Misery Signals Interview
Interview with Kyle Johnson of Misery Signals
Words by Brendan Monteiro / Photo’s by Phill Mamula
Misery Signals is a dominant figure in the underground hardcore scene, they create macabre and brutal riffage and tinsel it with bits of gleaming melodies and then combine it all with some mind shatteringly irregular time signatures. They’re live shows are at times chaotic, with audience members invading the stage and dive bombing back into the crowd. What is seen from the outside however is only a small section of what makes up the core of this band and for a few minutes Kyle Johnson gave us some insight into the real Misery Signals.
Controller is the latest offering that you have, the name has a really stern sense of control to it, is that an idea that runs throughout the album?
Yeah, I think lyrically throughout it comes back to the concept of control and the effect that it has on everyone’s life. So lyrically that is definitely a theme that runs throughout the album.
Devin Townsend recorded your debut and Controller, will he be behind the making of your next studio release?
If we have anything to do with it he will but I’m not sure what his schedule is over the next little bit. I think he is taking a little break from producing and working on some of his own stuff so if our schedules meet up then he will be the man for the job. More likely I think we will have to go elsewhere because I don’t think he will be available to do it.
He has had quite a bit of inclusion in your work and even did some backing vocals on A Victim, A Target. Is he been a fan of the work that the band has been doing?
It seems so, at least the last one especially. It seemed like he took a real liking to it and made it a little bit of his own and put in a little bit of extra work because he actually had an interest in it. It’s good to have that with the producer that your working with, it show’s that your on the same page and that he kind of understands what your going for rather than just producing.
Do you think that is why the album came out as something that the band was 100% proud of?
Yes, for sure. All the elements were there for this record and the producer is definitely one of those elements.
You have not only had a strong connection with Devin Townsend but also with Fall Out Boy (Patrick Stump contributed vocals to One Day I’ll Stay Home and Andy Hurley plays drums for Misery Signals side project Burning Empires which subsequently has a clothing line/record label called Fuck City). Has that ever had any adverse reactions from your fans?
Not really, honestly I think most people that heard the track didn’t even know it was Patrick Stump because we weren’t able to credit him on the CD itself because of Island/Def Jam. We’ve never played the song live and we have never really pushed that song in particular, it was kind of just a fun collaboration and I don’t think that we have had that much backlash. We did have a few people that didn’t like the song mostly because of the vocal part but we are not a band that is at a level that there would be too much of a sway either way.
You have done a lot of your recording in Canada, how come?
Ah that’s where Devin is based so that is the reason why. If we could of worked with someone as good in a closer location then that probably would of been the case but it was worth traveling for.
How is the new album going to sound compared to previous releases and how are you going to better your last release seen as the band was so happy with it?
It’s kind of a mystery to all of us as to where it’s going to go until we actually start writing. I don’t think it will stray to far from our usual sound but we always like to throw in some experimental tracks and fool around with different sounds and stuff. So it will probably be pretty similar to the last one with a little bit of difference as it has been from album to album.
Has modern technology and software like Garage Band helped in between studio time?
I don’t know, we are about to find out I guess because we all learned how to use it now which we didn’t really have that knowledge before recording Controller. I know that Stuart [Ross] has tonnes of demos already written which is pretty good to start on the writing process so yes it’s definitely a positive.
Do you feel that will affect how long it will take to record the album as you should have so much more material to play with?
I think it will just give us more options as far as songs, instead of writing 10 songs and recording 10 songs we can now write 20 songs and pick the 10 best ones out of them.
You have been with Ferret Record except for you first E.P, how is the relationship there and what has made the band never change?
The relationship is fine but I think with time they have become more busy with what they are doing so we have less of a personal relationship than what we had in the earlier stages. It’s still fine though and they still pay for us to make records and we still tour and try to sell the records as much as we can. I think the whole relationship with labels in general has become less personal just because the industry has become so much bigger. That sucks but it is what it is and you have to just deal with it.
It’s must be sad, I always thought of labels as a family away from home and it does seem like that is not the case anymore.
At one point that is how it was but I could go through a list of labels that I had that impression of and over the last seven years I can say that probably none of them are like that anymore.
There must be a point in every bands career (with the exception of Paul McCartney and U2 probably) that you can’t do it forever and it all has to come to an end at some stage, have you reached that point yet as a band?
For me personally I have for sure. Not to say that there is a set time on when that end will come but I think we have definitely reached a peak in our existence and once the decline starts to increase then those thoughts will start to become more frequent. We will just play it by ear for and now, do another record and just see how it goes and see what we all have left inside of us after that.
How do you think the hardcore scene has changed over the years?
I don’t even know what to consider hardcore anymore, the kids that we play in front of these days have become almost a mainstream style of music. Obviously not mainstream like pop music or rock music but it has got so big nowadays and there are so many sub genres that I think that 95% of the kids don’t even know what hardcore is or what is is meant to be. We just kind of play what we have always played and whoever wants to listen to it, well it’s fine by us. The ideals that got us into this music or some of us was because of hardcore but most of that has been lost over the last seven years.
Does that make you despondent towards the scene in any way?
I don’t really know where it leaves me, regardless of whoever follows our band I don’t really stay that involved in the hardcore scene even if it is still out there and does exist. I’ve just grown apart from it I guess and it is definitely not what it was when I was growing up and I really just don’t have any interest in it any more. I still live by a lot of the same ideals but modern day hardcore is just not for me.
What direction have you taken now then?
Ah I’m just in to whatever interest me, nothing labelled and nothing specific. I listen to music that I like whether it’s heavy or not heavy and I hang out with people whether they’re hardcore kids or strait edge kids, emo kids, goth kids and whoever. As long as they are good people, that’s all that counts. You get passed that point in your life where you have to do something because of what it is or what it stands for and I guess it’s just seeing somebody or something for the good that it is and not the label that is attached to it.
And with so much of your time spent playing heavy music, what do you end up listening to when relaxing?
Ah usually nothing heavy, a little bit here and there but mostly just kind of classic rock, modern day rock. All different forms of rock and roll I guess.
Thanks for taking the time out to speak to us.
And thank you.
