INTERVIEW: GENERAL CHAOS: LEGENDS OF THE FUTURE
Rémi: Meeting Milo was pretty cool!
Constantin: It was funny! We caught him at the coffee machine! Aude took the picture. She also met a bunch of people. We were like: “Excuse me, Milo?”
Aude: I met all the members of NOFX.
Constantin: I know my answer is Mike Ness. It was pretty crazy. It was just my friend and I. There was no huge lineup. He came out to see us. After, when I came home, I realized he had taken a picture of us from his tour bus and shared it on his Instagram. Someone in the comments asked him if we were in a band. He replied to the person saying we were called General Chaos.
Who else would you like to meet?
Constantin: Tim Armstrong from Rancid or any member from Rancid.
Rémi: I would love to meet Guillaume from Vulgaires Machins. We will probably meet him soon because we have a show in Quebec for Red Bridge and are playing with Vulgaires Machins.
Aude: I would like to meet Aimee from The Interrupters.
Is there anybody out of the Punk you would like to meet?
Aude: Billie Eilish!
I know you have played a lot of shows with awesome bands like Love Bombers and Poolgirl, who would you like to play with next (local band)?
Aude: NOBRO!
Constantin: There are certain bands we have partnered with and we kind of stuck with those bands. There are a lot of new bands that we don’t know as much. The scene kind of changed; some people left, some people came. It’s a cycle.
I feel like most people your age don’t own vinyls or CDs. Are streaming platforms your main way of listening to music? Do you collect CDs and vinyls?
Constantin: At home, I’ll say vinyls. At school, I use streaming platforms.
Do you have a favourite vinyl?
Constantin: That’s my favourite vinyl! It’s a Social Distortion album. I got it for 15$ at Bâtiment 7. It’s a double LP. The vinyls are orange. It sounds super good! It’s a double album but there are only 3 songs per side because they made sure it sounded good. The closer a song is to the center of the vinyl, the less it will sound good.
Do you have a lot of other vinyls?
*Constantin turns the camera to show me a pretty impressive collection of vinyls.
Are all they yours?
Constantin: No, some of them belong to my dad. Vinyls are very expensive now. Not everybody has $30-40$ to spend.
What’s your opinion on shows that are 18+?
Rémi: It depends how you see it. I know some people just go to shows to drink. There are also people who go to shows for the music. I think it’s a good thing we have all-ages venues in Montreal.
Constantin: Bars have to make money. 18+ is the law for now. Maybe, it will change. It kind of creates a separation with the types of shows you are going to get. 18+ shows will bring older people. All-ages shows will probably consist of young bands and a young audience. Also, this reminds that some venues now do not let you promote a show as all ages because they had problems with predators.
If you had to pick any popular song and put your own Punk twist to it, what would it be?
Constantin: “Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones. It’s the first track off “Sticky Fingers”. I think it would make a great Punk song. I know another one; “Homesick Blues” by Bob Dylan. I could see potential.
Rémi: “Elephant” by Tame Impala.
Aude: “Lost Cause” by Billie Eilish.
Do you think you would actually include one of these songs as covers in your set at some point?
Rémi: We never thought about that! That’s a good idea!
Constantin: Especially when you play to a new crowd or at a venue you’ve never played before. It’s a good way to get the crowd going.
Do you ever find it difficult to balance school and time reserved for band-related activities?
Rémi: Yes! We work as well.
Constantin: Most of the time, we jam at 4:15-4:20 right after school. We practice for an hour and half to 2 hours.
Aude: I live a bit far too.
You mentioned working as well, do you have flexible hours?
Rémi: I only work once a week. I work every Thursday from right after school to 11 pm.
Aude: I work 3 times a week. I still have time to jam. I work on Saturday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday after school.
What’s the plan for you after high school?
Rémi: I will study music at St-Laurent.
Aude: I would also love to go to St-Laurent.
Constantin: I’ll probably do a couple DEPs and figure it out. I plan on taking a gap year.
Do you remember what was the first Punk song you’ve ever heard?
Rémi: My dad made me listen to Iron Maiden when I was younger. That’s more Metal though.
Aude: My dad played some NOFX. I think “Secret Society” was the first song I listened to. It was weird.
Constantin: I can’t remember the first song but I know my dad always had Rancid playing in the house. I got used to it. Later on, I got into Nirvana (and other Grunge bands) with Rémi. I progressed towards Punk. “Oh, that’s what was playing.” I remember hearing the Rancid album “Life won’t Wait”. I remember that album being played on our turntable.
Screenshots from a video I took at their show in December 2024
Your parents all being Punk fans, are they cool with you being in a Punk band?
Constantin: Yes but they also try not to help too much. They let us find our own way.
Have you learned any valuable lessons so far?
Constantin: There is a lot of email writing involved and how to approach people; bands, venues. Improvement of our talking skills, learning how to use a lot of equipment. By being in a band, I learned how to use a soundboard and plug different things.
Would you say you’re the type of band who talks about how a show went?
Constantin: We don’t do it directly after the show but we do it at practice.
Rémi: We think about the songs we mess up more and practice them.
You have accomplished a lot despite being so young (playing Pouzza twice, putting out a demo, putting out your first full-length album, being featured in an article on the La Presse website), what are you the most proud of?
Rémi: Probably the album! We worked on it for a long time!
Constantin: I would say the connections we built.
Rémi: We started with nothing. Now, when we ask a band from Montreal to play with us, most of the time they say yes.
Constantin: Also, the connections with people from the industry. Some of our shows are booked by Stomp Records, owned by Matt, frontman of The Planet Smashers. That’s pretty crazy. I have written emails to him. He knows us. We know him. That’s pretty cool!
Aude: I have only been with the band since November. I think what makes me proud is simply to be in the band and how well it’s been going.
Do you have short-term and long-term goals or do you simply go with the flow?
Rémi: We do want to release another album relatively soon.
Constantin: Take all of the opportunities that we can get, play as many shows and make it worth our while.
According to you, what does it mean to be Punk?
Rémi: I think there are different types of Punks. Some of them sell Punk on Pinterest. Others are skaters.
Constantin: I feel like sometimes our scene here is hypocritical. People put patches on their coats that they bought on Amazon. I know it sounds cheesy but I would say it's close or related to being a rebel. You think in a different way than everybody does. It's about staying true to yourself, having certain values. It's also about asking yourself questions. "Why is everybody buying the same things?" Question what is going around you. Always second guess, don't simply react!
Aude: I think being Punk is being yourself and not forcing yourself to fit with everyone else.
As per usual, if you have made it to the end of the interview, thank you so much! What have we learned from this conversation? The future of Punk music is in good hands! Young does not rhyme with 'unserious' or 'lazy'. General Chaos is made of hardworking, driven, and talented musicians who are only getting started. I personally cannot wait to see what General Chaos has in store for us next!
Your favourite interviewer who is not afraid for the future of Punk music,
Comments
Post a Comment