After a hilarious and off-the-wall photo shoot with Jon Howard and Pat Kavanagh from Hamilton, Ontario's not so new to the block Threat Signal, I lost Jon to a beer and sat down with Pat to talk about touring, the United States-Canada border, and drinks that rhyme with the word “badge.” Sorry Pat, the one of you smelling the dead flowers is here.
Bradley Metler for melophobe: Pat, the last time you guys came through Seattle, on Valentines Day, we were supposed to do a photo shoot and an interview. You guys showed up literally right as the opening band got started. What happened?
Pat Kavanagh: Yeah, that was on the Epica tour. We had to cross the border and they kept us for seven hours. That really sucked.
melophobe: So, what did you have in the van?
Pat: Nothing, I don’t even know what it was! It was something with paperwork, I swear! I just don’t get it; the U.S. is the only country in the world that has this fucked up system where we have to pay thousands of dollars to get across and then another few thousand to get our gear across; if it were Europe, it’d cost sixty bucks, no questions asked. Even with a U.S citizen in the band, they still hassle us about our visa like “Oh, you’re cool but your visas aren’t cool,” or “Your gear isn’t cool” or “Your merch isn’t cool.”
melophobe: As a side note, your merch is cool.
Pat: Thanks.
melophobe: The previous tour, where you were directly supporting Epica, was your first, non-headlining tour, in support of your sophomore album, Vigilance, no?
Pat: Yup, that was our first tour to support the new album; this is our second, directly supporting Dark Tranquillity.
melophobe: When will we see Threat Signal headline? Seems to me like you’ve paid your dues and have a strong fanbase.
Pat: You weren’t at the Spokane show dude.
melophobe: Moving right along; you’ve all answered questions in past interviews about your musical influences and all the line-up changes Threat Signal has had over the years, and I’m sure that our readers would be interested in hearing some of these factoids. But I don’t care. What questions would you like to hear more often?
Pat: Hmm, I don’t know. Probably because no one has asked them. I guess I’m surprised no one has asked us simple questions like, “What’s your favorite drink?” I mean, people know we’re big drinkers . . . .
melophobe: What is your favorite drink? That’s the last lame question, Pat.
Pat: Ha ha, well, I’m a beer drinker, and back home I drink this cheap beer called Carlington, from Canada, but other than that I think my favorite drink is the Vag.
melophobe: The Vag?
Pat: Threat Signal invented this shot and we dubbed it the “Vag Shot.” It’s Fireball whiskey, sambucca and Jagermeister, blended with ice. Super cold, amazing. Every time you make it, especially as the night goes on, you get a different flavor and you don’t even taste the alcohol in it.
melophobe: So you carry a blender on tour?
Pat: No, the Vag is an expensive drink so we really only have it now when we visit our friend Edmond in Edmonton, whenever we’re passing through. He got Mutiny Within really messed up a week or two ago.
melophobe: Why is it called the Vag?
Pat: Did you get an erotic mental image when I told you that?
melophobe: Yes.
Pat: That’s why.
melophobe: We’re all shaped and molded by our families, schools, friends, culture. What role did growing up in Hamilton, ON play in this band, and what else helped mold you all as musicians?
Pat: Well, this lineup was together as a band for about a year before we started writing Vigilance, so we really molded each other. We became a family by pretty much moving into Jon’s house and just partying and learning the old material for months at a time. We really grew together in that respect which is great since we all live in a van now.
melophobe: So you had a short break between tours this spring. Did you even unpack your gear?
Pat: Yeah, we did a couple shows at home.
melophobe: Were you writing on the road?
Pat: Oh yes, we did a lot of writing these past two tours.
melophobe: What has been a driving force in creating new music? What is Threat Signal going for?
Pat: We want our new stuff to just be balls out, fucking brutal heavy. I mean, the first album was pretty melodic compared to Vigilance and it’s still quite tame compared to what we’ve been writing.
[Jon stumbles into the room.]
Jon Howard: Holy fucking shit!
melophobe: Welcome Jon. Were you rubbing one out somewhere Jon, what the fuck?
Jon: I had to get rid of the tour load, you know, it’s been building up. I busted a hole in the wall. But I’m here now.
melophobe: Calm down Jon. So, melophobe doesn’t cover many metal shows or metal artists and another photographer asked me at a show recently, “What the fuck do you like about metal music anyway?” So, Jon, what the fuck do you like about metal anyway?
Jon: I like it ‘cause it has a lot of fuckin’ aggression, you know? I get a lot of aggression out, especially with vocals. People look at me and I tell them that I’m a singer and they say “No way you’re a singer; you’re too quiet and chill.” Then you see me on stage, I’m loading my shit, I’m punching myself in the head . . .
Pat: Probably because you’re drunk.
Jon: True. I just love the power in metal; there is no other music like it in the world.
melophobe: One of the joys of listening to any style of lyrical music is the interpretation of the message. When listening to Vigilance, you take us through “Afterlife” which is filled with torrid anger and heartache, singing about the death of a close friend, to an overwhelming sense of helplessness in “In Repair.” I can’t help but wonder what the album means for you and with what message you want fans to walk away.
Jon: Yeah well Vigilance is a long, windy, rocky road of emotions, right? I mean, in “Afterlife” I went somewhere I’ve never gone before as a songwriter along with “Escape from Reality,” and then there are the songs that are purely aggressive and powerful; but through it all, I try to have a positive message. I mean, like in “Afterlife,” I talk about my friend who was killed, right, and I try to remain positive, just like I did when he died. I tell him how much it hurts but that I have to go on with my life and we’ll see each other in the next life, you know, we’ll have some drinks and be together again. Even though I sing about all these terrible things I still try to put a positive spin on it and say, “Suck it up; don’t be a pussy.”
Pat: The whole band has the same mentality about life, which makes songwriting easier, too.
melophobe: So Jon, I was asking Pat about influences he’s had in the rock community and just the music community, artists he aspires to and personally, I don’t give a fuck. I wanna know what formed you as the artist you are today, what forces drove you to where you are?
Jon: Fair question and I am still going to answer the first part. I guess it’s even more appropriate being in Seattle because grunge really influenced my approach to songwriting and singing. I mean I loved Nirvana and Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam and all those other guys. We even played an Alice in Chains song the last time we played here as a tribute to Layne Staley. Then I started getting into thrash and the harder shit, like Pantera.
melophobe: What’s been the focus for you in writing new material on the road?
Jon: The new shit? We just want it to be really fucking heavy. Really fucking evil and heavy. The last album was pretty rockin’, a good mix of melodic metal and thrash.
Pat: We want it to be that album where people just hold their drinks in the air and headbang. Did you mention evil, Jon?
Jon: Every album is going to be different for us, man. We’re not going to write Reprisal over and over, we change and progress and so will the music.
Pat: That’s what every band needs to do, right?
melophobe: That’s what every band ought to do, for sure. But there are those metal bands that get stuck in a rut, sound-casting themselves. I look for bands that represent more, an art form, even though it’s metal. That brings up my next question: why do people think that metal is one-dimensional?
Jon: ‘Cause they’re narrow-minded.
Pat: And one-dimensional.
melophobe: As a musician, what stands out to me about Vigilance is the syncopation, amazing guitar work by both Adam and Travis, and the overall tightness of the band, before the lyrics -- sorry Jon. A lot of people don’t hear that when they hear metal. They only hear a blood curdling voice, screaming guitars, insanely fast and mind melting double bass drums. Feel free to promote yourselves here: how does Threat Signal stand apart from the new industry standard for metal bands?
Jon: It’s funny; Threat Signal is a musician’s band. What I mean is musicians like our music, just like you. We’ve been approached by bands that we look up to and they give us props for our riffs, my lyrics . . . . People who know music, who study or have studied music appreciate what we’re doing.
Pat: We have lots of underage kids come out to see us, too, which is awkward since we promote drinking so much. But they try to play our shit -- we see them on YouTube try.
Jon: That’s right! Try to play some of our music. I mean, you may think you can, it may sound easy--that’s because we worked our asses off and its good songwriting, well formulated. Go ahead and try to play it. I dare you.
melophobe: Come on, you laugh when you see the guys on YouTube try to play your shit, right?
Pat: Dude! I’m not going to laugh at them, they’re our fans!
Jon: I laugh at them.
Pat: All that matters is that they feel inspired to learn and try, that is the best compliment ever. The only advice I’ll give them is just use your ear a little more. I think sometime we will release the [sheet] music for Vigilance.
melophobe: Well, this opening band is starting up here guys and these people want to start drinking. Any last words on why people ought to listen to metal music if they don’t already do so?
Jon: ‘Cause it’s fucking awesome, man!
Pat: Metal’s a good time, good release, it’s the only type of music that will make you really happy if you’re just a little happy, or cheer you up if you feel like shit. It’s the only type of music that is capable of elevating your current emotion or even altering it.
Jon: Metal is like a really tight-knit community of people, right, and I find that we’re not out to start fights at shows like some people speculate--leave that to the douche bags in the dance clubs. We’re here to rock out, have some beers, make some friends and have a blast. There aren’t many other genres that do that.
melophobe: So there you have it, metal as performance- and emotion-enhancing music. Thank you so much for the photo shoot and interview guys.
Jon: Thank you, man.
Pat: Let’s drink!
