Interview with Orchid's Curse

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

● I’ve been involved in music in some capacity since I was 13 years old. I first got involved in a youth community centre in my hometown called Generation XX. I joined what would become Orchid’s Curse back in 2005, started my record label Diminished Fifth Records in 2006 (which closed in 2015), and Red Tentacle Music Solutions (Concerts, Marketing and Merchandising) in 2008 I believe. I honestly have no clue what my life would be like if music wasn’t involved.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

● As I’ve gotten older I’ve become an avid gardener and an avid home chef. Over the past 5 years, I have made over 300 Pizzas.  I also started making my own hot sauce almost a year ago. Orchid’s Curse just released our first hot sauce (CHIPOTLE RUM) on May 19th.

How long has your band been around?

● Orchid’s Curse was formed in 2005 with our first release being back in 2006. In June, we will release our 6th album ‘THE DECAY’.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

● We are based out of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Canada.  Despite being a smaller market in Canada we have had our fair share of bigger touring acts come through here. We have had our ups and downs as a scene with a variety of venues closing down over the past 5 years but still have a relatively healthy music scene despite its smaller size.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

● Orchid’s Curse was named after an episode of the David Lynch series TWIN PEAKS. We originally were going to be called October Crisis as an infamous Canadian incident however upon realizing that there was a handful of bands with that name, we settled on Orchid’s Curse.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

● We have been lucky to share the stage and support a lot of touring bands. Some of our most notable support slots have been for Children of Bodom, The Black Dahlia Murder, Every Time I Die, 3 Inches of Blood, Goatwhore, Cancer Bats, Alestorm, and many others.  Bodom was the biggest show we’ve ever played for sure but the coolest tour we got to do was with 3 Inches of Blood and Goatwhore. That was an absolute blast!

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

● One of our all-time fav venues would be The Rockhouse in St. John’s Newfoundland. Another really cool venue we’ve recently started playing is Xeroz in Moncton, New Brunswick (it’s a BAR-Cade with a ton of old-school video games).  

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

● I feel like we’d love to play with some of our biggest influences like At The Gates, The Black Dahlia Murder and Burnt by the Sun.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

● The best advice is always ‘show up on time and don’t be a dick’. That still holds true.  

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

● Don’t take it so seriously. Music is meant to be fun. Always bring your A-Game but not every show will be an A-grade show.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?  

● This is a tough one for me to answer… If I can only pick one, lyrically I feel like it would have to be ‘Indifferences’ of our 3rd release WORDS. It’s a dry, scathing look at my own, and society’s general apathy towards the repetitive grind that most of us live in.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

● Our fav songs to play definitely vary and with six releases we definitely try to keep a good blend of old and new tunes in there. My top 3 to play currently are probably ‘Divided by Everything’ (a new tune off THE DECAY), ‘Born of the Same Sun’ (off our 2018 split GRAVEYARD OF THE GULF), and ‘The Delicate Art of Dying’ (a classic off our 2nd release VOICES: THE TALES OF BROKEN MEN).  Our most popular songs are definitely ‘The Workhorse Walks Alone’ and ‘If We’re Divine’.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

● Our rhythm guitarist Brian handles the bulk of the writing musically with each member contributing their own parts and helping to shape the structure of the song. As the vocalist/lyricist, I usually don’t come in until the song is almost finished to start putting pen to paper.  Occasionally I will have lyrical ideas not yet for a song that is written but the vast majority of the time I’ll yell nonsense at early jams to figure out the melodies I want, and then I’ll listen to demos on repeat until I fully craft the lyrics.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

● Most of my lyrics are me venting into the void on societal issues. Probably the most recurring themes would be ranting about the problematic issues with modern politics and organized religion. Occasionally I try to get a little deeper and introspective but more often than not, it’s just me raging against the proverbial machine.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

● Generally speaking, we are a democracy and vote on everything as a group (plus with 5 members there’s never a tie). Considering how long we’ve been a band, we rarely have any meaningful disagreements anymore which is a nice improvement from our earlier years when we butted heads much more frequently.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

● Our new release drops officially on June 16th. We’ve just launched some sweet new merch designs and our very own hot sauce as well. We are doing a variety of dates across the Maritimes in May/June and will be returning to Newfoundland in August and Quebec in September.  More info at www.orchidscurse.com.

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Song Stream - Divided by Everything -