DJ Interviews: Cynical Sons

Hey there everyone DJ Dizzy here & I had the pleasure of interviewing a band who are based in Canada who are called Cynical Sons & they had a lot to say on their humble beginnings.

How'd you get started in music?

J-S Bass  and co-writer:  As a young kid my mom would play piano all the time and I got into that a little bit but as I got older I discovered rock music more so Green Day’s Dookie when it came out in 1994 and Offspring’s smash that same year and made me realise that I could play cool music and maybe make a living with it.  With that I decided to grab an electric guitar and eventually studied sound engineering and made a career with that so that I’m able to play music and still be involved in the industry. 

Shawn, Singer and co-writer: For me I started playing drums in a band with my family when i was 8 years old in local  bars. When I was a little older around 15 years old I realised I go do more than just play drums and I started to play guitar and sing and completely fell in love with the process of creating music.

Who are your inspirations or influences?

J-S Bass and co-writer: Hands down 90’s punk music for me! Bands like No use for a Name, Face to Face, Rancid etc… For me have been a big influence in my writing style but for this particular project I watched The Dirt the Motley Crue movie and was like… How come I’ve never listened to this kind of music before! It’s was like the perfect blend of punk and metal for me and with Shawn on vocals I was like no way that we are not doing anything else than 80’s kinda metal!

Shawn, Singer and co-writer:  I grew up listening  to bands like Aerosmith, Guns'N'Roses and Motley Crue in bars so hands down those guys have been a major influence on my writing and development.  In more recent years, bands like avenged sevenfold and Santa Cruz have shaped my sound for sure! I feel like these bands have held up a sound that is missing from radio  now and still managed to break through in an industry lacking rock 'n' roll balls!

What advice would offer aspiring performers?

Shawn, Singer and co-writer: Just never let go of your dream! Believe in yourself and strive for greatest. Always push yourself... Kinda like sports you need to practice you need to try to improve your talent constantly, it’s important and don’t let people bring you down! We all sucked at the beginning!lol Never forget why you started doing music in the first place.

J-S Bass and co-writer: Something I’ve realised over the years is quality over quantity for me anyway. Concentrate on writing a good song spend time recording it with the highest quality you can afford get it tight and than tighter.  One great song is better than 10 ok ones. Play less shows but make them worth it for your fans and friends until you can tour.. And don't worry about the local scenester kids if your not part of them. You can build your own fan base if you have strong music the people will come! And don't wait on other to come grab you for shows book them yourself.

How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

Shawn, Singer and co-writer: What sets us apart from all the other bands is that we’ve managed to create a new more modern 80’s sound inspired by a bunch of older bands.  Where all coming from different musical backgrounds J-S kinda brings a melodic punk groove to the songs and Mart just shreds like he was raised in the 80’s!lol  Dré on drums is just a double bass drum machine and brings a more death metal kinda vibe while Nick has riffage power from the likes of Strung out to Killswitch Engage!

J-S Bass and co-writer:  I think Shawn’s voice says it all though! He can do pop, rock, metal and scream! And it sounds very 80’s which is missing in music these days I think! He’s always on pitch even on the recordings no autotune or melodyne needed what you hear is what you get live!

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

Shawn, Singer and co-writer: We are working on our first album now ! And playing our first show on the 1st of february at the Minotaure!

J-S Bass and co-writer:  It’s a cancer fundraiser on february first in Gatineau near Ottawa called  ROCK the CURE! and all the proceeds will be going to The Ottawa Regional Cancer foundation. Cancer as touched us really close with friends and family in the last few years and we felt the only way we could do our part to help this cause was by raising money. Close to 40% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetime and we need to do our part to stop it! So we gathered together a bunch of great bands from the Ottawa-Gatineau region (Cevilain, Colorsfade, Hartford and Ooluu) who share this same passion for the cause and we are looking forward to Rocking the Minotaure February first!!  After that head back in the studio to record some tracks and hopefully have an album or new ep out before the summer. 

Special thanks to them for doing this interview & I wish them nothing but luck in their music & success so until then I'll catch you on the flipside! Stay awesome & rock n roll!