Lees Avenue Interview

LEES AVENUE


Lees Avenue is an Ottawa punk band and they are currently recording their second EP. The band consists of Vocalist Daniel Markovic, Guitarist Matthew Savard, Drummer Zane Bean and Bassist Logan Hotchkiss. Kyle and Karri got the chance to interview them yesterday.


LEES AVE QUESTIONS:


1.       Where did you come up with the band name?
a.       Our singer used to live on Lees Avenue and our old bassist came up with the name. Zane also got in a car accident on Lees Avenue a little bit after we named the band.
2.       How did you form as a band?
a.       It was an accident really, we put out the first EP and we were gonna stop making music, but Zane misheard Daniel when they were at a party. Daniel said he wanted to make acoustic music but Zane thought Daniel said he wanted to make Grunge/Punk music. We just tried it out and did it for fun and then we added Matt and Logan and here we are.
3.       What process do you use to write your music?
a.       The worst kind. Just kidding. We normally just jam out and whatever we like we keep. With our old style we’d just write our music separately and complete the song then practice it as a finished song.
4.       Who are some of your musical influences?
a.       This divides the band up a little bit. Zane and Matt like newer stuff, metal and hardcore. Logan and Daniel like the older stuff. Daniel likes what ever catches his attention. Blink 182 is what got me into music. Matt doesn’t have any direct influences yet. You can really tell that we’re influenced by certain bands such as The Dune Rats and Nirvana.
5.       I know you’re working on an EP, any idea how many songs will be on it?
a.       It’ll be a 4 track EP and the songs will be short songs but they’re ones that we play all the time and we just want to get them out there.
6.       Do you have a title for the EP yet?
a.       Dan came up with it. It’ll be called Locker Room Talk. I just want people to appreciate it for what it is and formulate their own opinions on it. Matt has his own idea on how Dan came up with the name.
7.       Are you going to tour it, or just play local shows?
a.       We’re going to play some local shows for sure but we’ll try and do an out of town run but we don’t have a van so that makes it harder for us to tour.
8.       What venue that you’ve played so far is your favourite?
a.       The Ask a Punk house and Mavericks.
9.       What is the most insane thing to happen at one of your shows?
a.       We played a show for Matt’s birthday and he wanted to dive on Zane’s kit but Zane couldn’t bring it so we used Bad Chug’s drum kit. Well after the set Zane kicked over his High Hat and because Matt was so drunk he got excited and dove into the kit. It was a great night.
10.   Why do you guys trash your kits and detune your instruments after your sets?
a.       Well because we’re such an energetic band we just want to convey that to the crowd and we just throw our instruments and get into the show. But we don’t always do it. We just want to have fun. If you’re not having fun there’s no point.
11.   How do you find social media affecting the local scene?
a.       Social Media has helped a bit. But I feel like it makes some fans lazy. They don’t want to come see bands play because they can watch it on Facebook or YouTube. Daniel feels like some people are investing too much time into SM and making their lives revolve around it. But you can always find negative and positive aspects in everything.
12.   Do you have any advice for new local artists?

a.       Just do what we did and play as much as possible. Play as many shows as you can and get your name out there. The fans will come. Plus the more shows you play the better you get as a band.

Lees Avenue Facebook
Lees Avenue Bandcamp
Ottawa Sound Patreon
Ottawa Sound Bandcamp

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