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Killing For Friday: “Rolling with the Punches”

Low odds, long nights and tour mishaps are likely punches to be thrown at a young touring band. Always expected, but not always predictable, these obstacles could easily prove to become roadblocks that stop a band dead in its tracks. But when Killing for Friday chose to take on the relentless, bloodthirsty motto of “on forth!” they made sure to back it up.

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Low odds, long nights and tour mishaps are likely punches to be thrown at a young touring band. Always expected, but not always predictable, these obstacles could easily prove to become roadblocks that stop a band dead in its tracks. But when Killing for Friday chose to take on the relentless, bloodthirsty motto of “on forth!” they made sure to back it up.

On the day starting their southern Ontario tour, the boys suffered a blow when their guitarist at the time decided to throw in the towel. “We went to pick him up and when he came outside we were wondering why he didn’t have any bags,” said the band’s drummer, Rob Johnson. Without intentions of canceling their upcoming tour dates, Rob, guitarist and vocalist Peter Johnson and bass player Brandon Chamberlain taught their merch guy all of the guitar parts for their songs during their drive to the first show of their tour in Kingston.

It took about six months of uncertainty and fill-in guitarists before Killing for Friday could permanently fill their empty spot. “We didn’t feel like a real tight unit,” said Rob, “and it was hard to start focusing on writing which we really wanted to do.” Even so, still in the absence of a second guitarist, Peter Johnson single-handedly wrote and demoed all of the guitars on their latest record, Mind Fights Hand.

They spent two weeks recording their new album at BWC Studios in Brampton, Ontario with engineer and producer Greg “Gerg” Dawson who’s worked with bands like Moneen and The End. After those two weeks of hard work, hanging out with the members of Moneen and even ending up in Trenton, Ontario after a bad van breakdown, Killing for Friday were finally able to celebrate the completion of a brand new album.

The response that they’ve been getting about Mind Fights Hand seems to be worth the tough times. “Most comments that people have been making are about it sounding more mature and being able to see the growth we’ve made from our older songs,” said Rob. This is an album that’s packed with more creativity than one might expect when they first pick it up. Being the man behind Killing for Friday’s lyrics, Rob wanted to make this album something that people could think about and enjoy even on levels other than the music. One thing that makes Mind Fights Hand different from most other albums is that when you open it up, you don’t see the lyrics, but rather writing that’s about the lyrics. “We wanted to include more than just the lyrics, so I got to incorporate my writing to make the album more interesting and thought provoking,” said Rob, “it makes it much more of an artwork.”

Originally from North Bay, Ontario, the boys are now living in Ottawa where they met their long-awaited new guitarist and vocalist Ben Scriver. With Mind Fights Hand officially out in circulation, Killing for Friday are ready to tour once again, with plans for hitting Canada’s east coast with Assembleme, holding true to their merciless motto for another while.  [ END ]

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