Damages hail from Vancouver, BC and play their own brand of melodic hardcore/emo influenced by late 80s/early 90s sounds.
First up, who are you and what is Damages?
I’m Carl and I sing for Damages.
This is Andrew and I play bass in Damages.
Damages is a band that lies somewhere between the genres of hardcore and emotional/post hardcore. We are from Vancouver, BC. Our main influences are that of late 80′s/early 90′s DC and Ebullition style hardcore and post hardcore, and noise rock (i.e. Touch and Go/ Am Rep, Jesus Lizard, and Shellac).
The idea behind Damages was to firstly create music we are all excited to play, but also to do a band that is unique within the framework of the styles we play. I don’t think what we do is really out there, we are still playing some form of punk music ultimately, but while I do think it’s easy to identify some of the influences within our sound, I don’t think we are the kind of band that anyone can say “they sound just like this other band” about. I think we’re striving to create music that’s a bit different.
You have a new 7” called Unrequited coming out soon on React! Records, how did that come about and how is the production process coming? Any set date for a release yet?
Yes, Unrequited will be out on April 9th (the first day of the REACT! Showcase in San Francisco; however, the record is available now for pre-order on the REACT! Website). We’re excited for it to come out and really happy it’s coming out on a label as good as REACT! is. We have known Aram(the man behind REACT!) for years and most of the Damages guys have played in bands with him, but we never expected to be part of the REACT! family. Our sound is not typical of the REACT! vibe. However, Aram talked to us about wanting to expand the REACT! sound to include other styles of hardcore, and we really liked how he saw that happening and were happy to be able to be a part of that. Plus we were amped on a lot of the other bands on REACT! already, so we were happy to become part of that roster. Production for the record is done. We like to try and keep as many aspects of the process “in house” as possible. Our first drummer, Andy, recorded us, as he did for our first 7″, and us and our friends designed the other aspects of the record.
Did the band’s writing process change at all for Unrequited?
The process itself didn’t change, we always write collectively. But we did get a new drummer between this record and the last one, so that has changed the writing a bit. Our original drummer, Andy, had to bow out of Damages. We have Motor playing drums with us now (from Blue Monday, Day of Mourning, Keep It Clear, Circles). Motor’s an animal. He hits really hard and has a really aggressive attack, and the three of us do react to his style, so the new songs do feel a bit different because of that. Both Motor and Andy are really talented guys and the drums are a big part of what we do, so that has certainly impacted our writing process.
Would you consider Damages to be a political band?
In the broadest sense of the term “political” we could be considered as such. Lyrically I try not to write about any specific events or affairs but rather focus on human politics and social issues. We are, however, happy to discuss any political issues with anyone who cares to, as we all have strong opinions about many issues, and politics is something that interests us all, whether we all agree on the issues or not, and are always game to give our time to benefit shows and causes we believe in.
Where does most of the non-musical inspiration for the band come from (lyrically and/or instrumentally)?
Lyrically I suppose I draw most of my inspiration from past experiences. I suppose the theme that seems to lie under most of my lyrics are based upon the query of “who am I and why am I the way I am?” and nature vs. nurture. The notion of being born into an environment that might dictate who you are and what your actions will be is a topic that interests me greatly, and the emotions associated that are what inspires me for many of the songs.
For me playing music is in part cathartic. I channel all my frustrations that build up into the music. I guess it wouldn’t be accurate to call it inspiration, but my dissatisfaction with some of the world around me certainly makes me want to play harder and more aggressively.
With the Olympics wrapped up, most of the controversy about their potential consequences has fallen out of the news. Being a Vancouver based band, have you noticed any consequences (positive or negative) begin to manifest? (If negative) Is it too late to undo the damage?
Firstly let me say that I have a great deal of respect for people that dedicate themselves to a sport they love and train hard and invest a great deal of themselves into being an athlete. There seems to be a misconception that being against the Olympics means you are also against the athletes and the sports themselves. I hope the best to individual athletes, but in my eyes the for-profit, private corporation that is the Olympics is not an organization that athletes (or anyone else) should associate with. The Olympics have a long standing record of driving their host cities deeply into debt (Calgary being only one of two exceptions ever to this), and for a city like Vancouver which already has a lot of social problems it seems irresponsible to me to divert funds to an Olympic event here in the face of so much homelessness, drug addiction and lack of social programs. There is a lot more about the Olympics I have issue with (like environmental impact, homeless displacement, circumvention of freedom of information act, etc.), but that’s an essay onto itself. I believe that the negative impact to Vancouver the Olympics will have will begin to be seen more long term now that the games themselves are over.
I think after hosting the Olympics it has been made clear that perhaps the greatest adversary to progressing Vancouver to social stability is the overwhelming feeling of indifference the city has towards its problems. Vancouver has been so desensitized by addiction, mental illness, homelessness and poverty, that we would rather distract ourselves with sports, while deluding ourselves to believe that the Olympics may be profitable and positive despite that overwhelming statistics, rather than using that money to try and solve any problems directly. I do want to be clear, however, that I am not undermining the effort or integrity of any of the competing athletes. I have nothing but great respect to the competing Olympians. To dedicate your life to something that you have a passion for, free of money, is something that I definitely respect, and it is not the athletes of the Olympics that I take issue with, but rather the Olympic corporation and federal, provincial, and municipal government, who seem to be solely concerned on profit and public perception, through exploitation of the athletes and the people of Vancouver.
I’ve noticed you guys play Calgary and Edmonton fairly often, how do you think the scene in Alberta compares to Vancouver?
Well, we really don’t play in Calgary or Edmonton any more than we do anywhere else, but we try to stay active and we think that it’s important to try to reach as many places as we can. But we do feel a kinship with some bands from Alberta and are always happy to get to see them again and see our friends in Edmonton and Calgary.
I think the Vancouver scene is currently on an upswing and there’s been a great run of shows and bands coming from Vancouver lately. We’re really grateful for the support we have in Vancouver. I do feel like the scene in Alberta is very strong though. There’s a lot of talented bands there and committed people keeping their scenes strong, especially in Edmonton from our experience. In Vancouver Damages are a stylistic oddity, while in Edmonton and Calgary there are more bands we feel a kinship to.
Any shout outs/last words?
Thanks to everyone in Alberta who’s come to our shows and been very kind to us. Andrew Benson (who sings in Book of Caverns from Edmonton) did the cover for our new 7″, so props to him. We will hopefully be doing a split 7″ with Book of Caverns soon. Hopefully we will get to play again soon with our friends in Cold Craving, Maus, and Stalwart Sons too. If anyone ever wants to talk to us about anything please don’t be shy to approach us. Write us, email us, and talk to us at shows. Communication within our hardcore and punk community is important and we are happy to connect with new people, make new friends and share ideas. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
