>>PREVIEW
THE RED CHORD
Saturday, June 24
MacEwan Hall
"My life is a living hell."
The Red Chord singer Guy Kozowyk isn’t having such a great day. Stuck in traffic while running errands before a month-long stint with this year’s Ozzfest, he just can’t seem to find a break.
Unlike most bands who feign strife, Kozowyk has reason to gripe. Sure, The Red Chord is fast becoming one of extreme metal’s most adored, revered and talked about bands, thanks to their ravenous grind-hardcore sound (think Hatebreed meets Napalm Death), but that doesn’t mean they’re in the lap of luxury.
"I’m not complaining," he continues. "The Red Chord has been very lucky and when I’m showing up to scream, this job fucking rules. I just mean as the businessman of the group, trying to get everyone’s schedules organized and take care of details, that’s the shittiest part of the job. It can be worse than a 9-to-5 gig, ’cause you’re dealing with assholes 24/7… some of them in your own band. You don’t get to shut it off and walk away after eight hours. I’m stressed right now, ’cause I’ve got a guy waiting for me in a train station and I'm still an hour away."
Racking up an incredible 300 shows in the past 365 days, no one can claim that Kozowyk and crew – guitarists Mike "Gunface" McKenzie, and Kevin Rampelberg, drummer Brad Fickeisen and bassist Gregory Weeks–aren’t putting in their dues. It would seem as if they truly have driven to Hell and back, so surprise, surprise – travel is the hot topic with Kozowyk today. After bringing his wayward bandmates together, he’s off to pack, run through the checklist and ensure the band’s first official tour bus is ready to roll. It’s yet another thorn in his side.
"You can’t do Ozzfest without one," he half-grumbles, noting the incredible expense these tarmac monoliths produce. "It’s a status quo thing with Ozzfest and it is kind of necessary. They’ve had bands try to do the tour in RVs and vans in the past, but it takes too much of a toll. Breakdowns and exhaustion…."
To this extent, Kozowyk sees the expense as a bit of a relief, embracing the notion of creature comforts such as air conditioning during a blazing hot summer. But he also fears it. No strangers to confined, stinky quarters, The Red Chord uses being packed like sardines into the van as a means of stockpiling energy to propel their nightly unleashing of bombastic ferocity. He wonders if it will affect their live show.
"Maybe we’ll get all soft and lazy," he jokes. "It’s not that big of a deal, but the real bummer is that when you’re in a van, you roll into town and you can check out the sights. When you’re in a bus, it pulls into the parking area and that’s it. It’s especially bad when you’ve got a day off and the nearest attraction is miles away… you have to sit in a sweltering parking lot and rot all day with nothing to do. Yup, we’ll miss our van, but maybe that boredom will be the conduit."
Maybe it will also be a means of busting their procrastination in coming up with a followup to 2005 sophomore effort Clients. Fans are antsy for new music, becoming slightly frustrated with the lack of output. Kozowyk sighs, feeling the impatience himself.
"Oh, it’ll come out in a couple of weeks," he shrugs in half-jest, half-exhaustion. "We’ll just get into the room, hammer out some songs and throw them down like a metal band does. Nah, I’m exaggerating the process. We’re just in the writing stages right now… not even that. We’ve got ideas. Hopefully we’ll have some time to get them together, but right now I have no idea. I’m just looking at the bumper in front of me wondering how I’m gonna make it to tour." |
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