Interview with Laurier Tiernan for Infernal Rock Radio.

“Laurier’s lyrics reveal deep caring, passion, and love for humankind and our home planet. He screams anger towards those who strike at the innocent, and bleeds compassion for those who cause suffering through ignorance. Peace On Earth is a tonic for the heart and soul, and a wake up call to action. ”

Marc Carpentier, Filmmaker

 

I recently discovered the musical stylings of French-Canadian singer songwriter Laurier Tiernan, liked what I heard and decided to contact him for an interview. Luckily for me he responded and kindly agreed to an email grilling! Laurier is both a solo artist and part of an acoustic duo called Nature Airliner, both acts can be listened to on ReverbNation or for more information you can find him on Facebook. 

 

Let me firstly say thank you for taking some time out to talk to me and Infernal Rock Radio today.  

You are very welcome.  Thank you for asking me to do this interview.

Tell us about yourself. Who is Laurier Tiernan? 

Gosh.  Laurier Tiernan is a spiritual vegetarian entertainer who in his spare time enjoys reading and travel of all sorts.

You're French-Canadian but you live in Tokyo. How did that happen? 

The French-Canadian part came about because my mother is French-Canadian and being mostly raised by her family, in Canada, that's how I identify myself. As for the part about living in Tokyo, when I graduated from music college about 10 years ago, a fellow Canadian friend was starting an indie label over here and offered to put out my first record.  I told him I wanted to move to Japan and record the album there.  He warned me against it, and the rest is history.

How do you find the rock and metal scene in Japan? What are the pros and cons?

The rock and metal scene in Japan is very diverse.  Greater Tokyo itself is a city of about 30,000,000 people, so it's just a myriad of small scenes.  The pros are that you have an amazing diversity and can never really be bored unless you're lazy or burned out.  As for the cons, I'd say it's that what I consider to be the "real music" generally gets shunned by the larger labels, so sometimes you have to go hunting for the good stuff.  Of course, as I said in the first question, there are always innumerable sources of music out there, so it's always fairly easy to find amazing (or at least inspiring) music. 

How did you come to be a musician? Was it always something you wanted to be? 

I think that maybe I always wanted to be a musician but as a child it wasn't something that I imagined I could be.  My mother told me that piano lessons and guitar lessons were expensive, and since I imagined that all professional musicians had had lessons, it just seemed like a write off to me, I guess.  In my late teens I started screaming for a punk band, and then started an acoustic duo...and I think it's then that I started thinking it might be possible.  It was around the same time that I discovered punk rock and the whole D.I.Y. ethos.

If you weren't a musician, what would you be?

Suicidally depressed.  Been there, done that.  haha.  Seriously though, I actually do a few other things like narration and psychic readings (when I have time and customers come to me) so I guess I would be just more focused on those other aspects of myself; even though I could never imagine not doing music.

Influences? Who did you grow up loving? 

My influences are embarrassingly plentiful and diverse.  If I had to give you a concise list, I'd say Johnny Cash, Terry Jacks, the soundtracks to the original Star Wars trilogy, Cheap Trick, Queen, W.A.S.P. , Pet Shop Boys, S.N.F.U., Art Bergmann, Nirvana, Bob Mould, Jawbreaker, Sense Field and Propagandhi.

If someone hasn't listened to your music, how would you describe it?

Hmmm, that's tough.  "Pop-punk with a metal edge?"  

Where do you get the  inspiration for your songs from? 

Sometimes I hear bits of lyrics, melodies or guitar riffs in my head, I call them "song seeds", and then I "plant" them by woodshedding and seeing where they go.  Sometimes I'll read something, or hear someone say something and think, "Oh! I HAVE to work that into a song!".  I also go through periods of intentional songwriting, where I'll lock myself in my bedroom and force myself to write songs for a few hours a day (when my schedule allows it).  I often come up with some pretty good stuff just by forcing myself to write a pile of songs.  Didn't Einstein say that genius was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration?  That's why artists have B-sides and "previously unreleased" albums. ;) 

I like the track End of the World. Can you explain to us what it's about and why you decided to write it? 

The End of the World is pretty intense.  I wrote that around the time that Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor of California, and there was talk in the White House that the Republicans wanted to change the laws so that an immigrated citizen could run for president.  Arnold's father was in the (Nazi) S.A. and Bush's family apparently had major business ties with Nazi Germany, so it just seemed like a perfect subject for an "angergasm" song. haha.

Best gig you've ever played? And worst?

It's difficult for me to say what the best and worst shows have been.  I'd have to say that the two best shows I've ever played were as the guitarist for my acoustic duo, "nature airliner".  http://www.reverbnation.com/natureairliner

We just got back from two shows in our singer's home province of Akita, both shows were packed full of attentive responsive audience members and we got an encore at both shows.  I'd have to say that those two shows have been my favorites so far.  

As for the worst..... haha.  I remember now.  It was actually quite a few years ago.  I guess this was in 2007. We arrived at the venue in Roppongi (a meat-market-ish area of Tokyo) only to be told that the regular room with the stage was being used by another client, and so we'd have to play in the restaurant area.  I was performing as a duo with bassist Devin Wine, and these big beefy American sports hooligans kept on heckling us and wouldn't shut up throughout the whole show.  After having politely asked them to be quiet a few times, I ended up spitting at the biggest one and accidentally spilling my drink all over the restaurant floor. Two of my stronger friends told me afterwards that they were waiting in the aisles to jump in if I got beat up. It's funny to look back on now, but I'd have to say that was my worst show. 

If you could organise a festival lineup who would you have play? 

Thank you for asking me this question.  I've been dreaming about this for a while now.  I know it may seem crazily diverse, but since you asked, I'll give you a list.  S.N.F.U., Art Bergmann, Bob Mould, Further Seems Forever (ft. Jon Bunch), Baths, Cheap Trick, Jimmy Binks and the Shakehorns, Jonny Barefoot, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Dimmu Borgir, W.A.S.P., and Jònsi.  Looking at this list, I'm figuring it's probably not going to happen. haha. 

I see nothing wrong with such an eclectic lineup! What's in store for you next? 

My acoustic duo, "nature airliner" would really like to play more shows, and festivals, internationally.  As for me solo, I'm working on a number of projects behind the scenes, some heavier than my previous work, some lighter.  As they say in the south of the States, "G-d willing and if the river don't rise," some of the fruits of this labor will be released in the next 12 months. 

Wish you the best of luck and if you get to play the UK I'll have to get myself there! Okay, last question...aside from music what are your passions?

I'm very passionate about spirituality.  My maternal great-grandfather was reportedly psychic and I seem to have inherited some of his gift, so developing this gift is one of my life's missions.  I love reading about any kind of religious matter that exists, and finding ways to get more in contact with my soul and the life that exists beyond the 5 most commonly-used senses.  I love food, especially Japanese, Indian and vegetarian.  I'm very much in love with traveling.  Day trips are usually satisfying enough, but I also love road trips and overseas travel.  As I previously mentioned in this interview, I also do narration work, so I'm always looking for ways to improve my skills in that area.  I guess I'm in love with sound in general; all ways of making it, capturing it, and sculpting it. 

Thank you very much for this interview, Rhiannon! :)