Interviews: TURBO
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name? Did you plan it or came out just like that?
We were actually stumped on a band name for a good many months in the group's beginning stages. So one night we went to the jam spot, had a few too many drinks, and refused to leave until we had a good band name. We were trying to get a name that fit the sound, and wanted something that both a teenager could have on his backpack, and a biker could have on the side of his hog. Our bassist at the time - Todd Stanley - said the word Turbo and we all spit our drinks a bit and yelled “YEUP!” It was perfect.
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
This genre is in all of our blood. We've all been playing and listening to old school British metal, punk, thrash, and even glam metal since we were kids, so it just feels natural to combine them into Turbo's Nitro-Rock sound; it's never anything we consciously think about. It all kinda just comes out this way, and it just feels right.
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
We did! Sylvain Coderre (drummer) and I have been kind of a musical team of party buddies since we met, and have played in a couple good local acts together before this - Terminator and Black Moor. When we came up with the idea for Turbo, Sylvain was playing in a band called Hitman while I was finishing my time with Black Moor, and we already had Lindsey Dicks (lead guitar) in mind - who was playing in a solid thrash band, Novachok; also with a wicked following. Our new guy, Donny Rootnotes (bassist), kept coming to our shows and house parties over the course of a couple of years, so it felt natural to include him as well. We drafted him in from being a talented guitarist to playing bass for us. This is his first big-boy band experience, and he's really done a good job at going from 0 to 60 with us right off the bat. We're no picnic, so I gotta give so much cred for that.
4. Each band member's favourite band?
Evan Frizzle - Limp Bizkit
Sylvain Coderre - Limp Bizkit
Donny Rootnotes - Lizzimp Bizkizzit
Lindsey Dicks - Blimp Izkit
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
Musically, we're inspired by anything that's raw, real, and street-level that's not too overpolished. Bands like Motorhead, WASP, Guns N ' Roses, Pantera, Distillers, Cancer Bats; bands who are really singing about how they live and making music to translate that.
Lyrically speaking, I'm very motivated to write about my own life and things I've seen or experienced - visceral reality -, and I try to tie it in with some snarky humor and stuff the rest of the band members are experiencing or can get on board with whenever possible. We basically just write every song about our own red flags ahaha and just hope it sticks in people's heads.
6. Where was your last gig?
We've been playing festivals and summer-fun gigs all summer, just finished one called Mikefest in New Glasgow while I'm answering this at the ass-end of the summer. Maximum vacation drinks, party shirts, swim shorts, and trying to stay level enough to play shows at the end of the day. So righteous.
7. Where would you like to act?
Well, we've already done Mexico; we're about to do Europe, which is wild. The next place I'd personally like to go is East Asia, like Taiwan or Japan or China. But really I'd love Australia or South America or Africa as well. Turbo on every fuckin continent FUCK it let's GOOOO!!
8. Whom would you like to feature with?
I'm not sure if this means who we'd like to play a show with? Or who we'd like on a track with us?
If it's to play a show with, we'd love to play with Fu Manchu, Turbonegro, Enforcer or The Chats, or something like that. We think we'd fit in with those bands really well.
If we're talking about features on a track, we've been toying with the idea of writing a song with a rapper as a feature on it, but still make it a straight-ahead Turbo ripper. We've been talking about it a lot actually, that'll probably happen soon so stay tuned!
9. Whom not?
Iunno Bjork?
10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?
Honestly, all of us have suffered from stage fright when we first started going at it. I think everyone does to some degree, even the most confident people. It's hard to get up in front of a crowd of any size and be like "hi, this is me, look at what I made!". You just gotta keep doing it. The more times you do it, the more that fear dissolves until it turns to excitement and pure adrenaline. And THAT feeling is addictive and intoxicating. We've been chasing it for decades.
11. What bands have inspired you the most?
W.A.S.P., Motorhead, Kill Cheerleader, Misfits, Pantera, Skid Row, Judas Priest, Cancer Bats, and a shit ton of random metal, thrash, punk, glam, and hardcore stuff we hear in passing and probably adopt into our collective psyche subconsciously. Iunno again, our sound comes really naturally to us, and we dont really think about it too too much while we're doing it, so I'm definitely missing key elements we're not even thinking about.
12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?
An autograph in black Sharpie along a male fan's belt line. Like right above his pubes. Cool guy, weird request, but we all did it.
13. What do you think of your fans?
Greasy, fun, and too ugly to be as hot as they are.
Just kidding, but honestly our fans are the bomb, and the engagement is REAL. People into Turbo seriously keep up with current events. I'll be like at the dentist's office and come outside with half my face frozen for a smoke and some dude with no teeth and an eyepatch will be like "bro! That post three hours ago - so funny! You still playing that gig at the end of the month??" (This literally happened to me like 4 or 5 days ago ahaha). We love that. The people around us really catch on to what we're about, and that's one of the main reasons we do this.
14. What do you think of our site?
Oh, we LOVE Breathing The Core. Love what you guys are about, get the feel for a lot of bands and what they're all about, and you guys have been super good about featuring us again and again. We look forward to it every time we do something big.
15. Something to add
Just listen. And shut up.
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