A Dirty Dozen with JAMISON FRIESEN from ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN – October 2019

According to a recent press release: “Canadian Metal Band ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN has announced that they will be joining IN FLAMES and RED for their 2019 Fall / Winter Tour. Launching November 2nd in Wichita, KS, the tour winds throughout the US and Canada, ending December 20th in Dallas, TX. The group will be touring in support of their new album, Harbinger, which is available now.” We get singer Jamison to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Harbinger is not a concept album, although the themes are similar track by track. After a few listens these similarities will become more apparent to the listener and they’ll likely see the album as one piece of art rather than ten pieces.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I was always interested in playing guitar because of my grandfather. I took a year of piano lessons when I was 9 or 10 to get the hang of sheet music and got my first guitar shortly after. It was around that time I saw the music video for enter sandman and wanted to be James Hetfield. After four or so years of playing guitar I began combining it with singing and me and our current guitar player Brendan started jamming some Metallica covers.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Live footage of Metallica really caught my attention. My obsession with that band definitely guided my taste and opened the door to discovering heavier music and screaming vocals.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Metallica, Linkin Park, Bullet For My Valentine, Demon Hunter, and System of a Down.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

James Hetfield for sure, he writes the best riffs.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I usually describe our sound as the lovechild of Bullet and Black Dahlia. I’ve heard some odd comparisons but nothing too cringey. Usually it’s the same 5 or so bands we get compared to.

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

The thrill of playing live, definitely.

8. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

I’m usually standing by at the grill, Ryan’s keeping our drinks topped up and after enough of those our drummer Ty will pick up an acoustic and remind us all why he’s the drummer.

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

It’s been a while, but it was probably when I met Matt from Bullet. I was 16 and shaking in my boots.

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Professional Red Dead 2 player for sure.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Honestly everything we’ve done was key to getting us here.Even the opportunities we took that didn’t amount to anything gave us experience and knowledge going forward. With the exception of any sort of battle of the bands. Those need to stop and the promoters that push BOTB events are dirty.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I’d go back and sit in during the Ride The Lightning sessions. I wouldn’t change anything obviously but there’s not much documented about the creation of that album and it’s my favorite Metallica record.

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Category: Interviews