Girl at the Rock Shows

I’m really feeling the holiday spirit on this Halloween. I don’t know if it’s because I saw the legendary Count Spookula on Halloween Eve or what, but spooky season songs are hitting the spot right now, and although “Bad Omen” from Fake Paradise isn’t a straightforward Halloween track, there’s something perfectly spooky about it that got me hooked. The more I listened to the song, the more I wanted to know more so I jumped on the opportunity to ask Jace and Osihik from Fake Paradise some questions.

If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

Jace: probably pizza. Can’t go wrong with that!

Oishik: For me it’s probably poutine which is a Canadian classic. It’s just fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Though there a lot of variations kinda turning it into a loaded fries type thing.

What’s your go-to coffee order? 

Jace: One cream one sugar, but honestly I’ll drink any coffee really haha. 

Oishik: just sugar. Though I’m more of a tea guy.

Everyone says that every crowd is their favorite but, what city has the best audience and why is it Minneapolis? 

Jace and Oishik: We are a Canadian band based in Saskatoon. we’ve never played in the US or even left Canada though one day we will hopefully.

What’s a new hobby you had taken up during quarantine? If no hobby, is there a random TV show that you binged/ have a very strong opinion on? 

Jace: I remember I got really into aquariums during covid. Fish are cool.

Oishik: I played a lot of video games during quarantine. I remember playing Doom Eternal in the darkness of my room while eating chocolate covered oreos. This is unrelated, but I’m currently binging Shameless. I’m not trying to binge watch it, but they keep leaving on cliffhangers. Not fair.

If you could compare yourself to a bird, what bird would it be and why? 

Jace: A ruffed grouse 100% just cause I like to eat them haha.

Favorite lyrics of all time?

Jace: That’s a tough one! Probably the final verse in black sabbaths “Under the Sun” – 

“So believe what I tell you, it’s the only way you’ll find in the end Just believe in yourself, you know you really shouldn’t have to pretend

Don’t let those empty people try and interfere with your mind Just live your life and leave them all behind”.

Oishik: can’t say I have favorite lyrics cause there’s so many that speak to me in different ways, but what came to mind is off the song “The Vampyre of Time and Memory” by QOTSA. The line is “To be vulnerable is needed most of all If you intend to truly fall apart”.

If you were to rob a bank, what would be the song playing in the getaway car as you escape? 

Jace: “Highway Star” by Deep Purple.

Oishik: “Ace of Spades” by MotorHead. 

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to? 

Jace: There’s honestly so many that’s impossible to choose from just one. But the ones that come to mind are Black sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Alice Cooper.

Oishik: My favorite concert would be a Canadian artist named Begonia. It was at a music festival called NessCreek here in Saskatchewan and her set absolutely captivated me.

If you could have dinner with any musician, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Jace: Ronnie James Dio, RIP… such a huge fan of his work and would love to pick his brain about his life and ask questions about the making of some of his albums.

Have you ever been able to finish a Rubik’s Cube? 

Jace: I’ve been very close, but whenever I get close to solving it I somehow always find a way to mess it up and end up back at the start. It’s very frustrating hahaha.

What’s the worst concert you’ve ever been to and why?

Jace and Oishik: We saw Stone Temple Pilots, Seether, and Defealt and we found them pretty underwhelming. That’s probably the worst concert we’ve both been too. Again not cause it was horrible, but more so just underwhelming. We’re also not the biggest fans of them and are maybe a bit bias.

What’s your favorite method of listening to music (i.e. vinyl, cassette, 8-track, etc.)? 

Jace: I’m a huge vinyl collector, but I also really like cassettes tapes. I tend to find that those formats make me listen to the whole album rather than skip stuff and make me appreciate the album as a whole. Plus they sound great as well. I never really dabbled in 8 tracks, though my dad said they were better used for skeet shooting rather than actual listening Hahaha

Oishik: probably cassette, though it’s not the most convenient. I used to have Nissan Murano with a cassette player in it and that was amazing.

How long did it take you to create “Bad Omen”? 

Jace and Oishik: It took us roughly around 3-4 hours. It’s hard to say exactly cause Bad Omen was recorded with an album so during our studio sessions we were tracking 8 other songs 

What came first, the instrumentation or the words? 

Oishik: We almost always write songs instrumentaly first. Usually starts with a jam with Jace (Lead vocals/guitar) and I (background vocals/drums), then the vocal melody/line and bass is last.

Out of all of the lines of words in this track, which one is your favorite and why? 

Oishik: The first line of the song which is “Hello, old black shadow” is my favorite. I like it cause it’s kinda like the “hello” is greeting the listener or could be greeting a shadow man who is with the listener. We also usually open our sets with this song without saying a word, so again it’s like we’re greeting the audience with that hello.

You mentioned that this song sounds a bit like QOTSA meets Sabbath and, honestly, you’re dead on with that but were there any other influences that had a strong hold on you when creating “Bad Omen”? 

Oishik: Any influences that come out in our music is always subconscious and maybe our vibe when we jam. We don’t think about the vibe of a song till it’s done, and we don’t go out trying to write a specific type of song. The songs kinda write themselves just as “Bad Omen” did.

What’s the last song you were listening to (or are listening to right now) before filling out these questions? 

Jace: “Blinding Light Show” by Triumph

Oishik: “Take Me with You When you Die” by Witchcraft.

Say a pop-superstar was to re-record this song, who would you hope it is?

Jace: Lionel Ritchie 

Oishik: Adele

This song is ultimately about a nightmare– what’s the worst nightmare you’ve ever had?

Jace: the nightmare that influenced the song is the scariest nightmare I’ve had. To sum it up, When I was very little I had this nightmare that I was trapped in my back landing area that leads down my staircase into the dark basement. I seen a little girl dressed in pale white with bloodshot red eyes staring back at me and kept creeping closer. I tried to espace through a backyard door, but it was locked. I kept banging on that door asking to be let out but eventually I was devoured.

Right now, this is just a standalone single that is absolutely perfect for spooky season but can we expect more from you soon? 

Jace and Oishik: Bad Omen was recorded alongside an unreleased debut album. We plan to release a track off that album as a single and then the album once it’s ready. We have plans for a live EP as well as two other albums already written.

What’s next for Fake Paradise? 

Jace and Oishik: Along with the future single and album, we plan to tour throughout Canada and eventually play in the US. Though that’s just vague right now 

Anything else you want everyone to know about you, this song, this band?

Jace and Oishik: We love to connect with people from all over so if you dig the track and our vibe, definitely give us a follow on our socials and send us a DM!

And there you have it, a little background on Fake Paradise, their new song “Bad Omen”, and other random tidbits about Jace and Oishik. Long story short, Fake Paradise is a band to pay attention to if not because of their amazing music, then because of the charm that they brought to this super fun interview. Let’s be sure to show Fake Paradise some huge love so they know how welcome they are here in the United States. I think this is a band that would absolutely kill it live, and I am just counting down the days until I get to experience it. And, Oishik, we have poutine down here in Minneapolis, too! First plate is on me!

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