Pleased To Meet Me: SEAVER
Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play
in etc..)
RB: My name is Richard Bunze. Born and raised in Montreal, QC, Canada. I play lead guitar and I'm one of two lead vocalists in the gazey, post-punk band called SEAVER. We are currently in the process of finishing up our second EP on Velouria Recordz, to be released summer 2026.
KH: My name is Kevin Hills I’m from Montreal. I am currently the bass player for SEAVER and White Sun.
Présentez-vous… (D’où venez-vous, dans quel groupe jouez-vous etc.)
SC:Sabrina Côté Poitras bassiste dans les groupes depuis 12ans activement.
Actuellement, je suis dans SEAVER.
MD: Michel Defoy – batteur-chanteur-parolier avec le groupe Seaver. Né à Amos en Abitibi.
Vit à Montréal depuis 1999.
Why do you play music?
RB: It's my biggest passion. I love music, both playing and listening. I'm so grateful to have music in my life. It has always been there for me. It fills me with a sense of belonging. It has saved my life. It continues to nourish my soul. Basically, playing music makes me a happy human. And the older I get, the more I realize just how important it is to me. It's one of the few things in life that makes me feel alive.
Life is short. Keep playing.
KH:I’ve always played for the beauty of chemistry existing within a band structure. There is nothing quite like the musical influences and ideas of different people coming together and producing something new.
Pourquoi joues-tu de la musique ?
SC: Quand tu as 13-14 ans tu te cherches un peu,à la télé je voyais beaucoup de musique punk rock et je trouvais ça cool les bands. Il n’y avait pas beaucoup de représentation féminine mais je pense qu’on avait une belle minorité (The Distillers, L7, Sonic Youth, The Coathangers, Warpaint…)Ensuite, la musique a toujours fait partie de la famille assez jeune. J’avais une guitare et plein de posters de musiciens dans ma chambre.
MD: Pour le plaisir de créer.
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band?
RB: Some of my big main influences to this day, especially on my guitar playing and my overall sonic blueprint are: U2, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Interpol, Depeche Mode, Pink Floyd, Daniel Lanois, Slowdive, Swervedriver, The Verve, Besnard Lakes. There's so many...but those are the main ones.
KH: What made me want to pick up the bass was The Cure. Simon Gallup’s bassline and his stage presence just hit me as a teen. Later, I became a massive fan of BLUR and the basslines of Alex James. The Lyrics and vocals of Bowie, Brett Anderson (Suede), Guy Chadwick (The House Of Love), Ian McCulloch (The Bunnymen) also had an impact on me. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of psych rock (BRMC, New Candys, The Black Angels, Crocodiles).
Quelle a été votre influence majeure en tant qu’artiste/groupe ?
SC: The Distillers, premier coup de foudre. Ensuite ça été Savage (london) et Soundgarden. En art visuel c’est encore et toujours David Altmedj, artiste québécois.
MD: Les Beatles, mon premier coup de foudre musical à l’adolescence. École parfaite pour apprivoiser la mélodie, les voix, la composition et l’innovation, sans oublier le cool. Tout part de là.
What’s a favourite book or film?
RB: For reads, I quite enjoy music biographies, a couple of favorites have been, “Never Understood: The Jesus and Mary Chain” by William & Jim Reid, “Creation Stories: Riots, Raves and Running a Label” by Alan McGee, and “On a Cold Road” by Dave Bidini.
KH: I couldn’t even try to pick ONE favourite film, so I’ll just go for a book. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain has got to be one of my favourites. I know it’s not a novel, but I loved it so much. I passed it on to my daughter and she loves it too.
RB: As for films, I have some old favorites I always go back to: Blade Runner, The Big Lebowski, The Shawshank Redemption, Jaws, Planes Trains & Automobiles, and throw in the mind blowing experience of watching 2001: A Space Odyssey…on a big screen.
Also, I'm a huge fan of music documentaries…and in the end, they're all pretty interesting no matter the artist or band.
Quel est votre livre ou film préféré ?
SC: Oufff, faut que je m’arrête sur Darren Aronofsky.
MD: Film : Z de Costa-Gavras.
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live?
RB: I really do enjoy both...Live is so visceral and exhilarating especially when the crowd is with you and everything comes together sonically and performance wise as a band, it's such a rush! However, in the studio is where the sound comes to life and ideas come to fruition. I really love tracking guitars and coming up with sonic textures and layers to add to the songs in studio. It can be a lot of pressure and a time crunch but also incredibly rewarding to hear what the band just accomplished at the end of a session. I think we can all agree as a band that the SEAVER recordings have been a lot of fun to make. Hats off to our friend Francois Marsan for making our studio experiences great ones! We can't wait for the new EP to be out!
KH: I’m more of the live type. The recording is usually a long and tedious process as far as I’m concerned. Working with Frank from The City Gates changed that. He created the best work environment for us.
Préférez-vous le processus d’enregistrement ou le live ?
SC: Enregistrement, c’est comme le moment où tout est clair. Tout est en place, c’est technique et challengeant.
MD: Live, quand les conditions gagnantes sont réunies (bon son, bon public, bonne ambiance).
What would be a dream collaboration?
RB: Doing some sort of dirty, droney, ethereal guitar album with Daniel Lanois. I'd be on cloud 9. He's all feel and a master of guitar tone. Such an inspiration to me as a guitar player.
KH: Recording anything with Keith Levene(Pil) would have been a dream, if we could’ve gotten past his erratic behavior. George McGeoch would’ve been another.
Quelle serait une collaboration de rêve ?
SC: Jouer avec un orchestre allemand ou russe.
MD: Aucune en particulier. Le rêve peut devenir réalité avec n’importe quel musicien si la collaboration génère une certaine chimie.
Describe a favourite album.
RB: There are many but I suppose the one that early on, hit me like a lightning bolt, forged that musical sonic blueprint in me, and affected me on a truly emotional level was 'The Joshua Tree' by U2. Thinking back to my 12 year old self, not yet playing guitar, listening to the full album for the first time on my cassette boombox in my room...hearing the majestic intro to 'Where the Streets Have No Name' and realizing just how special and magical music was and is. It brought the goosebumps and I knew at that very moment that I needed this in my life and had to be a part of it somehow. It was also my first real discovery of ethereal and cinematic style of guitar playing. I didn't know a guitar could sound like that. The Edge got me hooked and I'm forever grateful for his style of playing.It was his wide, epic style of guitar playing that eventually led me into the world of shoegaze, and hearing those soaring guitar parts in the song “When The Sun Hits” by Slowdive for the first time…blew my mind!
KH: Just like movies, I really have too many. I’ll stick to a couple. Doves-Lost Souls (soothing) Spiritualized-Ladies and Gentlemen, we are floating in space (essential) Just Mustard-Wednesday (cool) SHAME-Songs of praise (Yes please). I could go on for hours.
Décrivez un album préféré.
SC: High Vis - No sense No feeling punk, sensible, guitares accrochantes, la production incroyable, un album qui s’écoute de A à Z.
MD: Strange Times, des Chameleons. Sombre et lumineux; glacial et émouvant; de son époque et intemporel à la fois.
What's your favourite local haunt?
RB: A favorite spot of mine to have a pint and chat is Taverne du Pélican…my other go-to spots would be Casa Del Popolo, Foufs, and L'Escogriffe, partly because the staff are top notch and so nice there.
KH: I used to go to l’Esco quite a lot, the sound is amazing. I really like hanging at Casa del Popolo for its relaxed mood and great food. My fav sports bar would be Bruno’s on Beaubien. It’s where I watch a lot of Euro, World Cup or Premiership games.
Quel est votre repaire local préféré ?
MD: Mon salon, où se trouvent mon tourne-disques et ma platine CD.
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
RB: Nothing strange has happened yet with SEAVER. But a previous band I was in called Room Control had a weird experience years ago at a show in Ottawa. It was mid set, things were rockin’, and then a very inebriated, out of his head, street person stumbled into the venue. The stage was very near to the front door and the guy comes up to me at the edge of stage, mid song and screams "do you take requests?". And I say back to him "we only do originals!" We play on. The guy starts grooving and dancing to the music and pulls out what looks like a gun? Or a toy gun? He starts waiving it around while drunkenly dancing and flailing his arms. I could tell the staff were nervous. The next thing I know there are police lights flashing outside and cops take this guy away. And the funny thing was, we just kept playing right through it all.
KH: I was playing la Rockette in Montreal with Let Us Out (one of my previous bands). Some weird guy was winding everyone up by the bar and he was pissing off Armando’s (guitar player of the first band) brother. We were just about to start and an all-out bar brawl started right next to us. At la Rockette, there is no stage, you play audience level next to the bar,...A gin tonic glass went flying by me onto my pedal board, the LUO guitar player (Pascal) jumped over to get involved and landed on my pedals (they went flying everywhere) and the drummer jumped over his drum kit (Gino) knocking my bass amp over. I was left pushing people off our gear, still holding my bass AND the amp. Intense action. The invasive, belligerent clown got thrown out but the atmosphere was electric. My guitar player grabbed the mike and started lecturing people about the “unhealthy” nature of violence and wouldn’t quit,...I looked at the singer (Ursule) and walked over to my fuzz war pedal to cut the crap,...intense feedback brought everyone back on cue, hahaha We then started playing, the energy was off the scales. Hahaha
Quelle a été votre expérience la plus étrange en live ?
MD: Une batterie qui tombe en morceaux en plein milieu du rappel d’un spectacle.
If I were pursuing anything other than music it would be…
RB: Turning abandoned warehouses into much needed Rehearsal Spaces for the musicians of this city. Or live music promotion. But I suppose that's all still in the music realm…what can I say, I can't get away from it!?! Ok ok… #underWaterBasketWeaver ;)
What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in Montreal?
RB: We are lucky in this city…There are so many great indie bands in MTL that you can go out to see on a weekly basis. And along with that, we have a number of amazing indie music venues that help support the scene here. Those venues are crucial and need to stay alive. So get out to shows people!!
KH: There are so many talented bands. There are also lots of commando style gigs under the Van Horne underpass. There’s a great selection of beers.
Quels sont certains de vos aspects préférés du métier de musicien à Montréal?
MD: La camaraderie entre musiciens. L’émulation entre groupes, qui pousse à toujours s’améliorer. La possibilité de créer en français aussi bien qu’en anglais.
If you weren’t playing music in Montreal where would you be ?
RB: Starting a gaze-y, post-punk band on the west coast in Vancouver BC or…Berlin, DE.
KH: I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Si vous ne jouiez pas de musique dans (votre ville ici), où seriez-vous ?
SC: J’aime pas dire que c’est mieux ailleurs mais comment le Le système culturel québécois favorise plus tôt l’artiste que les groupes, c’est difficile pour un band, non subventionné, de percer ou d’avoir de l’attention même si le groupe est bilingue, il faut être au bon endroit au bon moment et avoir de bons contacts. Je pense qu’en Europe, on est un peu plus apprécié, si je pouvais choisir, j’essaiyerais là-bas.
MD: À mon chalet, en Abitibi.
Any sage advice for young musicians?
RB: Play. Play. Play…as much as you can. Rehearsals and Live…it's the only way you'll become a solid band. Don't play to the trends and don't be afraid to be yourself. If a riff or piece of music that you created truly resonates & sounds good to you, pursue it… it's bound to connect with others too. Listen to the goosebumps….and in a band setting, check your ego at the door and listen…play for the song and not for yourself. And most important…always have fun!\
KH: Don’t believe the hype. Go see your friend’s bands too, support your fellow musicians and if someone invites you to play at their gig, be sure to return the favor. The most important thing, ALWAYS BE NICE TO THE SOUND TECH! If not, trust me, it’ll come back to haunt you. I had a singer in a previous band find out the painful way.
Un conseil judicieux pour les jeunes musicien :
MD: N’écoutez jamais les conseils d’un vieux musicien.
SERAVER will be playing at Foufounes Electrique Saturday June 13th, along with USA Out Of Vietnam( MTL) and Boston's The Sheila Divine. You can buy your tickets HERE!