Lost Deliveries

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Interview by Lili-Ahn Le-Minh

After much hard work, Lost Deliveries put out their debut album entitled ‘Entertainment System’ with a CD release show back in February. With an album filled with catchy songs, a music video that has been played on Musique Plus and a sound influenced by many great bands such as Blink-182 and Green Day, Lost Deliveries is slowly but surely getting its name out there. Having had the chance to play at the Vans Warped Tour last summer in Montreal, they were not expecting to have that happen again this year. Yet, here they are, playing the Warped Tour again this year; this time, on a bigger stage.

I had the chance to see them live at Café L’inconditionnelon June 7^th.  A week later, I brought the guys to a small Bubble Tea place in downtown for a nice relaxing chat and to make them discover this Asian drink.

CONFRONT: First of all, where did the name of your band come from?

SIMON: I guess a little bit from nowhere? We all came from different bands and we were sort of “lost deliveries” in each of those bands so we got together and finally, we just decided that we were going to try to find some names. First of all, we thought of “Lost Delivery” but Rod came up with “Lost Deliveries”.

RODRIGO: I thought it sounded better. *laugh*

JASON: It’s strange because the meaning came after. We found a name and we kind of found a meaning for it after we liked the name.

RODRIGO: And actually, it suited it perfectly because that’s what we were. All of us were trying to make good music to the max, putting all our efforts and with people who had the same goals. And we were in different bands that didn’t have the same goals so when we met each other; we were kind of like the lost deliveries that found each other.

CONFRONT: How did you guys all meet?

JASON: In fact, me and Simm played in bands together since 2005 or 2006, something like that. So we knew each other from a couple years back. We split from the band that we were in before, we played with other bands; it didn’t work out so we came back together and said “Hey, let’s start a band together, stop trying to go with bands that are already formed; let’s form our own band.” Rod was already in a band but…

SIMON: Yeah we stole him. *laugh*

JASON: We stole him from his band since his band was in Peru.

RODRIGO: It was a project that we had with my best friend…I had a band in Peru and we wanted to bring it here and I was the first one getting here.

JASON: And the only one.

Everybody laughs.

RODRIGO: And the only one, that’s true. And then they text me, or well e-mail me and they were like: “Hey. I know you’re looking for a guitarist and a drummer. We’re looking for a vocalist. But we don’t want to be part of your band; we want you to be part of our band.”

Everybody laughs.

SIMON: But he was the only singer we tried so we were lucky.

JASON: We received demos from a lot of people because we were kind of known on the local scene since we did a lot of shows but we wanted something fresh. We didn’t want someone we played with before…

SIMON: Someone with a Spanish accent. *laugh*

JASON: And Rod came along and boom: a singer that no one has ever played with in the Montreal area. Because you know, with musicians, especially singers, there’s not a lot of good singers in Montreal.

SIMON: There are some but they’re pretty rare.

JASON: And it’s always the same singer that goes from band to band, you know, so to have a fresh sound was really important to us. That’s why when Rod came along, it fit the bill really well.

CONFRONT: Great timing!

RODRIGO: Yeah for me too because I was really looking to form a band for three years and it was impossible until they emailed me. I checked their old bands and they were tight bands so I was like “Let’s check it out.” And it worked pretty well.

SIMON: And I think Kevin was the only bassist we tried also so we were lucky in that way because we found our musicians really fast.

CONFRONT: And when did you each decide that this was what you wanted to do for a living?

JASON: Well we didn’t decide it…at first, the project was about having a band that goes forward because a lot of bands you’re in, everybody has great ideas and great expectations but no one really works for it that much. Everybody wants to make it but not everyone is willing to put the effort behind it so we didn’t have big expectations at the beginning. When we met together, we said “Ok. We need a band that goes forward, that will gradually make a name for itself.”

RODRIGO: Because also, being in a band is not just about having fun, drink a couple of beers… if you really want to make it…

SIMON: You really got to work.

RODRIGO: It’s freaking stressful but it’s fun because in the end, you enjoy yourself. Yes, we were a little stressed here and there but you know what, it paid off.

JASON: It was fun. At first, it was kind of tough because me and Simm have our fun with the results we’re getting; not with the ‘rock’ lifestyle. We’re not having that much of that ‘rock’ lifestyle.

SIMON: We’re very disciplined guys.

JASON: It’s cliché because those kinds of bands don’t make it anymore. They die before…it’s pretty rough. You can’t do it like it was 20 years ago: just do a demo on a rough tape, send it to labels and get big with a million dollar contract. It doesn’t work like that anymore. Bands that are not willing to put the effort and the discipline behind it are going to die pretty quickly

SIMON: Especially with the arrival of internet, every band can now make it on their own, record their stuff, put it online. I think we just have to put more effort into it because we have to be distinct from other bands.

JASON: We knew that we would get somewhere if we had a plan from the beginning. We didn’t know how it would work out but we had a plan from the beginning.

CONFRONT: You actually brought up one of my questions! *laugh* With MySpace and YouTube and all that, anybody can put their music online, as you said, so do you think it’s making it harder to get your name out there and get picked up by a label?

SIMON: Yeah because there’s a lot of good bands and the internet is…

(At this point, Jason got his first tapioca bubble of his bubble tea and was surprised. The interview was cut off for a bit while Simon and Jason stared at it and laughed, wondering what you’re supposed to do with it…if it’s edible or not.)

SIMON: The internet is giving every band the possibility to show themselves to the world, in fact, because it’s not only limited to national; it’s international. In a way, the labels can also go on YouTube and MySpace and check out those bands so the internet is definitely something that can help a lot of bands out there.

CONFRONT: Yeah that’s true! Like, I know you guys have fans in Asia already!

SIMON: Yeah. *laugh*

JASON: That’s kind of weird, huh? Never set a foot in Asia and even our Street Team is based there so it’s kind of surreal.

RODRIGO: Yeah but it’s awesome and it would be amazing if someday we get there.

CONFRONT: You guys can do it!

RODRIGO and JASON: I hope.

JASON: There and South America.
SIMON: We need a financial way to get there but if we can make it, we’ll be there for sure.

JASON: We have a lot of fans from South America too, where pop-punk is really there, you know? So that’s a long-term plan but we need to achieve some local goals before getting there. Because you cannot go there and waste your money because you’re going to come back broke and your band’s going to die.

RODRIGO: You’re going to party a lot but for sure. We cannot just go in a “suicidal” mission.

SIMON: You need promo there before.

RODRIGO: Yeah exactly. So yeah, right now, we’re kind of waiting to get our name spread out a little more here in the media and have more shows. And for sure, we’ll go to South America. Going to Peru, being actually in my own country, would be like “wow”. And it would be really sick to go there and play and have a blast and enjoy everything. It’s just great because in Latin American places like that, the support in music and rock is huge, huge, huge…People do not even understand. I’ve lived there for 17 years. Every time we heard a band from the States or a band that is kind of known was coming, it gets packed and everybody is intense so it’s something that I would love to do and I’d be so proud to actually play on a stage in front of people from my own country. Having fun, enjoying the show, partying…it would be a dream come true.

CONFRONT: That actually leads me to my next question, which is: who would you like to tour with? It could be anybody!

JASON: Our band is influenced by the 90’s pop/punk movement so you know; Green Day and Blink-182 for sure come out first because those are the reasons we picked up an instrument ten years ago probably. So for sure, those names have to come out first and since those bands are coming back really strongly in 2009, for sure that would be the dream : to be opening for Blink or even Green Day. That would be an achievement that we can only dream of.

RODRIGO: I would love to open for Will Smith and Vanilla Ice…

Everybody laughs.

SIMON: Will Smith isn’t even doing music anymore?

RODRIGO: Yes, he’s going to! *laugh*

JASON: Ricky Martin.

SIMON: *laugh* Yeah Ricky Martin.

JASON: We could open for Ricky Martin. That’s the third artist we need to open for.

RODRIGO: Definitely.

JASON: We could also take Enrique Iglesias.

SIMON: I think realistically, we could tour with Canadian bands like Faber Drive, The New Cities and Hedley.

RODRIGO: And Celine Dion! We could even record Titanic with her and René!

JASON: There was already a remake of that song, no?

RODRIGO: Not with them!

Everybody laughs.

CONFRONT: And where would you guys dream to play? We already know Rod’s answer to that but what about you two?

JASON: For me, it would be…

SIMON: Anywhere where there’s a crowd. *laugh*

RODRIGO: Exactly!

SIMON: For sure, I’d like, personally, to tour Canada first; across the country. And for sure Asia and South America would be definitely somewhere to go.

JASON: I think for Montreal, when you’re playing the Bell Center, it’s kind of like: “Ok. You made it.”

SIMON and RODRIGO: Yeah!

JASON: Even if you’re not the main act, if you’re an opening act at the Bell Centre, it means you made it, you know? “Ok I opened for that band at the Bell Center” it’s like you’re not in the local class anymore. If you did the Bell Center, even as an opening act, that’s an argument to say that you’re not a local band from Montreal anymore. You’re something else.

CONFRONT: So your first single and first video clip is “Have a Good Life”, what made you guys chose that song?

JASON: It was the style. Because we do a lot of styles but it all revolves around pop and punk-rock but we didn’t want a song that was too fast.

SIMON: Yeah it’s a song that represents the album well and its sonority. And I think it sounds…

RODRIGO: Pretty sweet. *laugh*

JASON: If you take all the styles we have on this album and put them into one song, that would be the only song where you have all that. That was a really happy song and we wanted to stay away from the emo movement and all that. We like that kind of music but we don’t want to be associated with it. We want to be more associated with a party and happy band image. More pop. So that song to us was really fitting the bill.

RODRIGO: And also, it was a song that we worked a little more on. We added different stuff. Even at the last minute, we changed the end of the song. Simm came up with the idea.

JASON: And the arrangements…

RODRIGO: Yeah exactly and we had a lot of fun playing it and finally, we had really a little bit of everything of the album in this one song. It was great.

CONFRONT: We were talking about your video so what would be in your dream video? Concepts, props and all that?

SIMON: Something that has never been done before I guess?

RODRIDO: Exactly!

SIMON: You can do very good videos these days with a low budget but with good ideas. But where and how, I don’t know…

RODRIGO: For example, I’m a graphic designer so I don’t really care if it’s a huge or small budget as long as it’s something that hasn’t been done. There was this band…I don’t remember the name but they had a video that was actually a pop-up book. Basically, while the song is playing, they’re filming the pop-up book. So for sure, it wasn’t a huge budget but it was ridiculous, like I LOVED it. It’s one of my top videos for sure.

[for those interested in seeing the video Rod talked about, I looked it up and it was “OK” by SHITDISCO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXM5LGfpmrE it’s rather impressive]

JASON: Yeah right now, it’s more about the ideas than the budget behind it because with the technology, you can do amazing stuff.

RODRIGO: Even with something simple, for example when Sum 41, instead of wasting money into a huge budget for the video, they did Hell’s Song with the toys and everything? They were just having a blast and everyone loved the video! It was a sick video!

CONFRONT: Yeah because it was just the originality of it.

JASON: It’s more about that than all the special effects so our dream video would be to do something that has never been done, in terms of the concept behind it. But right now, we don’t have ideas.

SIMON: We’ll keep that for later.

CONFRONT: And I saw on your MySpace that you’re actually going to work on your new single soon?

JASON: Our cover song, actually.

SIMON: It’s going to be Ricky Martin’s “Living La Vida Loca”. We’re going to record it this summer in July with Luc Perrier and it’s going to be a lot of fun I think.

JASON: We wanted to do it just once at our album launch in February but the response there was so big that we decided to play it in a couple of shows. The response was so great so we thought we could record a song and release it because people seem to like it really a lot. It’s a song that’s under the radar now, I guess because it’s a song from ten years ago; you don’t hear that song on the radio.

RODRIGO: That’s the crazy thing though. That song was so well-done that as soon as you just listen to the beginning, to the trumpet, you know it right way; it’s “Living La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin.

JASON: Everybody knows it.

RODRIGO: So I guess that was a huge thing because we didn’t want to do it totally punk-rock so we really don’t want high-speed and hardcore guitars…we kind of left a lot of the Latin beats and maybe in the chorus, we punched in a little more rock and it was such a fun song and such a party song. When we play it, people dance and we are laughing our asses off.

JASON: That’s the song where people are the most into it because everybody knows it.

RODRIGO: Exactly. We’re a small band coming out little by little so instead of remembering our whole album and all our songs, people remember a couple of our songs and they’re like: “Yeah. The band with the Ricky Martin song.”

JASON: And we didn’t want to play a song that’s already popular right now. We didn’t want to do a Lady Gaga song or something like that. We wanted to do more…

RODRIGO: Something from the 90s.

JASON: Yeah something from the 90s, where most of our sound is from. And to take a song from South America, a long part of the song is in Spanish actually.

CONFRONT: I can’t wait to hear that! I actually missed that at your last show because I got in towards the end of your set. I was really sad about that! Next time, I’ll be there!

RODRIGO: Warped Tour!

CONFRONT: Ok, maybe not next time since I won’t be here for Warped Tour! *laugh* How does it feel to be playing the Warped Tour again actually?

SIMON: It’s a pretty good feeling actually. We didn’t expect it because it wasn’t a contest this time. It was just a submission and people were reviewing bands so we didn’t expect to be chosen. We just posted and we didn’t really do any promotion.

JASON: We didn’t push but they liked our stuff so we’re back.

SIMON: So yeah, we’re back this year and it’s going to be cool because it’s a bigger stage this year and hopefully, we’ll play there later than noon. *laugh* The doors weren’t even open and we were playing. But one thing that is cool is the after party.

RODRIGO: I love it.

JASON: There’s a lot of people to meet, it’s pretty crazy.

SIMON: Most of the bands are there and we just party, eat pizza.

RODRIGO: I really hope I get more than one slice of pizza. Last year, I just grabbed one because everybody took all of it in seconds.

SIMON: We were the new ones so we get the rest…

RODRIGO: It was like this: “Wait for the stars and then you get your pizza.” But it’s really cool because you get to know all the artists who are playing the Warped Tour and came from the States. And they’re really chill people and you’re having a blast, kind of forget about the music for a bit and they’re just chilling and drinking, talking, sumo wrestling. *laugh*

SIMON and JASON: *laugh* That too.

RODRIGO: Yeah that was fun. I’m hoping we’ll have sumo wrestling this year too. Or something else.

CONFRONT: *laugh* So how did your CD release go?

RODRIGO: Ooouh that was good!

JASON: It was at the Petit Campus and the place was packed; it was full.

SIMON: Yeah it was one of the best shows we did so far, I think. It was the best live energy we had and it was really great.

RODRIGO: The people there were really supportive. The response was ridiculous. One of my best friends, he’s not exactly a small guy, got body-surfed. It was ridiculous and I was like “What the hell?” *laugh* It was really, really, really fun. And it was amazing because really everybody was into it; even people who didn’t know us at all.

SIMON: It was a very special night too because it was in front of our friends and families so at the same time, it was a little bit stressful maybe but it was really fun to perform live in front of our families who didn’t see us live before.

RODGRIDO: And also a cool thing, I found, was that our friends invited other people and they didn’t know us at all but they still came and supported us. That was really great.

CONFRONT: That’s really cool! I wish I knew you guys back then! I would’ve come out to that show for sure! *laugh* Finally, what are your plans for the rest of 2009?

SIMON: Lots of shows, touring…hopefully this fall.

JASON: Promoting the album.

SIMON: A new single that will probably be out in August.

CONFRONT: With a video clip?

SIMON: We’re hoping. And we’re going to push a lot for the single at the end of this summer.

RODRIGO: So basically, we’re going to be working, working, working and partying.

CONFRONT: Cool. Sounds like a nice plan *laugh*

After the interview, I actually had my last real question for the guys. I asked each of them to draw something that represents them. Here are their explanations.

RODRIGO: In my drawing, I’m just happy and partying and making a lot of noise with my party hat and I’m totally drunk, screaming “Fiesta!” I drew it huge because I take the whole stage and I don’t care about them; it’s just about me. *laugh*

JASON: My drawing’s just where my time goes from, you know, my family, my son and my music. It’s pretty much what I did in 2008-2009; just concentrating on my music, my family and the son that I have.

SIMON: What I drew here is me thinking of different things I like doing. I think it represents me well because I am always distracted for nothing. I like being in my little bubble and thinking of all sorts of stuff, even when I’m at work or whatever. I drew what I think of: music, party, Foufs (Foufounes Électriques bar), beers and drums. Even when I should be concentrated, I’m thinking of new ideas for the band, or if I should go out or not during the night *laugh*.

RODRIGO (drew for Kevin): I’m replacing Kevin Allan from Lost Deliveries, the bassist of the band. He’s not here because of traffic going on. The drawing represents him all the time with his hat. He always wears a hat. And he has beer too. And I put a huge ‘bling’ of a clock because he’s usually late so I think we’re going to get him a huge clock. And also, every time I think about Kevin, I think about boats because he has a huge car and since we met him, we’ve always said “that was our boat”. And in the bubble, I put “Why so much traffic?” because there’s a lot of traffic around him. Wherever Kev is, traffic follows.

If you’d like to check out the band and listen to some of their songs, you can go visit their MySpace : http://www.myspace.com/lostdeliveries

You can also watch their video clip for their single “Have a Good Life” on that page.