EMQ’s With Feed After Midnite
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Heavy Metal/ Hard Rock band, Feed After Midnite. Huge thanks to their drummer, Sean Bolster, 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?
Sean Bolster, I’m the Drummer. Marc, Denis and Yvon have been playing in various bands together since high school. In 2018, they were given the opportunity to play in a local radio battle of the bands; they recruited former member Dylan to play Bass. The chance to get back on stage re-ignited their passion to be in a band. As this felt more like the formation of a new band than a revival of an old band, they decided on a new name and a new approach was needed. It took a few line-up changes until the band felt that they really found their sound, with me (Sean) joining in 2020 and Shane joining 2022 after Dylan left to do another project.
How did you come up with your band name?
We had our first show booked but didn’t have a band name yet and the promoter needed a name by the next day. During a break from practice, the band was trying to come up with a name with no luck. Looking for inspiration, we looked through books on Marc’s bookshelf, when we found a novel for the movie Gremlins, someone said “Don’t feed them after midnight,” and we all looked at each other. Someone said “What about the opposite? Feed after Midnight?” We all agreed but decided to change it up a bit with the spelling of Midnite.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We live in Canada near Ottawa. Ottawa/Gatineau has a fairly vibrant metal scene with local band-type shows happening weekly throughout the various venues. If a large touring band skips Ottawa we’re lucky to be a couple hours drive from Montreal, QC. In my opinion the metal capital of Canada!
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
On November 25 2022 we released our first EP entitled “The Hunger”. We are promoting the official self-produced music video for the single called “False Awakening”.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Yvon and really all of the band love all things that are horror or sci-fi related from the 80’s and 90’s, so that’s certainly an influence on the themes Yvon writes about. Movie Directors like John Carpenter (They Live), James Cameron (Terminator), Sam Raimi (Evil Dead), George A Romero (Dawn of the Dead) to name a few, as well as bands like Faith No more, Deftones, Alice in Chains, Metallica and Killswitch Engage. They all influence our sound as a band.
What first got you into music?
I have always been musical. I remember my parents listened to Micheal Jackson or The Police records on the stereo all the time. I played trumpet as a kid in school, then I switched to electric guitar when I discovered Nirvana. I discovered I was a drummer when I was 15. My friends and I wanted to start a band but we were all guitar players! I seemed to be able to drum better than everyone else, so that’s where it started for me.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Honestly, that’s a tough question to answer. It would be cool to collaborate with anyone in the metal scene! We have so many heroes I don’t know where you would start. We are just starting out as a band really so if someone well known approached us with an offer, I’m sure the first thing we would have to do would be to pinch each other to make sure it was really happening!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Another tough question! I think we would probably choose to go as big as possible and go with the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Nothing yet, just their love and adoration and cash haha!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
We love you and want to thank you all for supporting our art by coming to shows, buying merch, or streaming and sharing our content.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. Absolute legends gone far too soon!
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
None of us are really full-time musicians, although we all play our instruments at a professional level we don’t make a living off of music. The band project is mostly self-funded, and the largest means to fund recordings is with ticket and merchandise sales. We all really enjoy doing this and wish for it to blossom someday into something full time but recognize you have to do the work to get there.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
De-centralization is a recurring theme in the last couple of decades or so. People taking the solutions to what ails them health-wise more and more back to natural type remedy/foods and into their own hands. The creation and rise of cryptocurrency signal people’s desire to take back control of their finances away from government corruption with “sound money” like Bitcoin. So true with the music industry I think the Internet has already revolutionized the industry, with social media allowing artists to interact more directly with their audience. Now with the ease at which artists can self-produce and distribute high-quality content, the need for a record/production company is becoming more of an option and less necessity. So the thing that I would like to see change is in fact happening! I anticipate in the future we will see more artists like Tom MacDonald, entirely independent artists at the top of the charts.
Name one of your all-time favourite album?
Sepultura, “Chaos A.D.” for sure! They all are fantastic musicians. I love anything Max does, But Igor’s drumming throughout this album is a source of inspiration for me and my drumming.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
The biggest gigs so far happened before I joined the band. The boys opened for BUCKCHERRY and then another time opened for BEASTO BLANCO. I anticipate big things to come for us though, we have just begun and lately everything has been turning up Milhouse! So to speak for us.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I don’t make a living playing drums. I’m a licensed Electrician with the hopes of one day making music full time. We all are approaching music from the same sort of angle, there’s no such thing as rules when it comes to stuff like this.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
If I was having a dinner party where I could invite anyone in the world… I would invite Dave Grohl, Mike Patton, Adam D, Max and Igor Cavalera.
What’s next for the band?
This year we have a few things that we would like to accomplish. We’ve played lots locally in Ottawa so we feel it’s time to branch out. We have our sights set on playing an out of town show possibly in Montreal, Kingston or maybe Toronto nothing solid yet we will see. We want to release some new music by the fall or winter. We would love to play an outdoor festival-type show, but nothing solid yet. Overall we just want to continue to work on growing our band and enjoy the process!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/3WLWnYF2ck1BMIqwCUN80Z
Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/feed-after-midnite/1532832697
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5eoIn0hdhr17cGcJyyYfaw
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/feedaftermidniteband/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/FeedAfterMidnite/
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
According to my research, the “correct” answer depends on what part of the U.K. you are from.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank You so much for being part of the metal community and helping bands like us reach a wider audience. \M/
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