What have been your musical epiphany moments?
I always think of these moments as a “music can sound like THAT?” moment. First one was Zeppelin IV when I was 4 years old, I was floored. There were only 2 more off the top of my head, and they happened close together. That was Dillinger Escape Plan’s “Panasonic Youth” and Sigur Ros’s “Hoppipolla”. I’ve become a lover of extremes since then, so I either go for the fully abrasive or the insanely mello or ambient.
Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?
As a drummer you would think it’s a rhythm or something, but it’s almost always a riff. I won’t even notice until it’s been looping in my head for a couple days and I’m like “I keep playing this riff subconsciously over and over and over again. I must like it!” I’m lucky to work with a collaborative guitarist who taught me Guitar Pro, so I can actually map out riffs and share them. Over months we both send riffs back and forth, thats how we’ve written most of our newer stuff, then we head into the jam space and work out the fine details.
Who has influenced you the most?
Impossible to say. I’ll stick to a metal drummer, and based on the insane hours I’ve clocked listening to Meshuggah, I’ll say Thomas Haake.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
Oh boy, I’m about to go off on some bullshit, and I know I’m gonna read this once it’s posted and just face palm… but if I’m being honest, there really is no one place. There are no limits whatsoever. Art is art, it’s one big organism that is always speaking to you if you’re listening. You see a painting, you come up with a melody. You hear a melody, you come up with a line. You read a line, it conjures an image. If you just listen and feel your way through it, then hopefully it will never stop.
We're all a product of our environment. Tell us about the band's hometown and how that reflects in the music?
I’ve gotten this question before, and honestly, I don’t know how Toronto as a city has influenced our music. It’s diverse in just about every way, so I guess we draw influence from that. With instrumental music, we’re really communicating more of a vibe than a message.
Where'd the band name come from?
It’s a Twin Peaks reference, Season 3. Judy (or Jowday) is “a mythological entity and powerful negative force studied by the Blue Rose Task Force.”
You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the soundtrack for?
Paris, Texas
You now write for a music publication (The Ripple Effect?). You're going to write a 1,000 word essay on one song. Which would it be and why?
“Woman in my Heart” by Madi Diaz, and I would argue that it’s heaviness is a lesson to all metal bands.
Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?
Alright… so Rob and I used to gig a bit as a two piece Jazz band, mainly playing small parties or private functions, jazzy renditions of pop tunes. We had a small gig for a birthday party a few years ago, 1920s themed, and it was about an hour and a half away. We’re pulling everything out of the car, and I asked Rob where he put my cymbal bag. He just looked at me. I forgot my cymbals. Before we had a chance to think of our next move, the front door opened and the host was like “You’re here, come inside!” So we’re walking inside and I’m also realizing that my cymbal bag had my sticks. I’m walking downstairs to where we’re supposed to set up and there’s a kitchenette and… I dunno why I did this, but I opened a drawer to look for SOMETHING to play with. I found 2 identical wooden spoons. I played a 2 hour set with no cymbals and 2 wooden spoons. Someone asked me “whats with the spoons” and I said “It’s the 1920s”. People had a good time. Did you fuck up? Act like you meant to.
Tell us about playing live and the live experience for you and for your fans?
I hate seeing bands that look like they don’t want to be there or that they don’t even like their own songs, so we really go for it live. Rob and I have our own performance style, but we both give as much energy as we can, and now that we have Justin playing bass full time with us, it’s even better. We’re trying to melt your brain and kick you in the chest with our music, and we hope that comes across.
What makes a great song?
Feel, a sense of story, and broken expectation. Not necessarily in that order, not necessarily all in one song, but if you don’t have at least one, it’s a waste of time.
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
If I remember correctly, it was Degenesis, the first song off our first album, Cast in Ash. Rob had written the whole thing already and I was pretty amazed. Love Rob’s writing, I feel lucky!
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
I cannot WAIT to share a single we’ve got in store for early summer. It’s a perfect sample of our combined writing styles, and it’s epic as hell. It’s such a pleasure to write and record a song, play it back and be like “Damn, we did that!”.
Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
Kristin Hayter of the soon to be defunct Lingua Ingota. No wasted space, nothing left unsaid, no care in the world for what you think. It’s perfection and there is absolutely nothing like it. Her music is really not for everyone, and I have tough time pitching it to some people, but I think that’s what makes it so special. Saw her perform in a Church in Toronto and it was a top 5, EASY.
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
Vinyl so the fans can experience the artwork on a decent scale and the musicians can actually make some money off of it.
I’m offended that you would make me choose, but here I am. First of all, I’m a scotch guy, especially the burning tire flavoured shit from Islay - love that the flavour comes from necessity, they had the burn peet to toast the grain because they didn’t have any trees on the island, so the smokey flavour is just a result of what they had to do. That is so damn cool.
But I have to choose beer. Beer is a drink of the people. It’s delicious and accessible even at its cheapest, and fits every single occasion. It wins.
We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record store to lose ourselves in?
I live in the Annex in Toronto, and by some work of sheer magic, a Hardcore/Punk record store opened up down the street from me called Emissions Record Shop. Killer coffee place inside too. They stocked Scandinavian Jawbreaker by Anti Cimex. Hell ya.
What's next for the band?
A lot. We have an EP called Chimaera which is coming out March 17th through Black Throne Productions, and an even bigger release later in the year. We’re gigging in some new places soon with some killer bands, we have some new merchandise coming out soon, tons of stuff.
Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our readers, the waveriders?
Give us a follow on Instagram (@jaodaemetal) and Facebook (facebook.com/jaodae) and come to a gig!
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