Canvas [Interview]
You’re going to hear a lot about Canvas in the months and years to come. Gearing up for the October 20th release of their debut album No Love, No Hope, No Future and prepared to dig deep and make their audience feel something raw and real in an age of airbrushed reality celebs and other superficial obsessions, Canvas’ work ethic and take no prisoners philosophy are set to take them very far indeed. TMMP caught up with Canvas vocalist Jack Rogers to figure out what makes him tick…
Your lyrics are extremely blunt and direct, and command respect from line one. So I have to ask: What’s your writing process like? Any habits or rituals to declare in that respect? How does a Canvas song go from idea to reality?
Any song idea usually starts with either Dan [Marsh, guitar] or Chris [Vernon, guitar] sending me a short riff or a rough completed track they have written. I will then listen through the track and jot down some lyrics for it. I usually have lyrics ready to go – I’m always writing down lyric ideas on my phone or on my laptop so I tend to try and fit them around the track I get sent. Sometimes this doesn’t work as the mood or vibe of the song doesn’t quite connect with my lyrics.
As for my writing process, when it came to the album and writing the lyrics I had a period in my life after leaving college where I had no direction, ambition or motivation to do anything and I couldn’t see how I could progress and achieve in life, and just felt a bit lost and useless. I always try and write lyrics from personal experiences or thoughts. What’s the point in singing something you’re not connected to or passionate about? It also acts as some sort of release; writing down everything that’s on your mind and then yelling it down a microphone and turning it into something productive can be very therapeutic!
Describe each of the tracks on ‘No Love, No Hope, No Future’ in a single sentence.
No Future: The mind-set of and introduction to a very lonely man, and how I felt personally at the beginning of writing this record.
Live.Exist: It’s about trying to find a purpose in life, a sense of belonging and meaning.
Griever: Probably the darkest song on the record, it deals with the thought process and downward spiral of never changing and always being the person you don’t want to be.
Tired Eyes: Being born cursed/unlucky and no matter what you do in life you will never succeed.
Nothing Left: Living and repeating the same day over and over again, nothing changing in your life and there is nothing left to look forward to.
Respite: An instrumental piece of music to connect Nothing Left and Tarot together.
Tarot: Worrying about what sort of life you are going to lead in the future. Realising you’re not a kid anymore and that you need to grow up.
Eulogy: It’s a song looking back on the last few years of my life and how I would change things and do things differently if I were to do them again.
Desperation: It’s a song with all the thoughts and themes that run throughout the record smashed into one song, until all the thoughts of the album build up and up until it gets too much and ends.
Cold and Asleep: A dark ending; we wanted to have an ending to the album that has impact but was a bit different. Hopefully this does the trick.
How did Canvas come to be?
We have been a band for two years now! We had all played in bands together beforehand, and we all wanted to start up a band that was a bit different to the other local bands around us.
What advice would you offer musicians who are more reluctant to dig as deep as you do in the name of their work, but secretly wish they could go there?
Just do it! You have nothing to lose. Whether it be starting to book your own shows or having more of a say in how you want your artwork/merch designs to look like, it’s really not that hard. I feel if you put in 100% you will get 100% back.
What does it take to be a successful musician these days?
Don’t be afraid to stand out and be different. There are too many bands these days just wanting to sound like another band. I mean taking influence from bands is fine but don’t flat out rip them off!
What does the future hold for Canvas?
As soon as the record drops, we’ll just tour and keep touring.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you to anyone who has picked up a pre-order of the record so far – your support does not go unnoticed. See you at a show soon!
Links
Check out TMMP’s review of No Love, No Hope, No Future here.
The album is set to drop on October 20th via Transcend Music; follow Canvas on Facebook and Twitter for updates.
Follow TMMP on Twitter for more awesome music! If you’re a regular reader, thanks for the support! Don’t stop, and keep going!