Today we Spotlight – Holy Fuck. We first heard of the band when we chatted with Brian (Dusted). Now we get to chat with Graham and we get to learn more about this dynamic group. Check out the convo we had right now!
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We Are Story Tellers
Canadian electric rock band Holy Fuck is here with us today. They are bold and fearless in their music and are here with us today to answer a few of our questions. Can we have an introduction of the members to the readers?
I’m Graham Walsh. The rest of the band is composed of Brian Borcherdt, Matt Schulz, and Matt “Punchy” McQuaid.
I think the first question that comes to people’s minds when they hear of the group, is what is the story behind the band name?
People do get offended by the “F” word, but it’s meant to be an expression of joy! We all say that phrase too. The name came to Brian after he recorded some crazy toy keyboard beats on his cassette recorder and labeled the cassette tape “Hol Fuck!”
Going strong since 2004, what are the few key secrets you have learned in the music industry?
Have zero expectations. Any success or breaks will come when you least expect them, and often from unlikely places, so be open-minded to random and unexpected opportunities. Definitely don’t compromise your art.
How do your influences from your early days as a group differ from your influences today?
What influences us now is pretty much the same as in the early days. Make good songs and explore interesting sounds. Over the years, you start to find a “lens” of sorts to filter your ideas through.
Two singles back to back in the last few months, “Airport Dreams” and more recently “Lost Cool.” How was working with Lucia Tacchetti and Sarah Bonito?
Lucia and Sarah were both amazing to work with! We were collaborating with each other online, sending files back and forth. They’re both super talented and were very much open-minded to ideas and trying things out, so the process was super easy for us.
The music video of “Lost Cool” is trippy and whimsical. Who visualized this concept?
Tim Krug made the video. He’s a friend of our drummer, Matt. It all came about very quickly, and we think it’s fantastic what he was able to make in the very short time frame we gave him. Lucia shot her own footage and it was emailed to Tim who put it all together.
What is the writing process of these songs? Who in the band stars in lyric writing, composing, and producing?
The two singles we released recently were worked on differently than usual because we weren’t able to meet up in person as a band. We prefer to hash out ideas together as a band. Ideas will get presented during soundchecks, at rehearsals, and really refine the songs as we record together in the studio. In 2020, we weren’t able to meet up in person, so, to work on music we ended up working on songs by sharing files over the internet! We set up a shared folder with ideas and would contribute to them on our own time and gradually built up songs that way. Not our preferred way of working, but we definitely learned something and came away with some music that we’re proud of.
With the release of these singles, what project is next for the group?
We finally have tour dates booked and are excited to get back out on the road and play in front of actual people again.
Holy Fuck has been labeled with almost endless genres, Electronica, electronic rock, electro-industrial, noise rock, math-rock. What do you think about these labels? Are they accurate?
We don’t pay too much attention to labels. It’s understandable that the industry needs to compartmentalize things, but we just try and make the kind of music we like.
The members originate from all around Canada but are currently based out of Toronto. Do all the members still live in Toronto? How did you come to the decision to base there?
The band first came together in Toronto. Like most Canadian musicians from smaller towns, we all gravitated to Toronto to find connections in a bigger community. Our drummer Matt Schulz lived in NYC, so we were never really all in the same city. The fact that we were able to stay busy touring meant that we were together a lot. As the years have gone by, everyone has drifted to other parts, Brian and Matt McQuaid moved to Nova Scotia, and Matt Schulz moved to Ohio. We’re still able to make music though, and we’ll make more when we’re together on tour.
Out of all the stages in the world the group has performed on in the last 15 years, what are the few that stand out to you?
The sheer fact that we’ve had the privilege to play all over the world is a massive life-highlight in itself, but there are a few landmark moments that stand out. The first time we played Coachella backing up our MC friend Beans. The first time we played Coachella on our own. We played Primavera Sound in Barcelona, outdoors to thousands of people at 4 am. For our last song, people from the crowd rushed to the stage and started dancing on stage. In the end, there were about 100 people on stage dancing, and the whole set descended into chaos! It was amazing.
Have you ever felt any pushback in the industry for being completely unapologetic with your image and music? How did you fight it?
The only pushback we get is because of the F-word in the name. We’re not precious about it, so if people need to censor it that’s OK with us. I’m sure there have been instances in the past where we’ve missed opportunities because of our name, but we’ve also been blessed with so many wonderful opportunities as well.
What kind of show can fans expect for the upcoming 2022 tour? Big shoes to fill after such a long time away from live shows.
We’re just excited to get back out and tour again. We released our last album “Deleter” in 2020 before the pandemic and weren’t able to tour in support of that either, so we’re happy that we’ll be able to support that record as well.
Does the group have any goals for this upcoming year?
Simple goals. Meet up, play shows, and write music.
Thank you for joining us today. Before heading out, what is a fun fact about one or multiple members that haven’t been shared before?
Matt Schulz was a drummer for “Ian Rubbish and the Bizarros”, the parody punk band with Fred Armisen.
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