Page 29 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 98

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them, whether it be a racial thing or any kind nothing which has ever scared me or risen ally strong stance on it other than I don’t get
of prejudice where people fail to see the sim- to the level where we’ve had to stop in the it, I just don’t get it! I don’t understand why
ilarities we all have among the human race middle of a show to address it.” people would want to have a gun in the
and even animals. It’s just this really general He tells Black Velvet, “We’ve all heard house and at the same time it starts to be-
understanding I think everyone should have. the stories of incidents happening in the come a compounding problem where you
We are all living things on the planet and we crowd, whether it be sexual assault, vio- are so concerned with society or whatever
all should have some level of empathy and lence, or people getting crushed or trampled, and you know everyone else has a gun so it
compassion for each other, so on one makes you think you need one too. It’s a re-
and I really think that has side it is ally complex problem, which is a major prob-
gone missing. something I lem in the United States, which I would be
“What concerns me is would like to reluctant to comment on other than I think it
when one of the other prob- be aware of, is brutal, but I do think it needs to be ad-
lems we have becomes more but on the dressed with maybe stricter gun laws.
an issue, the lack of empathy other side “We are now starting to see 3D printer
and compassion will be what you hope you guns so we’re on the verge of people being
causes the bigger collapse have either a able to assemble their own weapons so
rather than the actual prob- fan base will- again maybe it’s a societal problem which
lem itself; whether it be a ing to help we need to address from a different stand-
war, a virus, a technological each other or point as we might be ten years away from
failure or anything else you at least a there being no gun control where everyone
can come up with. If we are proper infra- with a proper 3D printer can just make one.
all not here to help and sup- structure of What do you do? There are definitely people
port each other we are really security and more smarter and dedicated than me to
going to have a problem.” venue per- come up with a solution to that one!”
Mentioning people not sonnel to
accepting each other be- stop such an Of course, it’s not just the world which is
cause they see them as dif- incident from evolving, but Monster Truck are evolving as
ferent to themselves, we ask happening, well, and, as we’ve already mentioned, the
Jeremy about Monster e s p e c i a l l y new album brings with it some subtle but
Truck’s drive to being a now we have very noticeable changes, the mention of
good-time band through learned so ‘Young City Hearts’ being something of an
their music and their live much and evolution for the band, being met with an im-
shows and if his thoughts on seen so much mediate “definitely” from Jeremy.
people being more tolerant from other He tells us, “It was something we de-
of each other is something bands where cided to do towards the end of the recording
they try to promote through their music. stuff like that can happen. We’re always process where we wanted to work with a dif-
Jeremy replies, “I think that one my going to be aware, but at the end of the day ferent producer for a handful of songs to re-
favourite things about our fan base is it’s so we also kind of lose ourselves in the moment ally push us out of our comfort zone. The
diverse. Not just in ethnicity, but in age of the music so we can provide a show bulk of the record was completed with Dan
groups. I think we do have a somewhat male- where people feel they’ve had their monies Weller and I think if you listen to the album
dominated audience, but that’s not to say we worth.” you can tell which
don’t have a strong following of female fans songs we did with
who all love hard rock and metal music who he song Dan and which
come to support the group. It’s always nice T‘Evolution’ songs we later
to see the diversity in the crowd and it is sees lead vocalist did with Gavin
something that we do feel strongly about, Jon Harvey sing, (Brown). The
but at the same time we’ve never been ac- ‘Hey man, gun in songs which are
tively vocal about it. your hand, better more on the side
“The main message of the band is com- drop it now, I’m not of pushing what
ing together, having fun, finding a way to es- asking again, I’ve we have done in
cape whatever is dragging you down in life seen the world and the past is the
and sometimes you can bog down too much I’ve seen how it stuff which we did
in that original message by being too politi- ends’. With gun with Gavin, and
cal or too much of an activist and taking the crime and violence that was an inten-
focus off the fact that we are all just here to and gun control in tional move to try
have fun and not think about the world’s America such a and do something
problems or the potential end of the world. massive talking different.”
It’s really about coming out and spending point in the world The band de-
two or three hours at a rock concert, living today, Jeremy tells cided to try and
in the moment, and having fun.” us, “We had an inci- diversify the
dent in Toronto re- album a little, with
oncerts are definitely one of the best cently where three Jeremy saying, “I
Cways to have fun, although once in a people were killed think, being con-
while you come across someone that is and I think nine structive, with the
causing a problem at a show. Jeremy tells us more were injured last two albums, I
about the band’s own shows, while dis- by gun violence don’t think we
cussing the growing concern felt throughout and that is less tried to be adven-
live music, in particular live rock music, than an hour away turous enough
where people take their idea of fun too far. from us in Hamilton with those al-
“It’s a delicate balance. At the end of the and we are not im- bums. And there
day, if we ever see anything happening in the mune to it here either. We have stricter gun are people who are fine with that, but there
crowd which is violent or sexist or anything control in Canada, but, at the end of the day, are some people who need the general vibe
that strikes a nerve with us we would be will- if you want to own 12 rifles you can own 12 of the album to change up a little more than
ing to stop the show to address it, but luckily rifles as long as you go through the neces- we had done. One of the best things I can
our fan base is pretty fantastic and we’ve sary process, but I think it’s harder to get il- say about it is we learned a lot about where
never had to do that. There has been a cou- legal weapons. we are able to go and what we are able to do
ple of moments where we’ve had to tell peo- “It’s something which has always con- and it’s something which I think we will take
ple to take their foot off the gas when it fused us a little bit, the side of the public who a lot of the knowledge from about experi-
comes to shoving people in the mosh pit or are gun lovers or enthusiasts, but I don’t menting and take it to the next album.
becoming a little overly aggressive, but know enough about the subject to have a re- “I don’t think there is a better way of ap-
MONSTER TRUCK