Interview with 40 SONS AND DAUGHTERS

Waste you call a land – by Mel in Toronto

"It's absolutely wild seeing how much your music can affect some people," Mike Repic, lead singer of 40 sons and daughters says. During their live shows, he loves seeing the crowd's reaction and their audience surely loves them back. This Canadian four-piece band is known for their kick-ass live shows. An outstanding stage presence combined with alternative hard rock songs, driven by intense, powerful vocals, mixed with intoxicating melodies and an extremely tight performance always leave the crowd with nothing else to do but engage in some serious head banging.

40 sons and daughters was formed in 2004 and consists of Mike Repic (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mike Szpakowski (lead guitar, vocals), Graeme Hawkins (bass, vocals), and Cristiano Andreatta (drums). Last year was a big year for this band from Hamilton, Ontario. At Ozzfest, they shared the stage with big headlining bands like Ozzy Ozbourne, Black Label Society, System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Atreyu, and others. They were also named the Y108 and Roger's Spring Music Festival Breakout Band of 2006, which, among other prizes, meant studio time for 40 sons and daughters.

In March 2007 the band released their eight-song album. The title 'The Monster's Face' is inspired by the idea of people hiding behind masks everyday "and they are the monster underneath the mask," Mike Repic (Mike) says. Even though the band collectively works on the music, it's Mike S. who writes most of the riffs. Mike is responsible for the lyrics. His influences are very diverse, just like their music. Mike explains that he gets his "lyrics from a lot of places. About half of them are pretty autobiographical. Just things that have happened to me that I need to get out. I also read a lot, from philosophy to serial killer biographies to children's books."

Their song ARISE "was based on the book Helter Skelter. It was me putting myself in the place of Charles Manson," Mike explains. WASTE YOU CALL A LAND was written after a break-up. IT ALL COMES BACK TO ME was the first song Mike wrote the lyrics for from their new album. "I was … at a bad place and I was just questioning everything I was doing and had done and just trying to find myself again. At the end of everyday all you really have is yourself, " Mike says. The song DECEIT reflects Mike's passion for philosophy. "I actually wrote this song while reading the satanic bible. It's about being taught something your whole life and in a minute you find out there's an entire world outside your own that isn't made up with the same rules," Mike says. MY ILLUSION is about "feeling so vulnerable that you just try to attach yourself to anything around you whether it is drinking or a girl, and finding flaws in everyone and everything but in the end realizing it's yourself. So you have to be comfortable with yourself and in your own skin to be happy with anyone else."

If you get a chance to see 40 sons and daughters live: GO! You'll be in for a real treat. Their intoxicating performance will, in no time, have you submersed in their music, screaming for more. To start, check out their album ‘The Monster's Face'. It's not too often you find an album where all songs are great, yes all eight of them! Their music is as diverse as their lyrics. As for 40 sons and daughters, they know exactly where they want to be in five years: "Hopefully by then we'll be going on tour regularly and we'll be backed by a label that's good for us," Mike says. If they keep doing what they are doing, this might happen sooner than later!

"In your own words" – ONE on ONE with Mel and Mike Repic

Mel: Who are your influences?

Mike: It's a big range. While Mike S., Graeme and Cristiano lean more towards heavier music like Dream Theatre, Metallica, Nevermore, and Megadeth, I'm more into classic rock and industrial.

Mel: What does it mean to you to be an indie artist?

Mike: Right now, I really like being an indie artist. I don't feel like we are tied to some record company that is going to tell us what songs we can and can't play. We can play and do anything we want and we don't have to answer to anybody but ourselves. I'd love to have a label behind us eventually but on our own terms.

Mel: What would you like to achieve with your music?

Mike: World domination. (laughs) We want to reach as many people as possible. We feel that we have a very unique sound that many people can enjoy. I feel, we have catchy but interesting music with lyrics that will make you think a little bit more than your average ‘pop' song.

Mel: Which artist would you like to record a song with and why?

Mike: For me, I think I'd really like to work with Maynard James Keenan or Thom Yorke. They just seem so full of great ideas. I think it would just be really inspiring to watch them work out a song.

Mel: Which opportunities do you see with indieSolo?

Mike: Hopefully indieSolo will not only give us exposure on the Canadian indie scene but also on the global scene.

Mel: Last year, you participated in the Toronto indie week. What was your experience and are you going to participate again this year?

Mike: It was excellent actually. We showed up not really knowing what to expect and not having any sort of Toronto fan base yet. So to come in 2nd place was a thrill. We're hoping to come out again this year.

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