. My mom took me to Walmart so we could shop for women's clothes. I don't think I am making a statement. I think when I dress in a dress, I catch people's eye. You don't normally see that fronting a post-hardcore band. I wear dresses all of the time because that's my thing (not a gimmick). It really comes from my mom and my dad being chill. Here's the second (practical) reason before I get into a sentimental story; it's airy. You don't sweat as much. I was shopping with my mom one time at Sears which was going out of business in my town. We got shoes, suits, dresses, stupid shit and she sees this purple fur jacket and goes: " Oh my god, Joseph, you need this!" She never calls me Joseph. She usually calls me sweetie. "You need to understand that I think you need this. How much is it?" She looks: 100$ and sees the 80% off sticker. I was thinking: "Holy crap, my life is about to change." We were in line and I could see my mom looking at all of the stuff in the cart. "You know I really lucked out with you. I didn't even need a daughter. I can go shopping any kind of way with my son." Having that kind of support system is what gives me the confidence to go out. I don't even think twice.
I was actually attacked the other night after bingo. I run a Rock n' Roll bingo now too. I was attacked on my way home; one of the first times that's ever happened to me. That was fucked up but I don't let it do anything to me. It sucks that I have to expect it at some point or that I need to expect that it could happen. It doesn't happen very often. I am surrounded by people who appreciate me.
Joe continues by sharing anecdotes
We were on tour and: "Hey Joe, I just want to let you know this is the most conservative city." "Should I fear for my safety?" I wore a plad dress. They ate it up.
I got into a weird conversation at the last norescue show we played. We basically went through why I do what I do. He called me a bad influence. The dude bought me a drink even though I had this big moment on stage where I was like: "I don't drink."
Was that the only time anything negative was said to you?
That does not really happen to me actually. Musically, I was never insulted. I got comments about the quality of my recordings because they come from my voice memos. The only thing insulting is that there aren't more people listening to my music. It's not even insulting. It's just sad. You think you make a song that has a message but everybody has a song about that message.
That's why I was going through what I was going through. "Let's not play any shows. I want to make a movie." I have 3 scripts. I wanna write on SNL. That's like my biggest dream! I didn't have the right foundation. I started off as an actor actually. When I was kid, I was super into Jim Carrey. I am very animated, you can see it. My parents saw me doing scenes for their friends. At that point, my dream was to be the next Jim Carrey. My parents took me to an agency. From 8 to 10 (or maybe 10 to 14), it's a weird blur. They drove me from London to Toronto (which is a 2 and half hour-drive) for auditions. That's the kind of parents I had. My dad was a musician. We always had instruments around (drums in the basement). I have been playing drums since I was 8 years old. My dad was going deaf and my mom would be in the room on the computer hearing all of the noise but loving it. "I ended up with a talented kid." That's pretty fucking cool! I could play drums till 4 in the morning. My mom would be up too listening to me play and listening to the news or watching things on her computer. That's when the household computers blew up; Windows XP. She was always on it. I was always playing. I played in a couple of bands. I drummed and sang in my first band (it was kind of like Death From Above based drums). I was 14. It was garbage. We didn't know how to write a song. I wanted to be in a Metalcore band. I was always in Common Cycles. I didn't join the metal scene until I moved here. Common Cycles has had a lot of different genres.
With the second edition of the Fungeon Fest coming up, can you tell me about how the first edition came about?
The first edition happened because I was driving around with a friend who got into John's Cottage. He saw John's Cottage at my place and thought: "Oh my god, they're an amazing band!" I think he was helping me pick up gear for the next show.
"My friends and I host big 3-day rave festivals. "Honestly, it's strangely easy to run a festival." I was like: "Really?" Wouldn't it be cool to host a festival at my house?" I found a bunch of cool footage of the first festival. I already had an idea of having a big girls only show but it blew up because I asked other people if they wanted to play. I ended up having too many bands so I had to do it upstairs and downstairs which was cool because it gave people a reason to walk around my house. The whole living room was a jam space. My bedroom was where the merch and market was. This year we are doing it at the Blue Dog and it's during Mural so the market will be outside. The artists (and the activists) will get the chance to have traffic.
Last year, I played last because I could play an acoustic set. This year, I don't want to close because it will be a bigger fest. Us, and Basement Dweller are the only two bands who are playing this year who played last year.
How do you pick bands and artists?
I usually hear them through sponsored posts on Insta or Facebook. I discovered John's Cottage through a sponsored post. These guys can be anything; they could have been a country band, a metalcore band. They're a Canadian Rock band. I went to become a fan of theirs on Facebook and I realized they had the same amount of fans as I did. It took 4 years but first time I ever saw them play was in my basement. I am now ranked number 1 fan. They were one of the headliners at Fest. When they played, I openly wept. I was going through a lot. Afterwards, Max, their lead singer came over; "thank you so much". "No, thank YOU! You saved my life." He was like: "that's nice of you to say." "You don't get it bro." I gave him a hug and he hugged me back. I broke down.
I just have been lucky that my sponsored posts had a lot of awesome music. My basement was full. Almost all of the shows were full. I had a tradition of taking a polaroid of every band. I have a pile of polaroids. I will have a collage at Fest. I am stoked I went that extra mile. That's what made it feel cool and a safe space. We care about you. We remember that you played. I kept all of them. The last show I did (at the Fungeon) was No Waves. They're playing Osheaga this year.
As someone who has read your poetry before and genuinely enjoyed it, I was wondering; can we expect another collection of poems any time soon?
Yes, there is Fever Dream part 2 coming. It's kind of a new project. I am trying to do a couple collections that will not rip my soul out. I have some love poems, poems about friendship. I want to start a book; write a poem about each of my friends. I could just keep adding to it volume, 1, 2...different covers. I wrote one for my friend Lucas (the blond guy with the long hair who was at the norescue CD release show).
I have been kind of stagnant. A Good One (on Hard Times vol 666) is the last song I wrote back in December. For poetry, we were with Buddha Press before but we feel like the last release didn't really hit as well. We are going to try to do something ourselves. We're going to start a Patreon, do monthly chapters of Fever Dream part 2. It will be four paintings per chapter. Each poem is a chapter. Depending on what tier members are in, we will send them a special copy ourselves. I was looking at how to buy books. It's not hard, it's just tedious. I'm two thirds into the book, I have been writing for a couple years now (on and off). I started as a poetic essay writer so that’s kind of what I am doing now. It has prose as well. It’s becoming even more of a story than it was before. The one before was super abstract. It’s about this person (we don’t really have a name for the narrator now) who is still in the void. At the end of “HUM”, he discovers his voice again. At the beginning of the new book, he is walking through this void, looking at the scenery, rediscovering his voice by screaming, becoming a new person, and gaining new skin because of the trauma he survived in the first book. He is still unconscious though from tripping and cracking his head open. That’s what sent him into the void. It’s kind of like my Dante's Inferno. He finds a way to cultivate a garden in the void. I don’t know how much of it is based on myself.
With as many creative endeavors as you have, how do you manage your time in order not to feel like you are neglecting one of your projects?
I neglect them all. That's not even a joke. That's why when Iann and I weren't a project, we were just jamming. We started going to Fattal. We were there 4-5 times a week because we know the guy in charge. We had the ambition to make the songs sound good for no reason. I have this thing where if I come up with a band name, I check on Band Camp and if the Band Camp is not taken then in my opinion, the band does not exist. I have like 12 Band Camps right now. "Sewn Together...now, we have to start a band because the name is too good." Band names are the hardest thing to come up with. norescue was a joke.
Joe continued by explaning how important all age shows are and talks about Fungeon Fest:
How do you want the scene to thrive? Kids don't buy alcohol. They buy merch. That's another reason why I started The Fungeon. When No Waves played The Fungeon, I had this 16-year old messaging me asking if the show was all ages. I was like: "I am not gonna check your ID. Why would I do that? I am just gonna let you know if you get caught drinking, it's on me. I am the adult and I am the one who runs the house." None of them drank. That's probably the most people we had in the basement.
Bands becoming more beloved like Birds of Prrrey, Avec Plaisir, Willy Nilly wanted to play The Fungeon when they were first starting out and it did not work out. Avec Plaisir is a really good emo band. I gave Birds of Prrrey a big compliment the other day. They are the Magneta Lane reincarnate. I showed them the band and they said they rocked! They did a photoshoot in a bath tub and we also did that (shows me an old Common Cycles photo)! There will be also be Hip Hop this year. We are trying to get some variety. It's gonna be fun! I am in talks with Dans la rue to show up this year. (They are officially part of the Fest as I am typing and editing this). Slam (autonomous housing tenant board, fight for your rights as a tenant) is gonna be there too.
Despite having many years of experience under your belt as a performer and a songwriter, what is one skill you would like to acquire or improve?
My playing can definitely improve. My lust for quality; most of the music I released came from voice memos. The one thing I could improve would be caring about the production side. There are just songs I need to get out. Not swearing as much. I went through a list I wrote just for Common Cycles and there were over 100 swear words. That's too much.
What advice would you give to young local artists and bands?
Keep playing, just play! The world is a better place with more creators in it. Advice for listeners; the world needs a lot more listeners as well; people who wish they could play music but are just good at appreciating it. They're the most important people to people like me. If you are trying to learn guitar, make sure it's always in your hands. You are figuring it out no matter what. You are just going for it. Bands: book your own shows. Find unconventional ways of doing it. I feel there aren't enough shows in community centers or basements of churches anymore. Although, I know most of us are not equipped language wise to be in a church.
One of my first hardcore shows ever was in a basement of a church. It was a christian hardcore band raising money for people to go to Haiti. There were so many good bands. That was one of the first DIY festivals I had ever seen. There were like 12 bands who played. It was packed. Go give flyers at universities and colleges. Play shows at bars affiliated with universities. Those students are old enough to come see you, young enough to actually like you and invest in you. They're stupid with money. Most of the time when you are at a show like that and are a student, you are just letting out some steam. You have a student discount on everything. After those people see you play there a couple times, they will go see you anywhere else.
Take no shit! Personally, I feel like if you are being undervalued, you should say something. That's kind of the catalyst of why norescue broke up; I felt undervalued at one point. The advice is keep doing it. Create for yourself. I found an old article someone wrote about me and one of the quotes was: "the best thing about the scene is that the kids are enthusiastic. They've got their own sound. They're definitely all into their own sound and are all supporting each other too."
Blister Sister brought so many people with them from Montreal and Ottawa. They all dressed up with Halloween gear. There is a video of them playing a song and people getting into it and there is Angel from No Waves. He was singing all of the words. Everybody was singing the words. It was their first show in Montreal.
If you could open for one artist or one band, who would it be and why? (and with what project of yours)
Whenever I thought of opening for other people, I just went for it. "That would be a sick show." I almost opened for Bif Naked on her acoustic tour once. A buddy of mine (before he was my buddy) ended up getting it instead. It depends on the format of Common Cycles. If it was the Stoner Rock Common Cycles, I would say Smashing Pumpkins. Smashing Pumpkins in general for Common Cycles would be it. Incubus is THE band. Put me on a show with Incubus.
If you have made it this far, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! I hope you enjoyed reading about Joe's story; his adventures and memorable anecdotes as much as I enjoyed hearing and sharing them with you all. If you are in any way, shape, or form a creative soul, I hope this interview has somehow inspired you to keep on creating and sharing your ideas, emotions, and art with the world. Like Joe said: "The world is a better place with more creators in it. " I also hope this article has made you curious enough to give your time and attention to at least one of Joe's projects.
Your current favourite blogger and (perhaps) future favourite interviewer,
Ariane
Common Cycles' music on BandCamp
Girl!! Congrats on your second interview! I loved getting to learn about Joe's story. Now I have yet another Montreal artist I hope to see someday.
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