NEVERFRIEND
Neverfriend is set to release a new album called Strong Like a Girl, which includes an upcoming accompanying music video for the title track. They have planned an album release party at Mavericks for Saturday, June 15th. Read more to learn about the topics behind their songwriting, the diversity of their influences, and their new plans for releasing new music.
VITALS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neverfriend/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/neverfriend
Web: www.neverfriend.com
Upcoming Release: Strong Like a Girl (Album, June 2019)
Upcoming Shows: Saturday, June 15th - CD Release Party, ft. Wyntr, Norse’s Thorn, & Hot Jupiter. 7:30PM. $10. Maverick’s. Ottawa, ON.
SA: How did this project come together for you guys? NF: The Strong Like a Girl album has been in the works for nearly two years. We’ve had a few line up changes and as a result a few delays, but it was all for the best as the new members have added their flavour and we think the end product was certainly worth the extra time.
The title track Strong Like a Girl is a key song on the album as it is about putting an end to harassment, violence and abuse against women. Written on the cusp of the #MeToo movement, the song was inspired by our lead singer Gina’s personal experience with workplace sexual harassment over a 6 year period, the devastating toll it took on her life, and the courage it took for her to stand up to her predator. And in the end, she emerged victorious and determined to tell her story so that others in similar situations can know that they are not alone and that there is hope if they too speak their truth. A video for the song is set to be released on June 13, 2019.
SA: What bands or musicians would you cite as the biggest influences on your sound? NF: This is a tough one. If you were to examine each of our Spotify playlists, you would see everything from Foo Fighters to Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to a wide range of 80’s hair metal to Slayer and Motorhead. But traditionally we try to emulate the mix and mastering approach of Green Day and Paramore in terms of overall sound.
SA: Thus far in your career, what has been the band’s biggest success? NF: That a tough one cause everyone’s definition of success is different. In our case, we made a decision a few years back that success was touching one person’s heart with one of our songs...whether because the lyrics hit close to home for them, or the energy of the band or the groove of a song made them forget their day or made them feel just a tiny bit better about life. That’s our version of success and from that regard, we’ve been doing alright!
SA: Conversely, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? NF: This one is easier...finding time for everything we want to do as band! We want to be gigging more, touring, writing more music, making more videos, connecting with fans and making new friends. We want to connect with promoters, and radio jockeys, and music bloggers. We want to collaborate with fellow musicians and push the limits of our musical expression. And we also need to work our day jobs, and take care of day to day living stuff. I don’t think anyone of us would hesitate for a second to do music full time if we could and that pull and tension is always there. Somehow though we’ve been able to find a balance...most of the time...because we never lose sight of our love for this band and for music making.
SA: How do you guys approach the song-writing process? NF: Usually it’ll start with Fraser coming up with a guitar riff of some kind and singing a hook wildly into a crappy phone app to capture the creative flow as it comes spewing out of him. He’ll then ask us what we think, which is often Gina given her proximity. Her test is easy...if she can’t stop humming the hook, it’s a keeper. Gina then tries to flesh out the melody with the help of the rest of the band and matching the song feel and cadence to some of the many lyrics she’s continuously writing. Then the band massages the song structure and flow together, everyone works out their individual parts, and we lay down a rough recording of the song. Throughout, everyone’s ideas are welcomed. We’ve all been doing this long enough that no opinions will hurt our egos...likewise, we won’t hold back calling it if something sucks haha.
SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene, and what are you looking to bring to it? NF: Ottawa has a flourishing music scene with a lot of great artists. We’ve seen it grow a lot over the last several years and it’s really exciting to be a part of it. These days it’s incredibly hard to make a living in the music industry and most of us do it purely for the love of making music, often at our own cost. Everyone is in the same boat. So we try to help in our own way by encouraging other bands and supporting each other…the same good vibes we feel from them.
SA: Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming music video for Strong Like a Girl? NF: We took the lead from Gina on this one given that it was her story. She had the idea of inviting some of the strong women she knew to be part of the video, to stand in solidarity against harassment, abuse and all the other forms of oppression against women that happen on a daily basis, in every walk of life, all over the world. It was shot and edited by Kristopher Chandroo, who also did our Hurts to Breathe video. The result was one of the video projects we’ve been the most proud to be associated with. So far the feedback we’ve received on the early previews of the video have been really positive and we can’t wait to share it with everyone on June 13.
SA: You get billed on your dream tour. Who would be on tour with you? NF: Well it would be a hell of a tour with our varied musical interests! I don’t know that we can answer this one. Our list would be so long it would be more like a touring festival! Ok, for starters it would include Metallica and Weird Al Yankovic.
SA: If you had to choose, what three records would you cite as most impactful on your sound in this group? NF: See answer above. Truthfully we can’t say we try to emulate any one (let alone three) bands or records. Neverfriend has prided itself on trying to be as unique as possible while still staying true to what we genuinely love to hear...heavy, groovy riffs, dynamics, emotional content, character. As a result, we’ve been labeled everything from pop punk, rock, metal, alternative rock, etc. This likely speaks to all of our very varied and diverse musical backgrounds that range from 80s hair metal, punk, ska, heavy metal, rock, etc....all the way to opera and classical music.
SA: What comes next for you guys, post album-release, in 2019? Good luck this coming year! NF: Thanks!! We think we may step away from the traditional “album release” approach and focus more on releasing our music song by song. In this day and age, new material is king, and since we all have day jobs, the writing process for an entire album can be quite lengthy and is simply too long for fans to wait for. By taking the “release one song at a time” approach we can keep writing and keep releasing new content, and also delve into some different sounds without committing an entire album to it. It’s a win win, really.