INTERVIEW: SUCKERPUNCH!: THE POWER OF TAKING A CHANCE
Back in December of last year (almost four years after publishing my first article ever), I embarked on my interview journey. If I am being honest with myself and anyone reading this, I was not necessarily expecting to conduct more than one or two interviews. This interview with future Pop Punk superstars SUCKERPUNCH! was my fifth interview. I must be doing something right. Anyway, this article is not about me but I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude towards my supportive friends, any strangers who took the time to read my work, and all of the incredibly kind artists and bands I have had the chance to chat with. In this latest article, I got to discuss the relevance of social media, best and worst show experiences, and so much more with Fred (vocals) and Jonathan (bass). I hope you have as much fun reading this article as I had carrying this interview and transcribing it.
*The interview was conducted before All Your Friends festival but published after the festival happened.
With the All Your Friends festival coming up at the end of August, I was wondering; how did booking the show come about? Who are you the most excited to see and possibly meet?
Fred: I would say it happened naturally. We knew the festival's first edition was happening this year. We shot our shot, hoped for the best, and it happened.
Jonathan: We woke up one day and had a nice email in our inbox. Who are you most excited to see play?
Fred: I have never seen Fall Out Boy live. What a shame! I got to see Billy Talent before, I want to see them again. Dashboard Confessional is also on my list. I hope we can catch a lot of bands. There is Games We Play, Lolo as well.
Jonathan: What's cool about that festival is there are legacy bands like Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, Billy Talent, The All-American Rejects but there is also a lot of new wave Pop Punk bands. I cannot wait to see Jimmy Eat World. I would say The Maine as well. I cannot wait to see all of them.
What’s your favourite show you have ever played? What was the worst experience you’ve had at a show of yours? Why?
Fred: I have a show in mind. It's not about the people we played with. It's about the venue where we played. All of the love to our friends in Nightwell. That show in Toronto, the venue, the sound, everything went side ways. We had 10 minutes to soundcheck. The first act didn't really have time to soundcheck. At some point, she had to unplug her earplugs to play her songs. When we got to the venue, there was a pool of beer on the floor. I'm not going to mention the name of the place. I don't want to shit on them. It was so stressful for nothing. We had fun at our previous shows (in Montreal and in Ottawa). We were so excited to play Toronto for the first time and it went sideways. We had a blast though. It was a really fun night. When it came to the venue and the sound, things didn't go as planned. We play with inears. In our ears, it sounded amazing but the P.A system didn't sound great.
Jonathan: The sound guy showed up 2 hours and a half late. People showed up so that was cool. This was probably one of our worst experiences so far with this band. My favourite show? That question is difficult. We got to play a lot of cool shows. We are kind of surprised every time. I think my favourite show is the last Montreal show we played with Punk Rock Factory. It was something special. It was at the Fairmount Theatre. A lot of people showed up. They went nuts. It was awesome. We played two shows with Punk Rock Factory; Toronto and Montreal. Both of them were amazing. We had a great time.
Fred: What was nice about the Montreal Punk Rock Factory show is that it was open to everyone. We had kids and adults jumping up and down. Pop Punk/Emo parents brought their youngsters to see bands playing music that they like when they were younger. Punk Rock Factory is a big nostalgia tv-show cover band. They play reimagined, Pop Punk versions of all sorts of classics. They would play a Power Rangers theme song, the Sponge Bob theme song, some songs from Disney. It was appealing to all ages. We opened for them. The room was packed. Everyone was so excited to see a show. The energy was wild. That show is also a favourite of mine. The Club Soda show is also one of my favourites. We opened for a Linkin Park cover band. The show was free. People showed up in advance. The room was crowded. We were the first ones to play. People were so into it. Everyone participed. It was the first time our band played a venue this huge and it was full. The feeling is just incredible. Having people vibe to what you do is out of this world. It's crazy.
Fred: YES! If that was possible, it would be the best! Most festivals are open to everyone. However, when we play bars, shows are not accessible to everyone. That's what's cool about a place like Fairmount. They have a permit for alcohol but it's open to families to come with youngsters.
Jonathan: What's cool about our genre is that it's people our age who listen to Pop Punk music who are now parents and bring their kids. It's fun to see. It's fun to play for that kind of crowd.
Since forming in 2022, what would you say is your biggest accomplishment so far?
Fred: To me, a big accomplishment is the fact that we are always on a roll; creating more and more music. It's not about what you gain out of it. Our creative minds are always evolving and trying to find new ways to make songs that resemble what we loved as teenagers listening to Pop Punk and what kind of message we want to send to people listening to us. I love what we're doing and I love what we're about to release. Again, it comes from all of us together with friends we've made during these past years creating these songs that really what makes SUCKERPUNCH! a band and who we are.
Jonathan: It's a cool answer! We haven't played the festival yet but booking All Your Friends is really cool. Two years ago, we never thought we would play that kind of show. There is a lot of surprises. Every month or every once in a while, we have some cool news that we're excited about. We do cool stuff that we are very happy to do.
Fred: Like Jo said, All Friends Fest is our biggest show yet. Having this opportunity is huge for us. I'm going to say the classic thing: We work really hard. We do. We love what we do. We are so happy we get the opportunity to showcase ourselves in front of new people, maybe some influential bands and people who can help us blow this band up. We are hopeful.
I noticed how regularly you post on social media (including funny and entertaining Reels on Instagram) . What’s your relationship with social media like? Do you have fun promoting your band or do you see it more as an obligation?
Fred: To be quite honest, at first, it was hard. It's not that I don't like it. I love cameras. One of the lifetime things I want to keep doing is acting. It's been part of my life since I was a teenager. Having this as an opportunity to do content and showcase my acting skills and have fun in front of a camera is a blessing for me. However, it takes time. We need to plan in advance. We need to have our camera crew. We need to create concepts. We don't want to improvise too much. We want to have content that makes sense and looks good. We don't want do things half way. We want to do things the right way. Getting things going was the hardest part. I feel like now we created a good pacing for us. We're getting better and better with time. My relationship with social media got better and better with time.
Jonathan: It's lot of work. I agree with you; we are getting better and better. The fun fact about it is that we're always months ahead in our planning. We always know what will be our upcoming release. It's a lot of work but it's getting easier every time.
Would you say all of the hard work (social media posts and such) actually pays off? Does it make a big difference?
Fred: A big difference! This is one of the main important things a band needs to understand: Make social media your friend. Use it as much as you can. Sometimes, we tend to overthink. Don't overthink. If you have a concept, something you want to do; just do it! Do performance videos. Stand in front of your camera. Lipsync to your song. Everyone loves that. I love that. I watch that. When I see a band that I love on social media, I watch their performance videos. It keeps your eyes on them. Also, it makes you listen to the song. That's when you fall in love with songs. Before, it was MTV, MuchMusic, and MusiquePlus. It's not about music videos anymore. Now, you have 15 seconds to catch my attention, you better catch it. It's really important to get these videos out and to make content. It's part of marketing your project. It's about using social media to our advantage. It's hard and it takes times. Sometimes, you keep posting and there is no result. Consistency is key.
Jonathan: It's a huge tool. As you know, we're from Montreal. Someone in Australia can find our videos. We didn't have that a couple years ago. It's a very nice way to find new people.
Your latest single “Out of My Mind” features Joshua from Magnolia Park. How did that collaboration come about?
Jonathan: We took our shot. We just sent him a DM. He was very nice about it. We sent him our song (not exactly a demo, not exactly a finished product). He was on board right away. He did a lot of tracks so we had some options. He wanted to make sure we were really happy about it. It went very well. We were actually surprised he said yes.
Fred: Like Jo said; shooting your shot. Sometimes, it's all about that. You never know what might come out of it.
Jonathan: That's a thing we are learning with this band; if don't shoot your shot, you'll have nothing.
Fred: It's about shooting your shot but also having something to show. If you want to shoot your shot to someone, be sure to have something concrete to showcase to those people. If you hit someone up with nothing in your hands, people are not going to take you seriously. We made sure we had something solid, something we felt comfortable sending him. We wrote a nice message, something friendly. And then, he answered. We were surprised. That's how you do it. You have to try.
Speaking of collaborations, who would like to collaborate with next (realistic collab and dream collab, in the Pop Punk scene or any other genre)?
Jonathan: Dream feature would be Mark from Blink. Or Tom. Or Both. On the more realistic side of things, I really like Games we Play these days.
Fred: Unrealistic but still realistic; everything is possible in this world: Hayley Williams. Being able to match our voices on a song...oh god! More realistic, again in Pop Punk, I would say Honey Revenge. They're one of my favourite bands right now. I listen to them all of the time. I probably know all of their songs by heart by now. I sent a DM to Donnie. I told them; "If you come to Canada, you need to Montreal. I'll come and see you for sure." They were like: "Hopefully, we'll come to Montreal." Montreal is a hard market. I understand why a lot of bands skip it. If they come to Toronto, I'll drive there. They've been super responsive to my messages. Donnie is such a cool, kind-hearted person. Hopefully, I'll get to meet them in person. That would be cool.
On August 29, you are playing your very first headline show which will be at Foufounes Électriques, a legendary venue here in Montreal. Have you seen bands you love at the venue before? Have you made any memories at that particular venue you would like to share? What does it mean to you to be playing your first headlining show there?
Jonathan: It's going to be a first for me and I am very honored. I am a huge Nirvana fan (who played Foufounes Électriques in 1991). I know all of the history behind that venue. It's very special to me. Also, when I was 18 up until I was 24, I would go to Foufs almost every week. Cannot wait to play there!
Fred: Same for me, I have never played there. My only Foufounes Électriques memories are not show memories. They're young adult me when I was in college going there almost every night of the week. When I was 18-19 years old, it was the place to go! They played Rock N' Roll music and all kinds of Alt music. Tuesdays were awesome nights. It's legendary in some many ways.
If you had to pick one song to show someone who has never heard of your band before, which one would it be and why?
Fred: I would go with "Nightcalls" without hesitation. It's our most streamed song. I feel like this song catches our vibe. It's super Pop Punk but still has a Pop flavour to it.
Jonathan: That would be my first pick too. I would also say "Hollywood Ending" because of the chorus. I think it's such an anthemic chorus. It gets stuck in your head. It's very energy driven.
Fred: If we had to pick a third one, which one would it be?
Jonathan: Probably, "Game Time"!
Fred: We cannot wait to share some of what we have been working on. There is plenty of cool stuff to be announced and released.
What can we expect/look forward to from SUCKERPUNCH! for the rest of 2024?
We are announcing something kind of soon. We are releasing a song mid August.
*Since conducting this interview, the song has come out. "Skip to the Good Part" featuring Mark Faroudi from 408 is available on every streaming platform.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Fred: Right now, I would say "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton. I sang that song a lot. I actually work at a karaoke bar in the Village in Montreal. Most of time, I will sing a song or two every night I work. I would also say a Backstreet Boys song.
Jonathan: The fun fact about Fred is that he can sing Rock, Pop, Country music. Your favourite genre is Pop, right?
Fred: I would say it's always around Pop. Pop Country, Pop Punk, Pop Rock. I love when it's pop. I love when it's uplifting and driven.
Jonathan: I have two songs. The first one would be "Dammit" by Blink. The other one would be "Good Riddance" by Green Day.
Fred, you mentioned your love for Pop music, would you ever consider releasing Pop music, perhaps on your own?
Fred: I actually did release some Pop music before SUCKERPUNCH! came together. I don't really mention it because that project stopped when our band came together. Maybe, someday, I would love to release some Pop Country songs. I really love Country. I realized it's something that feels right with my voice. I would love to do something Pop Country or nostalgic 80s-90s Country Pop.
Jonathan: Within the next couple of months, you can expect different genres of music coming from us.
Fred: We kind of experimented with Pop Punk within the spectrum of that genre.
Jonathan: We're trying to go nuts a bit, you know. I think it's a good era to do that kind of stuff; all of the Pop artists going Country, rappers doing Pop Punk.
Fred: A mix of genre is never a bad thing when it's done properly.
If you have read any of my articles before, then you most likely know how I usually conclude them. Thank you for taking time out of your complex, hectic, and hopefully delightful (as much as possible) existence to read this latest post. I know creatives say it all of the time but it will forever remain true: it does mean the world when people especially strangers give us a little bit of their time and attention. I hope reading this exchange I had with Fred and Jonathan has made you want to give SUCKERPUNCH! a listen. If you are someone young or old who enjoys instant timeless classic Pop Punk tunes written by talented, genuinely kind, and hard-working dudes, then this Montreal band is perfect for you.
As stated in my previous article, make sure to keep your magnificent eyes peeled for more interviews.
Your favourite (still) tiny interviewer/elder emo,
Ariane
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