It's always fun to think that second chances come for those who deserve them, but the fact is that the chance to start over is a truly special rarity – especially for musicians. Forgiving (if only for a moment) is easy enough to do, but forgetting most certainly isn't; most times, while the circumstances which led to a band breaking up the first time may have calmed, they often end up reasserting themselves and being insurmountable again when the possibility of reconvening comes up and the whole sordid process begins again. In cases like that, history ends up repeating – albeit on a more condensed timetable. That's why lots of bands have a lot of trouble staying together even if they do reconvene, but Headstones bassist Tim White feels pretty lucky because he and his band have taken everything they've done since agreeing to reunite step-by-step and have always kept their goals both simple and in sight. “I think the reason this has worked as well as it has since we first agreed to get together for that first benefit show we did for our friend Randy Kwan is because we all agreed that it had to be fun,” explains White plainly – dodging any and all possible flourishes which could be associated with the word 'reunion.' “If it wasn't fun, then we weren't going to do it. Everything grew out of that; we had one gig and it went well so we booked some more gigs. Those gigs went well, so we booked some more. We wrote a song and released it on facebook [the online single “Binthiswayforyears” –ed] and that got a good response, so we talked about recording an EP. That idea for an EP grew to an album and the PledgeMusic thing happened so we made an album and now we have the Number Two charting single in Canada and we have a record deal.
“All of that feels incredible,” beams the bassist, “but it feels important to say that everything has gone well, I think, because one thing led to the next; there was never any intention to get a record deal or make a record or do a bunch of shows, it all started with, 'Let's get together and do this one show for Randy' and we've taken every opportunity which grew out of that.”
The Headstones' step-by-step pattern has been met with a warm reception from fans all along the way thus far but, because of how the band has gone about their return, the release of Love + Fury feels like an achievement. When it was first announced that the band was making a new album, fans fell over themselves in excitement and, as the band dutifully supplied status updates to those fans who funded the album via their PledgeMusic campaign, that excitement only increased. That excitement proved to be about as intoxicating to watch as any one of the shows that the band has played since returning but, now that the album is out, no one who hears Love + Fury will be able to deny that the album doesn't sound like the best kind of restart. Breaking the silence, Love + Fury goes back to the raw beginnings of the Headstones' sound and reignites it with some torrential energy, some bad attitude and a great set of songs. From top to bottom, the album burns hot and blares loud as songs like “Change My Ways,” “Longwaytoneverland,” “Outta My League” and “Go Back The Other Way” all sound a true return that doesn't feel contrived in the slightest, it just sounds like a fact. Hugh Dillon's voice sounds strong with a freshly re-honed edge that hasn't sounded so sharp in years, while the frenzy of Trent Carr's guitars and White's bass re-emerge hot, bothered and ready to start a fight, while Dale Harrison makes it all blend with energetic tasteful drum chops that makes it seem effortless. The energy on the album is fantastic and, according to White, part of that energy came from the fact that the recording process nudged the band out of their comfort zone a bit and forced them to work on a really tight schedule. “What was really exciting about it for us was the instant fan support that we got,” remembers White. “Like, within the first twenty-four hours, we had already reached one hundred percent of our funding goal and we were surprised to see that it was people from all over the world who were bidding. It was really gratifying for us because we didn't know if this was going to work or what was going to happen with it, but it was the fans who made it real. It was made possible by the people we were making it for. As soon as that started happening with the PledgeMusic thing, we quickly realized the timeline for this album and how it would have to break down in order to have it work. In order for it to work, we knew we'd have to record in December 2012, so we'd have to do pre-production in October/November which meant we'd have to have a lot of stuff together by the end of last summer. We got it all laid out like that and we were confident in it, but the really fantastic surprise was that it actually worked [laughing].
“Part of our timeline was a pre-production period of course, but we felt like we really had to have our shit together, more than we ever really had before because we were really aware that we were working on a tight schedule,” continues the bassist. “In the old days, we'd go into the studio for two months or something – but we didn't have that kind of leisurely pace to work within this time; we had two weeks [laughing] to do everything.
“What we were trying to do was really capture the way the band sounds live, because we didn't feel like we had ever done that before. Because we were trying to get that sort of live sound, every song on the record is an entire take; nothing was slapped together or “fixed” in post-production. I mean, there might have been a guitar overdub here or there and Hugh may have re-tracked a vocal, but every performance is basically one performance all the way through. We really wanted to get the sound of the band and the way the band actually sounds, so that's basically how we recorded it. It's pretty much a live record.”
With the record now out and garnering some very favorable press (early praise has included a rave review by veteran rock critic John Emms who said, “The Headstones new album Love + Fury is the album that could save Rock from it’s miserable self.”), all that really should happen next is the Headstones get on the road to show people how good this record really is but, White admits, it won't exactly be that simple. While the bassist is very careful to reiterate that the positive reaction to Love + Fury is very heartening, the band members' other obligations will have touring support of the album on hold for the immediate future. 的t might not be what everyone wants to hear, but we're going to do a bunch of interviews to support Love + Fury, and we're confirmed to play a show out in Edmonton called Boonstock supporting Slash and Godsmack on Canada Day weekend, but that's all I know for sure in terms of 'future plans' [chuckling]. I know nobody wants to hear that, but we're not just in a band anymore, we all do other things as well; we all have schedules which have to be worked around. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we'll be doing more shows this year, I'm just not sure when or where yet. I will say that we're all really excited to reach the point where we're in the clear and we can tour behind it though; I think everybody played really well on it and we're all really proud of it! It sounds fucking great, and I wouldn't say that unless I meant it. I'm really looking forward to playing this record live for people."
Artist:
www.headstonesband.com/
www.facebook.com/HeadstonesBand
www.twitter.com/theheadstones
Further Reading:
Ground Control Magazine – Headstones – Love + Fury – [Review]
Ground Control Magazine – Just One Song 001 – [Column]
Album:
Love + Fury is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
