Pleased To Meet Me: Prism Shores
Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc…)
Jack MacKenzie, from Charlottetown PEI. I play guitar when I sing and bass when Ben sings.
I’m Ben Goss and I’m also from Charlottetown, PEI. I play bass and I also play some guitar and do some singing.
I’m Luke Pound, also from Charlottetown, PEI. I play drums.
I’m Finn Dalbeth and I’m from Auckland, New Zealand. I play guitar.
Why do you play music?
Ben: Might as well just keep going at this point.
Finn: Got half decent at doing it and eventually nothing else compared.
Jack: Became obsessed with listening to indie rock and roll records, deluded myself into thinking I could make them too.
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band?
Jack: I think it’s the songwriting and attitude of 80s/90s DIY guitar pop more than anything. Stuff that came out on labels like Sarah, Creation, Flying Nun, and Slumberland. Definitely not trying to just be like a throwback pastiche band, but we do think there are lessons to be learned from the music and old-school independent ethics of these bands/labels.
Luke: I have to agree with Jack on these influences big time.
Ben: I’d say we’re absolutely on the same page in terms of what styles or groups inspire the music and the approach.
Finn: As a later addition to the band I’ve learned a lot through soaking up the reference points of PS, most of which were not shared by other projects of mine. Teenage Fanclub has been a huge one for me to get acquainted with. And it’s been great to have an excuse to indulge in those Flying Nun influences. It makes me feel a little closer to home.
What’s a favourite book or film?
Jack: I’ve been really into Aki Kaurismäki’s movies recently. Drifting Clouds is my favourite so far. I mostly only read lefty politics/history or music books these days. Could be a corny answer, but Mark Fisher is probably the writer who has influenced my worldview the most since college.
Ben: I have at least 3-4 assigned readings on a weekly basis for university, and that makes up a major bulk of the material that I spend my time with these days. I have discovered a lot of recent favourite authors through my courses though; particularly David Harvey and Edna Bonacich. I’m currently picking at a book that I’m liking a lot by Bonacich and Jake B. Wilson called Getting The Goods: Ports, Labor and the Logistics Revolution. I read some fiction occasionally, but mostly it’s dry boring shit like that. For movies, I’m really into Iranian cinema in particular. I have probably referred to The Apple from 1998 as my all time favourite movie before, but it’s pretty hard to settle on one.
Finn: Me and my oldest friend watched this 80’s Australian comedy called The Castle countless times growing up to the point where we could recite most of the script. So I like to recommend that to people for a casual flick. Enjoyed reading The Shipping News.
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live?
Jack: Love them both. Maybe partial to recording right now because we’re working on a new record. Do enjoy rocking the gig with my boys though.
Luke: I definitely love recording. Playing live too, but studio time is the greatest time.
Ben: Those are two things that feel pretty incomparable to me, but I guess I enjoy making a record more than playing shows. Sometimes we have to bring our own stuff to the venue, which is an annoyance that I’ve been able to circumvent for years by not owning any of my own gear, but for instance if Jack left his amp at my apartment that week then I have to call a fucking Uber or whatever. Fucking nightmare.
Finn: I enjoy both and don’t really have a preference. Performing is good for a more fleeting sense of gratification, recording is a more all-encompassing experience and can feel quite validating.
What would be a dream collaboration?
Jack: For production, it’d be cool to work with a 90s UK shoegaze heavy hitter like Alan Moulder. He’s at least partially responsible for the sound of several records I like (and a bunch that I hate, lol). Would’ve said Steve Albini because I love the work he did on that one nice and noisy Wedding Present record. RIP.
Luke: I think it would be a blast to work with the GBV gentlemen on a record.
Ben: This band is my dream collaboration.
Finn: Go back in time and record PS with Chris Knox on his 4-track. I used to pass him on the street on my walk to school most days as a kid, certainly wasn’t aware of his significance then.
Describe a favourite album.
Jack: Going through a big Go-Betweens phase right now. I think Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express is my favourite record of theirs. Grant Mclennan is one of the best songwriters to ever operate in the indie pop game. Obviously dig Forster’s songs too, but nothing holds a candle to “Apology Accepted.”
Ben: I recently fell back into the album Sticktoitiveness by The Super Friendz. Perfect album.
Luke: Marquee Moon by Television is an album I always tend to listen to coming out of the winter months. I think the tracks sound incredible.
Finn: Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout is one of the greatest pop albums of all time if you ask me. Great writing, impassioned vocals. 80’s synth action but not overdone, good dose of acoustic and rock instrumentation to level it out.
What's your favourite local haunt?
Jack: The ultimate one-two punch: Depanneur Lalime for a snack or some beers and a browse through the crates at Death of Vinyl.
Ben: Any good bar that's within a few blocks of my place.
Luke: Bossa Sandwiches.
Finn: Nouveau Palais always hits for me.
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
Jack: At the last show we played for New Colossus Festival in Manhattan this year, the owner of the venue we’d played the night before showed up in an ape mask and started going monkey mode right in front of me. I didn’t notice until I saw videos of it later on. Nice guy.
Ben: A guy from the E-Street band dapped me up after we played a set at the Queb metal bar. There was also this time that a noted neo-nazi evangelist type guy showed up to one of our gigs as we were about to start playing. I strongly doubt that he was there for us. He looked like he probably works out to instrumental djent music.
Finn: One time when my other band Dresser was setting up to play at Sportsman’s Bar in Charlottetown, PEI some guy came into the bar and grabbed a bag of fireworks from a bartender and proceeded to set them off amongst the folks standing outside on the sidewalk without warning. The smoke was funnelling up the stairwell into the bar and those outside were pretty shook, sounds like he had a good laugh though. Typical C-town behaviour if you ask the ‘Shores boys.
If I were pursuing anything other than music it would be…
Jack: Record store clerk was the best job I ever had.
Ben: Shipping and receiving.
Finn: Assisting people in sticking it to their landlords or with immigrating/seeking asylum is the first ‘plan b’ that has appealed to me.
Luke: I would love to someday open up a bar/venue.
What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in (your city here)?
Jack: Lots of nice venues to play, plenty of cool bands to play with, still relatively cheap.
Ben: I think that the relatively low cost of living still allows for a certain type of lifestyle culture to exist even though everyone likes to talk about how sick it once was compared to our current circumstances. I think it’s still pretty common for folks to spend all of their time pursuing a creative practice or to just follow a less traditional trajectory in life maybe. Nowadays a lot of those people are probably just secretly wealthy, but some of us aren’t and make it work one way or another. It all makes for a relaxed pace also. There probably aren’t as many people dog walking with fitbits on at like 6AM on Saturday mornings as there might be in Toronto for instance.
Luke: The scene is really strong! Lots of great bands and people.
Finn: There is more going on in the music scene here than one could ever manage to fully keep track of. So it feels like the possibilities for what could come out of this city are endless. It’s a very stimulating place to be in that sense but perhaps with a lighter dose of competitiveness or pretention than you might find in other major cities, due to it not being quite as much of a rat race to get by here.
If you weren’t playing music in Montréal where would you be?
Jack: Wouldn’t mind rocking that commonwealth work-holiday visa at some point.
Luke: I do not know.
Ben: Prince Edward Island.
Finn: No clue, although it would be nice to experience living in Aotearoa for the first time in my adult life at some point.
Any sage advice for young musicians?
Jack: Bit of a cliche but just make your own favourite band. Try to write good songs and stick with it. Don’t get too caught up in shit that doesn’t matter.
Luke: Have fun and be nice!
Ben: Don’t count on getting money from the feds. Just find a way to get it done now.
Finn: Don’t worry if you’re like me and have lots of blank spots when it comes to consuming music. If you’re making music at all that’s good enough. Work with the inspirations that come naturally, musical or otherwise. No need to know the ins and outs of every single song by The Rolling Stones or whatever.