APRIL 22nd, 2021
TUNIC EXCLUSIVE
MetalTitans had an opportunity to do a written interview with David Schellenberg of the Canadian band, TUNIC. Forming out of "spite" in 2012, after David, the founding member was told he wasn't "good enough" for another band, he formed Tunic. The band finds influence from everyday life like toxic relationships and heartbreak, and turns those emotions into a visceral art punk approach. Tunic is geniune, and only creates art and music, from personal experience versus others. If this catches your attention, and you want to know about their new EP, "Exhaling", or simply want to learn about this band, check out our exclusive interview below:
Interview By: Ruben Mosqueda
Metal Titans: The band is based out of Winnipeg. However, you have roots in Toronto and Iceland of all places. What is the rock scene like in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Iceland? How would you say they differ from one another?
So, we're all in Winnipeg, but Artoffact, our label, is out of Toronto and Reykjavik. I've never been to Iceland, besides having a layover from Germany there once 10 years ago and smoking a cigarette in some bitterly cold smoking bunker. That's really my only experience with Iceland, so I can't say much for the rock scene there besides Björk is my hero.
However, the rock scene here in Winnipeg is good. Winnipeg is small and isolated, so you kind of have to make your own fun and throw your own shows, there isn't a lot of outside influencers coming to Winnipeg and making impressions. The indie rock scene is solid, the punk/hardcore scene is more or less the same 10 people all playing in eachothers bands, but all those bands are good and the metal scene is bustling probably the most active of them all locally. Tunic sort of just exists between all those worlds and sometimes it's cool and sometimes it's not.
Metal Titans: What was your first musical memory? How did that shape you musically?
My mother is the last of baby boomers, so my real first musical memories are my mom listening to The Beatles, Rod Stewart and Joan Baez. I don't think this really shaped me musically. It was just music, sounds I heard, "mom music" if you will. My childhood friend who lived 2 doors down from me, he had two older brothers in a band. That was really the first time I saw guitars and almost peers playing music. This was right during that whole garage rock revival, 2001-ish so they were listening to The Strokes, The White Stripes and the third Weezer record, so that shaped me as a kid for sure.
Metal Titans: You have new music coming out, infact, Tunic just released an EP titled ‘Exhaling’ on April 9th. How long has the music been in the can? Why an EP vs. a full-length album?
Yeah, we did! Exhaling is a 3 new songs and 20 other songs that were past releases that are sold out, so we figured we tact them all on together with a label we trust. We recorded the new tracks in January 2020, so we've been sitting on them for a while.
Why an Ep? Why not. But there is a new full length in the works.
Metal Titans: Tunic has a complex, diverse sound, it would be incredibly lazy to describe the band as just ‘hardcore.’ How do you describe the sound?
Terrible, haha. But in all honesty, it depends on who we're talking to, I typically tell people it's a noisy hardcore band and that I yell a lot and that it's very aggressive.
Metal Titans: Do you get irritated when Tunic is “put into a box” by writers or reviewers?
No, not really, the novelty of people caring enough about my band to write about it hasn't worn off yet. I do get stoked when people nail it though. I can't remember what the review was for, but someone verbatim named all my favourite bands in a review of a track once and that was really sick.
Metal Titans: Tunic gets to support a band that you look up to, who would that band/artist be and why?
We've actually been really lucky for things like this, we've played with KEN Mode and METZ and those both two bands I like and really respect their work ethic.
But if I had to pick one band it'd have to be Converge. That band is legendary and still continues to make incredible music. Just a straight powerhouse.
Metal Titans: The United States is opening up in pockets for live music. Would you be open to playing some select shows if the opportunity arose? Do you feel safe doing so at this point of the pandemic?
Oh god no. These shows are seated and distanced, it just wouldn't be the same, I'm very content to wait till ideally 2022 before we hit the road again and play proper shows.
Metal Titans: Live streams have become all the rage during the pandemic, Live Nation just acquired Veeps recently. What’s your take on live streams and would Tunic take part in one?
I for one am not the biggest fan of live streams and I think that's mostly because of the type of music that we make. But realistically it doesn't replace the community aspect of going to a show, seeing other members of your local scene and hanging out and then seeing some friends play on top of that.
All this said, we did do one live stream or well pre recorded show for The Newcolossus festival and it was great to play on a stage together and practice, so that rocked.
Metal Titans: Have you ever met one of your musical heroes? Who was it and what was that experience like?
I've worked as a promoter/talent buyer for the past 12 years of my life, so i've gotten to meet a lot of musicans I've looked up to. I've even got to tour with some teenage musical heros as an adult and you realize pretty quickly that these people are just people and that they're on tour and they just want to relax before their gig.
Also it's really unfortunate when you book one of your musical heros and they are really terrible to you, so I don't get my expectations that high anymore for stuff like this.
Metal Titans: Dave Grohl has become the ‘de facto’ spokesman for rock music, has this helped or harmed the genre?
Great drummer. Writes some catchy songs. Don't really spend enough time thinking about him to really have an opinion on him.
Metal Titans: Who’s an essential “must listen to” Canadian artist ( that isn’t Danko Jones) ?
Danko Jones is actually more popular in Scandinavia than Canada oddly. I have a buddy who is a bass tech for them.
But to answer your question, i'd have to go with The Constantines as being one of the greatest Canadian bands of all time and Caribou as well. And of course there are the mainstays like Sloan and Neil Young of course are great.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://tunicband.com/
BUY EP "EXHALING" HERE: https://tunicband.bandcamp.com/merch
