The Hotseat: Julien Guy-Béland of Skip The Foreplay
on May 20th, 2012With their new album ‘Nightlife‘ now available via Epitaph Records, Skip The Foreplay’s next move is to take on the Warped Tour in the US. This week in The Hotseat we check in with bass player Julien. Expand this post to take a read.
THE BASICS
Name : Julien Guy-Béland
Band : Skip the Foreplay
Job In Band : Bass
Website : facebook.com/skiptheforeplaymtl
HOME
Hometown : Montréal
Hometown is best known for : People who trash the main street because of our hockey team, poutine and cute girls
Best venue in your hometown : I used to really love a venue called the Spectrum but it’s closed now so I’ll have to go with the Metropolis
Favourite show you’ve seen in your hometown : That’s a good one. I can’t really tell actually. I used to go to local shows almost every weeks at a small club called ‘Le café l’inconditionnel’. I guess those are the shows I keep the best memories from even though most of them plainly sucked. It was a fucking party over there. Most of the kids were sneaking in the place without paying and did not even give a shit about the shows. We were just hanging around to drink in the back alley and hook up with girls. A lot of bands that are now big played there (Bring me the Horizon, Blessthefall, Dead and Divine etc…) but unfortunaly the place is now closed.
Favourite show you’ve played in your hometown : It has to be our last headlining show at La Salla Rossa. It felt so good to come back from tour and see so many people from where we come from coming out to support us even though our first album is not even out yet.
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? The usual thing. A bunch of friends got together and found the missing pieces on the internet.
How long has the band been going? About two years I’d say.
Any particular story behind the name? It comes from a line from the song ‘In my Head’ by Jason Derulo. It was Chuck’s idea. And, in the end, it defines us well.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… Our debut album ‘NIGHTLIFE’ came out earlier this month on Epitaph Records. It was produced by our good friend Frank Daniel Shooflar from Bird Wazo Studios. It’s a real fun album.
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? I don’t want to say anything stupid but. if I’m not mistaken, we’re the first band from Montreal since Simple Plan to be on the full Warped Tour and we’re really proud of that.
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? Seeing Iron Maiden’s ‘Rock in Rio’ DVD on TV. I fell in love with Rock ‘n Roll at that moment. Actually, I decided to play bass because I idolized Steve Harris.
Any particular band / album or song that you personally credit as a major influence? That’s a hard question. I know it may sounds cliché because most bands tell this all the time but everybody in my band listens to a lot of different stuff and that’s what makes us sound the way we do. Even though we can’t deny that we’re mostly influenced by modern hardcore bands, what really makes our band interesting is that we add elements from pop music, glam rock and old school heavy metal to it.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? The Lawverse. I guess we sounded a bit like A Day to Remember even though we did not really know about them at the time. Math, ST4P’s rythm guitar player, was also in that band. That’s how I met him. He was looking for a bass player and I found his ad on internet. It was six years ago, I went to audition and we’re friends since.
Most prized music related item you own? I don’t know if it’s worh that much but I bought an original vinyl record of ‘Maiden Japan’ last time we were in Toronto. It’s Maiden’s first live EP and I think it’s kind of rare. Anyway, it looks really good on my shelf.
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? Reading books or going to the gym. I used to study literature at university so it’s kind of a huge part of my life. Most people think reading is boring. That couldnt be less true. There are so many things in a good book.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… Kicking ass, seeing new places and partying with new friends.
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… Not sleeping in a real bed for a while, not having clean showers, having no personnal space whatsoever. You know, the usual things bands don’t look foward before a tour.
ON THE STAGE
When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? A bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a 24 are always appreciated. What we get most of the time is not enough Pizza.
Favourite place you’ve toured… and why? The U.S.A with Oh Sleeper and Falling in Reverse because it was our first tour and all the people in both of those bands are great so we made a lot of memories out there.
Most memorable show you’ve played? and why? House of Blues in downtown Disney during the Falling in Reverse tour. I had just learned that my aunt had died earlier that day so I was kind of sad and felt like being alone so I decided to go take a walk. Being downtown Disney, I was surronded by Disney characters, Lego constructions and dinosaurs which was kind of weird considering the mood I was in. Seeing all of this, I realised how far the band had gotten so fast and I decided to fully appreciate it from then on. That night, we played one of our best set of the tour.
Got a favourite song to play live? ‘Champagne Showers’ because it’s by far the easiest song to play and I’m a lazy bastard.
Any embarrassing on stage moments come to mind? Not really.
Any pre-show rituals? Before shows, we spend our whole days playing NHL 12 on XBOX 360. That’s not intentionaly a ritual but, since we always do it, it has become one. Honestly, it’s really bad for the spirit of the band because we take it really seriously. One time, I stopped speaking to Fillion for two weeks after he defeated me.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? There are so many bands out there today. Most of them won’t even get to tour even though they would kill to do it. Being in a touring band that is just getting started. we can’t take anything for granted and make a lot of sacrifices to keep our place. That means loosing money and friends to sleep in a van, drink crappy beer and eat shitty food most of the time
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? Help me- Deuce
Last album you acquired? I’m pretty broke right now so I can’t really buy records. I know, that’s weird to hear coming from a musician. I think the last album I bought is ‘The Drug in Me is You’ by Falling in Reverse. I can’t wait to get my hands on the new Every Time I Die and the new Blessed by a Broken Heart.
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? Appetite for Destruction by Guns n Roses. Seeing all the articles about them in the news since their Hall of Fame induction reminded me how good this album is.
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? I don’t now man. I don’t even know what new stuff I should listen to right now myself so I can’t tell you.
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? Our album is out and we’ll be on the warped tour for the whole summer.
IF ONLY…
You can pick any one album for your band to cover in full, what would it be and why? Party Rock by LMFAO. We already covered ‘Champagne Showers’ from their ablum Sorry for Party Rocking but I’m sure we could make something real good out of all the songs from their debut.
You can pick any one band / artist to cover one of your albums in full, what would it be, and why? Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem. The rock band from the Muppets. Do I really need to tell you why? The muppets are the best. Kermit is my idol.
One band you wish you were able to see live but never had the chance? Speaking of it, Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem. Or Escape the Fate with their original line up.
One venue you have yet to play that you would love to? The Whisky A Go Go on Sunset Blvd. I’m a huge fan of Motley Crue so it would mean a lot to play there.
The chance comes up to fill in for a member of a band for one tour, which band would it be, and why? I’d like to be in a hair metal band. I don’t know which one but I would have loved to be born in LA in the 80’s. Just hanging out on Sunset with my big hair and my leather pants and not feeling out of place.
A headline tour overseas comes up, tell us two bands you’d take along to support your band. There’s this band form Seattle we met on tour, Monsters Scare You. They were awesome dudes and we had a blast with them. The other band would have to be one of our buddies from our hometown, Hey Sugar, Dirt Cannon or The Prestige.
PLUG TIME
Got any final words? Be sure to grab our album ‘Nightlife’ and go like our facebook page to keep up to date. Thank you for your time and see you soon.
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