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Jason 'MouthPeace' Hachey’s Outside The Box
Local fans are well aware of Hachey, the MouthPEACE. Ever since the up and coming musician first heard former Roots member Rahzel’s beat boxing, Jason Hachey was infatuated with taking beat boxing to another level and has since spent the last decade amazing crowds every time he takes to a stage. While originally he’d start his own crew in homage to Rahzel, dubbed the Godsons of Noise, Hachey became an in demand addition for artists looking to add something different to their performance. Artists like Nilla, Sam Klass, Blind Mule and just last weekend a surprise crowd witnessed Hachey at Brian Melo’s set at the Festival of Friends. He’s added his skills to other projects in the past but this weekend the MouthPEACE comes into his own with his debut CD, Outside The Box.
“Rahzel brought beat boxing more into the mainstream and I studied him singing and beat boxing at the same time and just figured it out, that was back in 2000 when I was fifteen,” recalls Hachey. “I used to play drums when I was younger but once I figured out beat boxing, I immediately threw myself in front of a crowd and I got a little
addicted to the response so I kept on playing as much as I could. I’m not going up there just making noises; it’s very musical, all with a rhythm and a melody. It’s definitely an art form and more than just a party trick.
“I’ve been doing this for a while now and I’ve always wanted to produce an album but since I’ve been using a loop pedal, creating a beat and then rapping and singing over it, now I have songs outside of the show aspects to what I do,” adds Hachey. “I’ve been writing for about two years and now I need to get these songs out.”
While audiences were wowed with the breadth and dexterity of what the MouthPEACE did with just a microphone on stage, Outside The Box may surprise some of those same fans. It’s a party album for sure with some typical hip hop boasting but the recordings (engineered mostly by ex-Canadian Winter’s Scott Peacock) are mature and musical, well beyond a simple beat box showcase. Hachey draws as much from electronic music with his new found love of synth, vocoder and looping technology as he does from his older school hip hop loves. It’s that mix of electronic and hip hop – what Hachey calls “a fusion of awesome”.
“It’s a bunch of awesome sounds and awesome things that I do – I’ve been saying that it’s a fusion of awesome for two years so I’m glad it’s catching on,” laughs Hachey. “It’s creating this new sound as well and it’s hard to come up with a genre name for what I do because it’s a mix of awesome sounds and genres. I’m doing more than just beat boxing now so I’m thinking outside of the box, the beat box that is. That’s why I called the disc that. But for the live show, you’re going to see a much more wild and fun Hachey on stage. I haven’t performed these songs out on a stage a lot yet so I’m looking forward to the audience reaction.
“Now I have a product that I can tour so I’m doing that this fall and I can apply to all the big festivals I’ve always wanted to play so I’m really excited about that,” adds Hachey. “It’s been a crazy fun time recording this album, getting everything ready for this show but then also going to work and spending time with my fiancé and my two kids – not in that order. I’ve got a lot going on but in the end, I want to be able to look back at this and know I accomplished a goal. This year
has been nothing but achieving goals so I’m going to keep that ball rolling and look back and just saying, ‘I’m so glad I did this’.
Jason 'MouthPeace' Hachey plays this Friday August 17 at This Ain’t Hollywood with Nilla, Canadian Winter and Everyday People. Doors open at 9pm and it’s a $10 cover or $15 with a CD.
Hacheythemouthpeace.bandcamp.com
A Sin For A Prayer – Complete Chaos Metal Festival
With a two day festival celebrating everything metal happening this weekend, a wealth of talent comes from far and wide with a smattering of local, national and even north American metal bands converging in Hamilton. Two locally based bands, Abides and A Sin For A Prayer both release a CD each night as well.
Marc St. Laurent (guitars) and Graham Stirrett (lead vocals, guitars) started ASFAP back in 2006 but the current line up with Kyle ‘Tiny Basstank’ Clark (bass) and Nick Davey (drums) have been playing together since June of last year but recently hooked up with Threat Signal lead vocalist Jon Howard to record their debut CD, Conception.
“The band name is a representation of duality in life everywhere,” offers Stirrett. “Up, down. Left, right. Good, evil. Everyone has the ability to give all the love they have and also all the hate or anger. Beyond the band name you should know that A Sin For A Prayer will always deliver music that you cannot deny.
“The band name doesn't necessarily adhere to the writing process, the music depicts the creativity of the band,” notes St. Laurent. “The name stands for what exists in our society, it’s basically backwards of the bible’s ‘a prayer for a sin’. Only to me it seems as though our band name only represents what we see and hear about everyday.
“Hamilton is like our home,” assures Clark. “Out of the entire GTA we get the warmest welcome from the Burlington/ Hamilton area. Actually, I myself am an Oakvillian, Marc and Graham are Mississauganaughts and Nick is a Burlingtonian. Though I spend most of my free time in Burlington and Hamilton as I find the scene and the people are better out there — too many douches in Oakville for me.”
A Sin For A Prayer is mammoth riff rock that usually rides off the rails into extreme metal territory and while only an EP, Conception stakes their claim in metal soundly.
“We basically are all fed up with the millions of sub-genres of metal out there so we write music that we want to listen to, that we want to go see live,” says Clark. “And it does appear that many others want to hear it, too.” Clark recently caught word that Chaos Corp. Promotions, run and operated by Eric Camilleri, was organizing a two day metal festival in Hamilton, and he knew ASFAP had to be involved.
“I saw that he was planning a big two day fest in August and I wanted in,” smiles Clark. “I chose to release the CD at the Complete Chaos Metal Fest because there is a greater chance of making new fans, and new fans mean more merch sold — all of our fans will be there regardless. And it’s also better for the scene.
“The show is more of a celebration of the local scene, I mean if people will pay $150 plus to see heavy T.O. whats $22 to come see and support the local scene,” adds Clark. “It’s really good to feel the scene actually caring and helping each other again. The metal scene in Burlington and Hamilton is growing... every live music scene has had troubles the last 10 years actually getting people off the internet or away from video games and coming out to see live bands. I mean, who knows you could go to a show and see you next favourite band on stage before they are huge.”
With twenty plus bands from a variety of strains of metal, the Chaos Metal Festival offers something for virtually any headbanger. With their new CD in hand, ASFAP hope to approach many a new fan.
“Of course everyone should flock to the show,” says Clark. “Hell, metal fan or not you should come to the show and support the local scene, support the bands by buying the merch, and having a great time. I can’t say we put on the loudest or fastest show in the world, what I can say is that you won’t be disappointed when you come to see us play.”
A Sin For A Prayer plays as part of the first annual Complete Chaos Metal Festival this Friday August 17 at the Underground with Depths of Hatred, Immersed, That Boy Ain’t Right, Misguided Aggression, Assassinate The Following, Deterrence and Lazerpiss. The metal fest continues Saturday August 18 with Beheading Of A King, Abide, Heavyweight Division, As Oceans Burn, Mulletcorpse, Belie My Burial and more. Tickets are $15 at the door.
Chris Walters’ Punk Rock Book Launch
“I wanted to be a musician but I couldn’t play worth a damn so I gave up on that,” offers celebrated Vancouver based author Chris Walters on his literary origins. “Then I became a full time drug addict and that didn’t really work out for me either so eventually I started writing.”
Walters has gained national notoriety for his punk rock infused fiction that has slowly infiltrated cooler indie and underground spots locally and with his latest offering, the punk rock music and clothing store Crash Landing decided to help bring the author to Hamilton in person. Back in 2007, Walters expanded into the world of rock biographies researching the story of Winnipeg’s Personality Crisis followed by the story of the Dayglo Abortions in 2009. Recently he’s released his latest biography on SNFU, What No One Else Wanted To Say, and personally comes to offers anecdotes and a book reading to Hamilton’s rabid punk underground.
“I make my living doing this thing and I don’t work for anyone but myself,” notes Walters. “I’ve been writing for about fifteen years, I still do more fiction than biographies but I like both formats. I realized there was a lot of interest in this kind of music and it seems the biographies sell more than my fiction. I wanted to write about these bands because it’s always been so important to me and I felt someone had to do it.”
While the music may be niche based, the stories are universal and any band worth their salt should do a little research into what’s gone before. SNFU started in the early 80s in Western Canada but continue to tour some 30 years later. For any young punks, Walters’ What No One Else Wanted To Say is a primer in determination.
“I realized how much work it is to be in a punk band to have any longevity and how much sacrifice it takes on behalf of the members,” reflects Walters on what he learned in writing his latest biography.
“SNFU should have really given up long ago, long after logic and common sense dictated otherwise – but they keep on doing it. [Lead singer] Chi Pig lives for that and if he didn’t have that, I don’t know how long he’d be living. Even if you’re not an SNFU fan, you can read about what a real band is like. They continue to entertain people, even if they’re not recording new songs, the kids love it and the band sounds great.”
With a special movie screening of an SNFU documentary happening at the Crash Landing on Saturday as a build up (find Crash Landing on Facebook.com for details), Walters will personally be on hand to discuss the trials and tribulations of making music alongside a bunch of primarily local punk bands that really have their own sordid stories they could share as well. It’s a punk rock kind of book launch for sure.
“Doing a book tour might not be fun for me, this is work, I’m in a different city every night until 2am and I’m getting old,” says the now fifty-one year old Walters. “But I’m always happy to meet new fans, new readers. I just hope a few people come out and I can meet some new fans and hopefully sell some books. I want to go against what the established literary industry does. I like to events in punk rock bars with slam dancing and drinking – that’s what a book launch should be. Every time I get out and meet new people, it gives me more to write about.”
The Chris Walters’ book launch happens this Sunday August 19 at This Ain’t Hollywood with Hockey Teeth, the Let Downs, the Steeltown Spoilers, and Hold A Grudge. Doors open at 6pm and $7 gets you in. Click on punkbooks.com. V
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