What’s it like to be in a band with your brother! Tell us a funny story about your childhood together PLEASE! Hahahaha… 

Ben: It’s great! I have always enjoyed playing with Nic because I really respect his musical tastes and the way he expresses himself through music. This is probably the first time we’ve played together properly since CALLOUS (1996-1998), so it’s been almost a good 10 years.

I can’t think of any funny childhood stories apart from the fact that when I was 12 or so, I thought I would be metal and grew my hair long. Unfortunately, there were times I would walk into the bathroom with Nic and the cleaner would say to me: “The girl’s toilet is over there.” I think I am still recovering after all these years.

Nic: It’s really a joy to be playing music with Ben again. There’s just something about creating/playing music with people you love. We started getting into music at about the same time, and luckily have shared very similar tastes in genres and influences over the years. I admire him immensely both in his skills as a musician and a songwriter. It’s definitely been inspiring and refreshing. I should add that what I’ve said applies to Suhail and Ephraim as well.

As far as funny childhood stories go, there are plenty to share, but I think I’ll save them for Ben’s wedding in October. Humour doesn’t always work well on paper.

Tell us the 5 most important CD’s you think we should hear and why?

Ben: Personally, I would say (these are my most recent ones purchases):

SINALOA – footprints on floorboards

TUBERS – s/t

CELEBRATION – s/t

THE GO! TEAM – thunder lighting strike

HOT SNAKES – audit in progress

Nic: Here are 5. Not sure if I can say that they’re the most important; but you definitely can’t go wrong having them in your collection. I listen to a lot more variety than what’s listed, but I thought I would try to stick to releases that listeners of THE LOVESONG would be able to identify with easier.

PROPAGANDHI – Less Talk, More Rock

CHRISTIE FRONT DRIVE – Stereo

DRIVE LIKE JEHU – Yank Crime

TEXAS IS THE REASON – Do You Know Who You Are?

PIXIES - Doolittle

Any last comments?

Ben: Be true to yourself, no matter what you like or what you believe in. You don’t need to fit in to any “scene” or “style” just because other people are. It’s ok to like things that are not cool. It’s ok to have very few friends. It’s ok not to be popular. Whatever you do, follow your heart and make sure you are sincere about it. True punk rock is not needing to be punk rock.

Nic: I hope people can find the courage to break out of convention’s molds and learn to chase after their dreams. Whatever it is you’re passionate about, step out and focus all your time and energy into making it happen. Life is too short to be spent inside offices, behind desks and computers, 10-12 hours a day. Sure we all need money to survive, but that doesn’t equate to devoting all your waking hours to making it. Relationships, health and other things tend to suffer as a result. There is so much more to life than dollar signs and I really hope all of us can look back on the past and be satisfied with the knowledge that it was time well spent, with meaning and purpose.

It would also be great if we could all try to be more honest and open with ourselves and with one another. After all, we’re all just people in the same boat, journeying down life’s passages with similar pains and struggles. We aren’t all that different, so let’s recognize that and try to share the joy and sadness of life together.

Ben: I think HK would be a much cooler place if we can all learn to be nice and make an effort to talk to each other more, listen to each other, and find out about each other. We are all (somewhat) nice people in this band. If you see us, please come and say hello. We may not be the most interesting people to talk to, but we are here for you.

Thanks Riz for letting me and Nic talk (too much). Hope you kids enjoyed reading this and see you guys around! Have a nice week.

What is the future for your band?

Ben: I think at the moment we want to be as tight as we can be, and just enjoy ourselves and get to know more people and form relationships with people. As much as music is important, we are more interested in the actual people than the music. If we have enough songs recorded, we might actually print a full length CD – but we’ll see. Definitely would love to play more shows in different places and with different types of bands.

Nic: Yeah, for me the band is really just an excuse for me to spend time with some very dear friends. Who we are as people, and what we’re doing with our lives and to those around us is of much greater significance than putting out CDs or playing as many shows as possible. The songs and the shows are just an expression of all that. Relationships should always come first. That’s why we only practice when everyone is available. We do not think it’s necessary to make personal sacrifices for the sake of this band.

You guys have released amazing DIY CD’s for the past few months – can you talk about why you choose to do it this way? (Can you also talk about what exactly you have to do (literally, how do you make these DIY CD’s etc).

Ben: DIY is good because you get to control everything from how it’s made to how much money you spend doing it. It also saves a lot of money which means in return you are able to sell something for less. We don’t believe music should be about money. Ultimately, I just wanted to get the music out there to those who were interested. It is not about making profits or selling as many CDs as possible. However, the actual CDs took a long time to make. First we needed to buy the cardboard for the actual show (we tried using different cardboard colours / textures for each show). Then we needed to draw out the actual template of the CD packaging, cut it out slowly and fold them together, cut the slots so the packaging can “stick” when you close it, stencil out the design on the front, stamp the logo on the front and the date on the back, burn the full CD, stick a sticker on the CD and there you go. Imagine making 30 of these for each show! That in itself is a nightmare. But definitely very rewarding when you see the final product.

Nic: I don’t think we’re opposed to having a record label coming into the picture and offering to help release a collection of songs or something. It just hasn’t happened yet. There are merits to being on a label; having them do the dirty work that a label is supposed to do, such as releasing albums and promoting them. But for now we’ll make the most of what we have. 30 CDs per show can become a very labour-intensive task at times. As soon as we can figure out a good design, we may go to the printers and make limited runs in slick looking packaging.

You’re in the midst of recording a new 3” CD – how is the process going? When is it coming out? 

Ben: The 3” CD is for IONA RECORDS (run by the infamous ALOK) but it is a collaboration between FOURTH CULTURE + THE LOVESONG, which means the songs don’t really sound like the normal stuff which THE LOVESONG does. It has a lot more beats in it, and it is generally more experimental in nature. I think it will be a limited release of only 50 copies.

Nic: We tried to use this as a rare opportunity to explore down musical avenues not normally accessible to THE LOVESONG. It’ll be interesting to see how things turn out with this. For my contribution, I tried to pay tribute to the so-called Chicago post/math/indie rock sound that was around me during my time there. Some of the most underrated and influential musicians emerged from there and are definitely worthy of your attention.

I would love to ask you guys about your faith. You guys are all Christians and often do work with churches, etc. Is your faith intertwined with your music and lyrics? I have never once considered you or Nic preachers of Christianity – it seems a much more personal thing for you guys – so is your faith separate from your music?  

Ben: As much as I don’t like to call myself a Christian for various reasons, I can’t deny that I am one. People have different stereotypes of what a Christian is or should be etc. For me, I am still on a spiritual journey were I am still learning what it means to be a Christian. I have my share of doubts and confusion, but I have found something that gives me more hope and direction than anything else. I still don’t understand everything and there are many things with the church that I have problems with, but what amazes me about the Christian faith is what it stands for – total humility, unconditional love and total forgiveness. These are such powerful things that any human being can relate to. Like I said, I am still learning and (slowly) changing. In the end, I hope my actions will speak louder than my words. I would rather live like a Christian than speak like one. In terms of music, I think my faith has a lot to do with it – because I try to write as honestly as I can, and naturally what I believe in, what I am searching for, and what I question would be part of the music. However, I am not very good at writing lyrics.

Nic: I’d like to think that for the members of the band, our faith is very much an integral part of all aspects of our lives. My understanding of Christianity is that it’s a lifestyle where the teachings of Christ should encompass all the thoughts and actions that I make on a daily basis, as opposed to just a list of rules or religious structures that I merely observe on Sundays. In other words, the message of Jesus Christ forms the core foundation of my life, and everything I do should be built upon that. This is applicable to not just when, say I’m offering help to a person in need, but should be of equal relevance to when I’m expressing myself through songs or words. Even within the context of this interview, it’s safe to say that we hope, through our answers, that our faith can come across as being genuine and sincere.

You are right in that faith is a personal issue, because it ultimately concerns where you stand in your personal relationship with God. We try to be sensitive about that and understand that something as intricate as a belief in God can never be manipulated or coerced, which is perhaps why we don’t come off as ‘preachers’. We are however, always open to engaging in healthy dialogues with anyone about our faith and convictions. 

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