Interview with Pierre
St-Jean from Heaven`s Cry
I guess we first of all should go back in time quite a
bit...
I heard that you were originally called WILDSIDE...
"Yeah, long time ago. Actually it was WIDESIDE..."
Did you also play a different kind of musical style
then?
"Well, it's always been a little bit progressive,
but I guess at the time it was a bit catchier....
We started the band about eight years ago, so we just changed
the name, really. Exactly because of the same reason, that some
people thought we were called WHITESIDE or WILDSIDE, so there
was a lot of confusion around it.Our guitarplayer at the time died
of cancer and at the same time we changed our name."
Who else was in the band at the time? Was it
already the same line-up as nowadays?
"No, there was me and Sylvain, the bass
player... We started the band, we
started writing together and
had a lot of changes in the line-up.
We were trying to find people that really care for a band and
really wanna work. And especially when it's eight years of
working hard and nothing happens, sometimes people just
don't believe in it anymore or whatever, you know. So, we had
really had to change the musicians and we chose among the
people that we knew and stuff..."
When did you actually start out as a musician? Have
there been any musical activities previously to forming WIDESIDE?
"Ehh... yes, we were playing clubs all the time, me
and Sylvain. He had his own band and I had my
own band, you know.
And Luc, the drummer, had his own band, too. He was playing in
LANKHMAR and Sebastian, the guitarplayer was playing in RAGING FURY...
We were all doing bands, playing clubs... playing half covers and half
originals most of the time, you know, so that we could get gigs.
So, me and Sylvain, we started to play clubs when we were
sixteen years old or something, so it's been a while(laughs)!"
How did you get together then?
"Well... as I said, I already knew Sylvain when he
was younger... And one time, when I was probably like seventeen
and he was probably like fourteen, he auditioned for my band to
sing, you know. So, I knew him and we saw eachother at the
rehearsal places and stuff. We've been good friends before
we've started the band and I also knew Luc and Sebastian before,
because we were all playing the same clubs, you know. Musicians,
you know?! You know everybody after a while (laughs)!"
What kind of material did you jam in the beginning?
There was talk that you played a couple of cover tunes also...
"HEAVEN'S CRY was playing mostly classic Rock.
We were playing some KANSAS and some ZEPPELIN... you know,
stuff like that. We even played some GENESIS. It really depends...
After the Grunge thing happened,
we even played some SOUNDGARDEN
and ALICE IN CHAINS, but always mixed with a lot of originals.
As I said, we were playing covers to get gigs and get paid.
That was the whole point."
How long did it
take you as a band until you were
able to come up with enough own material for a demo recording?
"Oooff...man, the first year!
We've always been doing
a lot of originals... I have tons of songs in my desk and most of them
are okay. The only problem is, they are dated! They sound like the 80's,
and not like the 90's and that's a problem, you know (what's wrong in
playing 80's music?! - Ed.). So, we did a couple of demos, we went to a
couple of studios,but we are not really satisfied with them... We're used
to play live and it's just not the same feeling as when you do live shows.
We came closer to that feeling of the live shows when we did the album
but then again, we know that we sound a lot better live!"
Did you spread the tapes around to magazines and
radio stations or were they just meant for record labels?
"With most of them we didn't
do anything (laughs)!
We were just not satisfied enough with them.The last one we did,
was a sampler that had "Gaia's Judgement" on it. It was called
"Last Judgement" at the time, and it also had "Cruel Disguise"
and "The Alchemist" on it.
We sold a bit of them, but it was like a secret demo, you know
(laughs) and we mostly gave it to record companies to get signed.
We didn't wanna sell something that didn't sound right, you know..."
How did you end up
being signed by Hypnotic Records?
"Well, there was some
interest in Japan and
Europe for the kind of music we're doing...
Overhere in Canada it's kinda hard to sell Prog music or Prog Metal.
I always hear about bands like ANGRA and SHADOW GALLERY and
stuff like that, but here you don't hear about them at all!
The only progressive band we hear about a little bit is DREAM
THEATER and probably QUEENSRYCHE. It's not the kind of music
that really works in Canada, even if RUSH is pretty big..."
What kind of label is Hypnotic by the way? I never really
heard of them previously... Have they done any other releases in
the Metal genre before you have been signed?
"Well, they have VOIVOD right now... There's not a
whole lot of Metal bands that's been signed with them. It's a small label
from Canada, distributed by MCA, but there's no promotion done by MCA.
They put out some stuff before, but it was weird...
always special stuff let's say.There's an album from the States, that was
called "Let's GoSmoke Some Pot", which gives you a little advice about
what the label is all about (laughs)!"
How did you get to know the guys in Voivod and
when did you get the offer to help them out as a bass player?
"They saw me play for a couple of years, because we
were always playing in Montreal and I think they thought that we have
some talent or something and that's it. One day I was sitting in a club
called "The Backstreet" in Montreal and I saw Snake and Piggy coming in.
They paid me some Whiskey (laughs) and asked me:
"Would you like to join the band?" and I said "What????!" (laughs)
And they said, "Yeah, we need a bassplayer..." and I said,
"Well, I'm not a bassplayer..." and they said
"Well, you play guitar, so you can play bass!"
Why
haven't they asked Sylvain instead of you?
"That's weird, eh?! (laughs) Well, I don't know.
WIDESIDE started without Sylvain, when I was sixteen years old,
so that's it I guess. A lot of people knew us already in
Montreal.
We were alwaysplaying and we had a good crowd and I guess I was
probably the figure of the band that they saw so much and stuff and
that everybody knew, so... I guess that's why. You would have to ask
them (laughs)! But I didn't leave HEAVEN'S CRY at all, I stayed with
my own band all the time. I couldn't really give up my dreams."
Have they ever approached you to stay in the band as a permanent
member?
"Yeah! But as I said, it was pretty hard, you know,
as I'm a singer and songwriter too. And in VOIVOD I was always
the last one (laughs). It was a hard choice, because
with VOIVOD
I was at least able to make a little bit of money and had a little fame
(laughs), I was in some magazines... That was pretty cool, I was
happy with that, but I'm a singer and that's what I like best in my life,
you know. So, I just thought, well, I believe in my own thing and I
won't give up! That's why I came back after I did the tour
with them in the States."
As far as I've heard you even helped
them out in the vocal department, didn't you?
"Not really... I didn't sing for them.
When they took me, that's what they wanted me to do.
They wantedto have a second singer in the band, so they would
have more backing vocals. They came to a where they tried to do
something different, so that's why I was the perfect guy to do that,
you know. I was good in melodies and stuff. But I guess that was
not their identity... When we did the album together, which was
"The Outer Limits", it was just not working (laughs). They were
better in going back to their roots and that's exactly what
they are doing right now."
Talking of vocals, I noticed that on your album is
mentioned, that you and Sylvain are both doing vocals. So,
do you share lead vocals or is he just singing backing vocals?
"Oh no no no, we share lead vocals! I know we
have a pretty similar voice sometimes (laughs), but my voice
is
a bit more aggressive than his, so...
But in most of the songs we do it 50 / 50, it depends. Like,
let's say in "Your God's Crime" I am the lead vocalist, it just
depends. We just use the voice that suits the part, you know."
Tell us a little bit more about the album in general...
How long have you been able to stay in the studio to record
the material?
"Too long (laughs)! No, not kidding!
The studio we were in, which is the Hypnotic studio, it belongs
to the record company... We were not working twelve hours a day,
like working hard let's say... There was so much time off and stuff.
Usually we had this kind of a habit of going into a studio and
rush, but this time it was not like that at all..."
How did you hook up with the producers?
I never heard of them before...
"Well, that's the company...We're not really happy
with the sound of the whole thing, though. We know it doesn't sound
thaaat good, you know (laughs)! It could've been better, the drums are
kind of not there, but it's a first album, so..." In my opinion they did a
fantastic job! "Perfect! Well, I'm always a bit hard on what we're doing
anyways..." Yeah, probably! "Ohhh yeah!"
Have
they been working on any other records previously?
"Well, they did the VOIVOD album "Negatron"
too.
The company is hiring them. I think they did a good job with all the
shit we had to deal with, when we were there. There were a lot of
business happenings with the record company...
We wanted to do exactly what we wanted to do (laughs), you know.
So, I think the guys saved our asses a couple of times (laughs)!"
What
is the reason that Olaf was not shown on any of your
promotional pictures? Is he not a permanent member of HEAVEN'S CRY?
"Ehh, right now he is, yeah! Well, what happened is, he
came in the band just before we started to write for the album, because
we didn't wanna use too much of the old songs as I was saying. I was
pretty afraid of hearing that the album would've been good if it would've
come out ten years ago, especially because we like new music too,
you know. We're not just into 70's Prog Rock or whatever. So, the guy
worked on the songs with
us and since he's a finger
picking guitarist, he was not
really used to play with rock
bands...We played a couple of
shows with him and then we
thought,well, this guy is gonna
be able to do the job and he's a good songwriter, too... He had good ideas,
let's say. And when we came to the conclusion that he should be in the
band,the company told us it was too late, that the whole album was done
already. He was originally mentioned as an additional musician and I told
them to change that, so they said, we will put him in as a musician and write
"not shown" on the cover. I think it's pretty stupid! Personally, I would've
liked him being credited as a member of the band, but we couldn't do
anything at that point, so..."
So, are you working with three guitars
now!?
"Yeah! But there's a lot of effects on
guitars and we have a guitar synth too, you know.
So, there's a couple of things on the album that's
been played with a guitar synth too."
And what about Eric, the guy
who played the keyboards on the album?!
"He's a friend of mine, who helped us out in the
studio. We used a lot of keyboards in our band in the past and we
just decided to cut off the keyboard... It's not because we don't like
keyboards or anything like that. It's just that if you don't get the right
keyboard and a good programmer and stuff, it sounds dated already.
Whenever you will put some keyboards, it will sound like the 80's,
you know.So, we used, what we did. We used a lot of the old keyboards,
which are more like natural sounding. But we will always have a little bit
of keyboards in our band, that's for sure! If it's played by a guitar synth,
it will! Or else, one of us will play it."
How would you actually categorize the music of HEAVEN'S CRY?
Do you see yourself as a progressive Metal act?
"Well, we'd like to perceive the band as an attempt to
do something different. We know it's not easy, we're still a
young band,
even if we're old (laughs), it's been eight years of working and writing...
The thing is, it's kinda tough to put a label on the kinda stuff we're doing,
because there's influences from everywhere in the rockscene. We've been
listening to a lot of stuff and everybody has been listening to other ,
stuff too you know. So, I guess Prog Metal is probably the closest thing
to what we wanna do, yeah!"
Don't
you think, you would be able to reach a lot more people,
by writing a little bit more straight forward maybe?
"Well, it's for sure, that we won't do the same thing again.
We don't wanna put out albums that are always the same!
was a pretty hard time actually...
I think for the next album we will be using even more extreme
stuff, but there's some songs that will be easier, that maybe could be
played on the radio, even if it's not commercial music, you know.
We're not trying to write like you order something... "Yes, I'd like to
have a song that will sound like that!" (laughs)
It just depends on how we feel and what happens in our lives, you know."
Where do you draw your main musical inspirations from
as a band and as a vocalist in particular?
"Oooff... Let's say that 70's Prog Rock is very important,
that's for sure! But for me and Sylvain more than anybody else in the band.
like that. Even LED ZEPPELIN is one of them, the BEATLES
(laughs), why not?! As far as Metal goes... The first METALLICA
albums "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets"... stuff like
that! And, I don't know, MEEEEGADETH (laughs) and PANTERA,
whatever, you know?! I've been listening to a lot of stuff!
As a vocalist... Well, as an artist, PETER GABRIEL to me is one
of the greatest! Well, that's my opinion, you have to ask the
other guys of the band for theirs. But I don't think that I sing
like him at all, that's not the point... I don't know, there's a
lot of people that I respect. I mean, there's FREDDY MERCURY
from QUEEN which is totally amazing and even ROBERT PLANT for
the feel of it, you know. All those guys that's been singing so
well (laughs)! There's too many people I could talk about.
Oh, I think I forgot one... I love MARILLION with Fish!"
Oh really?
"Yeah, "Fugazi" and "Misplaced
Childhood"...
stuff like that!"
Have you ever heard of the New York band
HITTMAN?
"No..."
They released two excellent albums and their vocalist
Dirk Kennedy has a very similar voice to... I don't know if it's your
voice or Sylvain's...
"Is that the clean voice?"
Yeah, especially in your song "Gaia's Judgement",
the high pitched voice sounds exactly like the guy in HITTMAN...
"Oh, that's me (laughs)!"
Oh really?
"Yeah, well do you mean at the end of the song or during
the song?" The chorus... especially... "Ok...well, that's it... that's me!
Yeah."
Yeah, and this guy sounds exactly like
you!
"Oh really?! Shit... (laughs) Ohh,
I have a double somewhere (laughs)!"
But it seems that they don't exist anymore, so you don't
have to worry! "Well, I'm okay then (laughs)!"
It seems to me that you are really concerned about
what's happening on our planet, as your lyrics very much deal
with socially aware type stuff and you even printed the address
of "Amnesty International" in the booklet of your CD... So, what
annoys you the most these days?
"Hmm... You wanna make me talk now, huh
(laughs)?! Well, there's tons of stuff... I told myself that I should
not talk too much about that because sometimes I get really... (laughs)
PISSED OFF (laughs)!! Well, to me, one of the things that really keeps
us from evolving and changing and maybe
growing as a big society orsomething is...
the religions! Religions are always connected
to wars anyways, you know. I think we should
accept differences, not try to simulate other
people, that's what I mean by that. I'm not
talking about spirituality at all. Spirituality is
something else... totally! Religion just don't
belongs to our time anymore,you know,withall
the technology and stuff we're in and all the
science that's been found. Even if I'm more like
a spiritual person...So, that's one thing. Or
something else our accidental society fucks the whole thing up and all
the people in Malaysia and a lot of other places.. they are slaves, you
know?! Working for 25 cents a week...Well, I'm very much into human
rights, I think it's pretty annoying that we use them like that, you know.
And the thing why we put the "Amnesty International" address in our
CD was to prove our point. We're supporting them, but I'm not saying
that everybody should... If you don't have any money, don't do it!"
HEAVEN'S CRY
c/o Pierre St-Jean
6244 Louis Hemon
Montreal, Quebec
CANADA, H2G 2K7
www.heavenscry.com
News update
(November 26, 2001):
HEAVEN'S CRY are still
alive and well and will release a second album in May 2002! So, watch out for
that!!!
Frank Stöver
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