(Halifax’s Broken Ohms, from left: Peter Hubley, Stephen MacDonald, Paul Nickerson, Troy Wilson.)
“Too metal for the indie scene and too indie for the metal scene,” is how Broken Ohms describes its heavy rock sound.
The band, Peter Hubley, Stephen MacDonald, Paul Nickerson and Troy Wilson, have garnered a great reputation themselves performing around the east coast and at festivals like the Halifax Pop Explosion, Maritime Tattoo Festival and Nova Scotia Music Week.
The band’s 2008 album Nocturnal Emissions netted the band a few weeks in the Canadian college radio charts and rave reviews from all over the world.
Most recently, the album was nominated for Music Nova Scotia’s Loud Artist Recording of the Year (won by Shelter with Thieves for Confessions of a Toxic Generation).
As Stephen MacDonald, Broken Ohm’s bassist, tells us, the band is storming into 2010 with a new album in sight and no signs of slowing down …
1. What are you up to these days, musically or otherwise? (Feel free to plug whatever you’ve got coming up.)
Broken Ohms are currently working on songs for a new album that will come out later this year. We’ve got about eight new songs and about 15 half-finished songs in the works. We’re all excited about every one of them, so it’s gonna be hard to pick and choose which ones make the final cut. I can’t wait to start recording!
2. How did you get into the music business and what was the first major lesson you learned once you got your feet wet?
We did our first tour outside of the Maritimes in October. In Montreal our van was broken into TWICE! I lost two basses and Troy lost a guitar. We learned a major lesson the hard way: someone ALWAYS stays with the gear!
3. What song or album have you been listening to most lately?
Them Crooked Vultures and the new Priestess album have been taking up most of my listening time lately. Both are such awesome new rock albums. Lots of Thin Lizzy too. They’re like the classic rock band that I never really got into until the past few years … so they’re kinda new to me.
4. What’s your favourite way to waste time or relax?
Sitting on the couch with my girlfriend drinking beer/wine and listening to records is my favourite way to relax. Definitely not a waste of time though!
5. The Internet and social media are allowing artists to get closer to their fans than they ever were in some respects. What are your thoughts on this?
I think Facebook and Myspace are extremely useful for both independent and established musicians. Everything is instant and everywhere. DON’T DRINK AND USE FACEBOOK!
6. If you weren’t in the music industry in some capacity, what would you be doing today?
I’d be sitting around wishing I was in a rock band.
7. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned recently?
Geezer Butler wrote almost all of Ozzy’s lyrics in Sabbath!
8. If you could hit the “delete” button on anything related to music (a song, artist, trend, whatever), what would you delete?
Scarf rock.
9. What’s your favourite thing to drink (alcoholic or otherwise)?
Propeller IPA!
10. Finish the sentence below and please elaborate on what you mean:
The east coast music scene … is like a phoenix rising up from the ashes. Whatever that means … There are a lot of great bands here that are getting the attention they deserve. There are a lot of crap bands that are getting the attention they don’t deserve. For the most part the east coast music scene is better and more exciting than it ever has been. It’s a lot LOUDER now too!
11. What’s the next thing you want to accomplish, musically or otherwise?
Musically, I’m very excited to make the next Broken Ohms album. I’m very proud of our last one, but this new one is gonna be far superior I think. We just wrote one (recently) that gives me chills just thinking about it. I also plan to start doing more design work this year. I’ve got a few album covers in the works right now for other bands as well as Ohms. To me, the album cover is as important as the music itself. Let me help you make your music look good!
Check back to EastCoastNoise.com next Friday for a chat with: The Motorleague and Something Delicious’s Jonah Hache
