What is your full name?
Étienne Vézina. My parents dislike middle names, so I have none!
Do you have any aliases?
I’ve been going with Ozymandias as my musical moniker for a while now, from the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem.
What bands are you actively involved with?
I am a founding member of space disco synth metal band Alpha Boötis, I play bass in alt rock trio Diplomates and I man the synthesizers in Alattia, a psychedelic folk ensemble. I’m also working on two projects that I can’t/don’t have anything to share at this time.
What was the first instrument that you played?
My mother told me that I started singing along with the radio before I could even form my first words, but I also took xylophone lessons in kindergarten. The first instrument I properly played was piano, but I gave up after two years and only really dedicated myself to music after picking up the guitar at 12 years old.
Tell me about one of your first musical memories?
Aside from my mother singing chanson française around the house when I was a kid, I have no strong musical memory from my childhood. I do remember a striking first encounter with Deftones as a young teen. I was listening to a bunch of songs my uncle Christian had given me, and Changes (In The House Of Flies) came on. I remember being so weirded out and scared by Chino’s vocals that I turned off my mp3 player and walked home in silence…
What was the name of the first band you were in?
The band was called “U Mad?” because the drummer (Jotunbot of Alpha Boötis) had a troll face on his bass drum. That band existed for 2 weeks in the summer of 2011, as a part of McGill’s Garage Band Camp summer program. It was a really awesome experience, and what we lacked in proficiency we made up for in eagerness. The final show was recorded, and I would be remiss not to share my first ever live show with you, dear reader. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y85Iuu2NCgo
I also had a long running band with Alpha Boötis’ singer Harakoa, which was called Ozymandias, but that never got anywhere and I just kept the name for myself.
Tell me about the genesis of Alpha Bootis.
In 2016, I was preparing to audition for two local metal bands, Distoriam and Archétype, as a guitarist, when my very intense practice regimen and improper technique finally took their toll and left me with a very bad case of tendonitis and carpal tunnel tunnel syndrome to both arms. I had to quit guitar for a full year to recover… It didn’t stop me from making music, but it made me rethink everything and focus on electronic music production. That’s when I heard the new synthwave project Frak (songwriter and buzuki player from Distoriam) had started working on. He had two very cool songs written, but he only used very basic midi sounds, and I offered to make a proper production. A year after that, we released Episode I, and things snowballed into Alpha Boötis being what it is today.
What inspired the name Alpha Bootis?
Frak is a big fan of the band Arcturus, and he paid homage to them in his first synthwave song, Jump to Alpha Boötis. Arcturus and Alpha Boötis are two names for the same star, the fourth brightest in our night sky. I found that to be a good project name, easy to remember and thematic. We kept that for the whole project.
How long did it take you to write and record the album Jump to Alpha Bootis?
Being a re-imagination of our early works, this album has been written over the past 5 years, beginning with the work on Episode I, then slowly evolving over time as we rehearsed and played these songs as a band over the years. The actual recording began around December last year, and is almost over 4 months later.
Cult of Luna. They are such a fantastic band, both live and in the studio. Plus, there’s already seven of them, so one extra guitarist/synthster wouldn’t be too much of a stretch!
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had written it? If so… What was the song and artist?
I get that all the time! I’ll often think of new songs while I’m watching another band play live, or listening to a new album. Division Ruine by Carpenter Brut is the one song that conjured this feeling the most. The first time I heard it, I became obsessed with synthwave and I almost stopped listening to metal for a few months. I could even say that Alpha Boötis exists in part because of how obsessed I was with that song in 2016.
Who are some of your musical inspirations?
Aside from the aforementioned Carpenter Brut, there are a few artists I keep going back to for inspiration. Coheed & Cambria, Rush, Iron Maiden and Alice In Chains are all bands I fell in love with as a teen that still resonate deeply with me today and influence my songwriting. On the production side, Devin Townsend, Daft Punk and Ben Levin are all artists I learned a lot from, either through interviews or dissecting their music.
I picked up a lot of what I know about musicking through Youtube, and as such, Adam Neely, 12tone, Mary Spender, Nahre Sol, 8Bit Theory and David Bruce are all my parasocial mentors of sorts. They taught me so much, and their different ways of understanding and approaching music definitely reverberates in my craft.
What’s a metal song that you'd like to do a cover of?
Is it cheating if I already did? When Gojira dropped Another World last year, I listened to it on repeat for a few days, which I rarely do, and I knew I had to make a synthwave cover of it. This is the first time I’m spilling the proverbial beans, but Jump To Alpha Boötis’ mystery cover track is our synthwave take on that song. It works almost too well.
What band have you played with that has really impressed you with their live show?
Bird Problems. Their unique take on progressive metal and Micheal’s charisma as a frontman makes each of their shows an absolute blast, and we had a really great time sharing the stage with them.
Do you have a favorite venue to play at?
La Vitrola, in Montréal’s Mile End. It’s a bitch for load-in, being on the third floor, but it always felt like home and the staff was both professional and welcoming. It sadly closed last year, like so many great local venues.
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
I am in charge of the whole Alpha Boötis backing track setup, so I never have any free time before shows. The one thing I consistently do is visualize the first few minutes of the show in my head before I go on. It helps me remember all the things I need to do, and get in the proverbial zone.
What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had at a show?
We played a show for St-Patrick’s Day in 2018, with fellow synthsters Honey Beard, and we arranged a synthwave cover of Foggy Dew, a traditional Irish song for the occasion. Turns out, I had exported the wrong version of the backing tracks, and we played the song at 90 bpm while the tracks played at 80… Thing is, the song is so slow moving that it took us a while to figure it out, and by the time we did it had turned into a hypnotic trainwreck.
The year is 2011. Where are you at and what are you listening to?
Slowly losing interest in school and listening to Fortress by Protest The Hero and Year of The Black Rainbow by Coheed & Cambria.
What advice would you give musicians that are just starting out in the music business?
Find a scene of like-minded musicians and get involved as much as you can. Also focus on finishing songs, and try and start releasing content regularly. You don’t need to make a 17 song epic as your first statement, and you won’t get better by brooding about your music in your own little corner. Finish that song and move on to another one. Finally, work with the gear you have; that shiny new guitar won’t make your music better and the decent plugin you know in-and-out will get you further than the expensive one you don’t understand. Our whole society is wired to make us think that tools are what makes the difference, when it’s more about the time you dedicate to your craft. Oh, and listen to every podcast Curtis Dewar puts out. I made great strides by applying the techniques I learned on Dumb & Dumbest and C Squared.
For those who don’t know about Sci Fi Hi Fi, it’s a weekly talk show where Galina Rin and I interview contemporary content creators about their Sci Fi influences and passions. Now, the story. I’m a bit of a Yes-man when it comes to starting new projects, and SFHF is one of the cool things that mindset brought me. There was a thread in the awesome Music Marketing Mixer facebook group in January, in which someone asked who would be interested in having a fantasy-themed music livestream. Galina Rin (Death Ingloria), Dan Murroni (Gramma Vedetta) and I had the idea of a science-fiction version of that. We did one such livestream, and then Rin asked me if I wanted to make it a recurring show. It’s been three months of weekly shows now, and it’s been a blast.
What is an absolute killer band?
Boris. They don’t give a single fuck about genre conventions, they’re always evolving organically from one sound to the next and they put on the best live show I have seen in my life. I don’t think I’ll ever see them in a 250-cap venue ever again, but it was completely mental.
What’s the longest time you’ve gone without bathing?
In my teenage years I worked as a summer camp counsellor, and I’m pretty sure I spent at least 2 or 3 weeks without a proper shower. Then again, does swimming in a lake count as bathing? If so, I don’t think I’ve ever gone more than 4 days.
What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
I once sang the entirety of Tenacious D’s Pick of Destiny around a campfire with my camp counselling instructor. I still can sing most of the movie from memory (although I lost some of the higher notes).
Is the Fistful of DOOM show in the top 10 of your favorite music podcasts?
I don’t listen to much actual music podcasts, most of my listening time is dedicated to music business or science/technology podcasts, and I enjoy FFOD, so yeah, you’re definitely in my top 10.
Do unicorns sleep standing up?
Unicorns never sleep. Something to do with all the fairy dust they keep inhaling.
You’re driving cross-country and you can only listen to one album the whole time. What album will it be?
Clutch’s Psychic Warfare. There’s enough depth and stories to keep my attention for a long time, and it’s peak driving music.
You are writing a book about your life thus far. What is the title of that book?
AD⚡HD : Confessions of a former gifted kid
Describe Galina Rin in fifteen words or less.
One-woman army. Possibly 3 (extremely talented) martians in a trench-coat.
All By Myself. Nobody can sing it like she does. The high note leading into the modulation at the end gives me chills every time.
Rush or Devin Townsend (if you had to choose)?
This is a hard one. I’ll go with Devin Townsend, since I believe he still has many great albums ahead of him, while Rush are done for good. Really feels like I’m choosing between my arms and my legs here.
Doobies or Boobies (if you had to pick one)?
I don’t enjoy smoking weed, so Boobies all the way.
Waffles or Pancakes (if you had to pick one)?
Crèpes is the only good answer to that question :P
Star Wars or Star Trek (if you had to choose)?
Star Wars. Jar Jar Binks did nothing wrong!
Favorite band t-shirt you own?
My purple Vampire Step Dad shirt is both one of my most comfy and best looking. Plus, VSD is a charming fella.
Favorite meal?
Vegetarian sushi.
Favorite book?
How Music Works by David Byrne
Favorite movie?
Changes all the time, but lately: The Dig. Fantastic story and cinematography.
Favorite album?
Pelagial by The Ocean Collective
Massive thank you to Etienne for taking the time to do this. I appreciate it. I enthusiastically encourage everyone to check out Alpha Bootis you shan’t be disappointed. Also.. You absolutely must tune in to Sci Fi Hi Fi over on Twitch. They have fun and interesting guests and the hosts are quite entertaining as well (I might be overly obsessed with the show). And they seem to really enjoy audience participation as much as I enjoy throwing in my two cents.
~El Pedo Caliente (aka Uncle Jameson the host of the Fistful of DOOM show)
https://alphabootisband.bandcamp.com/album/jump-to-alpha-bo-tis
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