“The art of dying is my life to live.” – My Interview with Art Of Dying

Soon after my interview with My Darkest Days, I made my way to talk to Art Of Dying, another alternative-rock band originating from Canada. They, too, performed on the Budweiser stage at the “Welcome to Rockville” festival. I did not know what to expect when I stepped onto their tour bus, as I had never met these guys before. I was greeted with smiles, laughter and good spirits in general, and I was formally introduced to the band. However, I spoke with only two of the members: co-founder and guitarist Greg Bradley and bassist Cale Gontier. I thoroughly enjoyed conducting this interview because, well, it did not feel like an interview – it was extremely laid-back and felt more like a conversation with old friends. I hope that my readers enjoy reading it just as much.

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fallenevanfan: This is the first “Welcome to Rockville” today and I understand you guys were also part of the first “Carolina Rebellion” last night. So how does it feel to be a part of all these ‘firsts’? You guys are also on the first “Avalanche” tour?

Cale: That’s right. There is a lot of ‘firsts.’ That “Carolina Rebellion” last night was off the hook. It was insane. It was sold out, thirty-eight thousand people, and we saw all our boys there – my cousin Adam sings in Three Days [Grace] and we went to high school with the [My] Darkest Days guys, and Theory of a Deadman. There are all these Canadian bands. (laughs)

fallenevanfan: And you know what, the other two interviews I had were with Theory of a Deadman’s guitarist and My Darkest Days. It’s like I’ve been interviewing all the Canadians. (laughs)

Cale: Really? You’re runnin’ the Canadian circuit here. (laughs) It’s fantastic. That show yesterday was killer and today was super fun. The “Avalanche” tour we’ve been on for… Actually, today is the last show of the official “Avalanche” tour so that’s over and it was awesome. It was insane. All those bands are so cool, like Stone Sour, Theory of a Deadman, Skillet, Halestorm, and us. It makes it so good on tour when everyone’s just cool and everyone’s havin’ fun. That’s the way that tour was – great bands, great shows.

fallenevanfan: You guys played at 1:10 today. I was able to catch a little bit of it but I’ve been all over the place today so how do you feel you guys did today? How was your performance?

Cale: I think we nailed it.

Greg: We had some technical difficulty in the first place but, you know what, we’ve played the show so many times so it didn’t matter.

Cale: It’s always a little crazy on these festivals ‘cause there’s so many bands. Usually, like when we’re doing the “Avalanche” tour, it’s like, “Ok, everybody set their stuff up during the day and doors are at this time.” It’s very easy ‘cause everybody plays and then you take your stuff off and then the next band plays. But with these big festivals, it’s like all your shit’s side stage and then they’re like, “Alright, they’re done! Get your shit up there! Go, go, go, go, go!” (laughs) Again, I think we nailed it.

fallenevanfan: Do you guys play the same set every night?

Greg: We change it up.

Cale: Yeah, we mix it up a little bit. On the “Avalanche” tour we got a half-hour set but we did try to go on three or four minutes early and squeeze one extra song in. A half-hour set is six songs; we’ve been trying to do seven. We kinda stick with the five strongest and swap out a couple, for the most part. It’s tough when you only have six songs and it sucks to leave out a few of the songs, but something’s gotta go, right? I think we’re very open and I think a big part of our job is just to be high-energy and kill it.

fallenevanfan: What was your set today? I would assume you guys played “Die Trying”?

Cale: Oh yeah. “Die Trying” is our first single and it’s doin’ pretty good right now so we usually finish with that. So the set today was “Straight Across My Mind,” “Whole World’s Crazy,” “Raining,” “Get Thru This.” Then we did a little bit of a mellow part and so we did “Best I Can,” which is one of our favorite songs.

fallenevanfan: That is one of my favorite songs. That and “I Will Be There.” I’m in love with those songs.

Cale: Really? That’s awesome.

Greg: That’s so cool to hear that.

fallenevanfan: I read in your bio that Jonny wasn’t feelin’ all the negativity, like from a lot of the bands that he listened to. That’s what a lot of rock music is – the best stuff comes from the worst emotions. Even in “I Will Be There” or “Best I Can,” it’s kind of sad but it’s also got a sense of optimism to it. What made you guys want to take that kind of approach?

Cale: I think it’s kind of just the way we are and the way we roll as people comin’ through in the music that we’re making. We’re all pretty optimistic and positive people.

Greg: Everybody can identify with shitty things that happen in life and it’s like what you make of your life is what really matters. We hang out and have such a great time together. That’s really what we want to try and let people know, how you should live your life, basically.

Cale: I think it’s our personalities comin’ through in the songs. We’re all super happy and we have tons of fun every day and that’s pretty much why we’re doin’ what we’re doin’.

fallenevanfan: Well, kind of touching on that, that’s where the band name comes from, right? “Art of Dying”? Because dying is an inevitability so…

Cale: I know, the band name sounds heavy when people first hear it. (laughs)

fallenevanfan: It’s very contrasting because it’s the art of dying yet your lyrics are totally spun on positivity.

Cale: The band name, “Art of Dying,” comes from a longer sentence: “The art of dying is my life to live.” Which basically is, again, just how we live our lives. Your time here is limited so just make the best of it, pretty much. That’s how we roll and that’s what the band name means and that’s what a lot of the lyrics are about, that kind of thing. It’s just happy.

Greg: And positive. When you’re sitting at the dinner table with your family, it’s a really great moment. It’s like, “I love these people around me.” That’s what it is.

fallenevanfan: I’m sure it’s like that in a band too since you guys are living together, touring together, and all that. I know you guys have some history and you guys all go back so I’m sure it has to be like that every night.

Cale: Yeah, we’re all just exactly where we wanna be right now.

Greg: You can’t really top that.

fallenevanfan: So those were songs off of your album, Vices and Virtues, which was actually just released back in March. How’s the response been from that? I know you guys released a self-titled debut under Thorny Bleeder Records, which is a label that Jonny and you founded.

Cale: Yep, Jonny and Greg started that. We’ve been independent in Canada for a long time, just doin’ Canadian tours and makin’ it work. We eventually ended up signing with Intoxication Records – Dan Donegan and David Draiman from Disturbed started that label. It’s funny the way all that went down. Dan Donegan just reached out to Jonny one day, out of the blue, on the phone. He got the indie CD from a friend of a friend and he just called Jonny out of the blue and was like, “I just wanna let you know I really like what you guys are doin’ and I admire your work ethic” and that kind of stuff. Then a year goes by and he calls again, “Hey, it’s Dan, let’s go on tour.” And we’re like, “Ok!” (laughs)

fallenevanfan: Is that because they were looking into signing you guys? And you guys are their first band on Intoxication Records?

Cale: Yes, and you know, we didn’t even know at the time. Like when those phone calls went down, we had no idea that they had a label ‘cause they’d had the label for five or six years or something and they never signed anybody. And they never told us. They were just like, “Why don’t you guys come on the road?” And they were side stage watching us every night and watching every sound check. There was a first tour and then a second tour and then a third tour and then another call. It was like, “We’re flying you guys to Chicago, we gotta talk business. We wanna sign you guys.” And we were like, “Let me think for a sec… yes!” (laughs) Who knows where we’d be at if they hadn’t signed us. On MySpace? I know MySpace is old-school. (laughs)

fallenevanfan: It is, and I’m on Twitter and I tweet David Draiman sometimes. That’s actually funny because that’s how I found out about you guys was through Brian Thompson, who runs Thorny Bleeder Records.

Greg: [The DIY Daily] is so cool. I love it. Everything he tweets, everything he sends is so cool.

fallenevanfan: It is really cool and it’s funny how social networking just gets everyone connected. So do you guys like playing smaller venues or do you like the bigger arena festivals or arenas?

Greg: It’s a tough call because sometimes you love the big ones and sometimes you love the little ones.

Cale: It’s different. They’re both awesome in their own way.

Greg: You can’t really categorize.

Cale: I think playing a big outdoor festival like this has almost the same vibe as playing a small sweaty, dirty club. It’s not less cool or awesome or anything, but it’s just a little less intimate, I think.

fallenevanfan: Also, with so many bands, some people may be here for Godsmack or whatever, but while they’re waiting for Godsmack to come on, they can check out all these different bands so they might find…

Cale: Something that they like, something they didn’t expect?

fallenevanfan: Exactly. Well those are all the questions I have. Do you guys want to add anything else or do you guys have anything to ask?

Greg: We look forward to meet everybody on tour as much as we can.

Cale: I would say do your best to come out and see an Art of Dying show if you can. That’s one of our strong points, is playing live – high energy and just having fun. We like to come out after and meet absolutely everyone. We’ll be the last people out of the building every night. (laughs)

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To get a taste of Vices and Virtues, check out the official music video for Art Of Dying’s “Die Trying.”

Vices and Virtues (Reprise Records/Intoxication Records) is available for purchase in stores and online now. I advise my readers to take Cale Gontier’s advice and catch an Art Of Dying show. In fact, the band was just announced as part of the 2011 Uproar Festival lineup, along with Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, Bullet For My Valentine, Seether, Black Tide, and The Black Cloud Collective. Check out any of their following websites for more information: Art Of Dying Official Site, Facebook, and Twitter.

Also, please register for free on this website and leave some feedback. I will gladly read and respond to all comments and questions. Thank you for reading and I encourage you to share this with others.

 

Copyright © 2011 fallenevanfan