A Taste Of Chaos

Taste
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/taste)
1. To distinguish the flavor of, by taking into the mouth.
2. To eat or drink a small quantity of.
3. To partake of, especially for the first time; experience.
4. To perceive as if by the sense of taste.
5. Archaic: To appreciate or enjoy.

Chaos
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chaos)
1. A condition or place of great disorder or confusion.
2. A disorderly mass; a jumble.
3. Mathematics: A dynamical system that has a sensitive dependence on its initial conditions.
4. Obsolete: An abyss; a chasm.

Never have I heard a name so fitting for an event.  Even the energy drink brand that sponsored the shows sounds right: Rockstar Taste of Chaos.  How accurate!

Angel and I had a great time during our two days spent hanging with bands, fans and crew when the Taste of Chaos Tour stopped in Montreal and Ottawa.  We originally had no plans to do more than just interview a few bands but after having experienced the TOC tour life a little, we decided to write this article.  In order to include every viewpoint, we thought it would be interesting to get a band’s perspective on touring and Taste of Chaos in general.

Following our initial interview with Evaline in Montreal, Angel and I were immediately seduced by RJ (lead singer), Christian (guitar), Dominic (guitar), Steven (bass) and Greg (drummer), playfulness, affection, complicity and their ever-active mouths.  Which is why we had no doubt they would be up to the challenge.

Although Evaline has been a band for many years, they are new to the whole touring scene; their experience being limited to a few shows played with Head Automatica and a stint on last year’s Warped Tour.  In great part thanks to their extreme kindness, the band agreed to sit down with us for the second time in two days, in order to discuss their views on the tour and its players.

Let’s start with a little background.  The Taste of Chaos shows we attended, were part of the North American tour.  But all year long, TOC travels the world.  The 2006 winter line-up which included acts in the likes of Taking Back Sunday, Anti-Flag, Thursday, Alexisonfire, Saosin and Senses Fail, visited Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, the UK and many other countries in Europe.  Created in 2004 by Kevin Lyman, the mastermind behind the Van’s Warped Tour, TOC is often considered to be the Warped’s little brother.  Given Evaline’s involvement in both productions, we asked the band how the two tours compared.

“I’d say that Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos are the polar opposites.  Just for the simple fact that Warped Tour is tons of bands on tons of stages in extreme heat and different climates.  Taste of Chaos is a lot of cold, more focus on a few bands and one stage.” RJ explained.

“But also the similarities… it’s pretty much the same group of kids that come to Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos.  They are very similar in their demographic.” Steven continued.

In 1993, the Warped Tour was created as a part of the punk/ska movement.  Lyman later designed Taste of Chaos as a means to get out of the punk-metal format the kids had gotten used to but the distinction between these two events is getting thinner each year, as both festivals have been featuring the same bands.  The only real difference now, being the size of the productions.

Another similarity would be the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands.  Both the Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos offer this amazing chance to upcoming, unsigned bands.   This contest, offers its winners a chance to play as part of the festival line-up, in their hometown.  It’s a great opportunity and it has helped many bands in the past; Aiden, who were the Ernie Ball contest winners in March of 2005, being one of them.  Following their win, the band went on to open for other bands on a national and international scale, like 30 Seconds to Mars with whom they shared a stage on the Rockstar TOC.   Also, they will soon be releasing a new album.

Looking into this contest, I asked myself ‘who is that Ernie Ball guy?’ Turns out, Ernie Ball is a genius when it comes to guitars and he has developed many different related products over the years.  He began as a club musician and ended up running a 40 million/year ‘guitars and accessories’ business.  No wonder they named the contest after him.

When we asked Evaline if they had made any musical discoveries on this tour, their answer was unanimous and without any hesitation: Radiation Year.   “They were the Ernie Ball band winners that opened up the show (in Portland).  A really good band.” Steven told us before RJ added “Hopefully they will win the overall, because they definitely have been my favorite Ernie Ball band on this tour.  They are awesome.”

The overall winner has not yet been announced.  Many CEOs and other important music people comprised the judging panel that determine who would play at the beginning of each show but the overall winner will be determined by crowd response.  If the organization was to take Evaline’s opinion into consideration, Radiation Year would win hands down.  If you want to learn more about Radiation Year, visit their Myspace (www.myspace.com/radiationyearnoise) and Official Website (www.radiationyear.com).

This year, Taste of Chaos featured 8 bands: The local Ernie Ball winners, Evaline, Chiodos, Aiden, Saosin, Senses Fail, 30 Seconds to Mars and The Used.  I sat through most of the sets twice and had the chance to meet most of the bands; let me tell you, it must have been one hell of a tour.  Many of the band members are pranksters, funny and not always ‘good boys’.

Over the next few weeks, you’ll be able to read CONFRONT Magazine’s interviews and articles with The Used, Saosin, Senses Fail, Aiden as well as a more personal interview with Evaline.  To tide you over until then, here’s a little description of what I thought of the bands, their performances and the TOC experience in general.

Evaline:

I’m sure Angel will tell you this in her coming article but it bears repeating: Evaline is definitely a band to watch.  I missed their Montreal set but I made sure to watch them in Ottawa and boy, am I glad I did.  This is a band that stands out from all the others.  Their music can’t be classified.  It’s rock at its best, filled with emotion, keyboards and cello.  This might seem like a strange mix but you have to listen to them to understand.  They are young, talented and just starting out.  I can’t imagine what they will sound like after they have a few years of touring under their belts.  Front man RJ, has a mesmerizing, haunting and poignant voice and their lyrics are intelligent; something that is fading from rock music lately.  I bought their EP titled ‘Postpartum Modesty: A Portrait of Skin’ and I can’t stop listening to it.  The drums are forceful, the guitars are eloquent and the piano and cello add a whole new dimension to an already well rounded sound; but it’s live that their music really takes on all its grandeur.  If you have the chance to see them live, grab it; they’ll be huge soon.  Hopefully, their LP should come out later this year, *Fingers crossed*.

When we spoke with them in Ottawa in order to conduct ‘Part deux’ of our interview, they were given the huge task of describing each band in three words.  Their final consensus with regard to describing themselves was: hellacious, silly and new.  Many other words came out during that little brainstorming session; words like shitty, retarded, stupid and tedious but I don’t agree with any of those.  They are amazing.  Period!

Chiodos:

Unfortunately, Chiodos is one of the two bands we didn’t interview due to time and scheduling restrains (30 Seconds to Mars being the other).  I missed their set in Montreal but like with Evaline, I had the chance to see it in Ottawa.  This is a band that is relatively new but the first thing I noticed was their ease on stage.  They came out like they had been doing this forever.  After listening to their album, I can pretty much say the same thing: they sound like they’ve been a band for 10 years; yet they are only in their early 20’s.  Next time we cross paths with this band, we’ll do everything in our power to interview them.

Evaline described them as follows: Dave, intense and funny.  Dave referring to Chiodos’ bunny-costume wearing guitar tech, who was described by Dominic as being “the most amazing dude you’ll ever meet.”

Aiden:

We had seen Aiden live many times prior to the Rockstar Taste of Chaos but had never met them before.  That changed when we had the chance to sit down with two of the band members for an interview that will be featured in a coming update.  Of course I can’t mention Aiden without talking about the band’s incredible front man; Wil Francis is one crazy dude.  He is full of energy and has great moves.  It’s impossible to stay cold to his charms.  I met him backstage in Montreal and he was the same off stage as he was on: entertainment on two feet.  This horror-inspired band is definitely worth seeing live.

The boys of Evaline had to make up words to describe Aiden: evil and entertaining became “Eviltaining”.  Other words used to describe them were genuine and fantastic; fantastic being the word used to describe the band’s live performances.

Saosin:

I didn’t know what to expect of Saosin as I didn’t know much about them, other than that their singer, Anthony Green, had left the band a while back to form Circa Survive, one of my favorite bands.  I had the opportunity to meet their new singer, Cove Seder, before seeing them live and the minute I met him, I was sold.  He is a very charismatic, funny, down to earth guy, who just wants to make good music.  Angel will tell you more about the band in her article but it would be remiss of me to not tell you about the show.  It was a solid performance that was very different from the other bands, with enthralling music and great energy.   They also seemed more settled and reserved onstage; a positive trait that gave them a different vibe and made them stand out.  It definitely made me buy the album.  Isn’t that what these kinds of events are all about?

Evaline’s three words for Saosin were: loving, solidshitballs and beautiful…I think I also heard well endowed but this wasn’t confirmed.

Senses Fail:

I had never heard of Senses Fail before this Taste of Chaos but that was remedied when I had the opportunity to spend time with the entire band, while doing a photoshoot outside the Montreal venue, for our Round Table interview that will be posted soon.  They are great guys; funny, witty and intelligent.  I was impressed.  They also give a high-energy performance.  Their music is inspired and their lyrics are as intelligent as they are.

Evaline described them as funny, solid and spiritual.   That’s exactly what I thought of them too.

30 Seconds to Mars:

If you’re an avid CONFRONT reader, you are already aware of our attachment to 30 Seconds to Mars.  They have been one of CONFRONT’s favorite bands, ever since they were featured on the cover of our very first issue.  Their live set in Montreal was amazing; especially given that the last time the band was here, drummer Shannon was sick, which dampened their normally high-strung energy.  But this time around, they were in perfect health (as much as that can be said about Jared).  This was our first encounter with new (and not yet confirmed) bassist Tim.  As much as we liked Matt (the band’s former bassist who left the band in the middle of this Taste of Chaos tour due to personal reasons), with Tim now onstage, a whole new energy was palpable.

The only down side to any 30 Seconds to Mars set nowadays, is definitely the lack of old material being played.  Their self-titled debut album isn’t represented at all, with the exception of one song: “Buddha for Mary”.  Jared’s energy level was as high as it’s ever been though and Tomo, their guitar player, was still jumping, dancing and head banging along.  A special mention has to be given to Shannon, who was as much as an animal on drums, as his reputation makes him out to be.

Evaline used great words to describe them too.  They mentioned them being good party throwers, fucking sexy (their words not mine) and ‘solidshitballs’ which from Evaline, is the ultimate tribute.

The Used:

Most of the things I had read or heard about The Used prior to Taste of Chaos, were fairly negative.  Because of this, I was a little skeptical before meeting them.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  Sure I had heard their songs but had never seen them live before.  Lead singer Bert McKracken is a great entertainer.  I was front row for the first three songs to take pictures and was having a hard time keeping focused as all I wanted to do was stop and watch the show.  I managed to take some great pics, which will be available for your viewing pleasure when next month’s issue goes live on April 26th; The Used will be our Feature Presentation.  I also have to admit that I have a soft spot for their new single “The Bird and the Worm”.  One thing I will forever be grateful to The Used for, is that their guitarist Quinn produced Evaline’s EP.

When it came to describing The Used, Evaline had a hard time.  “Three words can’t do that.” Dominic said.  They finally agreed to pun-witty (being a mix between ‘punny’, their version of funny, and witty), captivating and lovey-dovey.  Interesting choices but none the less very accurate.

Over the course of these two days, we definitely had a “Taste of Chaos”; the frenzy of interviews, the insane rock concerts two nights in a row, the lack of sleep… It was certainly Chaotic.  Good thing we get to meet amazing people when we cover events like this; awesome fellow fans, the guys of Senses Fail, Cove from Saosin, Aiden, members of The Used and new favorites Evaline, who we got to hang out with, not once but twice.

Overall, it was a great experience.  Hopefully, it will be repeated next year but before that, we’ll try our best to get you full coverage of the Vans Warped Tour that will make its stop in Montreal on August 12th , 2007.
Check out other tour dates here: http://www.warpedtour.com/warpedtour/index.asp

If you want to read Evaline’s long and hard debate to choose the words they used to describe each band, the full interview transcript is available in the Library of Content.  In there you’ll read about their dream tours as well as hilarious tour stories; many laughs guaranteed.

Also, don’t forget that on May 3rd, you can read Angel’s article and full interview with the band.

I would like to thank Evaline once again for having spent time with us and for sharing their experiences and views on touring and on Taste of Chaos.

Check them out on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/evaline