Artificial Dissemination’s album, “take us to your Leader”, is filled with anger, fear, loathing with a sprinkle of seething humour. The thirteen song record is fast and furious and brings their message and shoves it up your nose like a wasp sting.
.I spoke with Jamie Problem (Drums & Vocals), and Shawna Heist (Guitars & Vocals) about the philosophy of their sound. They have their own twist of what the world looks like to them, and are expressing it through their unique media form of Punk, zines, and playing as often as possible.
AD– The first thing you will learn about Artificial Dissemination is we don’t trust the media.
BT– This should be the mantra for every punk rock outfit out there.
AD– They love playing around with conspiracy theories and shedding light on how the media falsely represents important issues. All their releases include a fanzine that acts like a tabloid magazine. This is to poke fun at the big guys who work for the big newspaper and magazine corporations. According to A.D., anyone can be their own media. The traditional media has become obsolete and redundant.
BT– Who were your influences growing up?
AD– Devo was an influence due to their mineralized sound. Other influences include, Dead Kennedys, Dick Dale, Sex Pistols, Circle Jerks, Black Flag and MC5. But the local punk scene was the biggest influence of all. We knew the people in it and the politics of our areas (Toronto and Hamilton). Not to mention the parties and the shows. Not surprising, since Artificial Dissemination has simplicity to their sound, but their heaviness kicks you in the guts.
BT– What are you listening to right now?
AD– Right now we usually listen to recordings of bands that we play live shows with. When we travel across the country, we like to network with them and promote each other. Seminal Recordz is our own company. If we like a band, we will trade 7” records with them, or sometimes we will buy a few copies from them. We help distribute these bands at the gigs we play by selling their merch along with ours. It’s a pretty basic distribution system.
Usually once a month we have a Sunday Slam, in the Hammer (Hamilton), where we have 4-6 bands come and play. We aspire to a cult following. We want our sound to be honest and raw. We don’t want to just go through the motions.
BT– Where is your favourite place to play?
AD– Oh, house parties, or where we play on the floor. We like the small shows because it’s more real.
BT– Where would you play tomorrow if you could?
AD– Fattale- It’s like a bunch of abandoned warehouses in Montreal, like a squat. It looks like it is going to be torn down soon.
BT– Who would you like to open for?
AD– I don’t care, because they usually screw off after the show.
BT– I don’t care, that is the true Punk Rock answer.
AD– We would choose to play on any spot, it doesn’t matter. Usually I wouldn’t choose the headlining spot, it’s the spot before that truly matters.
BT- How would you compare yourselves to the White Stripes?
AD– Yeah, we’re way more angry, Haha. Their sound is very blues based, we’re just very very angry.
BT– How did you two connect?
AD– We knew each other since the 80”s, through a mutual friend, Mike Rumenol. We worked together in the 90’s, with our respected bands at the time(Problem Clild, Dear Departed), and made a compilation CD with 10 bands, so our cost was 1/10. We lost touch for 15 years, then bumped into one another in 2012.We started talking and catching up.We started talking music and one thing led to another and before we knew it we had our first jam. Early on, we recognized that we might have a wee problem, though, cuz both of us are guitar players and if we are gonna be a 2-piece band one of us will have to learn how to play drums. So Jamie volunteered, and we haven’t looked back since! We always wanted it to be a 2-piece because it’s a challenge. And also because things can be done at lightning speed! There is only one other person in the band that you have to ask: hey do you want to do this show? Do you want to jam tomorrow? Etc… But it’s also twice as much work which we don’t mind cuz we are both crazy haha…
Jamie– I played in one band for 18 years and Shawna played in lots of bands. For the two of us we realized we were both serious and passionate. So something like band practice, our outside lives stopped and we focused on the music. I play guitar. Now I had to be the drummer, so I took a few months out to practice drums and learn to sing as well.
BT– So you are the Don Henley of Punk Rock… Where do you see yourself going?
AD-We would like to continue releasing one record a year if possible, and keep touring across this great country of ours, and just keep playing shows everywhere and anywhere we can. Australia, Japan, Cuba, Mexico, South America are places we dream of touring one day, and maybe Europe. The USA is not so appealing to us right now.
Artificial Dissemination is a band with some lofty goals and a youthful energy that should fill every club they play. They have the drive to bring everyone they can onto their party bus and have fun with every face they see. Yes, they are angry, but seem to have the capacity to be open enough through every experience that is thrown at them. I will review their 2015 album, “Take Us To Your Leader” soon. I have heard it and it will not be a disappointing review.
Their third release, a CD called “Past Present Future” (2016) was released in September just in time for their 2016 month-long tour out to western Canada. They will have a proper release party in Toronto though, on Tues December 13 at the Bovine (part of Pink & Black Attack punk rock Tuesdays). Stay tuned for more news about that, here on Blast Toronto!
To find out where they are playing, click here… http://www.artificial-dissemination.com/
Here are a couple more pics of the guys: