VERONICA SPEEDWELL TO PLAY APRIL 6TH @ PETIT CAMPUS…
Montreal's Veronica Speedwell is a force to be reckoned with, as they bring forth some serious talent, and creativity. This 5-member band is head off by a kick ass female lead, and is rounded out by four other awesome musicians. Veronica Speedwell has been playing together since 1999, with 3 official EP's (The Wrecking Yard, Famous Gossips, and Vigilante) with tons of recordings to their name, and all done in their own professionally sounding studio run by Speedwell member, Sausage. Not only does Speedwell have an incredible sound, they're also sarcastically hilarious and well rounded people, as you'll learn here in our interview.
Veronica Speedwell is:
Vaughn - vocals
George (Gee) - guitar
Chris (Sausage) - keyboards
Dan - drums
Nick - bass
MMS: Why Veronica Speedwell as a name?
Vaughn : Well, it's the name of a flower my parents have in their garden, and obviously also works as a kind of pseudonym. But, here for the first time, the truthful origins: when I was a teenager in Ottawa there was briefly a band called that and I always thought it was the coolest name and that they were much cooler than me. Many years later when we were naming our band, I threw it into the mix and it was the one everyone liked. It was either that or The Giraffes.
Sausage: The Giraffes is going to be the name of the next NHL hockey team in Winnipeg, so we went with the flower thing.
MMS: Do you feel there are enough groups with female singers in Montreal?
Why do you think that there is/isn't? Does lack of publicity play a significant role?
Vaughn: There are a lot of women in music in Montreal. It can sometimes be noticeable to play on a bill and be the only woman in any of the bands. But it certainly isn't hard to find other great ladies to play with, and we've done it a lot.
Sausage: There are quite a few female singers/groups in town. What's lacking are more decent venues to showcase them properly.
MMS: How's the relationship between the male counterparts and the female front in the band?
Vaughn: Well, they refer to me as "the boss", does that clarify anything? I've always thought it makes things easier in many respects. As anyone in a band knows, getting 5 people to keep moving in the same direction sometimes requires that someone have the final say, and with us that's an honour reserved for "the lady". Basically everything is kinder and gentler with a girl in the room, except for when I am being a tyrannical uberbitch.
Dan: I've played in quite a few bands throughout the years and I find that having a female presence gives a new and interesting vibe to the band. We have a working relationship I haven't experienced before. Everyone knows their role in the band and there is much respect for everyone. If anyone gets out of control, the boss would kick our butts! Literally! We're all frightened little boys.
Gee: I don't think the male/female thing affects the band in any shape or form. I respect every member for what they bring musically and spiritually to the band.
Vaughn: George, you're crazy. I can't believe nobody mentioned PMS!
MMS: With a female front, do you feel that there is a set role to play, or a set type of image and message to get out there?
Vaughn: There might be some expectations on the part of the listener as to what a woman will write about or sound like. One mild negative we've encountered is semi-condemning comparisons to others. Because there are less well-known female rock artists in general, you can be dumped into one of a very few categories even if it isn't a real fit.
In terms of message, we are maybe different in that I'm not a very literal writer, something often associated with female artists. But, there is a particular point of view. Like, I'm not shy about making the guys in my band showcase anger at the feminine hygiene industry through our music. (That's a joke.) (They prefer to show their anger through strongly-worded letters to Procter&Gamble.)
Sausage: I think we appeal more to both genders having a female front, backed by hot boys. Our only role is to rock audiences with every song and hopefully entertain.
MMS: If you were forced to put your sound into a nice little neatly packaged box for retail sale by the 'big man', what category or isle would the box be placed in?
Vaughn: We're definitely a rock band. We like guitars and choruses.
MMS: Would you be offended if your box was placed alongside musicians like, Hole, Pink, the Donnas, and Luscious Jackson? (no implication, just a question!)
Dan: I have great respect for those bands. They are strong bands with great songwriting abilities. It's a compliment.
Gee: It would be an honour. It would mean we've made it alongside some great talent.
MMS: How did Speedwell songs end up in the "That's Life?" movie and "The Dirty
Dish" documentary?
Vaughn: The internerd is a neat place for that kind of stuff. Basically the people doing those projects randomly found our music on the web and got in touch.
MMS: Does everyone have side projects as well, what's up with all the tribute bands mentioned as projects on the site??
Gee: I think side projects are very important. The more diverse your experiences the better a musician you will become. Sometimes the "original band music scene" can get you really down, so it's cool to be able to let go sometimes and do a funk/jazz gig, or even just jamming on 80's classics with a 12 pack and a few friends!
Vaughn: The music community is basically Incest City, and there are always other things to latch onto - some of it for money, some for love. We're really proud of a side project we did called Camel Toe, which was basically all of our musician friends getting together at our studio for two days with a lot of beer and writing and recording an entire album based on all the stupid ideas we've had over the years, mostly during the wasteland of time between sound check and the show.
MMS: Future ambitions/realistic future plans?
Gee: Getting some shows together, recording, and the never-ending task of trying to write the guitar riff of the century…
Vaughn: We've been on a bit of a hiatus because my dad recently passed away and I went home to Ottawa for a few months. Now that I am back in Montreal we're just trying to get our groove back, play shows and continue to record. The stuff we love to do. We'd like to work with a fancy producer.
Sausage: Continue writing and recording and refining our sound to reach out to more and more listeners. We also need more gear for our studio so if you want to send us some, feel free. Thanks in advance.
It was great interviewing and getting to know this rising talent and I can't wait to see them play live. Speedwell is set to play Petit Campus on April 6th to open for Barlow. Check out their website, www.veronicaspeedwell.com for more info and stuff.
