Crash Parallel
July 2nd, 2008 - Written by AngelGemma interviews vocalist, Tim Edwards and guitarist, Danny Saitua
CONFRONT: Is this your first time in Montreal?
TIM: Uh… to play, yes. We’ve all been to Montreal several times but uh, mostly to party, hang out and see friends. So this is our first show in Montreal, yeah.
CONFRONT: Oh yeah? So, are you excited?
TIM: Yeah! Really excited.
CONFRONT: When you feel uninspired to write songs, what do you do to inspire yourself and just keep going?
TIM: Uh… well, I haven’t felt uninspired a lot but usually I just go out and experience stuff; whether it’s taking a weekend to go away somewhere or you know, just putting yourself in a different kind of situation.
DAN: For myself I tend to go to my instruments if I’m sad or going through a tough time because it’s a form of release…
TIM: Yeah, being happy is definitely uninspiring.
*Dan laughs*
CONFRONT: Ok, well Dan, you were working on Hip Hop prior to this project, how has that genre influenced Crash Parallel’s material?
DAN: More so, I think the learning of producing, like learning how to use the computer to record and add layers and really arrange songs. Usually, most of the songs Tim will come with are the shell of the song; he’s written it as a folk song, like acoustic guitar and vocals and what I’ve learned from producing Hip Hop is how to layering, adding drums and things like that.
TIM: Yeah, I would say the drums is a big key. We had a lot of drum samples, things that really helped us create our demo so we could program them and it still gave us the real feeling of a song and then, when we finally got a real drummer, he also had a real idea how the songs were supposed to go.
CONFRONT: Which one do you prefer: Hip Hop or Rock?
DAN: Um… you know what? I’d say, well, obviously probably rock but again, depending on my mood I like all types of music… so depending on my mood I’ll go from one to the other.
CONFRONT: So, what brought you guys together as a band?
TIM: Well, actually, Dan and I used to play in a punk band together and that broke up and I went to film school and he [Dan] started producing, so we actually knew each other and played together before.
DAN: But he was the drummer, not the singer, so I didn’t know he had any talent; I just thought he was a bad drummer.
*Laughter*
DAN: And then, I heard through a mutual friend that he had some songs that he wanted to do something with.
TIM: So, he reluctantly was like “uhh… alright, fine” and eventually he came on board and became a huge part of what happened.
CONFRONT: So, how has touring with Lifehouse been thus far?
TIM: Well, we only played one show with them last night in Toronto.
DAN: It’s their make-up shows from their last tour when we didn’t have a record or anything but now they’re doing some make-up dates and we got added to it, so for us, it’s just Toronto and Montreal which is great.
CONFRONT: I thought you were doing the whole tour…
DAN: No, we wish!
CONFRONT: So, how’s it like playing for such large crowds of Lifehouse and experience what they experience every night?
DAN: It’s been new for us, first of all the venues. They’re larger venues than what we’re used to and I think their fans are people who would like our music too, so it’s a good match.
TIM: The other thing is, definitely we want to play with bands like Lifehouse because we are gonna get that experience. Even talking to other bands who’ve been doing it for a couple of years.
DAN: It’s definitely something we wanna be exposed to. And this summer we’re playing a lot of festivals including the festival d’été in Montreal; it’s a huge festival over here.
CONFRONT: Yeah.
CONFRONT: You guys are coming back May 18th but this time you’re going to be headlining instead of opening. What would you say are some of the major differences between being and opener and headliner? Which do you prefer and why?
TIM: Well, I think headlining is great because it’s your show; there’s a little bit more control of the actual stuff that goes on but it’s also nice to have other acts that can help support you and obviously the venues are gonna change to play smaller venues. We’ve never played Montreal so we don’t know what it’s gonna be like.
DAN: There’s that uncertainty. We’re not sure how many people are gonna show up cause it is our show, right? And the good thing about being a supporting act is that with a larger band there’s gonna be lots more people.
CONFRONT: Yeah, that’s true. So, how’s it like being away from family and friends? Is this your first tour?
TIM: Yeah, it’s all kinda getting started. We’ve gone out; Dan and I have gone out to do promotional tours. Um, so it’s not a big deal… like when we come home, we have a lot of time but that’s probably gonna change. I could probably answer that question differently in about 2 years but right now it’s not so bad.
CONFRONT: Yeah, in two years you’ll be the biggest band ever.
*Tim and Dan laugh*
DAN: Well, we’ll see.
TIM: Hopefully we’re famous for good things… like good music.
*Laughter*
TIM: We don’t wanna be famous for the wrong reasons.
CONFRONT: Like your good looks…
*Laughter*
TIM: Well, I couldn’t complain about that.
CONFRONT: So you guys obviously have a heart for global warming. Do you think the world is getting better at dealing with it or is it getting worse?
TIM: Unfortunately, I think the world’s trying to figure out how we can do this and still make a profit.
CONFRONT: Yeah, that’s true.
TIM: It is. That’s kind of the difficulty of change. You know, we’re never gonna unbuild cities, we’re never gonna do any of that stuff. So basically, it’s how do we use our knowledge and technology to fix things? But often times that creates new problems.
CONFRONT: I find it sad that people probably won’t really do anything until it actually happens and then…
DAN: And then, it’s gonna be too late.
CONFRONT: Yeah, exactly.
TIM: Here’s how I look at it: If you picture yourself driving in the middle of Ste Catherine Street and then you picture yourself driving somewhere deeping into Quebec and you have your window down; the two different experiences are when you’re concious of what’s around you and the beauty that’s around you and when you’re conscious of this is my day, how do I get through it, I have to work. Those are differences where I find when you actually are conscious of “holy crap, this is beautiful!.” I wanna take care of it. I think it’s just a different mind set and more people are just busy in their own lives and they forget the importance of it.
CONFRONT: Hmm… yeah. So, what do you think people can do to start making a change?
TIM: I think we are doing the right thing in looking at some of our transportation issues, which are the big ones. Um… cattle farming is also one of the very huge issues.
CONFRONT: Like the cows farting?
TIM: Yeah, it is!
CONFRONT: I find that pretty funny.
TIM: I do too but it’s actually the largest reason. All the gas produced from all the cattle is because people are trying to supply beef to the world. I think everyone is learning how to make differences… and awareness; governments could work on awareness programs to make sure people have the right tools to make it easier on people. If there’s garbage cans on every block, you have less litter. That’s how it works so… I think if we put the right initiatives in place, things could get better.
CONFRONT: So, would you like to share a funny story that happened recently?
TIM: A funny story like our tour manager thought we were staying in the Marriott, so we were lost looking all over downtown and we ended up staying at the Maritime. That was pretty funny.
DAN: So, we were driving around for the last hour.
CONFRONT: Have you ever been late for a show?
TIM: We’ve been late for sound checks but I don’t think we’ve ever been late for a show. We’ve pulled it off.
CONFRONT: How do you respond when people tell you your music has helped them through hard times and they can relate to it?
TIM: I love hearing from fans about how they feel a song affects them because it means they’re listening, first of all, to the words that I’m writing about myself and it means they’re relating to me which means we’ve shared each others misery or whatever the song happens to be about but anytime you get someone who’s active towards your music, it’s flattering more so than any compliment that’s out there for me. Songwriting is something I put a lot into and the band puts a lot into so when we hear that people are that deep into it, that they’re letting us know how they feel, it’s always rewarding.
CONFRONT: How was the process of making your video “World We Know”?
TIM: It was pretty easy actually. Our video was pre-made; we shot the movie that was in the background before we actually started the video, so the day of all we were really doing was performing all day from about 6 in the morning til 4 in the afternoon. We played our butts off.
CONFRONT: What is a question you’ve never been asked that you think you should’ve been asked and what’s the answer.
TIM: Wow… wow.
DAN: The question you just asked.
*Laughter*
TIM: Good answer Dan. And what would the answer be? Hmmm… it kinda goes in a loop.
DAN: Yeah it does.
*Laughter*
TIM: He just created the ultimate answer. I’m gonna be dealing with that on stage; I’m gonna be like “how does that work?!”
DAN: Yeah, haha.
TIM: Uh… so a lot of people don’t ask when the new record is coming out. I think a lot of people assume it’s already out.
CONFRONT: Ok, so then, when does your album come out?
TIM: May 6th. I still like Dan’s answer so I’ll go with that one.
DAN: You’re gonna have me thinking about that question all night now…
CONFRONT: Do you guys go to your merch table to meet fans after your shows?
TIM: Yeah, we definitely try to do that. One of the great things about what we were talking about earlier which was relating to the songs is getting out there to meet people who listen to us cause there’s nothing better than connecting with a fan personally rather than over email or even them just getting the record; it’s always nice to hear face-to-face what people are thinking. We definitely go out, we do our merch tables. Last week we did a signing at our merch table, but yeah, we’re always out, we’re not afraid to go out and meet people. It’s fun.
CONFRONT: What was your first and last album ever purchased?
TIM: I just bought ‘Memory Man’ by Aqualung… that was the last one I bought.
DAN: The first album I ever bought was ‘Appetite for Destruction’ by Guns ‘N’ Roses and the last thing I got was Kings Of Leon.
CONFRONT: What was your last concert attended besides your own?
DAN: I work at Mode Club in Toronto, so I see a lot of free shows. I saw MGMT, they were awesome.
TIM: I just saw Danny Michel at Mode Club, as well.
CONFRONT: We have a section on the site called the Daily Urges and basically it’s a section where readers can submit bands or artists they feel other people should discover or rediscover. What would be some of your Daily Urges?
TIM: Can I give two?
CONFRONT: Yeah, as many as you want.
TIM: Uhh… Switchfoot and Eve 6… and Crash Parallel.
DAN: We were talking about MGMT earlier, they’re awesome.
TIM: Umm… also The Junction, which is a band from our minor label. They’re a great band. Their first record is phenomenal. Their second record is coming out maybe late this year of early next year.
CONFRONT: Ok so, we’re done. Thanks!
TIM: Cool. Thank you.
To learn more about Crash Parallel, visit the links below:
http://www.crashparallel.com/
http://www.myspace.com/crashparallel
And make sure to check out the CONFRONT Community where you can leave comments and discuss this interview with Gemma and other readers.
Related Articles:
Find arcitcles with similar tags: confront, confront magazine, crash parallel, Danny Michel, Danny Saitua, music, Tim Edwards