Interview With Like A Storm’s Matt Brooks

TuneLab: Like a Storm is originally from New Zealand but is currently based out of Canada. What made you guys decide to pack up and move?

Matt Brooks: New Zealand was an amazing place to grow up, one of the most beautiful places on earth. But it’s a tiny country of only 4 million people, situated at the bottom of the world… so from the first time we jammed together, we knew we had to leave New Zealand to follow our dreams. Being Canadian citizens as well as New Zealanders, we decided to move to Vancouver in 2005. Canada has always had a great rock scene, and we grew up listening to Canadian bands like Moist and Our Lady Peace. From the second we landed in Vancouver, we knew we had made the right choice.

TL: What would you say are the differences in the music scenes in New Zealand versus Canada versus the United States?

MB: The music scene is New Zealand is really creative – it is such an inspiring place. There are a lot of incredible musicians there, great players and songwriters. We just found that being such a small country, New Zealand didn’t have the places to tour, or the people to play for. This is what lead us to move to North America. Canada has always had an amazing rock scene – many of the big rock bands of the past 20 years have come from Canada. We learned a lot here – I feel lucky to say that we have a lot of great friends and mentors in the Canadian music scene. And as far as the United States… for a lot of young musicians, the US is really the Holy Grail. For a touring band it’s a dream come true – we toured for 3 months with Creed and never played the same town twice. That just isn’t possible in New Zealand, or even in Canada. We lived in LA for almost 2 years while we made ‘The End of the Beginning’, and the opportunities to grow as an artist, to meet your idols, to watch Lemmy from Motorhead play video games at the Rainbow… there is so much you can learn in that environment. And the drinks are reasonably priced too.

TL: Your debut ‘The End of the Beginning’ debuted on the New Artists Chart based on tour sales alone, what was the band’s reaction following that news?

MB: Honestly man we were stoked! Absolutely stoked. We couldn’t believe that ‘The End of the Beginning’ debuted on the charts before it even came out in stores! We owe that chart debut to all of our amazing fans who bought our record at the shows… we love you guys! We met so many awesome people on the Creed tour, people who really got into the music and supported us. I still can’t believe it – I have the chart framed on wall so i can remind myself that it actually happened.

TL: Are there any plans to release a physical copy of the album?

MB: Yeah absolutely! ‘The End of the Beginning’ will be coming out in stores early this year, in both the US and Canada. We’re really excited about the official release, it’s a dream come true. Until then, we’re selling the record at all our shows, and it’s available on iTunes and on other online stores.

TL: With iTunes, Amazon and the other digital outlets, do you feel a physical release is even necessary?

MB: I think technology has made music instantly accessible and available to anyone with an internet connection – but there are still a lot of people who want to own the ‘real thing’. To hold the record in their hands, to own the album artwork and read the booklet. I am definitely one of those people. For me music is something to collect, i love sifting through stacks of my favorite records, immersing myself in them. I think a lot of music lovers feel the same way, and we’re really excited that people will be able to buy ‘The End of the Beginning’ off the shelves.

TL: You recorded ‘The End of the Beginning’ with Mike Plotnikoff who has worked on so many great records. How would you describe the band’s music before going into the studio and after the record was complete?

MB: Mike is our mentor and the ‘fifth member’ of Like A Storm. He is such a talented producer, mixer, and engineer – we feel so lucky to work with him! He has 20 years of experience with the biggest bands in the world, but every day he would turn up to the studio with the passion and open mind of someone who’s just starting out. Mike saw the opportunity to create something really special, and it was his idea to bring in Igor Khoroshev – producer, composer, arranger, and hands down the most talented musician I’ve ever seen. In my mind he is a true genius. Mike and Igor really worked with us from day one, listening through almost 100 songs to pick the 12 that made the record! They ripped the songs apart, turned arrangements upside down, brought endless ideas to the table and challenged us right up to the last day of mixing. Together we experimented with songs, with sounds, and the music kept evolving every single day of those 18 months… I mean ‘Keep the Pain Alive’ evolved from a straightforward 3 minutes into a 7 minute epic! ‘The End of the Beginning’ is as much Mike & Igor’s album as it is ours, they are a huge part of the Like A Storm sound.

TL: You’re first big tour of the U.S. was with Creed. Had you followed everything that had happened with the band in the past and what was the band’s feelings going into the tour?

MB: Yeah that was an awesome tour man! Wow… We feel so lucky. Creed was a hugely successful band, and we had seen everything that had transpired along the way… pretty much from day one when ‘My Own Prison’ hit the radio in New Zealand. Mark (Tremonti) is one of my favorite guitarists, I am a huge fan of his playing both with Creed and with Alter Bridge. So getting the tour was a dream come true… not only was it an incredible opportunity to play for arenas of screaming rock fans in the US, but also to play alongside one of my idols. We all knew that it was an amazing opportunity for a new band, so we made it our mission to go out and give it everything we had every single night.

TL: The band ended 2009 touring with The Veer Union. How were those dates?

MB: Touring with The Veer Union was rad – they are an awesome band and a great bunch of dudes. They’re from Vancouver, so we’ve known those guys for years, played the same shows and hung out at the same clubs… to get to tour the US with them was really cool for us. It was awesome to go back to places we’d played on the Creed tour, and play for our fans in a club setting. Clubs have such a cool vibe, they are smaller and more intimate than arenas, and you can really get in people’s faces. We met a lot of new rockers too, who we were stoked to welcome into the Like A Storm family! It was a great tour to end the year on.

TL: 2009 was obviously a great year for the band and 2010 is starting off well with the Shinedown tour. Aside from that tour, what does Like a Storm have planned for 2010?

MB: 2009 was an amazing year for us man, truly the year my dreams came true. We finished our debut album, signed our record deal, and toured all over the US with huge bands like Creed, Staind, Hoobastank & Puddle of Mudd. 2010 looks to be just as awesome – we are really excited for the upcoming Shinedown tour! After that, we have touring plans for both the US and Canada, our record is being officially released in stores, our single “Chemical Infatuation” will hit the radio, and we’ll have the opportunity to play the music we love for people night after night. As always, we’ll be writing new songs, evolving as musicians, and meeting people who love to rock as much as we do! We feel so lucky to get to play music every day and are really excited about the coming year. Our website www.likeastorm.com will have all the latest tour dates, photos, and updates… so check it out and we’ll see you guys soon on the road!

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Like a Storm is currently on tour with Shinedown, Puddle of Mudd and Skillet. Connect with the band on MySpace and Twitter.