Hi! Tell me about your band and what kind of previous experience do you have as musicians?
DOAN is a progressive alternative metal band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Formed of Diane Thibault at vocals, Olivier Roy on the drums, André Labrecque on bass and myself, Nicholas Roy, on guitar.
We’ve all been making music for a long time, me and Olivier started to play in bands together back in high school!
In 1995, me and my friend Stephan founded of the Montreal Hardcore band Xplicit Noize wich i quit in 2006. Olivier has been in various cover bands before DOAN. Diane has always been passionate of music and open to any musical styles. She has been practicing her passion for more than 20 years doing some shows with various musicians in various styles.
André has been practicing his passion for more than 35 years. Approximately one decade of learning with different garage band and then another decade with more serious bands. For more than 5 years, he did a whole lot of bar gigs
Why did you pick your band name? How did you form? Why did you decide to play the genre or genres you do?
DOAN is simply the first letter of each name of the band members.
We first established in 2011 as a cover band in the hard rock, alternative metal and post grunge musical styles, we interpret songs of various bands from Alice in chains to Creed with the likes of Royal Blood, Alter bridge, Rage against the machine, Godsmack and many others. Bearing the name Ghettoblaster at first, we changed our name for DOAN in 2017 to dedicate ourselves more seriously to our own compositions. We really love that kind of music and that’s why we wanted to play those genres.
What can you tell us about your latest record?
Our album “Stupidity Kills” is heavy and incisive to sweet and melodious. Our music is the result of a collaborative effort influence by the music of bands like Tool, Alice In Chains, Mastodon, A Perfect Circle, Deftones, Godsmack and many others. To us, the album represent the exploration and the evolution of our identity as a band. If you’d listen to the album in the order they we’re composed, you could really ear the evolution!
What the kind of album feedbacks are you waiting for?
Well, L’bouc from Radio Media Plus said this about our album: “Their album is a real gem, each piece transports you to a different world from one time to the next. What makes it beautiful is that each of these universes become hyper personal. They transport us through their music in an emotional trip really “trippy” !!! It’s up to you to discover your emotional destinations!”. This is exactly how we wanted people to feel about our music.
Are you gonna to make some world tour in the future? Do you think this is available for everybody option to tour around the globe? What do you think band have to do to get such opportunity?
We definitly want to play everywhere our music is gonna bring us. I think that it’s possible to tour but we have to work the markets when want to tour before. Nowadays, we have a lot of tools available to help us achieve this, we just have to learn to use them.
Do you believe in heavy music scene without money?
There’s one thing i know for sure, there’s still a lot of heavy music fans out there! We have to reach them! In today’s world, it’s possible to do so.
What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
For artists at our level, it can be a good thing that people share our music. We’re not primarily into music to make money, we’re into music because it’s a passion, because we want to play our music to a crowd and we want to have fun doing it. That being said, we do not give our music for free, even if it’s pretty much the same thing with the streaming services. Our main goal right now is to get heard!
Who are your musical influences? Have you ever think your band could be so famous as your favorites?
We have so many musical influences but one band that standout for us is definitly Tool. The way they craft their songs where every musician brings something of their own to build an ensemble is amazing.
Can we be as famous as Tool? Everything is possible! If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?
Do you have a formal music education? Do you think it’s a Kind of important thing?
None of us have a formal music education. We rely on our ears and on our feelings when we play and write music. The road you take to get where you want to be as a musician is not important. There’s no right or wrong, it’s your path.
You just got to do the work!
How do you balance your music with other obligations – mate, children, job?
It’s all about priorities. We rehearse as a band once every two weeks, so everyone is working on their side to be ready for the next rehearsal. That way, it’s easier to manage our time with everything we have to do in our personal lifes.
How do you handle mistakes during a performance? Or you can assure there are no any mistakes during your gigs? Do you get nervous before a performance or a competition?
Mistakes can happen to any musician. When we rehearse and a mistake happen, we don’t stop the song, you have to find a way to get back in with the band. If you stop, you’re making the mistake bigger that it is. So if it happen in a live situation, you know how to handle it.
I get a bit nervous right before hitting the stage and it last until we’re on our way in the first song. After that, i just enjoy my time on the stage. It goes by so fast!
What’s next? Thank you!
Tour, write, record, repeat!
DOAN is really thankfull for this interview! See you on the road!