Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Kirby Fisher - Drums, Vocals
Brock Allen - Bass, Lead and Backup Vocals
Jon Redditt - Guitar, Lead Vocals

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to War Baby? How long has the band been around?

Kirby and I (Jon) got together at the very end of 2008 as a duo. Brock joined us around the beginning of 2013. I have been in about 20 bands of all different kinds. One that I was in for a long time was a hardcore band from Calgary called Joule. I also played guitar in a country band, A Pale Blue, and a bummer rock band called Big Nothing with Brock. Kirby has also been in a hundred bands, but the main one he played in where he grew up in Gold Coast, Australia was called Mopery.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

We have never changed it. We decided the name at the first jam and that was it. I had three names picked out and one was stupid, one became a song name and War Baby stuck. I was watching some stupid Beatles thing with Ringo Starr going “me mam said because I was born the war started”. Then that generational term War Baby got stuck in my head (and I looked it up and it wasn’t taken). Sorry, not much of a story but I do think our name suits us very well. It’s not following any stupid name trend or trying too hard or not hard enough. I have never doubted it.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

We have a few different methods and things going on writing-wise. The first record was very me just writing a whole song and Kirby putting drum parts and vocals to it. Also Kirby took a number of leads and would work out lyrics for his parts.

The new record’s songwriting is similar but a lot more sliced and tweaked and quirked. Some songs would begin with some riffs with a vague idea of vocal melody and then we would arrange the whole thing together. Some songs were fully written and then destroyed and put back together. Also, Brock joined us after the first record and so on this new record he brings three songs to the table. Another song has Brock and I trading off lead vocals and Kirby doing backups, and I really like that dynamic. I foresee more songs like that one.

As an overall theme, it should come as no surprise that “Death Sweats” deals with death and anxiety. Lyrically my songs explored aspects of the dying American Dream, meaninglessness, cosmophobia. Kirby said that I sometimes write for the line as opposed to the whole. I think maybe I treat the lyrics like a word art collage – it’s kind of scattered but it always makes sense to me somehow.

I can’t see myself continuing to write about death, so yeah, there’ll likely be a thematic shift. It’s just too much of a trigger. Anxiety has been a bit of a life long struggle for me so it will be good to get these songs out into the open but I don’t want to dwell on it for good. This record is fucking dark.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

For me, I have barely been listening to current music. It isn’t because their isn’t good shit out there at all. There’s almost an overwhelming amount and I can’t handle it. When you start digging into the past at least you can get a bit of a grip on the whole scene. I’ve been really mining the history of noise rock and some noisier post punk and hardcore shit. Australian noisey/punk stuff really interests me right now too. I’m not a very good music nerd. Not a collector at all, I just like getting excited by new discoveries. If I have to name drop one name I’ll say the Gordons (the first batch of songs or whatever they did). There, I did it.  

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Yes! SNFU all the way for me. First concert at about 14 and I bet I started a band with my best friends like the next week. Seeing that show changed my life without a shred of doubt. This past July when SNFU started their (30th anniversary of the first album) reunion tour, we got to open for them.

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

Hahahaha. Um…I slam a beer so I’m not so socially awkward. Kirby puts on these awesome American flag shorts. And Brock chain smokes. I can get behind getting into some flexin’ and excercisin’ too, though.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Crazy little festival tour in China, opening for a sold out Eagles of Death Metal yesterday (at the best venue in town!), recording at one of the raddest studios in Canada (The Noise Floor Recording Studio), being supported by a small but amazing network of musicians and music nerds in Vancouver, and certainly the aforementioned zen moment of opening for the band that started it all for me (SNFU)! But those are just off the top of my head. Sounds cheesy but the whole thing has been great. The whole thing has been a highlight.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Friends: Invasives (who we love and have toured with), Dead Soft (but they’re too big of frigging rockstars for us now) and many, many more.

Present: Heads. (German/ Aussie noise rock who we LOVE). That’s it, really. We love Heads. and want to tour with them and are presently working on it.

Past: Jeez, that’s tough. How about the Grateful Dead? They seemed to know a thing or two which we could learn about selling t shirts. How about the Beatles? Have you heard of them? They seemed to do pretty well for themselves.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

If you come to Vancouver, don’t not go eat good food and check out the myriad amazing music that happens every night and then complain about the shitty nightlife. Find the illegal spaces, find the music, go eat at a rad restaurant and forget about the shitty nightlife (and yes it is shitty, but you’re making it worse). Your first mistake was going down to Granville Street, idiot. And if you do those things I mentioned and still hate it... get the f out of my town, poseur.