1. Ok so at first can you introduce your band, members (hobbies, work, age,...)and tell us how you met each other?
Sure. We have Ben on vocals, Jake on guitar, Bryan on drums, Chris on bass, and myself (Matt) on guitar. Most of us are tradesmen. Millwrights, plumbers, electricians, etc. We were all friends before the band, meeting at gigs or whatever.
2. When and why came decission to start a band and why the name Alliance?
We formed about a year ago, in October 2014. A few of us have played in bands before together, and our area is pretty dry for bands, so it just made sense. We wanted to start something new so just got together and started writing. We were throwing around names forever, like we had lists of possible names but Alliance just kind of fit and we liked how it was simple and easy to remember.
3. Some of your members have experience with playing in True Grit, what about some other bands your members played in?
Yes. Right now me and Ben both play in True Grit, but Chris was the original bassist of that band. We’ve all been in other bands previously.
4. You are going to release your demo on EP through Rebellion...how do you came in contact with Wouter and how do you like the cooperation?
Well we were originally going to be
releasing it on a label being started by some friends in Toronto, but
production of that label is being pushed back. So we were playing at Midwest
Live and Loud with True Grit and I handed out some demos of Alliance, and
Wouter got his hands on one and messaged us after he got home from the festival
offering to release it. I think it goes without saying that Rebellion puts out
some awesome stuff, so with the original local label bring postponed it was a
great opportunity for us. Im excited to get the release out to the public, so
far we’ve had some good feedback.
5. Can you introduce your songs from EP?
Sure. We write about personal events, stories, and our own family histories and lives. We do what we can to make our lyrics a bit different; but we keep a chorus that's easy to sing along to, staying true to tradition. The songs on the EP are no exception, just personal tales really.
6. You have cover from British band Retaliator - Sarah, why do you choose this song and what do you think about Retaliator in general?
We love Retaliator. They’re one of my personal favorite bands. For how good they are, I find very few bands covering them, so we wanted to do something that not everybody does. The song Sarah is a great song but it hit home to us all as sadly there was a very similar story that happened in our area a few years back, almost word for word.
7. Can you describe your sound? Which bands do you prefer, Europe/US/CAN and new breed or classic ones?
I don’t think we really sound like traditional oi bands. Its faster and more heavy, but not anything too crazy. We like a bit of everything. There´s shit classic bands, there´s great classic bands. There´s shit new bands, and there´s great new bands.
8. You are going to release an EP, do you prefer vinyl instead of CD´s and why?
I prefer vinyl for sure. I think most
people prefer vinyl. I think it sounds better, and it is just kind of cool
having a vinyl over CD. Also seems to be what most people are buying now,
because they can collect vinyl but burn CD. Really the only time I'll listen to
CD´s is when Im driving in the car.
9.
You came from the south-west of Ontario...can you describe y
r life there?
Sure. We’re all from small to mid-sized cities, so it´s just typical shit for us. Work, music, pubs, friends etc. Nothing too out of the ordinary.
10. Can you tell us something more about the city you live in? From tourist and skinhead tourist point of view (pubs, bars, venues...)?
As far as the cities we live in, theres really not much. Most of us live in a small city. In London where Ben lives there´s Speed City Records, it´s got some good stuff. Our cities themselves may not have much to offer tourists, but our region has tons of great stuff. Beaches, cities, nightlife and all that. Toronto’s also close and there´s something for everybody there, that’s also where True Grit is based. For skinhead tourists, there´s really not much, the odd record store here and there like Speed City in London or Crash Landing in Hamilton. No pubs really frequented by skins, and venues seem to change every few months. We have been getting some good gigs here lately though. If anybody reading this ever finds themselves in our neck of the woods, we’d be happy to show you around and get rowdy.
11. Are you fans of some kind of sport?
Not really to be honest.
12. What about your merch, can we order something somewhere?
Well right now you can order our debut 7” off of the Rebellion Records website, and they’ve also got t-shirts on there. You can buy both for a package deal as well.
13. Do you know anything about Czech Republic?
I was in Czech Republic with my brother a few years ago. Great place. Cheap beer, nice buildings. We spent a few days in Prague and loved it. Didn’t see much as far as skinhead shit goes, but I know it exists there with bands, shops, and festivals. We saw a Canadian punk band at some venue on a college residence when we were there. Would love to go back one day, maybe with the band!
14. Plans for the future...
For right now we’ve got some great shows coming up. We’re playing Detroit and Toronto in the next few weeks, and have some awesome shows lined up for next year already. We’re going to hit the studio in December as well to record some more stuff, so keep an eye out for all this.
15. Last words...
Thank you for the interview and if anybody wants to check us out they can at allianceoi.bandcamp.com or facebook.com/allianceoi. Head over to Rebelloin Records, buy our debut 7”, and keep an eye out for us because more gigs and releases are to come.