Canadian Death-Groove Metal Band Pythonic Set You Free - PipemanRadio Interview

0:04 Hi, you have done to censure? Wow, crazy you. It is the pipe Man here on the Inventor's Pipe Man W four c Y Radio, and I'm here with our next guest, who uh man, they have some killer music, but I don't know. So the most Canadian artists, I don't know. They're they're a step above up there. And uh so let's welcome to the show. Vince from Pythonic. How are you doing pretty good? How are you? I'm doing great.

0:45 I can pronounce your band name better than probably your province. Yeah, I was laughing at because I can pronounce it. But it's like, you know, sometimes band names nowadays, especially because you have to be so creative, it's sometimes I hear press people just pronouncing them wrong, and that's like my worst nightmare is doing that to a band. But then I, you know. After I say it, and I'm like thinking about where you're at, I'm like, oh, yeah, that was easier than saying where you're at. Yeah, oh yeah, no. I mean we've even had people mispronounce our name a few times, so it happens.

1:27 Oh, I want to hear the other versions that people have said. Uh, probably the most recent one was definitely phytonic. Where'd they get that from? There's no H or F there. That's what I was kind of wondering about, and I was like, okay, thanks. Yeah. You know what I do is if I'm not one hundred percent sure of how to pronounce it, I google it, like listen to your work people. I google up interviews and I hear how to band says it like in an interview. Yeah, because then you know it's right, or or like when I cover festivals, which I do a lot.

2:08 In fact, I just got back from incarceration at Shashank Prison. I'm leaving in a couple of days to uh the Holy uh Ground of Vodkin and and then Bloodstock after that. But uh, at the at the festivals, I have the band say their name because A, then I won't fuck it up. But B I just only say it way cooler than I do, because a lot of times, you know, they'll like say it with their spin on it, and I think that's cool. Oh yeah, no, kind of well, and I mean like it. Then they kind of like get themselves pumped up and ready and gets everybody else ready.

2:52 For it and totally great introduction. I love it. Well, I'm glad that I'm getting the kudos for it because and I always wonder do bands like when I do it that way, because some there have been very few times, very few times that they were kind of confused, but usually it's cool and then they say it really cool. But man, you guys are badass. And I just want to know with the Canada thing, Okay, so is it because it's so freaking cold there that you make great music? Well? I mean yeah, like six months out of the year we're pretty much stuck inside because it's so cold, so exactly a lot of time to sit down and really uh you know, and that you get you can kind of get that hatred to kind of warm me up during those winter months and right, but yeah, you know, like it it does give like a lot of the Canadian bands a lot of downtime. But the only the unfortunate part is like you have that downtime to work on music, but you can't, Like touring is brutal trying to go.

3:58 Anywhere in the winter time because it's. Like if something does happen while you could be stuck in minus thirty minus forty temperatures and like you don't that's not really a great risk take. No, not at all. And I've heard of some bands playing in weather like that, and I'm like, how the how do they do that? Like I can barely you know, use my phone much less play a guitar or something like that. I think we had. One show that ended up being an outside show beginning of October a couple of years ago, and I think it was like minus five or minus ten, and like that was even hard, like but we were also the show started at two or three because it was like a little bit there was like six or seven bands on the bill, and we didn't play till seven, and it just by the time like we were playing, like.

4:51 We just kept running to like the bathrooms because they had heat to like warm up our hands and like try not to like be seizing while we're on stage because it's okay, so cold. Yeah, And like I was just thinking while you were talking, like if I were in a band and I was playing in that condition, I would jump into the mosh pit of the band before me to warm up. Yeah. Well then like given that's it. The band before you has a mosh pit though. Right, because the show it was kind of like hip hop and metal at the same time. So the band, the group right before us was like more of a hip hop nobody was really moshing, so it's like, couldn't even really do that as much.

5:33 You know what's funny about that is I've been at festivals where Whiz Khalifa had a mosh pit and every hip hop people, I guess if they play at the metal festival people. Listen. I was just at Welcome to Rockville recently and we had like three out of four days we had evacuations because it's Florida this time of year. Okay, yeah, and. The weather is brutal and you know, listen, I have outages at my studio every day during the Stumma summer, no matter what. So you know, basically, when they did a Code red walk, a flock of Flame was actually on stage and he basically had the attitude, I'm not fucking leaving and he got down and he started a marsh pit in a code read.

6:33 When we were supposed to be evacuating. It was rather cool. I mean, that's pretty hardcore, but like you know, and that's but that's what something people will remember, right, Like he he knew what he was doing. It's all over the video of it is all over. Yeah, exactly. It's kind of like you know, I got so many interviews interrupted due to code reds. The best one was also at Rockville was uh Psychostick. And I don't know if you're familiar with them. Oh yeah, yeah. You're funniest shit. If you're gonna get a code read intra erupted interview, that's the band to do it, because they just like they poured it on thick. They were like freaking out screaming like, oh my god. It was the funniest thing ever, Oh my god. And so like what I love about that is all these stories we talk about or think about, they just make some great memories. They may suck at the time, but they make great memories later.

7:32 Yeah. So what's I know? But the listeners don't know what started this all for you? Because you started this whole thing and you've evolved it to what is probably your best lineup ever, And yeah, what is it that was the starting impatus? Like what made you do this? Well? Like my pretty much my whole life. I always kind of like liked music and being kind of musical, and I always. Wanted to play in a band. And I come from a very small town, like I think population is like three to five hundred people, like very very small. So it's like you don't have a lot of options when you're out there to connect with like other musicians and start anything. So it wasn't until I graduated and started moving out to like cities and stuff, and I was kind of like bumbling around in post secondary school for a while, but nothing really felt right.

8:39 And then I started making the band the last year. That I was doing post secondary and I was like, you know what, like this this feels, this feels. Like what I'm supposed to be doing. And I just threw so many. Changeovers of members and so much just stuff. I just kept it going. Definitely helps that I had Ryan with me, the other guitar player. He's been with it pretty much since the beginning, and me and him just every time like we lose drummer, lose bass player, you know, we just keep writing songs, keep writing songs. And because we just love doing it.

9:19 It's just yeah, and finding somebody else to just like have that same passion keeps it. Can you kind of keep each other in check to like keep working at it. And then over the years as it's gone. Like Ryan's done other bands he's he's played with, like Death Ris, Like they've done some pretty big shows and tours and stuff, and a lot of those guys they're actually in the band now Dying Remains, and I know they've been touring down in the States affair bit and like, you know, he ended up quitting a lot of those bands, and he's like, he's like, I don't know what it is, but something just feels different about this band, and like the way everything goes is just it.

10:00 Doesn't have the same field. And I took that and I'm like, hey, well then we gotta double down and I quit all my other side projects and we. Just got to keep this going. Yeah, you know what I mean. The bottom line is is you said something that to me is very important, Like you know, you gotta be this is what you want to do, This is what you enjoy. It's not a hobby you love doing. You have to really have the love and passion for it, because it's a tough business to make your career. If you're not okay, like, oh yeah, it's great if you are, but if you're not, like it's not great for you, it's not great for us.

10:43 The audience either. And so I think that's why bands have to evolve like yours did, because it takes some time to find those people that actually want to do it to the very end. Oh yeah, no end. The current guys that we have right now, like they they're all very, very dedicated members. Morgan, we are vocalists now. We actually had him on base for I think almost a whole year. And then we were just getting sick and tired of the vocalist we had, like skipping out on practices and all the you know, typical typical like band member kind of like wants to be in the band but doesn't want to do any of the work type deal. And I heard Morgan's scream one day and I was like, holy hell, man.

11:34 Like you're really good. And I was like, we gotta movie to the front. And he was very reluctant to do it at the start, and he like didn't want to and I was like, well, maybe I'll give it to this guy. And then he's like, well, you know, like it'd probably be easier to find like another bass player than it would be to find a vocalist if this guy's going to be leaving and stuff. If he's going to be a short time. And yeah, he really jumped in and took it by the reins and he's just been killing it our live shows. He's been getting very comfortable at the front because he was kind of, you know. A little stand office for a bit, as he would be, you know, like.

12:15 If you're not used to fronting a band. But like, yeah, he just he blows it away every night now. And I'm nice, so awesome. And so it's funny because I was going to talk about somebody else who is a guitarist about in reference to you, and now it's both in reference to. You and your singer. Because there was this one artist who is still around after many, many years, and he's a front man, one of the most renowned front men in metal. And he was not a good front man in the beginning. He didn't like it. He was shy. He you know, he really didn't come out front till much later. Now the other side of it is, now I'm gonna have fun with this because then I'm gonna make you guess who it is. I wasn't gonna do that before, but as a rhythm guitarist, Okay, this person's like one of the best rhythm guitarists ever.

13:21 And when I read the description. About Okay, it says that you bring a machine like precision, combining thick, low and riffing with razor sharp tremolo picking. And all I thought of when I read. That was this rhythm guitarist who is probably known as the best down picker ever in metal. So I gave you a lot of hints. Now I want to do it this way, but I gave. You a lot of hints. So you tell me who I'm talking about. Is it James Headfield, that's the one. Yeah.

14:03 As soon as you said that's downpicking, I'm like, yeah, it's got to be. It's got to be James, because he just, yeah, he's downpicking. His downpicking is insane. It's actually like, uh. Yeah right, And I knew that would be the real tip off right there. Okay, So do you also know why his downpicking is so great? Part of it, like, not the whole story, but there's something he does that I don't know any other guitarist that does it. I actually am not entirely sure. It's the way he holds the pick. He holds it with three fingers, not two.

14:45 So interesting. He's got the index finger and the middle finger and the thumb, so he like never loses control of that pick because he's holding it so strong with those three fingers. I mean, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, especially if you're downpicking like he does, and as fast as he does. It's like I can imagine, you know, doing the normal way. I can imagine the flip and the pick just flying at your finger. So yeah, I think he figured that out, and so that's why he does the three fingers and I try it now. I'm like that is kind of cool because it just gives you more force you can have.

15:28 Yeah. Yeah, no, I definitely even just my personal playing, Like I find I pick. With a lot, a lot of force. But I'm also just a big dude. I got big hands, so I have I have it all that, I have all the weight behind it to push that in, and like, I don't think a lot of people realize how much your hands actually like help with. Tone and stuff too. Yeah, because like the way I end up holding the pick because I always wondered because like I. Can get pretty like deep deep. Chugging, like like chugs going on, and I was kind of like looking at other people, I'm like well, what am I doing differently that I'm getting like this like really.

16:11 Heavy, basy sound from it. And then I noticed that when I hold my pick it almost makes like a cup in my picking hand. So I'm literally feeding back the. String sound from in my palm into the pickup, so then I get that really nice like sound from it. And I you know, like a lot of times, the only time. I see other people getting that is when they also are bigger guys, and they're probably getting that same kind of you know, reverberation off of it. But you know what else I'm jealous of being that you're a bigger guy playing guitar is how much easier it must be to play chords and stretch your fingers out.

16:54 Like yes and no, because like some like I actually struggled with a lot of chords is when I first started playing, mostly because like my fingers are so we're so fat that when I would hold the cord, the bottom of my finger would touch the string underneath, so then it would ute those strings. But I mean, that works really well when you're doing like power chords and stuff, but like when you're trying to do like a little bit fancier chords, it gets it's a little cumbersome. I would imagine it's pretty cumbersome too if you do lead speak, and because like I would think with bigger fingers that the leads would be harder because your fingers would like run into each other.

17:41 Like a bit here and there. But like it's really not that bad. But I mean obviously, like I've I've just practiced and like workd with what I have for so long already. That I kind of, you know, enough practice you'll be able to do anything. So what you're saying is you're kind of like Tony Iomi, who could have ended up not playing guitar ever again and ends up one of the most famous guitar players ever that created metal. You know, well, I mean I wouldn't. I wouldn't go that far, but you know, yeah, like I definitely could. I definitely had a turning point actually where I was kind of like slowing down near the end of high school playing guitar a bunch and I was gonna try like be a football player because I had a bunch of people who were really trying to like push me into that. Then I had my English teacher and he told me, he's, like, you know, playing football in that it's really fun, and you know you can do it till you're probably about thirty five, you know, at the latest.

18:44 But like you know, playing guitar, you could probably keep doing that until you're in your nineties. And I'm like, man, you really got a point there, And I kind of doubled back and went back playing a lot more guitar again. And yeah, if if. He honestly, I didn't, I probably would have destroyed my hands playing football if I didn't listen to them there. Yeah, look at that. And you know, it's funny because I was kind of the opposite because I'm a real little dude, especially in high school, Like I was scrawny, short, and I did play a lot of sports and I was into music. But ninth grade I joined freshman football and that was really the turning point where I turned away from sports and more towards music for the opposite reason, Like I'm seeing it like I'm being a running back running for my life from these people probably your size that would like pounce me, and.

19:46 Opposed to I think it's too advantage. It's like people don't realize it's so funny. How many musicians that look so big on stage get off stage, and. They're so short, especially especially front men. Yeah, it's kind of wild, you know, Like and you know I look at people like I'm five seven, so I'm short for a dude, But there's people that are really famous that are shorter than me, front and bands, but you look at him on stage and they're like bigger than life. Well, I mean, like Dio is a prime example. He is he was not a very big dude, and like, you know, the voice coming out of him and is just his presence alone, you would you would think he's like six six feet six two, like he's massive because he just has such a powerful voice behind him.

20:42 Like it's. I always find it funny though, is when you know, you see a band and then you see them all stand up at the end, because like the drummers sitting behind the kit and you see the drummer stand up and you're like, whoa that he actually is barely taller than his kid. I imagine it would probably be harder if you're really I do know tall drummers. I'm thinking because I I I started off on drums when I was a kid. I moved a guitar and then I moved to singing thrash metal. I sucked at all three so now I do radio and uh but but you know, I'm thinking somebody really tall playing drums, it's gotta be a little more difficult, especially metal where you're double basing it, Like it's gotta be hard on your knees and stuff. Yeah, I'm thinking, you know, just imagining that, you know, because I'm like imagining, like them them driving a little fiad or something is the same as them playing a drum set.

21:47 Yeah, I guess like in a lot of times when a lot of the people are taller, like you get, you're a little bit more awkward, you know, to your size for a lot longer too, so like the coordination would definitely take a lot more time. To build up. Well, that's because they have a lot further to fall to the ground, like a short Yeah, you know, it's not a big deal to fall on the ground because it's not that far. So tell me also about set You Free, because I think the whole world needs to be set free at this point in this crazy shit we're living. Well, that song we uh, that one had the lyrics rewritten.

22:31 Morgan. Morgan did a lot of the rewriting on the lyrics that one in particular, he wanted to drive something a little more home in the religious theme, uh, because like there is a lot of corruption within a lot of the religions, like the big religions in the world, and they kind of like use that as a guys to do terrible things. And it's something that I think, you know, kind of just needs to be like people need to be aware of it because it's it's very easy to get caught up in something that promises like community and it sucks you in like a cult and takes advantage of you. And that's definitely what's been going on. And like Morgan he uh, he has like very close ties with that. Like his his grandfather is a preacher, so like, you know, he kinda he's he's seen both sides. So then it's I'm not saying, like his grandfather's a bad dude, but he's like, you know, even even when they're not doing bad things, they they hold people to such high standards that like it's just unattainable. It's moralizing, and it's like it's not it's not easy on people.

23:48 You know. They want everyone you. Know, they want everybody to just be kind of like perfect, but like it's almost impossible to be perfect. It's like you're going to mess up sometimes. You're not supposed to be perfect. We're human being. I'm not supposed to be exactly. And most of those perfect people or acting perfect people are less perfect than we are. That's the problem. Like walk your talk, you know, And you know, it's interesting, like you used the word cult because I don't know if you're aware of this, if you research history, Christianity started as a.

24:28 Cult, and so yeah, I mean, and the. Fact is is that none of us really know, like these people think they know, but how come? In my opinion, the people that are the most religious are either the ones that find religion in jail after they've done horrible things and it doesn't make them a better person. They just have a better act, or it's people that they're holier than now, but they're the ones that sin the most, if you're gonna use that. Word, yeah, no, And I've definitely noticed that myself as well. Even in high school. I remember writing a paper and.

25:11 It was I was talking about how you know, there's so many people that they'll go and they say that they're so good and they go to church every week, but then you know, they go home and they're like eating their wives or like doing all this like just terrible demoralizing things to other people. But they you know, they go to church on Sunday, Well they're forgiven of it now, so then they're good. So then they could just go the next week and they're refreshed and started all over again, and then by Sunday they're back to being good again. And it's like, well, that's not the point, Like this isn't a free past car and like you shouldn't be you know, trying. To use it as that right, Just be a good human being period exactly. Yeah, Like that's all that should count.

25:55 And I think that's what's great about metal, because metal, I mean, you go to a show, everybody, for the most part, not everybody, but mostly are great human means. Everybody thinks we're scary, we're devil worshipers, blah blah bullshit, but we're the nicest, most family oriented, loving people there is, and so image means nothing. Nope, like on it, like and talking on that. The best shows I've been to have been like full metal like band shows, and then like some of the worst like kind of like you get those like kind of in between rock band kind of kind of bands, you know, where it's like they get played on the radio a lot, but they're still kind of heavy. Those shows I find are they're bad, Like those are probably the only ones.

26:57 Where I've been punched in the back of the head. Or like people like they just people don't like they see metal pits on TV and stuff like that, and I think it's just like people fighting in the pit, but it's like no, like we're like kind of bumping into each other and hitting each other, but like when someone falls, you pick him back up. Like I've watched people almost get trampled, and I'm like, guys, you gotta stock like, oh wow. I'll tell you a great story. You'll love. So a couple of years ago, when I was doing press coverage for download, bring Me to the Horizon was headlining and I was in their pit and there was this dude. He was a big dude, Like.

27:40 He had to be somewhere between six five and six seven, I would say, and he was definitely. And it's always those people that I think can be a problem because they're not metal heads. And when I say that, not just big people, big people that really aren't mental heads. They go to a show so that they can show how tough they. Are in the pit. And this guy started really being an asshole to be blunt in the pit. And I'm a little guy. People like that to me. I like to come around and come up and you know, get down low and come up with my elbow like Mike Tyson, and then I'll be on the other side of pit before they even know who hit him, you know, because I'm little and fast.

28:30 But it was so great. There was this one dude that ended up actually was bigger than him, and he walked right up to him and he's like, why don't you pick on somebody your own size? Like that's something that said a lot, but that has a lot more meaning when it's this super huge dude and it's somebody bigger than. Him, that has a lot of meaning to it. And he basically he physically of this dude from the pit. And it's funny. It's always as tough things like that. He never re entered the pit. He was scared. You could see it on his face. He was scared. And that's it's just like bullies. Bullies are only tough until you knock him out.

29:19 Then they're not tough anymore. Oh yeah, no. I mean see, I'm a big dude, so I know my size. I know I could if I wanted to, I could be an absolute destructive force in the pit, but I try not to. I just kind of bounce into everybody and just like, you know, have a good time, help you know the general like big guy. Stuff is what you should be doing. Yeah, keeping everybody kind of inside in that. I remember being at Archspire a couple of years ago and there was one guy and he was one of those guys that he goes into the pit and he's just trying to annihilate everybody. And I'm like, I'm watching this and I'm trying not to get into the pit because I had to work the next day and I'm like, I can't, I can't handle it. A board had gone on and they were playing so aggressively. I'm like, okay, this guy's going down. This guy went to go hit the smaller dude.

30:12 I just came out and just hammered him. He flew like three feet onto the. Ground and I was like yep. And then the whole rest of the night he would like be running around doing. A circle pick he'd see me on the edge, would like loop around. And I'm like, man, like, if you're gonna try and dish out these big hits like that, you got to be able to take the big hits to you. Like like no, like there's always someone bigger, you know. There is always somebody bigger whatever, And what you said about yourself, that's what I'd normally find about. And that's why I clarified about big dudes. Most of Yeah, big dudes I've known in my life are like big teddy bears, Like they know they're that size so they don't have to act tough, you know. Yeah, And I like, I have this friend of mine. Uh he's a photographer. He's at all the festivals, and he is a huge, huge dude, and we have this dynamic like it's kind of funny, like you know, we were just at incarcerations, like I'm going get the fuck away from me, motherfucker, and he's saying shit to me and stuff. But I have full confidence that no matter what I would do, he wouldn't do shit to me. And he could probably knock me to next Tuesday. Okay, but yeah, but he wouldn't because you know, it's just that's a good human being and

31:44 that's respect, you know, And that's the way I look at well, Like that's. The way it should be. Everybody at the show should be respecting everybody else. Everybody who's there paid to be there, right, And as somebody who like has like work shows and like seeing crowds and how people interact. It's like, you know, people think they just can get free rides a lot of times, like people vaping inside. It's like, you know, the guy, besides, you could have ass you don't know that you're not supposed to be doing it. Why are you doing it? You know, respect the other people who paid you paid too, So why do you want to risk getting kicked out if you also paid? Like what's the file that's child Yeah, you know, so what's the big deal go to the smoking area or walk out exactly something like that. I'm with you one hundred percent, Like we're adults, act like it and that because what always happens when you have childish stuff like that is they change the rules and make it worse on everybody. I see it impressed too, you know, it's like you got these idiots sometimes that do things are not supposed to do and it ruins it for the rest of us, Like, you know, you're not supposed to do that, Like it blows my mind some of the things people try to get away with and they're pressed.

32:59 It's like you're game, I don't get it. You know, do your job. Make it to where the artists want to come to the press tent because that ship makes them. Not want to come to the preston. Yeah, So what else you guys got going on the rest of the year. Here going into September, We have a fair few shows that we got booked up in a few different provinces in Canada here, and then we're kind of just like looking towards starting to record an album. We have. We have like still a lot of songs that we haven't recorded yet.

33:43 A lot of these ones are a lot more true to like where we're at musically and like just versed into how our songwriting has become. And some of them were actually already playing live because they're just they were they were such good tracks, where like we can't we can't just like keep holding onto these because like people need to hear them. And the one track that we have plan to like get recorded. It's called clubbed. Every time we play that song, we have everybody coming up to us after, where can I hear this song? Where is this? And like it just it sucks not having. A recorded yet, but it's also very reassuring that we have a song that people hear the name of it where we would we announce it and then they come up to us after and like, I need to hear this song somewhere. So like, we're very excited to be working on some of this new stuff.

34:32 That we got working. That's pretty cool. I love it And is there anything else you want the listeners to know about you guys and tell them how to connect you on socials, check out your music, your merch and all that. Check us out on Instagram or Facebook and python a band same thing with band camp. Band Camp has some of our merch on there. We've been kind of withholding a little bit right now. As we're still like finishing up some shows for the year, but as soon as. We're done though, will definitely have a updated Laws of Karma merch up on there. Yeah, you know, be a good person that shows and stay metal. Stay metal with Pythonic. Well, thanks a lot, brother, you guys got some badass music. Everybody has to check you guys out that hasn't already.

35:20 And thanks a lot for being on the Adventures of play Man. Yeah, thanks for having me. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipeline. I'm W for CUI Radio.