10 Punks - 10 Questions - Steve Payne
Welcome to the BRD Original Series - 10 Punks - 10 Questions!
Things have been sleepy in Brutal Land lately but don't even consider fretting because those days are over. We are pleased to present a brand new series that will hopefully bring a small amount of joy to your lives for at least the 10 days and beyond. Resident drunk/brute, Josh Hauta, has harassed 10 of his pals in the music scene with 10 questions and this is the glorious result. So hop into your coziest of PJ pants, grab a Radler, and prepare to be entertained!
Did it just get grizzlier in here? Oh that's why! It's Steve Payne of Grizzly Trail - Edmonton's premiere punk band. You're after riffage? They're holding! Violently aggressive vocals? They can also supply those. As for Payne, you can usually finding him shrieking behind the drum kit or begging for scraps in the alley after the show. Good dude! Check out what he has to say below!
BRUTAL REALITY DIGEST: Identify yourself, your band, and your weapon of choice.
STEVE PAYNE: Hey, I'm Stephen Payne, and I play drums in Grizzly Trail. Weapon of choice? Like nunchucks?
BRD: What is your favourite part of the city/town you live in?
SP: I live in Edmonton so there's alot to like. The people, the summers, the river valley, it's all great. Plus we have the Oilers!
BRD: What is the worst part about the city/town you live in?
SP: Worst part about the city has to be the obvious choice. The cold winters. But if you want a not so obvious choice..Hmm let's see.. not enough taco times? Let's get one on every street corner.
BRD: What is your favourite line from the Star Wars saga?
SP: GGWWWAAAAAWGGHH - Chewbacca
BRD: What is the coolest show your band has played?
SP: That's a tough one to pin down. We've gotten pretty lucky to play some great shows. Our first big opportunity was to open up for Gob in Fort McMurray. I think it was mine and Robbie's first home town show, and for what ever reason our first lead guitarist couldn't make it. So we had to scrap together a bigger then normal set as a three piece. I think it went off alright. I remember finishing up my lyrics in the parking lot and trying to remember them right before we played. Good times.
BRD: What is the shittiest or most hilarious show your band has played?
SP: The crappiest show I know I've ever played was opening up for Teenage Bottlerocket and Chixdiggit a few years back. It was our first time playing Starlite room and we didn't get a sound check. All I could hear was drums and no one could hear any guitars. I don't think I even stuck around after to watch the rest of the show. I had to go have a few beers somewhere else to decompress and try to forget about it. No one likes to be embarrassed. Maybe it wasn't that bad?? I still cringe when I think about being up there and looking at our set and thinking...fuck...we still have 8 songs to play.
BRD: Who do you think is the most underrated band out there?
SP: A band that we loved growing up was actually Edmonton band CHOKE. Maybe it was cause they were one of the few bands that would actually play our small towns. But I feel like in Canada and North America they should have been bigger. On Instagram today it says they are practicing this week, which is always awesome to see when old bands start playing again.
BRD: What's your "safety net" stage banter?
SP: In my last band, Knife Fight in the O.R. I used to be the singer, and I would always just strip down to my
ginch and sing. Oh to be young again...but for Grizzly Trail we've tried different things. People say we talk to much but we're just killing time to tune. Still haven't mastered that. A thing we've been trying to do has been starting our sets with the opening to some classic songs. We've only played carry on wayward son and sad but true by Metallica but It always gives us a chuckle when we start our set with those intros.
BRD: If you could be any Pokemon, which one would you fuck? I mean be.
SP: It's gotta be Charizard. He's the original bad boy. Remember those cards when we were kids. I hear an original Charizard goes for like 3 grand now. Gotta catch em all, am I right?
BRD: If your band could tour with any living or dead band in history, who would it be?
SP: Get in your time machine and give me 2001 Blink 182 to tour with. Still had some pop punk gems and still playing old songs from their first albums. Being able to watch that every night would be rad, plus maybe they'd give us a bus? Mark Hoppus seems like a nice fella.
A Winner is You!