Messed!Up
Vancouver based ACTORS might be part of the new wave of postpunk bands, but the four-piece is not content being a mere tribute band; their music mixes classic and contemporary influences, including techno, electropop and brief touches of Nine Inch Nails. They are marching to the beat of their own drum, so to speak. And that’s also true for their career.
Initially the band’s founder Jason Corbett even declined an offer from industrial/electronic label Artoffact Records. Jason, also being the band’s producer, took his time and recorded and released several singles in true DIY-style over the course of five years, before signing to the label and releasing debut album “It Will Come To You” in 2018.
The editor met ACTORS right after the album’s release last year and has already covered background, influences and basics about the band. Since then, drummer Adam Fink, bass player Jahmeel Russell, keyboardist Shannon Hemmett and frontman Jason, who also plays the guitar live, have done heaps of shows and formed a really tight live unit.
When they came to Hamburg to play for the second time around, I sat down with Jason to chat about production, gear, band dynamics and what’s next.
Leaping forward: From “PTL” into the future
I’d say it definitely “came to you”. You’re on your second European tour, gig 18 of 23 in 37 days, and by October you will have played 140 gigs in 17 months. You still like to hang out together?
Yeah, they’re great. I wouldn’t go on tour with a band that I didn’t enjoy being with, and that’s probably why I didn’t tour much in the past ten years. It took this line up, having Shannon in the band – you know, female energy – to kind of balance the feeling. It’s just much better!
How did the band come about? I saw that the first release “PTL (Post Traumatic Love)” was in 2012. Was the band together at that point?
No, I was basically finishing up with the old band, Adam and I had started playing together. We recorded bed tracks for a couple of new songs, that turned into “PTL” and “Nightlife”, and I released those two songs and then I was just chipping away at releasing a track here and there, like maybe two or three songs a year.
And that’s what you kept doing; “Let It Grow” 2015, “Bury Me / Crosses” and “Hit To The Head” in 2016 and “L’appel Du Vide / Crystal” in 2017. You kind of took those “20 years to make your first album”?
For ACTORS – yeah! I have been in other bands and made lots of records, but this was me surrendering to just doing what I want to do, as opposed to chasing after success or radio airplay, or anything. So I just started writing and recording songs, just when I felt inspired and kind of getting to know the production process better. And learning more about what I liked to hear, and how to get the sounds I wanted. Just like the first few songs; they were tough to get because I couldn’t get the bass tone I wanted. I had to learn how to do all these things.
I have to say that between “PTL” and “Slaves” there is a huge step forward.
Yeah.
…although I really do like these cheesy classic Simmons sounds that you used on “PTL”.
Well, I used a lot of different instruments on it, and a lot of different samples. Originally I had live drums on it, but the engineer edited the drums, so they didn’t have the right “swing” to it, and it just felt wrong, and I thought “Well, let me try programming these drums”. That was my first crack at programming drums.
Since 2012 I’ve now become a full-time producer, mixer and a mastering engineer. I do that full-time, and I’m very busy with it. These songs on the record are surprisingly cohesive, considering they were made over a span of four years or so. Four or five of the songs were all done at the same time. “Face meets Glass” was the last song that I produced and mixed for the record – literally, I finished it the day before I had to send it off to manufacturing.
Since the release of the record I’ve made five or six full length records with other artists. As a producer, as a mixing engineer, I’m always growing and I’m excited to bring that knowledge to the next ACTORS record as well. When people say “Oh well, what’s the next ACTORS record gonna sound like?”. Similar, but bigger, just more of all of it
What I find interesting is that you initially declined an offer from Artoffact Records. No point in having a label these days?
I was used to people on the internet being more predatory. There’s always some company like “Hey, give us your song, your publishing and we’ll get you all these placements”, or “We’ll put out your record!”. I always look at the fine print and kind of go like “Oh, this is just a scam!”.
I hadn’t heard of Artoffact, so I did a little bit of research. Jahmeel actually said “Wouldn’t it be better, if ACTORS had a label and help?“. Also, I wasn’t sold on the idea of releasing an album because I was finding I was getting quite a bit of traction just releasing singles. I thought this is the way to go, so I initially said “No, thanks!”. I just sent an email back, and Jacek, the label owner, messaged me back a week or two later and said “Let’s get on a phone call and see how the conversation is”. After two hours of talking straight through, my phone died and I was convinced that he’d be someone good to work with. And yeah, I don’t regret it at all, he’s wonderful. And I had no idea that the record would touch so many people.
It sounds cliché, and I know we’re just getting started, like we’re still a small band, but from what I’ve seen, getting out to all these different countries – UK, Europe, and all over the US and Canada – it achieved what I wanted to achieve. Just sharing the feelings I had and musically connecting to people.
I like that you mix different influences. Some of the music in the post punk genre is very, let’s say predictable, formatted almost.
I hate it.
What I really enjoy is that it makes it very interesting. You have “modern” drums with sidechain compression for instance, all that kind of stuff.
Yeah, you hit it on the head.
And then also you have the classic Juno-60 chords that people probably expect. So, mixing it all in – and also the vocals are your own style and not a tribute to someone else
I have friends in bands, and the bands are decent, and I’m just like “Fuck man – come on!”
I mean, don’t get me wrong, they often sing very well, but what’s the point in being just a copy.
This is how I looked at it before we released our record. There’s “post-punk revivalists”, which are the bands who are trying to sound like Joy Division.
Tribute bands?
They are tribute bands, and there are a dime a dozen and they are everywhere. I don’t even see that we’ve been saddled with the hashtag “post-punk”, and that’s the closest that will describe us because there definitely is an eighties influence, there’s a darkness to it, which just comes naturally for how I feel about music. But I don’t even think it’s post-punk, at least half of it is pop music from the eighties, it is not necessarily post-punk.
So there’s this thing I already mentioned: That you supposedly have twenty years to create the first album, and then six months for the second. But then you are on tour all the time.
Well, I make great music with other artists all the time. So to me music’s not precious, songs aren’t precious. What I’m doing now is second nature, and that’s muscle memory. I have a feeling, or a beat or something to start with, and I let the music just talk to me.
What inspires you, to make you sit down and start work with music?
I’ll hear a song or something that I like, or a beat or a feel, and then I’ll start with that and I’ll say “Where’s that beat, what kind of feel is that”, and I’ll program a drum beat and kind of get a feel for that. And then I’ll start with the chord progression.
That’s why so many of the songs on the record are eighth notes because I would pick up a bass or a guitar and start writing the chord progression. I like these very simple chord progressions because then I can have a constant note or something that creates a tension throughout the song which gives it that extra layer. If I took that out, they’d become very plain “rock songs”, maybe? It got these synthesizers that pull you a little out of tune and create a little unease, almost like warping a tape or something, right? I like that feel of unease.
So I’ll write a certain amount of the song and then I’ll walk away from it. Come back to it in a month, and then it sounds like someone else has written it, and then I get inspired from it, and suddenly I’m “collaborating” with myself.
What is the role of the other ACTORS? I mean, obviously, they joined you when you had the material for the first album already, but are they now involved in the writing for the second album?
Not in the writing process, but there are parts written for them and their skill sets, like Jamheel who is a very good bass player: Rock solid great tones, great feel. He’s a really great singer in his own right, and I definitely like having his voice in the mix to accent certain parts. Shannon also – of course she has her side-project Leathers, that I co-write with her. But her voice is a welcome kind of feminine touch that softens the “macho” of the music. I think it brings a unique twist to the band. And then Adam of course. Some songs are programmed but also some songs will have hi-hat work. That gives it more human feel, and certain songs like “We Don’t Have to Dance”; he’s playing that, and I just processed his drums and made it sound kind of a cross between electronic drums and live drums.
Another proof you are not plain post-punk: you use shuffle!
(laughs) Right, yeah. That’s why you sidechain a lot, because it gives an element of groove that the old post-punk doesn’t have.
I’m very influenced by Vitalic, I like French techno, I’ve always liked hardcore techno. So there’s certain dance elements, dance music production elements, that are very important in ACTORS.
Gearing up: Realizing the production sound live
Complex sounds that are created in the studio are not easy to reproduce live, especially when you use lots of reverb or other sonic toys to beef up the sound. This may be easier today than in the eighties or the nineties, but you simply can’t “schlepp” all your favourite production toys around on tour. Of course it means my curiosity couldn’t stop me from finding out how ACTORS “do it”.
If you are interested in gear, read on – he is spilling a lot of “production beans”. And towards the end he is even giving away when to expect the next ACTORS tracks.
ACTORS started as your studio project that you then transferred live? How much backing tracks do you use live?
Backing tracks? Only the atmospherics! There’s certain synthesizer sounds that I didn’t save because they’ve been processed through analog processing, tape machines and so on. I use a lot of different reverbs and delays and outboard gear. I’ve gone gear-crazy in the past five years, like I’ve spent a LOT of money. My studio went from small to like too much. I am in serious debt with that studio.
But yeah, there’ll be the basic pad, certain sounds I can’t get away with not having. Shannon will play the leads, she’ll sing all of her parts – none of the vocals are pre-recorded – and Adam plays the drums. We used to use triggers on the kick and snare but they were too unreliable. On different kits they would respond differently, and they would drop or double hit.
What do you use as a sound source for electronic drum sounds?
Adam plays live drums and triggers the Roland SPD-SX. So we’re always to a click, because the tempos of the songs; that’s meticulous, that can’t change. And live the guitar is more present, it’s definitely more “rock” live, but you still get all of the elements of the recording as well. A little more claustrophobic and a little tighter, but that was by design, I really wanted that. I didn’t want to be a rock act.
What kind of gear do you use live. I’ve seen you play a Strat?
I’m sponsored by Yamaha guitars and I love using my Revstar model. It’s a superior playing and sounding guitar, I love it!
But I developed a hernia this year from just lifting gear. I was singing, singing, singing and then in my stomach right by my bellybutton – I tore my stomach.
What!?
I was in Portland at the beginning of the tour and I was like “Ouch”. I felt like a bubble and I pushed it back in. It was terrifying! It was like two o’clock in the morning in a different country. I go in for surgery in December.
In the meantime I’m using a lighter guitar. The Strat weighs about half of what the Yamaha weighs, so I’ve been using that.
I like using a custom-made copy of a Electro Harmonix Small Clone [chorus pedal] that I had made by a company in Calgary, that made it specifically to my taste, and I’ve got certain types of reverbs and delays that I really like using live. But aside from that, that’s all I use for the guitar sounds.
What do you use for reverb?
Right now, I’ve got a Walrus pedal – I just got it [Walrus Audio Slö]. I like delays and reverbs that have slight modulations to them, I don’t like just “clean”. It’s got to be a bit gritty, and it’s got to have a little movement within that.
My guitar parts change every night; I’ll do the solo in some songs different or I’ll play differently depending on the energy in the room.
Have you ever played with an Eventide H9 pedal?
Yeah, I’ve used them in the studio, they’re wonderful. I don’t have a one on my pedal board, but definitely used it in the studio. I have probably 200 pedals at my studio, those are like candy, you know “Oh, just try these today”.
Then Adam plays it straight up, like a 4-piece kit with one cymbal and hi-hats, he’s got a Roland SPD-SX [Samling Pad]. Jahmeel uses a Yamaha bass and a Darkglass preamp pedal, it sounds amazing. He’s not even using bass amps usually. And then Shannon’s using the Prophet Rev2.
On the record you were already saying you’ve been hoarding gear.
Yeah (laughs), it’s a problem.
So you don’t really work “in the box”? But I saw no console in your studio gear list?
Both! There’s no console, I use an iMac and then I use an Apogee Symphony MK II interface and a Dangerous Music 2-Bus [analog summing interface]. I found that, since I upgraded to the MKII the 2-Bus analog, summing is a little redundant, because the conversion in the Symphony is just so good. Before, when I was working with an ensemble, I’d break out into the D-box and then come back in and you’d go “Oh, there’s more space and depth”. Now I don’t find that so much, but I still use it to integrate hardware.
I always have an Overstayer VCA compressor that lives on the 2-Bus, a Fatso Junior [analog tape simulator] I like and use a lot, Distressors [Empirical Labs analog compressor]. I use a Sonic Farm Berliner; it’s a two-channel preamp based on the Telefunken V76, it’s a wonderful unit. I just picked up an AKG C12 vintage reissue mic. That was expensive.
These are things you can go to the music store and like “Aw, shit, I just spent $8,000, I’m an idiot”.
While we are on this subject. How much does gear inspire you? Some people don’t need it, but I think it can make a difference. I mean it could be anything, it could be a cheap pedal for 30 quid, it doesn’t matter.
Lots! Yeah. I’ve just got into drum machines. On the new record there’s an old TR-505 [Roland drum machine] I am using, just because I love the tightness of the kick and snare on it, no processing: just a little compression.
The song starts out with it, and it has a sound to it. You can use the samples, with your sequencer in your DAW, but it doesn’t respond the same, it’s different. I don’t think one’s better than the other, but something about a drum machine breaking out, and through some preamps, sounds pretty awesome!
What else do you use in the studio?
I’ve got my toolboxes, like I really love using SoundToys plugins. Those products to me are invaluable. I’ve got the big Waves bundles that I use for my LA2A kind of compression and stuff.
What’s your DAW?
I use Logic, just Logic 10 whatever. I started out with Logic so I always use it. I like it. It’s got limitations for editing and as a producer, or as an engineer, I think I’m going to have to get myself Pro Tools, so I can edit drums faster if I need to. But for the most part it’s great, I’ve been using it for a long time now.
I’ve got two Roland Space Echo’s I love using, I find those are really inspiring when I am working with other artists. With ACTORS it could be a certain pedal that inspires me. I’ve got a bunch of synthesizers – I love my Juno-60, my Prophet 6 is infinitely inspiring. I love how it’s the perfect blend of old and new.
I had a Prophet 08; the 08 has too much menu-diving which was driving me crazy. Especially with clients, if they don’t know how to use it, they are like “Aaaaw…?”. As soon as I had a Prophet 6 my studio got busier. People were like: “You have a 6? Ok, I am coming over!”.
You do it “the old way”? Triggering MIDI on these synths, and now drum machines also. Any other drum machines apart from the 505?
Well, nothing special. The 505, I’ve got an old R8, I want to get the Oberheim DX, I want one of those [by the time you read this, he has it – I’ve seen the pictures].
Oh, what I was going to tell you. My go-to sounds in the DAW; I usually start with like a Linn Drum or a 707. I like the neutrality of a 707 kick and snare, and I can treat them however I want. And then I will pad them out later. That’s usually my go-to if I’m writing a song.
As to outboard, I just got into the 500 series [modular format for studio outboard gear]. I’ve got the lunchbox 500 series Neve 1073 LBs. Those are surprisingly good.
No modular synths yet?
No, I won’t touch them (laughs).
I have a theory: People who work with modular synths don’t write any songs. They are too (sings) “blip-blop, blip-blip-blop”. No way man. There’s too many, too much variation. I even sold my Korg MS20. I’d rather save my settings.
What I recently got that I love is the Behringer Model D clone. It rips! It sounds better than my Sub37 [current synthesizer by Moog], is really cheap and it’s analog. I bought it because I’ve had some luck with guitar pedals from Behringer. They’re dirt cheap and they sound good.
I took it home, and I was like “Ho-ly-shit!” Because I have the Moog Slim Phatty, the rackmount, and the filter on that is “gnarly”. I always tell people it’ll take the paint off your walls – but the sub 37, the filter is not as strong. But then the Model D; if you want that arpeggiated “Da-Da-Da-Da” – it’s incredible! I highly recommend it (laughs). That’s definitely going to make it onto my record and the Bootblacks record I am working on. I actually can’t wait to get home, I am ready to start finishing up some work.
In October we are in the US for four weeks and then, if I survive that, come home and the Spectres record will be done, that will be out on Artofact records, I produce and mix that. Then I’ll finish the Bootblacks record, they are good friends of mine. I’ve been championing them everywhere, I’ve got them on Artofact with us, and their record is going to be pretty crazy! And the ACTORS record, I tell people it’s half finished, it is conceptually half-finished, there’s about twelve songs in the works. Two or three songs are close to finished, so May 2020 we’ll start releasing the singles. There’s going to be four before we release the record September 2020. It’s never going to end.
*****
And with this we are concluding our chat, ACTORS getting ready for their gig on this museum ship, a great location with a strong Mad Max vibe and surprisingly good sound for such a steel construction. And a great show it was – these Canadians really know how to put on a good show, ey?
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