“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.
”
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! :)
