EMQ’s With OAKS
EMQ’s With OAKS
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with French Metal band, Oaks. Huge thanks to their Guitarist, Thibault, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Hey I am Thibault, guitarist of Oaks. Julien the bass player and I were friends from our hometown (Strasbourg). Then we moved to Paris and we wanted to make music. We jammed on some tunes and found that those materials needed to be played in band. We get few drummers at the beginning of our history but when Nathan jumped in, the Oaks project was ready to begin.
How did you come up with your band name?
We brainstormed for a long time and one day, one of us (I don’t remember who) proposed OAK. Of course, it was so common that we start to look for adding something to OAK…. And then I remember that Julien our bass player just said, “let’s put on an S!”, and there it is!
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We are from Paris , France. The French metal scene is quite open minded. We get very great bands in every style here. Unfortunately, a lot of independent venue spots closed because of the pandemic and it’s more and more difficult book good gigs.
What is your latest release?
We just released our 1st album “Genesis of the Abstract” on September 30th on the Italian label Argonauta Records.
Who have been your greatest influences?
I don’t need to be in a specific mood to write songs. I just grab my guitar and sometimes cool riffs rise! The most difficult part of the work is to create consistent songs and not just to put riffs one after the other.
What first got you into music?
At age 11, I discovered Iron Maiden and it was a revelation for me. I spent so many hours looking at the artwork while listening to the songs and making a personal history of Eddie through Powerslave, Seventh Son or Somewhere in time. I definitively wanted to start playing guitars as solos as I listened to ‘The Clairvoyant’.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
We love to tour with our great friends Vantre – another instrumental band. We would ideally love to do projects together and one of those will be a split with them.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Roadburn of course!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Never stop listening to music and discover new bands. And of course, support Oaks!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Hard choice! I hesitate with Jim Morrison and John Bonham.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I love the creation process. I really dig these moments when you are working on new songs, trying to get the best climax, feeling the synergy between all of us. I don’t like to work on booking and I definitively hate social medias. But unfortunately, we don’t have a booking agencies nor community manager for the moment…
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I would come back to the time before internet, when CD’s and LPs were the main thing. I am nostalgic of the time when releasing an album was a hard job because it was a lot of money and work. I feel like everything needs to be more easy to make and quick to sell….
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Vinyl and CD’s.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
We organised our release party last month in a place we love with a lot of friend of us and great bands! It was a crushing night!!
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Music is for me my passion but I don’t earn enough money with Oaks. Besides Oaks, I am working as a production manager for artists.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
My partners in the band with their wives and children!
What’s next for the band?
We have several shows coming up in Paris and in France. We will announce them as we go along. We will also start working on our next EP which should be released in 2023, if all goes well!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
https://linktr.ee/oaksband
https://oaksbandfr.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/oaksbandfr
https://www.instagram.com/oaks_band
https://youtube.com/channel/UCFptvxX2THqpDJieHRsbw6w
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
I am French so only love French baguette and croissant!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks for your support and the opportunity to appear on your website. Hope you enjoyed the album. Please also check our great label Argonauta Records and all the amazing bands Gero helps and promotes!! And of course, thanks to Ever Metal for this cool moment!! Cheers!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
