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In a few words, The Tattoo Rebellion is Phill Harmonic -Lead vocals, guitar Viko Rain -Lead Guitar, vocals Roach - Bass, backing vocals Taza - Percussions, backing vocals The Tattoo Rebellion is a fusion of two, already, well established bands: from Montreal, QC (Sign of One) and from New York, NY (Tragic Orange). Sign of One played numerous shows for 10 years, both locally and all over the US, promoting a total of 5 (self-released titles). Having played in many reputable venues, such as Viper Room, Roxy, Troubadour and Whiskey A Go Go, to name a few; the band has, independently, sold over 6000 units in merchandise and CD’s. Previously, Sign of One opened for bands such as Dredg and Powerman 5000. Also the band headlined The Moshcore festival as well as the Montreal Campus Fest, three consecutive years .In 2006 the band relocated to Los Angeles for a period of 15 months. This allowed them to expose their craft to a larger target market. Unfortunately, due to financial restrictions, Sign of One took a hiatus. During this time Viko Rain moved to New York and met Phill Harmonic of the band Tragic Orange; a band which he became a member of for the following three years. Tragic Orange operated under a small Indie label located in NY. Moreover, the band had previously recorded their first self-titled full length, LP. With great success. Following several months of militant rehearsals, and the recording of a new EP, the band decided to hit the road 2008/2009. With the help of booking agent Tim Corser, Tragic Orange toured for one year, playing shows from coast to coast with international bands such as Saliva, Taproot, Cold, In This Moment, Pop Evil, Ear Shot and Framing Hanley. Since then, the group’s popularity grew sufficiently retaining national air play in many circuits. They were now headlining their own shows at the same venues they once played in at the beginning of their career. In February, 2010, Tragic Orange disbanded; its members decided to pursue other musical interests. Meanwhile, Phill Harmonic (lead singer, Tragic Orange) and Viko Rain kept writing and creating until they decided to get back on their feet from their late project. This new found strength came from the allying creativity brought by a new bond between Phill, Taza, Roach and Viko. This alliance founded “The Tattoo Rebellion”. The Tattoo Rebellion is a mosaic of professional and creative musicians from various backgrounds who share one vision. The group’s strength comes from the chemistry that stems from their past working history with each other; this led to an epic song writing process. Following a long roller coaster ride filled with abundant hours spent working and learning from several reputable producers; i.e. Tony Sabella (Marcy's play ground hit "sex and candy") Jim Peterick of the Band Survivor (Rocky sound tracks) and Micky James of Chris Angel's Mind Freak TV series. The Tattoo Rebellion is currently recording their first full length LP. It will be available by 2011. After which, they aim at hitting the road for the North American tour; meanwhile, in the hopes, that the music would reach as far as Europe and Asia. As a result of this coalition, The Tattoo Rebellion delivers a radio-friendly fresh sound with youthful and rebellious lyrics. Coupled with energizing and Anthemic melodies that create undeniably catchy, sing along hooks, the songs will drive u to see this band live only to leave you wanting more and more. Don’t let the rebellion pass you by! On to the interview:
Can you give my readers a brief introduction to the band, for those who are unfamiliar with you. How did you form?
Originally both groups were operating at the same time in 2 different countries, Sign of one in Montreal Canada and Tragic Orange in N.Y., Viko Rain got the chance through a mutual friend to move to N.Y. and work with Phill Harmonic in Tragic Orange. After 3 years of hard work, recording and numerous tours, Tragic Orange members decided to move onto other things, Viko then moved back home to montreal canada, and reconnected with the members of Sign of One, Taza and Roach. Meanwhile Viko Rain and Phil Harmonic, had developed a very strong friendship and musical commradery through out the previous 3 years and most importantly they had written so much material together that they were now on to something and it would have been a shame to throw it away. Finally the idea of joining the remaining members of both entities was the obvious answer, and within 6 months, the band has completed writing their First full length album including the hit single "In a Rock Band".
When did you first start writing music?
We all started writing music at a very young age, I guess as soon as we started playing music we all had an instinct towards writing music and using what we are influenced by to recreate and exude how we feel
How did you choose your genre?
After many years of playing different genres of darker music, we all just felt comfortable going with what felt good to us at the moment, I guess its all part of maturing as a musician
Who were your influences?
nirvana, STP, alice in chains, U2, Sound garden, operation ivy, sublime, tool, Rancid, Led Zeppelin, Black sabbath, Foo Fighters, built to spill, Faith no more, korn.
Did you ever take any formal music lessons?
Yes roach, Viko and Taza studied music independently for several years before teaming up with and putting things together in their early teens,And Phill sang in chrous and select choirs all the way up into highschool. He also won awards in NYSMA competions. He went on to take college courses in music theory, history and song writing while signing in the Senior choir.
Did your environment while growing up have an impact on the kind of music you make today?
We all come from different back grounds, but of course the North American culture has had a very strong impact on the band members growing up, after all New York and Montreal continue to have the power to influence the arts all over the world.
Which of your works would you say is your favorite, so far?
As writers we develop a certain relation/ attachment to the song, it becomes a part of you and when you are done with it, you feel as though you have given life to something immortal, and of course there are songs that you like better than others, I would safely say (in a rock band ) would be the one we are most proud of
How did you come up with the name of the new album?
That is yet to be determined [Ed. Sounds like a good title to me!]
How do you feel about the impact of the internet on the music business?
I guess we don't feel any way about it the internet just is it closed certain doors for musicians but also opened up others for us, you have to grow and adapt to what's going on around u so it all kind of evens out in the end.
Do you think major record labels are necessary any more?
A lot of musicians have proven that major record labels aren't necessary any more but in certain situations they still do some good for launching artists, what definitely IS necessary is money. You get ur hands on that and things start to open up for u, all u have to do is be smart.
How do you normally write your songs?
Usually Viko and I (Phill Harmonic) sit down with an acoustic guitar and it starts with an idea, either vocally or a riff. We write a few melodies and start to build a structure creating the skeleton of a song. Then if its good enough we bring the idea to the entire band and that's when the magic happens, we all throw ideas around and jam on it until the song comes to life.
In your opinion, what does a good song need to consist of?
That's very subjective but it has to make u feel some thing, evoke an emotion and leave u wanting to listen to it again. We could also talk about following certain structures but we won't go into that.
What song is most exciting to play live? Original and/or cover, please!
Covers are always fun to play live cuz everyone knows them and it gets the crowd pump, if its not an obscure cover of course. As far as our own songs we have this one called (Love Riot) which is a blast to play even in rehearsal.
What cities have been your favorite to play?
NY, MI. OHIO, pretty much where ever we go we have a blast
What do you think the best part of touring is?
Meeting hundreds of people and sharing our music with them, u see all the places that everyone wishes to see, while being completely disconnected from the world and losing track of time and date
What cities have had the best reception for your music outside of your home state?
We have had a great deal of reception from everywhere we went too, of course the bigger the crowd the better but we have always managed to bring it at every show even the small shows
Describe your worst night on tour, ever.
The worst night on tour was when our tour bus got stuck in the mud while it was raining for 3 days in mississippi, we had to get 2 trucks and a groupe of about 15 ppl to pull us out of the mudd, luckily we had friends of ours that took us in and gave us a home, but being stranded is the worst feeling ever, because we had to cancel tour dates which affected our financial situation
Where do you see the band in 5 years? 10 years?
With the rate we are going right now we see ourselves selling out arenas and sharing the stage with international names
Any words of wisdom for those with hopes of breaking into music?
Do not give up, stay consistent and never take no for an answer, always thrive on bettering ur self as a person and a musician
What was the strangest thing to have happen while performing on stage?
We were performing this (girls gone wild) gig in florida, and all of a sudden we were surrounded with naked women on stage, all of a sudden the whole band was distracted, and there was less room on stage to perform, but needless to say the view...was glorious
What's the best part of touring to you?
meeting beautiful people and Watching the different faces every night, digging ur music and singing along and giving u back what u give to them
What is your biggest guilty pleasure?
Viko: twinkies
Kev: World war of craft
Taza: racing cars
Phill: Beer, lots and lots of beer!
If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Elvis because he is the king
And Oscar Wilde because Mr. Harmonic loves him.
What has surprised you most in your career so far?
The love for music never dies, and our friends and family's consistent support
Any hobbies outside of music? Sports, etc?
phill : karate
Viko : cow tipping
Kev. Video games
Taza: bulding things out of nothing
What do you watch on tv?
We barely watch TV with our schedule, but from what we've had time to watch, sopranos, fringe and OZ, sunny in philadelphia
What movies do you like?
Vanilla sky, shaw shank redemption, fight club
The big labowski
Read any good books lately?
Who moved my cheese
The 4 laws of agreement
Where do you live?
We live in 2 countries Canada and the USA... but mostly on the road.
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