Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Quebec rock band The Speakeasy are prepping for their LP on Thousand Islands Records. Drummer Julien took a few moments with TGEFM, to Roll the Dice for the latest in our interview series. After you check out our interview you can check out The Speakeasy’s previous releases on the band’s Bandcamp page here.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What should our readers know about the members of The Speakeasy and your sound?
You’re more than welcome, thanks to you for reaching out! The members of The Speakeasy are all friends from a long time prior to putting this band together. Our main goal is to have fun while creating good punk rock music. Our sound can vary from more rock’n’roll to some fast punk rock beat.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
For me (Julien), one of my older brother was playing drums so that’s when I knew I wanted to play too. As far as the style of music, I definitely felt in love with So Long and Thanks For All The Shoes from NOFX. I mean, no one can play that double kick beat like Smelly. I had the cassette tape playing on repeat at home. Then, there was Derrick Plourde from the early Lagwagon records that blew my mind also.
Your first 2 EPs were concept records but from what I understand your upcoming LP will not be. What pros and cons did you find to opening up the songwriting to a wider set of themes and narratives?
It’s definitely easier to write and LP with many subjects than the two EPs that had to follow the same themes and guidelines in terms of the lyrics. Karl, our singer, is able to open-up on many subjects in the writing process. We think there’s more pros to write a wider or no concept LP than cons for sure. On the lyrics part, we can write about one subject for a lot of songs but it’s also great to mix things up.
Nobody can deny the world has been changing drastically over the last few years. Where do you see the future of music, both for The Speakeasy and also for the scene at large transitioning in light of these events?
We haven’t had the chance to do a proper tour with a few dates aligned but we know that cost of going on the road isn’t cheap. But we do see that people still really enjoy live music. As far as the music goes in general, there’s the tendency to only release singles or EP instead of a full-length. We first thought about doing a third EP but as a band, we needed to have a less one full-length in our catalog.
We are not listening to an album from start to finish anymore so I do understand the “single release” strategy.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Our friends Colorsfade, they just release a new LP. Always fun to hang with them. Will be playing a show with them later this summer. There’s also Debt Cemetary from Toronto that are also on Thousand Islands Records.
What’s next for The Speakeasy?
The main focus is to finish our first LP which will be released on Thousand Islands Records. We will have two more singles from this LP prior to the release. Our latest single, Bright Side, came out in January and were very pleased with the reviews and comments on the song. We have a few festivals across Quebec that we will be playing this summer.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Make sure to check our upcoming LP on TIR and check our socials for more infos. Thanks! Cheers!
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
