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Goderich, Ontario is home to a lil' ol' band called Lucerin Blue, who've joined ranks with the Tooth and Nail Army and are taking their dog-and-pony show all over the roads of this great continent. Providers of a dynamite live show and smart tunes in the form of their T&N debut Tales of the Knife, they're a keeper. We caught up with drummer Ryan Turner after the band's set at the Canadian edition of Inside Out Soulfest in June. Yeah, the interview is old. Shoot us.
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sd: Say I was a fan of a band called Natural Saint. And say I didn't know they had changed their name to Lucerin Blue; how would you convince me it's the same band bringing the ruckus?
Ryan: Same four members. There's four songs we brought over; whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen.
sd: Which songs?
Ryan: 'Off the Mark', 'Black Pyramid', 'Find Me' and 'Superstar'. They're good songs; we'll always play them...I'm guessing...at least til we have like three new CDs or something. I kinda feel like they're not really accurate representations of who we are now.
sd: What songs are?
Ryan: Honestly, I couldn't even tell you, dude, because our record came out like a month ago. We have three ideas, basic guitar riffs and other stuff for some new songs, and it's even more of a progression than from where we were before Lucerin Blue. Like, we recorded these songs almost a year and a half ago, and the CD JUST came out.
sd: It's a good record. The Deftones influence is the biggest one I hear.
Ryan: Thanks. We always get that.
sd: Who you people say you sound like?
Ryan: We've gotten everything-
*At this point, the interviewer realizes that Ryan is wearing an Alexisonfire t-shirt and proceeds to trip out just a wee little bit*
sd: AlexisonFIRE! I didn't even REALIZE that til now! *revs up* NOICE!
Ryan: Great band. I've seen them; I wish we could PLAY with them.
sd: They were SO GOOD; they played Ottawa last week with From Autumn to Ashes and the place was just retarded. Anyway, that's my fan-boy act. You were saying?
Ryan: We get everything, man; we played with a hardcore band in Atlanta, 7-10 Split. And like, we get -dude, a lot of people I think hear - and I'm gonna be honest, I'm not the biggest Linkin Park fan - but it's just that whole kinda slow, driving beat with catchy vocals.
sd: A lot of guitars and catchy vocals are gonna get you tagged right away.
Ryan: Yeah, and it's not that we really draw a direct reference to them, but Deftones, yeah.
sd: Alexisonfire are gonna blow up; you won't see them in Ontario no more soon. I better kiss 'em goodbye while I still have a chance.
Ryan: Well, it's this stupid P2 thing! If they could get their work permits...aaah, I hate the border!
sd: A lot of bands have expressed frustration, usually American ones, about coming over here.
Ryan: I haven't really read much on it, and I should, to understand my rights. Last October, or the October before, a bylaw was passed, and basically the way it breaks down is there's a ten-times-greater chance for an American band to come to Canada now, than for a Canadian band to get down into the States.
sd: Why?
Ryan: It's the whole 9/11 thing; they cracked down on the border, like, when you cross, dude, seriously, we played some - hush hush - "illegal shows" down in the States - actually we did two tours illegally-
sd: You're on a US label! It's not like they're gonna sign you and then say, "Well, better stick to Canada then!"
Ryan: You gotta pay a thousand dollars for a work permit - American! - if you want them in ninety days, and after ninety it's an extra two hundred, and I've heard of guys waiting like two hundred and twenty calendar days.
sd: Does the label front the money to you?
Ryan: We try to do it ourselves. I honestly think T&N forked over more money on the record than they wanted to.
sd: Do they think it's worth it?
Ryan: I hope so! We've sold just under two grand in the States; we haven't gotten any Canadian figures yet.
sd: A friend of mine in Texas actually said you're a great band and to say hi, so, "HI!" That's from Channing in Houston.
Ryan: That was an awesome show. There was this one guy who drove five hours to see us and Calibretto, and I was like, "Whyyy..." *laughter* We were in Texas and our trailer hitch broke that night and he was helping us out, so he's a cool guy.
sd: How does your faith work itself out in your songs? [Vocalist]Justin is the lyricist, but how do the rest of you guys do it? Are you going out of your way to say, "We're Christians first, and then a band second?"
Ryan: I just....it's gonna sound cliche, and absolutely every band says it, but after I'm done playing I try to be friendly to people, and you get some slag after shows, kids saying we don't say 'Jesus' enough in our songs, and then you get the opposite end of the spectrum where it's, "You guys are Christians, you're effing wusses."
sd: "You don't say 'Jesus' enough in your songs." *laughs*
Ryan: You take a lot of flak for it, and I'm the most outspoken member of the band; I probably get angy the fastest, but I also bounce back to happy quicker too.
sd: What's the future hold? You guys were Natural Saint for three years and working with Stinson and the Project and people like that.
Ryan: Stinson's still helping us out!
sd: He doesn't answer emails. He's a schmuck. (We jest, of course -ed.)
Ryan: Our deal with T&N is standard; one album and then options. That's pretty much standard with any record label. Justin sent them a demo and they wrote us back saying they wanted to work with us. We kept in contact, and [label president Brandon]Ebel said, "Okay, I wanna see you guys in the studio to record six new songs for me." We recorded four and we didn't want one, so we kept it back and only sent them three; I think they were kinda upset about that. *laughter* I guess they liked what they heard.
sd: Who do they have you touring with?
Ryan: We went out with East West and Disciple; that was good.
sd: We have a personal connection with the East West guys; we've known them a long time. We have their very first record.
Ryan: Vintage'?
sd: It's called 'Vintage' now, but we have the rough version.
Ryan: I ASKED them; I'm like, 'So what's the old stuff like?' And they all just go, like, I swear, "One word to describe it: sucks." So Bobby, what do you think about the old stuff? "Sucks." *much laughter at this point* JJ? "Sucks." Mike? "Sucks." John, all of 'em, "Sucks."...I'm sure I'm gonna look back on this record - every band does it, Oasis does it, every huge band. I'm gonna be like, 'Man, what was I thinking about with that fill? What were we doing with those guitar parts?'
sd: What do you think about it now? Are you proud of it?
Ryan: I think it's decently strong. We're not the most cutting-edge band out there, but I think we combine elements of things we really like. I'm a metal, hardcore - I'm not a super hardcore, metalcore kid; I don't dance, I'm too scared of those pits. Hatebreed freaks me out because they look real tough. *laughter* I like Eighteen Visions, I like Alexis. You gotta be diverse. I think one huge influence in the last year and a half or two years has been Snapcase. Those guys don't - they're a good band because they don't feel the need to ever speed up the songs; they just keep it slow and driving, and you're about to get killed-
*interview almost run over by festival employee on golf cart, effectively ending the conversation*
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