TimeGiant – Emerging Artist Spotlight

TimeGiant are: Ryan Watson (Rhythm Guitar), Patrick Wilken (Bass), Charlie McKittrick (Drums, backup vocals), Tyrone Buccione (Vocals, Lead Guitar, Sax)

Hey guys, thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. Let’s start off with the obligatory introductions. Who’s in the band and what instrument do you rock?

TG: Hey! We have Tyrone Buccione on Vocals, Lead Guitars and Saxophone, Charlie McKittrick on Drums and Backup Vox, Ryan Watson on Rhythm Guitar and Pat Wilken on de Bass and Backup Vox.

Tell us a bit of the history of the band.

TG: I’m from Ottawa (Tyrone), Pat and Ryan are from a small village of 400 called Erieau, near Chatham, and Charlie hails from the Hammer. Myself and Ryan met down in Windsor while attending University and Ryan brought Pat on board. We gained some radio play down there with our first release, “White Window” and started playing bigger opening slots. We decided to move to Toronto in the summer of 2010 and Charlie stepped in this past January, becoming the lucky third drummer in our lineup. Ever since we’ve been gearing up for a new release and getting our ducks in a row before we pounce again!

We found you as we were searching through the mountain of artists being featured at the 2012 Canada Music Week. How important is CMW for bands fighting to get noticed and the exposure you can gain from it?

TG: Well to be included in something like this is really a great networking advantage. Any chance to play a live show is great for meeting new people, fans etc, but this festival specifically will have industry people swarming in concentrated areas all over Toronto and this only emphasizes the need to network even more. People are out there willing to help you at every stage of band development so it’s very important to keep your head up after a show and shake some hands. I’m sure success can eventually find you or something like that but why wait when you can engage people and create your own success at the pace you want? I think every band get’s tired of waiting at some point and this is the next logical step.

Patrick, Charlie, Tyrone, Ryan of TimeGiant

Not sure if you read the recent interview with Dave Grohl on Billboard, but the interview title was “Why Rock Will Never Die & Why 2011 Was His Best Year Ever”. So tell us your thoughts – Why do you believe rock will never die? (click on the link and have a quick read of the article)

TG: I liked what Grohl said here:

“Something’s got to give. It can’t be song contests on television for the rest of our lives. It can’t be the same playlists on every radio station for the rest of our lives. It can’t be music made entirely by computers with people talking over it the rest of our lives. It can’t go that way, it just won’t.”

Hate to sound like the sci-fi geek that I am, but that reminds me of The Matrix. If I was a rocker who was unplugged from the Matrix and had to lead a musical rebellion with Lawrence Fishburne then I’d be on the front lines against the “Machine” (a-la-Pink Floyd ;). I think that musicians who really enjoy rock and roll records and get passionate about them will eventually resurface; no matter how much they feel they’re “oppressed”. Plus I think you almost need to have something to rebel against to write better rock and roll tunes, something to oppose. Who knows, maybe we wouldn’t have “The Wall” if disco wasn’t around! You also hear a lot of the “I wish we were a band in 1973”, or “I was born in the wrong era”, but I think right now is the most interesting time for rock history. Rock can’t die when there is a bigger challenge to rock musicians out there now, which is “How do I top Zeppelin IV?”. There’s so much to compete with now that the songs just naturally have to be better than they’ve ever been. Why would someone listen to my song when they can put on AC/DC or dub step, play an interactive online video game etc.

Why will 2012 be your best year ever?

TG: Well we’d like to think every year we’re together as a band will be better than the last. There are always ways to improve and as you go along you make those mistakes and learn about how to approach things differently. I think 2012 will be a big networking year for us as we’re just starting to get the hang of it. On the musical side right now, we’re working on a new EP with some really great songwriting tips from Arnold Lanni (Our Lady Peace, Finger Eleven) and Nelly Furtado guitarist, Sean Kelly. Hoping to release by the summer! We’re also re-launching all of our online properties and will have some new merch available before the release.

TimeGiant is composed of Patrick, Tyrone, Charlie, Ryan

Imagine each of you were the guitarist/drummer/bassist/vocalist in another band. Would that band be: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath or Nickelback and why?

TG: What, no Queen?! Can we sub Nickelback for Queen?? Haha! Well I’m sure this question would cause quite the ruckus in the band, but speaking for everyone I think we’d all eventually settle on Zep. I think because we used to all get the Led out on a frequent basis. Their music and live DVD’s got constant play in our living rooms when we lived down in Windsor. We’d have these huge parties and there would always be this moment where the whole room would go silent while Plant sung “That’s the Way”, that gave us the chills. And, of course, they were a “gateway drug” to other bands. Zeppelin really opened the door for us to find other stuff we really liked in that 60s-70s era. I personally am a huge Floyd fan and David Gilmour was the reason I picked up a guitar. I know Pat, Ryan and Charlie used to cover Sabbath tunes in their old bands so I’m sure they’d give a thumbs up.

What is the future of the music industry? With the concept of the album and physical CD’s facing extinction, how will we be consuming music in 10 years? Are the economics feasible for emerging artists?

TG: I think that concept albums are even cooler now! How bold is it for an artist to rock a 3 song, 45 minute album like Yes used to do? I think that’s a big fuck you to lots of “rules” about albums these days and hey, I bet there’s some really hearty stuff on those records! AND there is a way to do that these days and grab major success, check out Janelle Monae’s “The Archandroid”. It’s amazing how much creative control the label gave her, I really freakin love that woman for fighting for her ideas and coming out with an amazing record at the end of it all.

Oh I’m sure we’ll eventually get to a place where you’ll be able to insert a download chip into your ear and listen to music just by thinking of it haha. The economics are definitely feasible for emerging artists as long as they’re willing to accept the times and go with the changes. Why not release music digitally if that’s how people are buying it now? I sure want to sell my music! And I also heard something like vinyl sales were up 30% from last year, so it gives me hope that there will always be people still buying physical albums.

Why “TimeGiant”?

TG: We used to be called “Time” and had to change our name. I mean, there’s Time Magazine and Time Warner… I guess it’d be like opening a new business called “Disney”, it’s looking for trouble. And I’m learning that if you make decisions now, based on the best case scenario later, then you’re saving yourself a headache. If we exploded with the name “Time”, I think we’d have to change the name in the midst of success (which would be a pain) and see a bunch of lawyers for a long time. And that would probably suck for the songwriting part ;). The suffix “Giant” was just a proposed idea that didn’t sound as crappy as the other ones after an 8 month brain stew and brew. I heard an Alan Cross segment on choosing band names and he said that the way Trent Reznor picked the name Nine Inch Nails was by repeating it to himself in his head all day, every day for a week. He said that it was the name he hated the least and couldn’t think of any reason why it would go over badly.

Where can people get your music/CD, is it being sold anywhere?

TG: You can buy online at iTunes here. Our first EP “TIME” and second release “Grow” are availabe there. Also, of course, at one of our shows!!!

TimeGiant

At the end of 2011 we did our picks for top 10 albums of 2011. What albums did we miss on our list, or how would your top 10 list differ from ours?

TG: Good looking list! I would add “King of Limbs” by Radiohead, “Feel it Break” by Austra, “The Brown EP” by Monster Truck, “Five Easy Pieces” by The Sheepdogs and “If Not Now, When?” by Incubus. My fave was definitely rocking the Brown EP in the van, if you haven’t checked out Monster Truck, I highly suggest it… Especially if you dig Rush, Zeppelin etc.

10. We definitely love Rush and Zeppelin! In fact Monster Truck opened up for Deep Purple which we reviewed here, but we missed the opening band unfortunately. Anyways thanks for the time guys, any closing remarks for our readers?

TG: Thanks for reading and please come check us out sometime at www.timegiantband.com