INF#2 by Infirnity Magazine

CONTRIBUTORS: Graham Symmons, Leonid Afremov, Liu Even, John Fielding, Cancer Bats, Jessica McLeod, Katherine Jeffrey, Jan Rönnpagel, Joan Llado, Jessica Dobbs, Anders Stangl, DeKatsche, J-P Niemelä, Ron Cohen, Dana Buswell, Ragni-Hefthyn, Ninjatic, Jonathan Danker, Rybalko Oksana, caie143, Oleg Demyanchenko, Daniil Koudryavtsev

http://www.infirnity.ca VOLUME ONE – ISSUE #2 (November/December)

CONTENTS: PG.03 PG.08 PG.11

STAFF: Rick De Vries Sandra Pedler

: Publisher : Creative Assistant

PG.17 PG.21 PG.24 PG.28 PG.31 PG.33 PG.36

Publisher’s Choice (Photography) ARTSPOT COVER STORY // Alexandra Maria Elec Leonid Afremov Graham Symmons Suvi Autto Liu Even Jonathan Danker Cancer Bats John Fielding

INFIRNITY MAGAZINE is published 12 times per year (September/October, October/November, November/December, December/January, January/February, February/March, March/April, April/May, May/June, June/July, July/August, August/September) online and in print. All images used within this publication were used with permission and remain the property of the respective creators. Under no circumstances is this publication to be manipulated, distributed or reproduced in any way without the written consent of the publisher.

If you are a musician, artist, film-maker, photographer or writer and would like to see your work featured, send us an email at info@infirnity.ca and we will do our part.

©J. Rönnpagel

ARTSPOT “Just Girly Things” © Anežka Bartošíková

“I'm an art student with special focus on restoration, but I have a passion for illustration. I like pathology, licorice and Czech avant-garde artists. The artwork has just one special meaning which is enjoying the nice times with your friend. I painted it to relax myself from all the school stress. It just took about 2 hours + drying. It was painted with watercolors, and white places were hidden under masking fluid. I have nothing special to talk about, just want to wish people a lovely day.” – Anežka

“My art is influenced by the music of my friend, his music was my inspiration. Through his music, I executed him on the black canvas. I used A4 format inks and improved it all in GIMP. This work will be used to promote a single with the same titling.” - Paula

“I'm a freelance concept/illustrator based in England, UK and I work for a company in the mobile game industry, as well as I do some book covers in-between projects and other commissions.” - Ninjatic

ÂŠ 2013 / A.M Elec

ALEXANDRA MARIA ELEC Q&A conducted by R. De Vries Images © A.M. Elec

“My story begins in the small town of Hunedoara, in Romania. From the very moment that my brain felt the warm embrace of knowledge that I wanted to grow up, and be able to influence other people as well - I felt and still feel that there is no other meaning to my life except of creating, and by creating, inspiring others to be creative in their own way; Growing up in a small town, people are less receptive to this kind of influence they tend to see photography as a hobby or perhaps as a phase of life that will eventually fade away - It might sound discouraging but in fact it is more encouraging this way! It makes me want to prove myself and push my limits to the unknown.” Elec says.

Did you go to school or work in the field of photography? If so, how has this had an impact on your life? [AE] I am currently and unfortunately still depending on school, if I may say so. It is my last year of high school and my life literally depends on one major exam. However after that I intend to push my luck and attend the Art and Design University in my country following my major dream of becoming a photographer.

How long have you been into photography and what "kind" of photographer would you consider yourself? [AE] Well, photography has been a vital part of my life since I was 12. Over time, I grew up with it and learned how to make it the most beautiful part of my life. When it comes to my style, well, here I cannot say I am 100% decided upon the topic, for the simple reason that I do a bit of everything. However, if I had to just name it, that would be nature photography, and once in a while I like to express my darker side and I create conceptual up to the point of morbid art. Darkness, death and tragedy tend to fascinate me, in some particular way.

What inspired you in the beginning to pick up a camera and shoot what you do? [AE] It just happened. One day I encountered the most alluring and graceful light I could ever imagine, and ever since then, I craved to become one of those who manage to capture such beauties behind the lens.

“Signs” © A. Elec / 2013

What equipment do you use or endorse and why? [AE] By the time I realized photography was my calling, I only had the family camera, a small Casio brought from a trip to Spain. As the years passed by, I started to develop an unconditional love for my current camera, a Nikon D3100 and by the time I was 16 I purchased it and settled this goal of doing photography to a certain level, not a pro, because that is not what I am, but just as a very passionate hobbyist!

What do you look for in a particular shot? [AE] Mostly I prefer to create a certain story - a description of what I have in my eerie mind, but one thing that is a "must" would be shadows, shadows that form around and on the particular item or person I am dealing with.

Are there any photographers you look up to or that inspire you? If so, could you explain? [AE] There are millions of brilliant photographers that I encounter every day, from the eccentric ones to the plain but intriguing minds of some, I find inspiration in all of their works. I am afraid I can’t tell you names, but I can

assure you that they are real and they fascinate and interest me with every shot they take.

What has been the most important factor in your development as a photographer? [AE] Fear. Fear of failing, fear of judgment, fear of the unknown. Fear is the one and only thing that got me going not only in my personal life but also in photography. Allow me to extend this commentary and explain. I was constantly afraid of not being appreciated, or perhaps of not getting any positive reactions at all, that I actually struggled more than never to develop, to become a better editor, a better photographer, that today I can proudly say that fear, instead of bringing me down it made me more dedicated to my art.

special effects, either done in Photoshop or for real, because they are the soul of a conceptual or dark photography.

Do you have a particular favorite genre? Why? [AE] Even though most of my art consists in nature shots, the one category that I feel the most intense connection with is the conceptual one, especially if it goes towards the dark and macabre. Why? For the simple fact that it is different, it is unique and most important, because it shows another side of life, a side so sick and horrible that no one wants to remember even if we are probably faced with it every day. I see no point in denying it, it exist. We all cope with it, why not try and create something fascinating out of it?

If there were a few things you could recommend to another photographer to keep in mind during their own development, what would you say? [AE] Gorgeous question, I might say! One piece of

“Crystalline Pearls” © A. Elec / 2013

What makes you take an interest in another person's photography and what sets them apart from the rest of the genre? [AE] In this case, I must specify that my favorite genre of photography would be the conceptual towards dark/macabre photography. When I'm browsing through people's galleries, what I' looking for are: creative ideas, colors, because colors are a huge part of me, even in the dark art, colors can play a role. Also I am looking for

advice that I would give to photographers worldwide, would certainly be, to never allow the opinion of others influence you in any other way but positively. We all have the right to an opinion, I respect and allow that to flow through my life, but it is definitely not fair and alright to destroy our spirit. Therefore no matter what kind of photographer you are, you do what you do because you enjoy it, you love it, you feel free whenever your hand touches that camera, and they might not like it, they might shout back at you with all their hate and power, but one thing you shouldn't let them take from you is your pure passion and love for your art, an art that you put your time, effort, energy, soul in, cannot be broken!

“Jammin’ Cats” © L. Afremov / 2013

an interview with one of the few artists on earth who can claim to be selfsupporting. by RICK DE VRIES

Leonid Afremov is a self-supporting artist, one of only five per cent of all who can do this, and has been painting most of his life “I prefer to use a palette knife with my oils,” he says. “A palette knife can be completely cleaned with just a paper tissue, which allows you to have very clean colours for the canvas. A brush on the other hand will always have dirt left over from a previous colour so you would need about a million of them for each colour just to keep everything pure.”

“Since early childhood,” he affirms. Having been born in the former USSR (Belarus), Afremov says that later, when he moved from Russia to Israel, it was a good thing for him to experience and that more, the move, than anything else affect him the most.

“In Israel, I sensed true artistic freedom for the first time,” he admits. Classical painters like Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet are among Afremov’s influences. He explains by adding that by investigating the past, you can find a very clean passage into the future.

He says that time is relevant to the subject matter when it comes to how long it takes to finish a typical piece. “I can have one done in three hours or in three days,” he opines. “All that depends is how big it is and how many details do I have to deal with. An average 30” x 40” piece takes between six to ten hours of clean work though.”

Tell me about "Family In The Rain". What's the story behind it? How long did it take? [Leonid Afremov] The painting was finished about 2 months ago. It took me about 10 hours of clean work to finish the painting. I painted my wife and my older son in the painting, along with myself. Although both of my kids are adults now, this was a little glimpse into the past.

“Stormy” © L. Afremov / 2013

“Paintings have to be colorful and positive,” He says. “If an artwork has a little bit of a negative vibe, I won't be able to like it. It doesn’t sell so don’t paint negative stuff if you want to do this for a living. Remember to have a back-up plan though because as I said earlier, only five per cent of all artists make enough money to support themselves but never, ever give up.”

FRACTAL ART / GRAHAM SYMMONS

Graham Symmons (grahamsym.deviantart.com), 54, born and raised in East London, U.K., uses a program called Mandelbulb 3D, along with Blender, truespace, Photoshop, and more to create his works of art. “I discovered fractals about two and a half years ago and have been addicted ever since,” Symmons explains. “With Mandelbulb 3D I can create huge scenes with so much detail and vision. I am self-taught although I have always created art - Model making, wood carving and sculptures, and I am a retired Museum Technician which was a creative job in itself, making models and setting up exhibitions etc.” There are many fractal artists from the internet that Symmons admires but he also likes traditional artists such as Jackson Pollack, whose work he finds amazing. “I stood next to a large work of his and was blown away by it,” he adds. “What makes fractals unique is that they are created using mathematical algorithms,” Symmons says. “It would be nearly impossible to create fractals by hand, though nature is made up of fractals (Shells, cacti etc), the world is full of unique things.” As is the fractal world. The term fractal to Symmons means, a 'fraction of' and is never ending. “It’s like holding a mirror up to another mirror and the reflection continuing on and on, each reflection getting smaller and smaller into infinity.” “I do not know exactly why I am drawn to fractals,” he admits, adding that fractals are like a drug to him. “I can't get enough. I find the worlds and vistas that can be created in fractals fascinating and awe inspiring.” When things work out, Symmons says, it can be great. “Sometimes I put a lot of effort into my work and end up disappointed. Sometimes a piece of art needs less to achieve more.” Symmons says that he is constantly driven to create new work and to experiment with what he has, trying out different things – reaching for new horizons. “It would be nice to earn some money with my art,” he admits, indicating there is a lot of unpublished stuff in his portfolio. The visual impact and emotions that are expressed, along with typical things like composition, skill and innovation are what draw Symmons’ eye to someone else’s work. “I would definitely recommend people try fractals,” he says. “People can get Mandelbulb 3D and many tutorials that are written by great fractal artists at fractalforums.com. It is great fun. I would say to people, give it a go, have fun, experiment, you may be surprised by the results.”

BEHIND THE REELS // EXAMINING ‘MAA UNOHTAA’

Q&A WITH SUVI AUTTO Where are you from originally as well as currently? Would you say that has an impact on your work? If so, could you explain? [SA] I am originally from a small village in Finland, Lappland. But I have moved around alot with my family so I’ve seen many different places and people. I think everything has had an impact but the most is the people and lifestories that I have heard.

What equipment do you use or endorse and why? [SA] I use whatever I can find from my home. As a student I’m not very rich (yet..) so most of my creativity goes to how to create my visions with a very low budjet. It can be frustrating but I also weirdly enjoy it. I also do everything by myself so it has some restrictions too.

Did you go to school or work in the field? If so, what kind of an impact has this had on your life? [SA] I have studied audiovisual communications and while studying somehow I managed to get a practice job in a Finnish drawing animation film called ‘Frank the Lobster’ where I worked with animation artist Jan Andersson for about five months. In that time I had a chance to learn a lot of things about animation. Before that, I had been making my own clips but didn’t really know anything about the process; I just did what I wanted. I am really happy for the experience and it has also helped me to be more diciplined and patient while making new projects.

How long have you been making short-films and animations such as "Maa Unohtaa"? [SA] When I was a child I filmed things whenever I had the chance. As I got older, I got more interested in socializing so I forgot those kind of things for a while. After I started studying audiovisual communications at 20 and started to look into life more deeply, I noticed this being a good way to express my real thoughts more clearly than trying to explain them to people. I don’t like the way things are going in this world and I want to show things that aren’t usually spoken. Mainly of course my own thoughts. So, about 4 years now and hope to go on for 40 more.

Which genre do you prefer over others and why? [SA] I don’t know much about genres. I tend to like weird and visually exiting stories. I quess I’m more on the dark side. Everything cute is kind of boring.

I think at the time when making it I could’ve not done better, but I am proud of it still. Wouldn’t do it again differently because it would not be the same then. This film is a personal death and a new beginning for me.

Are there any artists, film-makers or animators that you look up to or that inspire you? If so, could you explain? [SA] I get the most of my inspiration from music. I am fascinated by people who are able to express emotions with technical instruments. Some of my favourites; Tool, Cult of Luna, Primus, Blueneck etc., I don’t watch a lot of movies but I like Lars Von Triers work. I like art which has some kind of twist in it. I see many interesting things but easily forget the names behind them.

What has been the most important factor in your development as an artist? [SA] To realize that you can only learn by doing. There was a time when I couldn’t do anything because I wasn’t automatically the best. But if you never do anything, you can never get better or see how good you can be in the end. It’s also being able to enjoy the learning process. Every project is a step forward and the journey is neverending. For me it’s like a conversation with myself and the unconsciousness. To think of a story and then let it also breathe while doing it. Let go of too much control.

What does the title "Maa Unohtaa" mean? Do you think you accomplished everything you set out to do with this and if not, what could you have done to make it better? [SA] Maa Unohtaa’s english translation is ‘Earth Forgets’ and the doll’s name in the animation is Mauno. It’s also hidden in the films name when read in Finnish. It was my first animation with a proper doll and for that I think I did quite well. Almost everything I tried in ‘Maa Unohtaa’ were completely new techniques for me.

What is the story behind "Maa Unohtaa"? How long did it take to produce it? What all went into its creation? [SA] For me ‘Maa Unohtaa’ has many hidden meanings. I won’t analyze them all but I can say something… I think it is mainly based on a theory I thought of many years ago. For example if you spend a lot of time intoxicated, the more your personality and soul goes ”into the bottle” and you lose yourself. It’s important to ”feed” yourself with more positive things and work your way through problems rather than trying to drink them away. But there is also another point that I want to bring up. The character Mauno is a sad, alcoholic and lonely man. The kind you really don’t want to see walking around your hoods. In my life I have had several experiences when a person like that has appeared from out of nowhere and made me smile at my saddest. People who we despise or are weird in our eyes are human too. Sometimes even more then ”the normal guys”. It’s beautiful. Nothing is black and white. There is sadness in happiness etc. Maa Unohtaa was a project I did for my graduation. It took about 4 weeks to produce all in all. I had a really

busy schedual and I used allmost every hour of the day in making it. I had built the doll earlier while I was working in Frank the lobster. My budjet was about 30 euros and most of it went to building the props of the scene.

If there were a few things you could recommend to another animator or film-maker starting out to keep in mind during their own development, what would you say? [SA] Don’t be too hard on yourself but always try your best. I think the most important thing is to enjoy what you do and appreciate it. Find your own way, don’t follow others. Life is a struggle so it is important to have things in your life that you can truly love. People can be cruel so why to be cruel to yourself?

Could you describe a good or bad learning experience? [SA] I think every experience in every area of your life is a good learning experience. The most important thing is what you do with what you have learned. If you fail, you can cry and never do anything again, or you can learn from your mistakes and try something else.

What makes you take an interest in another person's short films or animations? What sets them apart in your mind from the rest of the competition? [SA] I love beautiful and clever camera angles and storytelling. To have some kind of twist in it. Something new and inspiring. Personality. Everybody can film beautiful things but how to do it so that it is interesting and it brings out your own unique poit of view?

INBRIEF // LIU WAI YIP EVEN Liu Wai Yip Even, 39, works as a magazine art director and likes to shoot the nightscape, city-life and street photography in Hong Kong, where he lives. “I learned about photography in Art & Design college before I started out in my career, a long time ago when using film was still the norm’,” Even explains. “Because of my work however, with material needing a lot of retouching, I find my skills with photoshop continue to improve as I get a lot of practice.”

Liu Wai Yip Even © 2013 Even says urban photographer Jürgen Bürgin, whose works are full of cinematics, is one of his biggest inspirations. Julie de Waroquier, an artist from France, is another. “She’s very creative and her works are always poetic,” he opines.

Imagination is the key to creation he adds.

Even says he started manipulating seriously about five years ago. At the time, looking upon other’s work as inspiration, he says he found it interesting and having some ideas of his own, tried to do the same things himself. “I’m inspired by everything,” he says. “Music, movies…even fairy tales!”

Even says that exploring the scenery of pieces is something that he has been thinking about more and more. Questions such as when a person suddenly disappears, do they leave a trace? A lamp? Toys? These, he explains, are the adventures of dreams or heaven. In the future, he will be focusing more on the backgrounds rather than the foregrounds, so that there is more substance, more story.

“Don’t spend too much time on the computer,” he warns. “Live real life and take more time to think. Subtle observation of life, light and shadows, flowing water, illusory smoke – it’s useful to make your work more vivid and persuasive.”

What’s next for him? Having only been using his own photography as the basis for his works, Even says he might try to collaborate with someone else in the near future.

Even uses Canon, preferring them over others because, in his opinion, it is easier to make more luminous and intense photos, especially in long exposure images.

Singapore native Jonathan Danker, 27, says his initial reason for being drawn to architectural photography is due largely to the local government’s policy of making full use of available land for economic gain. “There is very little natural landscape,” he says. “What we have in abundance are urban spaces with lots of greenery everywhere. Singapore is an island however, so we are surrounded by the sea and that is where my love of landscapes comes from but, unfortunately, the beaches here aren’t pristine and blue as you might imagine because the city is also a major port.” Not formally trained in photography, Danker is self-taught and insists it is through observation and pure practice that he is any good. “I stand by the rule of the first 10,000 images being your worst,” he opines adding that he is getting there. “I have been doing photography since December 2008,” he says. “I guess I am the kind of photographer who rarely edits his best photos but instead, chooses the one that poses the greatest challenge technically to learn more from.”

While feeling somewhat shy about his reasoning, Danker says that his original desire to pick up photography was to capture clouds. “I really love the sense and emotion of a deep blue sky with nice fluffy clouds,” he admits. “Over time, I got interested in landscapes and now finally I do architectural photography for a living.” “I’m greatly inspired by a lot of people, but mainly Marc Adamus,” Danker says. “That guy has a great sense of determination quite unparalleled in our world today.” “I think the term ‘living in the now’ is important as you are only as good as your last image,” he says, adding that if you can beat your last image in terms of quality, visual aesthetic and message, it is a great factor to growing as a photographer. Danker says he looks for aesthetic and meaning in his own shots, but admits that if he were to shoot something that triggered a certain memory, he would love that even if it was nothing more than a picture of a shadow on the ground.

After all, he opines, a photograph is really only a memory frozen in time.

“There is an abundance of subject material in my country,” he says. “I guess it’s a great challenge to be able to convey not just the good angle of a property, but also the architect’s own intent in it as well. I love challenges so it’s pretty much the only thing that makes me want to shoot daily. The fact that I need not socialize too much and can be alone while I work is something else I find particularily attractive.” Danker likens architectural photography to a game like pokemon, where you’ve got to catch it all. “Some places where there is rapid development, a building could be around now but not too far in the future, it might not so a documentation of this is necessary,” he explains. “If I could see it all, it would be most satisfactory. You can also tell a lot about a country from the way it develops its architecture, from the materials used to the stylings of it, which suggests its political and even its economic backgrounds. I have not read up too much on this to be an expert, but this is my general observation.” “You don't need to travel far or have the best equipment to get great images,” he stresses. “All you need is to open your mind and eyes to your surroundings and let it speak to you. Pick a place and spend time there. If you observe it for some time, things will click in your mind even before you look through a viewfinder. Lastly, I do not discourage copying works but if you do, only use it to learn more about how and why it was shot that way so that you have the knowledge when you see something similar.

Danker does not endorse any particular make or model of camera, but uses a variety himself – Canon, Fuji, etc.

CANCER BATS

GETTING TO KNOW THE GUYS BEHIND THE MUSIC | Interview by RICK DE VRIES

“We once met a nice guy in California who claimed to be mike judge, creator of beavis and butthead. He had all these wild stories and bought everyone drinks all night. But then we googled him and found out it was an imposter!” – Scott Middleton, Guitarist / CANCER BATS

Cancer Bats are a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Canada. They have released four studio albums and six extended plays. The band is composed of vocalist Liam Cormier, guitarist Scott Middleton, drummer Mike Peters and bassist Jaye R. Schwarzer. Cancer Bats take a wide variety of influences from heavy metal sub-genres and fuse them into hardcore punk and punk rock, and include elements of sludge metal, and southern rock. The band has also been compared to metalcore bands of the 1990s like Converge and Hatebreed. - Wikipedia “I’m from the Toronto area, Mike’s from Winnipeg and both Jaye and Liam are from western Ontario,” says Scott Middleton. “We knew each other from the local music scene and Liam thought of the band name. He [Liam] asked if I wanted to start Cancer Bats with him and after some member changes, Mike and Jaye joined.” Middleton says the local music scene in Toronto and the surrounding area gave them their start. “We definitely have songs about Toronto!” he adds.

One of the better moments Middleton says, looking back on the last seven years, has to have been getting signed to Distort. “Getting signed was rad,” he opines. “Everything was different after that. We all left our jobs and have been on tour ever since.” While they’re on the road, Middleton says they rely heavily on Skype and the internet to remain connected, but in his own words, “You’re always gonna miss home and the people you care about most.”

Admitting he is obsessed with European football, Middleton declares himself an Arsenal supporter and an avid reader of graphic novels. Recently, he began producing his own guitars as well. “It takes up a lot of my free time,” he admits. While their earlier material was rawer and more immature in terms of structure, Middleton says his bands newer stuff is more hardcore punk influenced and less metal. “My favourite songs to play live are RATS and Road Sick,” he admits. “I love playing new material too, because it has such great energy.”

“We once met a nice guy in California who claimed to be Mike Judge, the creator of Beavis and Butthead. He had all these wild stories and bought everyone drinks all night. But then we googled him and found out it was an imposter!” Middleton says, reflecting on his time with the band spent on the road. It doesn’t look like they will be stopping any time soon either. Word has it a new album is in the works and should be out next year. If you’re a fan of these guys, chances are you’re already salivating. If you haven’t heard of them, go buy one of their records and then kick your parent’s out for the night. When you listen to the Bats, do it loud.

FROM BOMBING NEVERLAND TO YOUNG HEART MUSIC, JOHN FIELDING IS ON A ROLL John Fielding is a man with a passion for music. From his work as a producer (Penske File, PartyCat) to a being the CEO of a label (Young Heart) and performing in his own band, Bombing Neverland, you can tell how much heart this guy puts into everything he does. “I started dabbling in business in the music industry from being in bands full-time and sort of got my feet wet on the business side because a couple of my bands were signed and were touring full time and such,” Fielding says. “So from that, our last record, Bombing Neverland’s last record [Gone Belltower], which was produced by a guy named Ryan Greene (NOFX) - He and I started hitting it off and he asked if I wanted to start doing some studio work with him on some other projects so I agreed and started going back and forth.” Fielding says around that time he decided building a studio in his house might be feasible but, he admits, “I needed to learn a little bit more first. I went to a school called MetalWorks and acquired a little more knowledge of the technical side of production - it was pretty bland but I still learned a lot more about the industry than I had known before.” After that, Fielding ended up working at a label called True North Records and worked his way up from there. “I started Young Hearts with another guy named Ben Rispin,” he says. “Ben also had another project in the works called Burly Calling Music Festival which we decided to work on together - I was managing The Penske File at the time and the festival sort of created a hub for us to be able to work together and take our existing projects and have them under a sort of entity. From there, I just recently started working over at Sony.” Fielding admits that he knows what it’s like to be in a band that really wants to try and have a go at it (fame) and how hard it is to try and do it on your own, creating a product that is on par with a lot of other bands that have a top-dollar kind of budget. “So I kind of started with it [Young Heart] that way,” he adds. He says that the main reason he started Young Heart was because of one band, the Penske File, a folk-punk band based out of Ontario. “I started working with them in a creative capacity probably about three years ago,” Fielding says. “I started producing their records for them and it was just one of those things where like, this band, you know, they’re just out there playing it up on the stage like the Flatliners and other big punk bands and I kinda figured, you know what, I gotta try and help these guys out. That band - Penske File - is amazing. I love that band.” The Penske File had reached out to him a long time ago to produce their records, Fielding says. “They were really young but I was totally blown away - I went to watch one of their practices and was like, you know, this band is already as good as most punk rock bands that are in their prime and these guys were just a bunch of kids, you know? So right from there, I was always drawn to that band.” “They had a lot of strong material on their records,” he explains. “Since I was going to be producing their new stuff, I just thought, you know what, I'm going to start a label for them. That band is the reason I started Young Heart, to have some sort of a platform to put out their stuff.”

For Young Heart, Fielding opines, bands really have to have something like great songs, and the band has to have a really self-motivated work ethic. “In the starting stages to try to turn a band into a full-time gig, you gotta be relentless at everything so like, you know, you've gotta operate like it’s a business in a 24/7 job mindset,” he says. “You gotta know that it’s not flashing lights and tons of money like whatever, you know, like maybe down the road it could end up successful but a lot of the time - even when you are making some money - you're sleepin in vans or house floors you know, and you're touring ten months out of the year so um, finding bands that are aware of that and, not only aware of it but are excited about it, for me, is a really important thing to want to work with them.”

“What excites me about stuff like that is when bands are at the top of their game and are at that level, essentially on their own, with no input on what they're doing except their own. It's like, what can I expect next and I know it can only get better?” – J. Fielding “It’s kind of a weird thing,” he says, reflecting on his work before starting Young Hearts. “I did A&R a lot and I almost had a hard time doing it because I wouldn't be impressed by anybody. I'd be like, yeah, I can write a better song than that in five minutes or whatever..but then I would see a band and it would totally blow me away, they might need some work but their shows would be fantastic...I think it speaks volumes for some of the projects I've worked on whether its Penske File or PartyCat, I think being able to recognize or develop a really strong melody in a song will always come out and be sort of the key component in my taking notice.”

Fielding admits that he will always consider himself a musician first before anything else and will never stop thinking that way. “For me, as much as there is a lot of business issues and marketting tools and tricks that you can do, for me it all still comes down to a song or songs,” he says. “From a production side of things, writing songs has been my favourite thing to do my whole life. Being a song-writer myself, I think, has really helped in all areas - making sure the product is at a certain quality level.” Regarding the formation of Young Heart, Fielding says it was an incentive from all the years working in the music industry and being dissatisfied with the way things were being handled. “There’s a lot of hand-shaking and smiling faces and stuff like that,” he says. “In the industry there’s a lot of people who capitalize on the business end but they don’t appreciate it – they’re just finding ways to fuel their own engines and whatnot and that’s fine…I wont rain on anybody’s parade but I just found, especially in Canada, a lot of funding and granting initiatives that are available, there’s a lot of companies that, you know, basically have done their work and whatever and they’re just signing these pile-of-shit bands just because they need X amount of releases on their rosters to be able to tap into these certain grants and I found that there were a lot of undeserving bands getting tons of resources that didn’t really deserve it while more deserving bands were getting the shaft. I’m a purist in that sense, where I just eventually got fed up and wanted to do the opposite, you know?”

BOMBING NEVERLAND: “I played in a band called Out Of Options before Bombing Neverland and it was a band that I was in all through-out highschool,” Fielding reflects. “It was my life! We got a record deal, started touring and then...all of a sudden, it just dissolved within like, less than a year. It was really depressing. I didn't want to quit playing so myself and bassist Mike Hanley decided to keep going under the name, Out Of Options - we found another guitar player and another drummer and we chugged away for probably another ten months like that, and at that point we were almost like, resented for it.” Fielding says the band had gotten in touch with Ryan Greene randomly and he [Greene] called to express his interest in working on a record with the band. “We were stoked that Ryan wanted to produce us so we gave it a try and we went out to the States to start making it, but it was really different than what we had previously done with Out Of Options, you know, it was a lot heavier and it was essentially a new band anyway, so we were like, we should probably change the name of the band and so, the name, Bombing Neverland, ended up coming from a lyric in a song that didn't end up making the record. It was actually a pretty cool song, but wasn't totally complete and would have sorta stuck out a little bit from the rest - Ryan was really in on the decision-making process with Bombing Neverland right at the beginning and he came in and was like, yeah, that's a great name, you guys should definitely run with it. I don't know if it is a great name at all anymore but at the time, it seemed like a good idea.” Fielding says they came back with a new sound, a new record and a new name, running as they hit the ground. “Since then,” he admits, the line-up has changed. “Brad, our guitar player, came in right after we put that record [Gone Belltower] out and toured it with us and at the end of that summer, our drummer came to us and said he was getting a full-time job and that he was done. We went on hiatus, searched for replacements and just went on from there.” “It’s kind of interesting how things have gone,” he opines. “We started writing new tunes and I really liked the direction we were going in - it was kind of heavy but really out there too - dark and whatnot - but we were playing them live and people weren't getting it.”

Apparently the fans wanted the older stuff. “Curtis Brown, one of the former members of Out Of Options is now the guitar player in Bombing Neverland,” Fielding says, which he adds is kind of funny because they had all kind of grown apart but randomly kept in touch over the years.

“We were really close growing up and I called him and told him how much I missed playing music with him and told him he should be in Bombing Neverland. That was kinda it. So now we're a five piece and we're a pretty happy musical family.”

So What’s On The Horizon? “We just started working on a new album, finally and like, we've been talking about it for three years now but every time things would get in the way and we'd start writing new songs that were better and blah-blah-blah,” he says. “Now, it’s sort of like started to kick in and the shows have started growing and people are really getting into the new stuff.”