Toshio Band Releases ‘Lock Your Doors’ EP | Interview
Toshio Band releases neo-noire concept rock EP ‘Lock Your Doors’.
Led by singer/songwriter Tim Lavigne, a longtime Brooklyn-based musician with roots in the New Jersey punk scene, the group has developed to include Daniel Imana (drums, vocals, producer), Nick Valle (guitar, vocals), Ben Deixler (keyboards, vocals), and Brandon Garcia (percussion, vocals, engineer).
‘Lock Your Doors’ is a neo-noire concept rock EP about a hero’s journey through madness and melancholy in an unforgiving world. Mysterious dark themes of an antihero—inspired by Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch, William Blake, and musical influences from The Pixies to Tom Waits—permeate throughout the EP. The EP, which was conceived right before the pandemic in early 2020 and was recorded throughout 2020 and 2021, is the continuation of the group’s 2019 EP debut ‘A Splash of Blood’ (Spirit Charity). The EP features three singles: ‘The Devil Is Chatting In My Ear’, ‘Cassandra’ (released via the label Spirit Charity) and ‘Cataclysm’.
“I was writing my own version of a Jisei poem, or epitaph, for my mom”
How did the project start?
Tim Lavigne: This project started as a tribute to my mother who died in 2009. After nearly nine years of sitting on the sidelines I made it my mission to make a record in her honor. While talking with my father about my mom, I learned that she was a big fan of Yukio Mishima and Jisei (Japanese death poetry). While reading and researching this author I had my lightbulb moment. It was one of many connections that tied everything together for my overall concept.
Let me back up to explain… In early 2018, just after making my determination, I worked on the “David Bowie Is” exhibition at Brooklyn Museum as the manager of the audio/visual technicians. I was already a big fan of Bowie, but that exhibition gave me the chance to mix for his Black Star band, hear Tony Visconti speak, and intimately view his work. I also learned Bowie was an avid reader who kept a travelling case full of books on tour. This reminded me of my mom, who was a librarian and installed a deep love of literature with me. Bowie mentioned that his favorite book was Spring Snow by Mishima. I decided right then that I was writing my own version of a Jisei poem, or epitaph, for my mom.
I got the title of the first EP from a quote from The Sea of Fertility: “Perfect purity is possible if you turn your life into a line of poetry written with a splash of blood.” I named it ‘A Splash of Blood’.
Toshio is my middle name given to me by my Japanese grandmother. I used to hide the name when I was young because I didn’t want to be different. It felt right to use this name which was given to me for my return in this phoenix act.
To make the record I rented Gojira’s studio Silver Cord and hired Zachary Spiezer to produce, Brandon Garcia to engineer, and Kevin Rackza from Antibalas to play drums while I performed everything else. Then Spirit Charity agreed to release the first EP for us in September 2019. The exposure from the EP led several musicians to ask to join what became Toshio Band.
“Some days it’s cloudy and other times you get weeks of sunshine”
What can you say about the creating process? How did you approach it?
I approach it with everything I’ve got. I practice guitar, bass, and singing religiously—but in between those moments I feed my inspiration with quality films and literature. Once I have a concept and a couple cool chords, the songs tend to write themselves. After I write a bunch of songs, I group together the ones that fit the concept. This concept can be elusive but if I keep reading and absorbing art, eventually it reveals itself – as was the case with ‘A Splash of Blood’. I think of it like an antenna that picks up frequencies off the air. You have to set it up every day and twist the knobs until you get something pretty and clean coming through. Some days it’s cloudy and other times you get weeks of sunshine.
‘Lock Your Doors’ was constructed differently than the first EP. To begin with, everything was cut live as a band to get a more rock n roll feel (with the exception of ‘Cassandra’ which I had to record in my living room due to the lockdown and then sent tracks to my drummer/producer Daniel Imana). ‘Cataclysm’ and ‘Forgotten Friends’ were the culmination of all our hard work. Once we were able to record in person again we spent weeks rehearsing the tracks before we cut them in Daniel’s studio. I wanted to push the envelope with these two tracks so we added lots of instrumentation and overdubs to make it more cinematic. I really wanted a Ennio Morricone feel to end the EP.
To what degree are you influenced by different directors, like Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch…
Tarantino really tied everything together for me. I love his distinct taste and I set out to create music that sounds like an unmade film of his. That being said, I truthfully can say I love all genres of music and just could have easily been playing a different style. However, when I look deep within myself I must admit that I love anti-heroes from noire and western films the most. Something about this lonely journey we find ourselves in feels like my life. Except that I don’t consider myself a villain, but I’d love to play one on stage or in film.
“This record is focused on the divide within ourselves”
Would you agree that your music is part of a particular concept you had in mind?
‘Lock Your Doors’ was conceived and made during Covid but it’s also a continuation of ‘A Splash of Blood’ – but heavier and bolder. Perhaps with my art, I’m out of the shock and guilt of the early stages of grief and onto the anger and depression. My days are not so dark now though. Despite the hardships, I had a very successful 2020 and I’m very grateful to be in such a good place artistically and mentally.
There are five songs on this EP. ‘Cassandra’, ‘The Devil is Chatting in My Ear’, ‘Scorpion’, ‘Cataclysm’, and ‘Forgotten Friends’. This record is focused on the divide within ourselves, the divide with other people, and our divide with Mother Nature. ‘Cassandra’ speaks the truth but is never believed; the ‘Scorpion’ speaks venomous and false words from the pulpit of power; the devilish functions cloud our minds and whisper darkness in our ears; ‘Cataclysms’ divide; and we are so caught up in the moment, we forget who our real friends are.
Do you find yourself to be a perfectionist, in control, or do your ideas lead you, taking on a life of their own?
I shoot from the hip from time to time but only when my heart tells me to. I love serendipity and often use moments or sudden inspirations in my art. I do the same thing when I travel, I always try to go to one place on a foreign trip that presents itself to me in a poetic fashion. I can’t say specifically how or why it happens, so I’ll call it instinct. Then again, I worked on the lyrics to ‘The Devil Is Chatting In My Ear’ for close to a decade. It started as a poem and eventually I used it during an improvisational moment over some new chords. I spent a lot of time tinkering with the lyrics of this record, much more so than the first record. I wanted them to also be stand-alone poems.
Are you involved in any other projects or do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?
I play trombone in the NYC men’s brass band for Soka Gakkai International, a Nicherin Buddhist organization. Trombone was my first instrument and where I learned to love classical and jazz music. I like to sprinkle those colors in the Toshio Band sound. But my first love was blues—both my parents are from Chicago so I grew up with that sound and it’s in my DNA.
Thank you. Last word is yours.
‘Lock Your Doors’ is a great victory for the band. We spent the last year working hard to put out our best material yet despite all the challenges. It represents a new band and attitude – we are tighter and more determined than ever. I learned a lot about our sound, mixing style, and the musicians in the band through this process. It became much more apparent when I had so much downtime last year – the harsh political and social climate of 2020 and 2021 inspired me to write something darkly beautiful to combat all the negative energy. I hope that my poetry and vibe translate to a wider and understanding audience.
We are just getting warmed up and I’m hungry as hell – my new concept record is already underway – the placeholder title is “ghost hotel.” I want to spend the rest of 2021 recording and playing live so we can drop an even better record next year! I’ve already outdone myself on the lyrics so I want to polish the music when the band has downtime. Things are speeding up and everyone is getting busy in a great way.
Klemen Breznikar
Toshio Band Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Spotify
Spirit Charity Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Soundcloud / Spotify
