Sum 41
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Formerly associated with Kill Cheerleader and Die Mannequin, musician and very talented song writer Anthony/Tony Bleed, is now playing some live shows with his current band Rain City Rockers. Bleed is also writing new material on a regular basis for his solo project; tonyswar. That is no typo. tonyswar is lower case and all one word.
Because Bleed is very honest and to the point, this article is mostly in Q and A form, as the answers that were given by him, made it difficult for Headbangerwoman.com to translate.
Nevertheless, it’s gritty and interesting…
Fans of Die Mannequin will be aware that Bleed appeared in the movie Hard Care Logo 2. A follow up to the Bruce McDonald cult classic Hard Core Logo. What some may not realize is that Bleed was credited twice; once for his cameo as Care Failures love interest, and again for a behind the scenes role. How did this happen, and will it happen again? The question was put and the answer was as follows;
TB: ya, the HCL2 work happened due to a lack of shit to do in buttfuck nowhere, Saskatchewan..Bruce and co were needing some help on set, so i was essentially 3rd Assistant Director, which sounds more important than it is.. i have worked in film before, and would love to again..movie $ kills music $!
HBW: Die Mannequin in their current form are currently on the road opening for Marilyn Manson. You are no longer playing bass with the band, but you did tour with them before when they were openers for Manson. Was it magical, or messy?
TB: 2. touring with Manson was cool. he was actually really funny and smart, as we all know. he often watched our sets from side-stage and would say ‘good show guys’, stuff like that..just a good small-town boy!.. can’t say we really hung out much, as they’d arrive pretty late in the days..they obviously had a bus/driver, and we’d usually have to set off in our van/trailer, for the next far-off Canadian city immediately after playing…oh Canada..long drives..
HBW: Rain City Rockers is a recent thing. The line up comprises of members of Gob and Sum 41…. What, why, where and how?
TB: Rain City Rockers is Andrew, Tom from Gob/Sum41, Darrin from Goldfinger, and myself… Andrew from Vancouver, is a great writer of rockin’ poppy punk gems, and he brought us all together in 2013 to record an album off the floor, which is rare these days.. turned out great and we’ve all been super-bff’s since!.. well, there’s actually a lot of strife and tension in the band, and we try our hardest to not kill each other.. tough stuff, but hey, its RnR!!
HBW: You are playing The Viper Room with RCR on April 3 2015. Are you nervous?
TB: No, not nervous..excited really.. Viper Room is kinda legendary, and i’ve played there in both Kill Cheerleader and Die Mannequin, so it’s somewhat of a homecoming i guess…always a great room to play, fun times always had.. and i always end up having a smoke standing outside the doors where River Phoenix died, which is kind of a morbid thing.. dunno how i feel about that, just sayin’ it never fails to cross my mind.. sad really… and on that note, next question!
HBW: Canada has fucking ridiculously long winters. Does being in the sunshine make you happy? Does smog fuck you off?
TB: sunshine does make me happy, yes..smog too.. except when either of them fuck with my happiness..
Now you see readers, why this works better in the form of a Q and A! Onward…
HBW: Why is it taking you so fucking long to put out solo music as tonyswar, when it seems to flow, and it’s so superbly original and stunning?
TB: well thank you for your kind words!.. tonyswar is just me playing and recording what comes to me; day to day/week to week…so it is out, on this great label, “my computer”… very limited edition.. it’s also out there in digital format, in “some friends inboxes”…ha..but ya, i’m still steadily writing and recording songs, compiling a collection i feel is cohesive, showing where i am right now, but with a little of the past as well…also, i dont wanna just shit it out into the interweb to float around in the ether..i’d rather have the whole she-bang rolling, a nice recording, playing some gigs and having it be an actual living thing, as opposed to just throwing it up online, yknow?… takes some work, gimme some time yo! in the meantime, i’m using my fb/youtube pages to post new ideas/demos…
The following links will lead you to Bleed…
HBW: You recently migrated South West. Does a change of scenery put you in a better place to write?
TB: yes, my current scenery/creative surroundings do tend to inspire more writing.. its been a gem for my creativity at least, which was just what i hoped for.. so much music and other art to eat up where i am right now, and a lot of history.. very nice.. and again, the sun beats the record cold snaps of Ontari-ario this year…lucky timing pour moi..
HBW: Why does Danko Jones piss you off so much? For the record, we here at HBW think he’s a cock!
TB: haha, Danko Jones…i just let off some steam in that article.. wasn’t really eating me up or anything, it just needed to be said.. and whatever, i’m sure he’s a decent guy, when he’s not being a prick.. when you’re an old rocker dude, and you tour Europe a lot, and a young band from your hometown ends up on tour over there with you, i’d hope you’d be kind and welcoming, maybe empathize if they have some rough gigs, with amps blowing and shit…but he chose to chastise us (Die Mannequin) for being unprofessional because of said gigs, and then just be a downer every day.. touring should be fun, not a whine-fest.. then to arrive home and talk shit about us on Canada’s biggest radio station? classless…that is all..on him…
DEFTONES on the other hand!? complete opposite.. they welcomed us with open arms, literally, from day one as we pulled up and they were BBQ’ing.. amazing tourmates.. in their 16th grueling month of touring too.. as worn as they were from the road, they loved what we were all doing together, and treated us young’ns like gold…true class..RIP Chi Cheng
HBW: As you are now using the tonsyswar moniker. Is Tony Bleed actually dead?
TB: Anthony Bleed is not dead, but alive and well, living in hiding in an undisclosed city…errr…?
Headbangerwoman.com wants to give a massive shout to Mr Bleed for giving his time to answer some bloody ridiculous questions, when he could be sitting on a balcony topless writing more excellent music.
Written by Karen G with answers from Anthony Bleed. April 3 2015
Summer 2013 will see the Twentieth anniversary of Canadian band Billy Talent. Unlike many bands that have endured a lifetime together, they still speak to each other and thankfully, they are still hellish tight on stage.
Friday March 22 2013 saw them play the SCC Edmonton and not for the first time. In fact, the first time they played the Shaw they were being given a shot by another Canadian band, SUM 41, fronted by musician and sometime husband of Avril Lavigne, Deryk Whibley. That was some fifteen years ago. Returning a very generous offer, Billy Talent, who spent their first five years as PEZZ, shared the stage once again with their Canadian brothers, only this time Billy Talent played last!
The floor showed much support for SUM 41, even on an impromptu rendition of Queen hit, We Will Rock You, which even though it came as a surprise of some older audience members, was actually given a great reception.
Billy Talent singer, Ben Kowalewicz made several references to fans throughout the ninety minute set and was gracious and thankful for the many years of support. He recognized “some depleting numbers” in the crowds these days, but non the less, gave his absolute all afront those very enthusiastic fans that attended. No age restrictions at this venue, really showed the breadth of the dedicated following that they have gathered in the past two decades..
Spewing hits from the offset, Viking Death March, from September 2012 release Dead Silence was the opening shot and there was not a moment of rest for the band during the entire set. The headliners played hit after hit and the audience loved it. Shoes and clothing from crowd surfers were hitting the stage from the first note and tired, sweaty bodies were pulled out one by one by security guards through the show. Some less exhausted from the heat, managed to squeeze their way out to the back of the crowd, they were soaked in sweat, but happy.
Dedicating Rusted From The Rain to recently deceased, Canadian legend Stomping Tom Connors, who was well known for travelling Canada coast to coast with, in the words of Kowalewicz, “a big black cowboy hat and a wooden board”, he then admitted that they were in fact “Canadas biggest flag waving patriots”, although he was also quick to diss the Edmonton Oilers hockey team and bait the audience against the previous nights viewers in Calgary. All good clean fun!
Adding older hits such as Red Flag, Fallen leaves and Surprise, Surprise toward the end of the set fuelled the fire in the fans and those in the seats could surely feel the vibrations. Guitarist Ian Michael D’Sa, Bassist Jonathan Gallant and Drummer Aaron Solowoniuk put their bodies and souls into a show that was very well appreciated by all in attendance.
There was sweat aplenty on and off stage and hoarse voices on exit from the venue show that true music fans still enjoy a great live music show. The energy, vim and musical talent was felt throughout and one first time attendee of a Billy Talent show was heard to say “Wow, the digital recording they use on CD really doesn’t do them justice.”
That probably sums up the entire evening.
Well worth sixty dollars of your parents hard earned cash any night of the week!
Billy Talent have just embarked upon a Canada wide tour.
For tour dates and other great stuff go here >>
by Karen Graham March 23 2013
All Pictures Credited to Karen Graham
When those that are bound to nurture fail to provide to the correct care, failure is usually the end result.
When you remove from a young person the one thing that they trust, their life’s blood, the only thing that they can trust, the thing they depend on, it is certain to end in a cluster fuck… or worse.
In this, the case of Care F, attaining success is an on-going path of learning to trust again, self-recognition and sometimes self-doubt. The seemingly childlike persona is mixed with a grown up knowledge far beyond her years. The lessening use of Failure as a last name is only a sign that there is an embryo of self-belief that is not sorrow and despair, but that good things are on the horizon. “When you hear something so often you start to believe it, right?” Care shares one of the reasons that she is distancing herself from any kind of failure.
Using her song writing skills as a form of self-therapy; “you have to write about what you know, right? That is what they tell you,” Care tells it straight and as it is, but there is a feeling when she converses that she wants you to give her your approval. That she is testing the water toe, by toe. A look in her eye that is asking,”I think I am right, but can you just give me the nod?”
If you are aware of the tumultuous past of this well-spoken, thoughtful, intelligent and accommodating young woman, then you would have good reason to understand this.
With a past including, at a young age, the near suicide of a young friend, musical seclusion, homelessness and heroin addiction, it is a huge fucking surprise that Care F is even still breathing. She is; between smokes! OK so she may be back living in her parents’ basement, but even that is a massive leap forward from injecting drugs with needles and a life on the street. It was certainly not a lack of hard work that resulted in moving back in with Mom. It would seem that recent manager was possibly tipping himself a little too much, a little too often and as a result drastic measures have ensued!
Of course you have to ask, does she ever think that if the music had not been used as the blame for the near death of her childhood friend and she had been allowed to continue listening to her own choices, that she would have experienced a different path on her way to huge success? The success of this woman is inevitable. Care F just was meant to be a star. “But I continued to listen to the music, even when I was not supposed to, I led a double life.” She shares, so it is possible that the path would have been the same! “Some things just happen anyway,” Care F appears quite complacent about this, but you can see in her eyes that she is possibly still asking herself, why did that happen, why would they take the one thing that I really needed? The downward glances and small sighs are a dead giveaway.
If you start to see any similarity to Courtney Love in this at all then prepare to stand corrected. Care F does not sound like, look like or act like the Hole front fuck up, nor does she have dreams of hooking up with a rich and more successful rock star in order that she further her own career. In fact, she and partner, band bassist Tony Bleed are and have been happy together for many years. She is her own woman and completely the opposite of the Love we all see in the music magazines and on music led tv. Care F is unselfish, willing to listen and compassionate.
It was written that while Avril Lavigne was being set up by music executives as an anti-Britney, Care was set up by former record company Warner music as the anti-Avril. “Hmmm, that’s interesting” exclaims Care when this is revealed. “I always wondered why she wouldn’t speak to me. You know, she tried to keep me away from her (now ex) husband Deryck, when we toured with Sum 41. They were a little weird!”
Guitarist Stacy intervenes to make a valid point. “Why would you just make a comparison with a woman? Care, if you were making a comparison to her, which is not really necessary, could be compared to anyone, that person need not be a female!”
What an excellent observation. “You know,” Care is quick to jump back in “if I was to be compared to anyone it would be Iggy Pop, you know when he was doing his thing, back in the day, with the Stooges. I really admire him.”
There has been career help along the way for Care F from the likes of Canadian superstars Rush and beyond fellow musicians, it would seem that people everywhere feel the need to nurture her. But of her talent as a singer/songwriter/musician at least, Care F has little need for nurture and has little or no doubt and nor should she. What she would argue is the title of rock/movie star and any hope of making it bigger.
With the release of a movie this month(May 2012) Hard Core Logo 2, where Die Mannequin star as themselves, Care F is a little disturbed by the “herself” she was asked to portray by Director Bruce McDonald, in this sequel to his cult movie Hard Core Logo. “We are playing ourselves and yet my character Care Failure is always so dark, gloomy, and you know hmmmm, depressive. In real life that is not me. OK, so there is an element of the real me, when I think about what has happened in my life where I have been sad and unhappy, on some days I’m still less happy, but that is not my real persona, the one portrayed in the movie.”
Care allows herself to take joy in the small things. She expresses a love for color and art “I love yellow and orange, but this blue is my new favorite color,” she offers a small pot of nail polish. During an impromptu photo session she requested pictures affront a huge sign with Asian style font. “I love the way it looks,” she enthuses. In interaction with fans Care is seen to give herself totally to each person that approaches. That takes dedication and it shows a true appreciation, but could it also be seen as a need for constant approval, another sign of her vulnerability, a need to do the right thing?
For one so young to have suffered sadness, cruelty and more recently theft, Care F’s resolve has been tested to the limit but has held well, her integrity is intact and as she continues to learn that often people think they are doing the right thing even when they are wrong. Sometimes they can be forgiven. Positivity and self-belief can take you further than you think and if at any point you are overwhelmed, take a break. Stand back and re-assess. That is often all it takes.
The new cd release Danceland, brought to you by EOne music, Canada, despite its ripping and raw guitar and hard sound also exposes the vulnerability of Care F through the expressision in her voice. Be sure however that you will give her your approval right after listening to the first track The Other Tiffany.
Your approval for Care F and the band, her band, Die Mannequin, will continue until the end of the cd at which point you will replay, hear something totally new and different and approve all over again!
This cd has nothing but music with feeling. Vocal that makes you hear truth.
This is music for life. This is music you need.
Care F. Approved!
By Karen Graham 24 May 2012