INTERVIEW - Seek Out Ships

Lets get to know the Sydney, indie-folk rock trio:

Introductions:

Who am I speaking to and what is your roll in the band?

David Daix. I play guitar and sing.

Chris Poirrier. I play drums.

Name of Artist/Band?

Seek Out Ships is: David Daix - vocals/guitar, Mark Scott - bass, Christopher Poirrier - drums

Is there a story behind the band name?

DD - Actually, there is, but it's not very cool. I was reading an article on whales that follow and try to befriend boats. The direct reading was "...they seek out ships...". I liked those three words together.

CP - When I give the answer to people who ask this question, I always put my own spin on it. I usually tell what Seek Out Ships means to me. To me, I remember being 15-18 and walking to practice down a road that was a parallel to the shore (where Dave lived at the time) and I literally used to "seek out ships" in the harbour. It was calming, somehow. I like to think back on that period of my life and get nostalgic.

What/where is your hometown? Do the people at home support your music?

DD - Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Yeah, bands and music fans around here usually support everyone. It's a pretty cool scene, even though the all-ages side of things is kind of weak right now.

CP - Small town filled with friendly people. I love it here. I'll never leave. Lots of good bands and artists come from right here. As Dave mentioned, the AA scene is fading, but, we're trying to generate a comeback.

When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

DD - We technically formed about 5 years ago, when me and Chris were at a point in our 10 year run together when we were doing different things musically. He was in a hardcore/screamo band and I was basically just writing folky acoustic tunes. We still wanted to write music together, but our main focus was elsewhere. So, we decided to just have a little two-piece band and hang out and write. 5 years later (laugh), we decided we wanted to make Seek Out Ships more of a priority, so we drafted a bass player by the name of Mark Scott. Here we are.

CP - I've been playing music with Dave for more than 10 years now. That is wild. I cannot picture a day when we don't make music together anymore.

What kind of music do you make? Do you consider yourself as part of a certain genre?

DD - Indie folk-rock, maybe.

CP - AH! The dreaded "genre" question. hahaha. I think we're a mix of alot of things. Primarily, our new music is indie based. Lots of pop elements. Some folk elements. I detect some alternative elements as well.

What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

DD - We try to practice once a week, and somehow Tuesday became the elected day. Our jams are pretty relaxed. No fights, no arguments, just wise-cracks and jabs at each other's playing ability. Mark has small glitches in his memory, Chris plays too loud (this isn't DS, man.), and I can't play guitar. All jokes aside, we are pretty productive at each practice.

Playing Live:

Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

DD - We only have a few shows under our belts as Seek Out Ships, but all of us have been playing in other bands for the past decade. Around here you just play in community halls and things like that. They all pretty much sound the same. A couple of the best venues have been lost in Sydney, either because of businesses buying them or kids vandalizing them.

CP - As Dave mentioned, SOS has only played a handful of shows, all in our local area. We have a show lined up in July. In August, we plan on playing a few Maritime dates. We hope it happens.

Do you have any trademark stage antics?

DD - Do mistakes count?

CP - HAHAHA! Dave, always the jester. I have this machine where I can hover above the crowd while spinning upside down and playing a sweet drum sol....nevermind...I was thinking of Tommy Lee on the Dr. Feelgood Tour. I'm reading "The Dirt" for the second time around. I can't believe Nikki Sixx could do $140,000 of heroin per month and not die. But seriously, no, no stage antics. We just try to feed off of each other and off of the crowd and have a good time. Its all about having a good time.

Give us an idea what to expect upon seeing your band live.

DD - A strange blend of confidence and worry.

CP - I'd like to think its a high energy set. Lots of dynamics.

Do/have you played shows in Halifax? And will we be seeing you here soon?

DD - We have never played in Halifax, we may soon though. We are planning a tiny Maritime tour in July with our friends in First to Fall. Hopefully, we'll hit up Halifax.

Other Stuff:

Do you guys have any other hobbies besides, obviously, making music?

DD - Chris loves hockey and getting tattoos. I like gardening and sleeping in the woods (perfect wise-crack material for Chris), and when Mark is not creating music, he is obsessing over manipulating it via very expensive gadgets. And he likes horror movies.

CP - Dave got me addicted to the show "Pawn Stars" on the History channel. I am addicted to The Office (US version) as well. Yeah, as Dave mentioned, I like tattoos, hanging out with my fiance and friends, hockey, football, movies, making fun of how Eco-friendly Dave is.

What's your most embarrassing band experience?

DD - Check back with us after tour. haha.

CP - Having to admit to people that I'm in a band with these fools. Jokes. I love you guys.

Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

DD - Nope. Nope.

CP - No label. DIY is the way to go at first. I'm part of Music Nova Scotia with my other band, Drowning Shakespeare. Does that count for something?

Tell us anything else you would like to add! (upcoming album releases, touring, promo...)

DD - We will be heading into the studio next week to start recording our very first full length. 9 songs that no one besides our close friends have heard yet. So excited.

CP - Heading into the studio tomorrow to start work on our debut full length. Very excited about that. August 8th, we're shooting a video with Matt Ingraham of MI Productions. Probably release the album shortly after and then head out on a Maritime tour in August. After that, who knows.

Randomness:

If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet, which position would you take?

DD - Hopefully these alien will have broken the bonds of capitalism and established a simple but effective means of doing everything, and I can just be an explorer or something. haha.

CP - Probably something musical, as cliche as that is. Either that or a chef. Secretly, I wish I could cook.

On behalf of SOS, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to do this. Hopefully we can talk again once our album comes out.

__________________________

Interview - Tiffany Naugler
Photo - Mason Burke