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You Me and the Enemy are a spirited four piece based in Montreal, and they're a treat. They use the word funky in their bio and that's exactly what I was searching for to properly explain them, better yet download The Enemy and you tell me a better word. Franz Wa on guitars and (I love this) 'noises', DomNX on bass, Pat behind the kit, and Geeta Sparkle as vox. Geeta did an email interview with me in June/06.
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You stand a pretty good chance of playing Lollapalooza, what made you decide to go for that?
Geeta: Well first off we're big fans of Jane's Addiction and the singer Perry Farrell he's the one who started this festival. It would also be great exposure for us as well as great fun. We're ready to get out there and Lollapaloza with be a great opportunity for us to show them what we got.
How is the recording of the album coming? Where are you recording it?
Geeta: It's going great, DomNX (bass) and Frantz Wa(guitar) are basically the sound engineers and their really doing a fantastic job. We're doing it all independent all the way at our rehearsal space except for the vocals that we will record at a friend's studio as well as the mastering. It should be out for the end of the summer.
Are you looking for label support? What are you looking for in a label?
Geeta: I guess we're waiting for the right time to get involve with record labels as well as the right one. We have been approached by some labels one in NY and another in Europe. But we didn't feel any connection and we didn't feel confident about the way they would help us expand. We don't want to compromise our music and be caught in some situation where you burn yourself completely for nothing in return. Being indie at the moment gives us a lot of freedom even if it's a lot of work and hard financially. We really wanted to do it this way for our first LP. Then we'll see. We're taking things one step at a time.
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How important is it to you to be hands on about all the non musical aspects of You Me and the Enemy? (fliers, cd artwork, web design)
Geeta: It's a whole universe you create when you make music, everything has it's sense. The artwork and everything else is very important to represent well what you got to say.
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Geeta on the band's choice to be independent
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'We don't want to compromise our music and be caught in some situation where you burn yourself completely for nothing in return. Being indie at the moment gives us a lot of freedom even if it's a lot of work and hard financially. We really wanted to do it this way for our first LP. Then we'll see. We're taking things one step at a time.'
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Do you feel that you have any specific challenges or advantages being from/based in Montreal?
Geeta: I think there's some good and bad everywhere. I think since Montreal has made a name for itself with all the local bands making it internationally, it has opened many doors that were closed before. But if you don't fit in those specific types of music, those doors are very hard to open and the people that can help well they don't and a lot of them have an ego. So if you don't have the approval sign on you, you've got to do it all on your own. But I think it's like that everywhere.
Who are some of your favorite local bands to play shows with?
Geeta: We have never played with these guys but I would love to play with Tricky Woo.
What are some of your favorite local venues to play?
Geeta: We like playing at Foufounes Electriques, Cafe Campus.
What are you reading right now?
Geeta: To be honest I've been so busy with the band, I barely sleep I have not read since some time. But the last book I read was Bob Dylan's biography. That was very inspiring.
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The Playlists
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Geeta's Playlist
1. Jane's Addiction - Three Days
2. Jimi Hendrix - Machine Gun
3. Led Zeppelin - Trampled Underfoot
4. Fela Kuti - Teachers don't teach me nonsense
5. Betty Davis - They say I'm different
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