|
With
the release of her excellent new album 'Monsters' we catch up with
Canadian singer / song-writer Robin Brock to find out more ...
MM - Firstly let me congratulate you on your
latest album ‘Monsters’.
RB
- Thank you very much Barry. It’s been a
long time coming, but it’s something I’m really proud of.
MM - The album itself is full of angst filled
vocals, do you find singing a release and you can unleash your inner
demons vocally rather than physically?
RB
- Yes, totally. I have a very difficult time
expressing myself face to face physically...but to write it down and
then have it under a melody makes it clear what I’m trying to say.
Maybe it’s also easier to hide behind the melody and music, but as a
song, it’s delivered with more passion and intention for sure.
|
|
MM - How long did the album take to put together
and were there any trials or tribulations along the way?
RB
- The album took about three years to put
together; and that’s not counting the time it took to start writing
it. I literally have books of songs that came out of me when I decided
to start writing for the album...it wasn’t until I got an email from
John Capek saying: Don’t you think it’s time we do another album
together? that things started to take shape. I had been searching for
co-writers and had a few in mind, but once I got in touch with John, the
project seemed to have a mind of its own. He understood me and what I
was trying to accomplish with these songs, and I knew it would take more
time than I wanted, so doing the album in three sessions like it was
done we risked lack of cohesion...but John and I were common
denominators, so I think that was the solution, to only work with one
writer for the whole project. |
As
for trials and tribulations: wow, where do I start....of course the
first major thing was breaking my ankle badly in a mountain biking
accident. I was laid up for quite a while and was forced to just do
nothing but write. I’d say it was a cosmic slap upside the head for
me. On the personal side, I lost three people that I adored as well as
my best friend and fur baby; and I pushed through a lot of personal Monsters,
I like to call them...life happened, really. No different than
anyone else. Also I left my record label and funded the album totally on
my own, so the funding aspect took some time. But through it all I
gained strength and took all of the negatives and used them as Fuel.
It’s either that or resort to other unhealthy habits.
MM - You were born and raised in Canada but have
you ever been temped to move out of Canada to fulfil your Rock N Roll
dreams, or are you not temped by the bright lights?
RB - Sure I’ve been tempted to move many
times...and over the years I’ve spent a lot of time in Los
Angeles...who knows...I could still move if an amazing opportunity
presented itself to me....but I am a firm believer in balance. I need
the quiet and nature of my home, and there are times I need to be in the
energy of the city, so I go there. I don’t know if I’d find that
much needed balance elsewhere. And, strangely enough, although I’ve
stayed in Canada, I have more of a fanbase in the rest of the world than
I do here.
MM - Have you started working on the next album
or are there any other projects your involved with that we should keep
and eye out for?
RB - In the farthest corner of my mind, I’m
always working on the next album, but right now I’m concentrating on
getting my stage show together to take things out on the road. I have a
UK/European tour in the planning stages and I am really excited about
that. I will keep you posted as soon as I have solid dates booked.
|
|
MM - Back to the Canadian Rock scene, what is
the scene like in Canada, do you get to see many touring bands and it
there a nightlife for the rock music fan to enjoy?
RB - I’d say the Canadian Rock scene has
gotten better over the last few years; thanks to the success of
Nickelback, it’s finally getting back to what it was since the before
90’s; that’s for sure. There are lots of great bands that tour
across the country, but the venues aren’t what they used to be...when
I first started, even before, there were tons of great live venues...but
for the longest time they were doing the DJ thing...it was very
difficult to see great bands in smaller venues; I’m talking about
larger clubs, but now that’s turning around...I do find that Tribute
bands are getting big here. The shame is, for so long, this new
generation of music buyers (or illegal downloaders), didn’t have a
clue what it was to be in the energy and experience a great live
band...maybe that’s why they didn’t respect the music enough to pay
for it...oh, oh, let me get down from my soapbox here...to me there is
nothing like a live show...we just need more venues in rural Canada to
prove that...really if you want a consistent night life, you have to be
in bigger centres like Vancouver or Calgary. Canada has quite a diverse
music scene and for so long we were stuck with just Country Music or
folk hippie music...and yeah, diversity is great, but if you’re a rock
fan like me, it gets tedious.
|
MM - Personally I love the new album but what
has been the general response from the rest of the media around the
album?
RB - Thanks Barry. I’m glad you love it! That
makes me happy...overall the general response from media has been very
good...I didn’t know what to expect really, because Monsters is
slightly different than Blame It On Rock and Roll and Hidden Power (my
first two cd’s). It’s got a more modern feel with the loops and
programming base, but I still feel it’s got the melodic rock
sensibilities. It truly is melodic rock, just not exactly classic rock.
I think it’s got all the bases covered; great melody, guitars, lots of
hooks, great choruses, but still has the slightly classic feel but with
a bit of modern, too.
MM - In a male dominated rock world do you feel
you have to prove yourself more than male artists to get your music
heard?
RB - You know, honestly, I never really thought
of it that way...I think artists have to prove themselves period,
(unless you’re under 20 and you look like a Barbie doll or are a
Disney Product)..I think my music speaks for itself...maybe that’s a
naive way to think, but I’ll go with it.
MM - I’ve noticed your music is available from
HevyDmusic.com via a popcorn company, how did you get involved with this
and do you think this the way forward to get your music out to the
masses?
RB - Nowadays independent artists need to do
whatever it takes to get the word out; we don’t have the financial
and/or label backing to do TV commercials or spend tens of thousands for
advertising. HevyD is a local (to me) Canadian company that has a great
following because the popcorn is so yummy, and the owner one day decided
he wanted to help Canadian artists out...so he got a bunch of us
interested; it costs the artist nothing but the download of a song, but
tons of coverage in return. HevyD kettle corn has great distribution
contacts, and he’s currently working on bigger distribution all the
time, so it’s a win win for all of us. It gets our music out to people
who may not buy cd’s or listen to radio. It’s a great idea.
www.hevyd.ca
MM - What does the future hold for Robin Brock,
where do you go from here?
RB - Promotion, promotion and more promotion.
My
next step is promoting in Canada and the US on the internet :sites,
ezines and radio as well as regular media/radio, and in the meantime
I’m planning my live show...I’m so excited to get back out playing
live. I’ve got an awesome band behind me and the new songs are going
to be killer live!
MM - Any final words for all our readers out
there?
RB - I want to thank all my fans for their love
and support, first of all. Thanks to you Barry and The Mayfair Mall.
If your readers haven’t yet heard my music they can go to
www.robinbrock.com
or
www.myspace.com/robinbrockrocks
or on
www.reverbnation.com/robinbrock
.
I’m also on Facebook and you can follow
me on Twitter
@robinbrockrocks
Watch for me and my band at a rock venue
near you!
MM
- We'd like to thank Robin for taking the time out to chat with us today
and wish her every success with her new album 'Monsters' and hope to
one day see her perform live on these shores. Like the lady said
be sure to check out her websites and have a listen to her music, we're
confident you're gonna love it!
|