I have done some very funny/strange/different Meet The Band’s over the course of the last two years. This is right up there near the top of most of those categories. From the absurd to the outrageously funny they have it all covered. The music is fantastic and that’s my reason for asking them to do this, but I’m finding most links except the twitter are dead ends, so this is about the music as it should be. Listen to this album and I’m sure you will agree you are listening to a band that combines so many cool sounds into one it’s hard to describe but the tunes keep you coming back for more. I feel like I’m listening to DADA poetry set to music and the answers reinforce those feelings and without a doubt James’ comments on Kurt Cobain top all answers that have ever made me laugh…In closing my comments are for James from The Ketamines….
When are you going to put out something new and make sure you send me a message when you do….
Hi our name is…. The Ketamines
People say we sound like…..
I’m told that we sound like The Turtles album “Battle of the Bands” if it was recorded in a garage, with one fifth of the musical talent.
We are….
I’m James Leroy and the other full time guy is Paul Kendrick Lamarton.
We are from…….
We are a Canadian band. My current residence is in Lethbridge, Alberta. Paul lives in Toronto, Ontario. We’ve always had a long distance working
relationship, even when we lived in the same city. In the age of the internet, you can keep people at a distance and still cut a record.
Who are some that have an influence on you…
My influence comes from a lot of 90s hip hop, like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. Then there’s hardcore punk, like His Hero Is Gone and Man Is The Bastard.
You don’t even need to say The Beatles, cause it’s like you’re saying that you’re influenced by God. Everyone tries to be like God, but only a small percent are
successful.
Paul likes Morrissey.
Gram Parsons or The Doors…
Gram Parsons was damn cool and I respect his coolness. What he did with The Byrds and International Submarine Band, that stuff is brilliant, but I think
I’m a bit more into The Doors. I could give a crap about Morrison, his delivery is excellent, but it’s all about Manzarek. I also think Rothchild is a producer
extraordinaire. You put Doors records on and they sound fantastic.
I know Paul hates The Doors, so he’d say Gram 100%.
How old were all of you when you started to play and who plays what in the band…
Paul with his degree in psychology, persuades people to go on the road and perform the songs, so it’s always changing, and honestly I don’t even know who’s
in the band at the moment. But he and I are the singers, and we both started bands when we were young. Actually I was in a band with Paul when I was 13,
he was probably 17. We both definitely got into playing instruments at an early age, back when being in a mildly successful band, wouldn’t have been as
embarrassing. We are adults now (supposedly), and explaining to people, that you play in a band, is often met with discouraging lectures on growing up.
Can you tell us about the process you use, from writing the songs all the way through getting the songs out
I write the songs, then record with a group of local session musicians, Paul and I then add our voices. Next, the mix is off to whichever record label is kind
enough to waste money on us. A few months later… bingo bango, a new Ketamines record is in the streets. That’s when the funds get transferred and I get the
landlord of my back, for a while.
what are some of the challenges you face as musicians and how have you overcome those challenges
I think the biggest challenge is buying and maintaining instruments. The coolest looking guitars aren’t always the cheap ones, then you factor in the cost of
repairing mistreated equipment, I’m notorious for playing instruments in a non-intended fashion. This is when the Long & McQuade rental department becomes
helpful.
If you could pick any time to travel back to for music, where would you go and what year would it ….
Assuming the safety of time travel has improved, I would go to Seattle in the year 1994, and convince Kurt Cobain to wait a year before killing himself, cause
I truly believe he had one more good album in him.
Paul doesn’t time travel, he’s a total “in the now” guy.
Who are all of you currently listening to ….
At this very moment I’m listening to a Lil Wayne mixtape, but I’ve been playing the new Black Bananas record a lot.
I don’t even need to ask Paul, I know he’s listening to Morrissey.
If you could open for any Band right now who would that be and why?
I would want to open for The Ketamines, as a stand-up comedian. I know all kinds of funny things about them, but they would probably kick me off the tour for
embarrassing them.
My youngest son is 13 and in a Band, what advice would you offer him…
if an adult offers you advice about being in a band, do the opposite.
your thoughts on the state of rock ‘n’ roll in 2015…..
In 2015, rock n roll is a snake eating its own tail, when the tail is free online.
Our plans for 2015…..
The biological clock is ticking, we’re not getting any younger, so within the next nine months we’ll probably have a new record. Tour in Japan, Canada, Europe,
USA and maybe Australia, but not in that order.
