Pleased To Meet Me: The Satisfactory
Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc..)
SAL : My name is Salvador. I write, sing and play guitar & harmonica for The Satisfactory. I was born in Toronto but have been living in Montreal for a few years now.
MAX : My name is Max, I’m the drummer for The Satisfactory.
VIVA : My name is Viva, I play bass in The Satisfactory and I’m from Toronto.
Why do you play music?
MAX : I play music because I like hanging out with other people who play music. Being in a band is one of the best ways to do that.
SAL : Music is everything to me. I love listening to it and playing it more than just about anything else . I hope I’m still writing and performing for everybody in the nursing home when I’m old and senile.
VIVA : I’ve played and performed music my whole life, having grown up surrounded by many many musicians, so I think it’s become part of how I understand myself and my life.
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band?
SAL : not show up much in our music anymore but honestly if it wasn’t for Oasis there’d be no Satisfactory. I discovered them in high school and they gave me hope I could also write Beatlesque music and make a life of it.
MAX : Hardcore is a big influence on me, though it doesn’t come through that strongly in this band. British invasion music also has a special place in my heart.
VIVA : As a general artistic influence I would say that noise rock and early experimental industrial music have been major for me but I would be lying if I said I thought those influences were evident in our music as a band. When it comes to what we play I would say that I draw a lot from garage rock.
What’s a favourite book or film?
SA L: This kinda ties back to the last question because my favourite movie, or at least it was for a while was The Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night. I’ve probably seen it a hundred times and never get tired of it. It’s what solidified in my 10 year old brain that being in a band is the coolest thing you could do with your life.
MAX : My favourite film is probably Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law
VIVA : My favourite book is Hito Steyerl’s collection of essays titled “The Wretched of the Screen”
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live?
SAL : We only just started recording so I’d say playing live right now. But the world of recording is fascinating so I could definitely see that changing.
MAX : I prefer playing live to recording. Recording is fun, but it’s never as exciting as it seems.
VIVA : I much prefer performing live, I feel that the stakes are much lower and feeling the energy of the crowd is fantastic.
What would be a dream collaboration?
SAL : I’d probably say I’d want to play with Johnny Marr. I’m more of a rhythm and riffs guy anyway so I think his lead playing would make everything I do better.
MAX : A dream collaboration would be getting to play with any of the members of Fugazi.
VIVA : A dream collaboration would be working with Einstürzende Neubauten.
Describe a favourite album.
SAL : The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks is a favourite album of mine right now and I’d describe it as kind of like looking through old drawings you did as a child. There’s a familiarity to it but it’s also a glimpse into a world that’s pretty much gone.
MAX : my favourite albums right now is The Unstable Molecule by Isotope 217. It’s hard to describe, but it’s sort of a blend between ambient electronic stuff, jazz, and funk
VIVA : Bauhaus “In the Flat Field” will always be a favourite of mine. There’s really steady, consistent, repetitive rhythms while everything else is so abstracted and disjointed and there are so many great noises.
What's your favourite local haunt?
SAL : I do love L’Esco, a great place to play a show or to just go out and dance. Also Verres Stérilisés is a good dive spot I frequent.
MAX : My favourite local haunt is the Crumper, the practice space I use a couple times a week. They also have shows every once in a while. It’s one of the few DIY spaces around right now, so I feel very lucky to be a part of it.
VIVA : Bar Le Pastel for the pool and Lux La Lumiere for the energy.
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
SAL : McGill auditorium, cowboy themed mental health fundraiser, fluorescent lighting, free booze, small crowd, PA system meant for business conferences. Need I say more?
MAX : My strangest experience performing live was when we played a free McGill mental health fundraiser. It was westerned themed, the room was very large, the crowd was quite small and there were fluorescent overhead lights that could not be turned off.
VIVA :My strangest experience while performing live was a show we had in Montreal where a very drunk audience member started getting really uncomfortably close to me while I was on stage and I strongly considered hitting him (gently) with the neck of my bass.
If I were pursuing anything other than music it would be…
SAL : The only job I ever really considered other than a musician was to be a beat reporter for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But as a fan of the team that sounds like an extremely frustrating unsatisfying life.
MAX : If I weren’t pursuing music I’d probably do video editing or documentary filmmaking.
VIVA : This isn’t a hypothetical but alongside pursuing music I am also a visual artist.
What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in (your city here)?
SAL : I love the sense of community within the music scene and all the different bands. Just as a music fan I love how you can find really any style you’d like playing somewhere in the city any given night. It feels like people here really care about supporting the arts, and I love that.
MAX : Being a musician in Montreal is cool because it’s cheaper than a lot of other major cities (for now), making it easier to spend more time on music than I could otherwise.
VIVA : I love how much of a community the live music scene in Montreal is, in my experience everyone seems to support each other and it’s been such a pleasure to work with other bands in the scene.
If you weren’t playing music in (your city here) where would you be ?
SAL : Playing music in the next-cheapest major city.
MAX : If I wasn’t playing in Montreal I’d probably be playing in Toronto, since I’m originally from there, and like a lot of the bands there.
VIVA : If I weren’t playing in Montreal maybe I’d be playing in Brooklyn or Berlin because according to spotify that’s where most of our listeners are from. I think either would be a good time
Any sage advice for young musicians?
SAL : Write bad songs. You’ll have to in order to write good ones.
MAX : For young (or old) musicians I’d suggest trying several instruments and to be involved with several musical projects at the same time. It has increased how much enjoyment I’ve been able to get out of being involved with music in Montreal. I would also advise you not to pay anyone for anything you can already do yourself.
VIVA : My advice for young musicians is to just get out there and engage with your local scene because making relationships with fellow artists is immeasurably important, especially as it becomes more and more difficult to live as an artist and more and more spaces for the arts stop being able to survive.