We caught up with the members of Toronto 5-piece Madame Psychosis following the release of their infectious single “Kapow” and the imminent release of their third album.
This is how it went:
Cougar Microbes: What time did you wake up today? Was it out of choice or necessity?
Madame Psychosis: It’s a Tuesday so most of us were probably getting up early for work and therefore definitely not out of choice. We’re all over the place on this one. Bret had to get on a flight for work very early this morning. Jaina and Michelle work later on during the day. Gio has an 18-month old baby who loves waking up when it’s still dark, and Rene, well, we don’t know when Rene gets up. Just kidding, he’s also an early riser because of work. Ask us on a Saturday and the answer may be different and probably more interesting.
CM: Describe your sound to the uninitiated?
MP: We tend to say a cross between Black Keys and Alabama Shakes, or in other words a combination of indie rock and alt-pop. With “Kapow” specifically, several people have mentioned similarities to Metric and Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. We’ll definitely take those comparisons!
CM: What have been the highlights of your year (musically and not) so far?
MP: The highlight of our year so far is without question how people have received “Kapow”. It’s getting coverage on music blogs and in magazines around the world, being added to playlists, and generating very positive reviews. We knew it was a catchy song that would resonate, but we certainly didn’t expect it to generate this level of interest. This aside, the highlight of the year has yet to take place: our album release on September 20th. It’s a big milestone for the band. It represents the culmination of writing and recording for the past two years, and marks a significant growth in maturity as a band. Music aside, each band member certainly has their own highlights, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that these highlights are probably rooted in the band.
CM: Tell us a little bit about your recent release.
MP: “Kapow” is the third single off our upcoming album. It’s an upbeat, fast and frenzied rocker. We tell people it’s a feel-good slice of summer in three and a half minutes. Believe it or not the song was inspired by Saturday morning cartoons, specifically the chasing pursuits of Tom and Jerry, Tweety and Sylvester and so on. We’re really proud of this release and humbled by how it has been received. It’s very flattering.
CM: How do you kill time on the road when on the road? hobbies/games
MP: We haven’t embarked on a full-on tour as of yet so we haven’t had to “kill time”. If we were on the road, however, we suspect we’d become Mad Gab and Monopoly experts. Darts seems cool too. We’d probably get way too competitive and resort to other shenanigans as a result. Human whack-a-mole anyone?
CM: What have been your favourite venues to play? Any Venues you hated?
MP: Where do we start? There have been quite a few venues we really loved playing. The two that stick out are The Opera House and The Horseshoe Tavern, both in Toronto. We’ve been fortunate enough to play these venues on multiple occasions. They are institutions not only in terms of Toronto music history, but also as it relates to Canadian music lore. So many iconic artists have performed at these venues. We simply feel honoured to have played on the same stage. There haven’t been any venues that we’ve hated playing. There have definitely been a few that were less desirable, mainly due to the quality of their sound system or general set up, but none that we hated. Besides, “hate” is a strong word. We tend to stay away from it. We just look at any gig at any venue as an opportunity to showcase our music to potential new fans.
CM: Are you able to write on the road or do you do this in your off time
MP: Right now there isn’t a lot of down time because of all the work that goes into promoting a release, but there are definitely a few songs in the hopper that we’ll continue to work on later this year. We were just joking about how we haven’t even released our upcoming album but are already talking about new music. In short, though we aren’t actively writing at the moment, we’re constantly sharing new ideas, progressions and melodies. We can’t wait to get back to developing new songs as a full band.
CM: What is the songwriting process like for you?
MP: The songwriting process has been fairly consistent over the past few years. Our guitar player Bret will come to the band with an idea or chord progression in mind. We’ll jam to it together as a full band, developing the structure and transitions over several weeks and months, while each band member further develops their own part at home. Once we have a solid concept for a song, Michelle will work on the lyrics and develop a vocal melody. It’s always a welcome change to hear the vocals for the first time! By the time we hear vocals we’ve probably been playing the instrumental for months. We’ll continue developing and revising the song based on how it feels over time. We like to think that a song needs time to bake before it’s ready. On the new album we’ve maintained this approach, but with a few additions. For example, Michelle wrote keys for a few of the tracks. This is new territory for us. There’s also a song on the new album called “Not Supposed To Be Here” that Rene initially developed and introduced to the band. We’re excited for people to hear the new tracks!
CM: What came first, the lyrics or the melody?
MP: Based on the songwriting process we described, the music and melody always come first. Michelle will develop lyrics once the general construct and sound of the song is complete. The sentiment and mood of the music will almost certainly shape the lyrics so for us it makes sense to start with the music.
CM: Do your songs go through many revisions and demos before recordings?
MP: You know, not really, at least not in terms of demos. The songs will go through a few revisions, but it is a very organic process. We don’t force it. By the time we bring a song to the recording studio we’ve been working on it for months. In fact, we’ve probably been playing it live for quite some time as well. In other words, the song has the room to grow and develop over time because of this process so by the time we’re ready to hit the record button it’s in a fairly solid state. The one outlier here is “Kapow”, our latest release. This song was initially shelved for several months, and then we brought it back after Michelle introduced an infectious vocal melody. All told, from the first full band rehearsal to the finished recording, “Kapow” only took about six weeks.
CM: What is your favourite track of yours?
MP: Each band member has his or her own favourite. There’s very little overlap. Both Michelle and Bret claim “Don’t Care”, off of the upcoming album, as their favourite. Jaina‘s is “Survivor”, also off the upcoming album, and “New One” from our debut album. Rene is partial to “Kapow” and “Give It To Me”, both from the upcoming album, while Gio can’t get enough of “Kapow” and “Psychotic Break”, the latter being from our debut album. We recommend taking these songs for spin. You won’t be disappointed.
CM: Is there a song of your own you are simply sick of playing live?
MP: It’s a unanimous “no, not yet”. There are songs we play less than others live, but this has more to do with set time limits, similarities between songs, set list flow, and so on.
CM: If you could record any cover in the world what would it be?
MP: This is an awesome question. Unsurprisingly, Bret – a huge Rolling Stones fan – would love to record “Gimme Shelter”. Call him crazy, but Rene would want to record “2112”, an insane 20-minute track by Rush (also the name of the album). Jaina‘s all over Aerosmith‘s “Crazy”, a song we cover regularly, while Gio would want the band to take a stab at “Under The Pressure” by War on Drugs. Michelle wants to record John Lennon‘s timeless classic “Imagine” because of its universal message.
CM: Any other artists/bands from your local scene we really should know about?
MP: Toronto‘s music scene is on fire right now and we’re not just talking about Drake. There are so many great indie artists in the city. A few that come to mind: Dizzy, Moscow Apartment, Yuka, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Low Life Lolas, who just released an EP.
CM: What is the most flattering thing you’ve read about yourselves?
MP: We’ve been very fortunate to receive some very positive reviews over the past year. We’re eternally thankful and humbled whenever one of our songs resonates with a writer. A recent review by Beehive Candy comes to mind: “the band’s mixture of indie rock and alt pop is very impressive…they give every song their all, and do so with considerable class.” Oh, and when Lefuturewave referred to “Kapow” as a ‘brilliant piece of music…Madame Psychosis has made a real gem again“. We can’t help but smile when we read this.
CM: What was the first record/tape/cd you ever bought?
MP: A few classics from the 90s dominate the band’s “first CD ever purchased” list, notably Weezer‘s “Blue” album and Greenday‘s “Dookie”, Bret and Jaina‘s first purchase respectively. Michelle actually remembers her first three: Immature‘s “We Got It”, Boyz II Men‘s “II” and Mariah Carey‘s “Music Box”. There are also a few classic Canadian albums on the list: Rene‘s was Our Lady Peace‘s “Clumsy”, while Gio‘s was The Tragically Hip‘s “Trouble At The Henhouse”.
CM: What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
MP: Oh man, do we really want to remind ourselves of these? Bret says “What Are We Going To Do Come The Month of September” by Matt Mays + El Torpedo. For Michelle, it’s Radiant Children‘s “Poke Bowl”. Jaina‘s earworm is “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo. Fittingly, Rene‘s is “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” by Electric Light Orchestra, noting that it has been 15 years and it’s still stuck in there. Lastly, Gio can’t get “Never Start” by the Middle Kids out of his head.
CM: What was the last show you paid and queued up for?
MP: Ok, here we go. Bret‘s was Florence + The Machine, Jaina‘s was Brittany Howard, Alabama Shakes‘ singer, and Michelle‘s was Koffee, an up and coming reggae artist. Both Gio and Rene saw Smashing Pumpkins with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and AFI. Let’s just say our collective taste in music is very eclectic.
CM: If you had to bring an artist back from the dead in exchange for sending a living artist down, which artists would it be and why??
MP: This is a hilarious if not morbid question. Bret would trade Amy Winehouse for Justin Timberlake, calling it a win. Michelle would bring back one of her childhood idols, Whitney Houston. Jaina would bring back Jeff Buckley for Michael Buble. Gio would bring back John Bonham to ensure a Zeppelin reunion as well as Jimi Hendrix, not mentioning who he’d send down. But the best response comes from Rene, who believes everyone would gladly exchange themselves for more time with Lemmy!
“Kapow” is out now!
TRACKS:
