Red Handed Denial Interview

We were incredibly lucky enough to sit down and talk with the wonderful Lauren Babic of Red Handed Denial. She let us know about their tour with Protest, the new album and more. Here is what she had to say.

Info

Genre: Progressive, Metal

Years Active: 2008-Present

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Record Label: None

1) What's your name and role in the band?

My name is Lauren Babic and I’m the vocalist in RHD! Thanks for taking the time to do the interview!

2) What made you want to be in a metal band, write metal music?

I wanted to be in a band ever since I was around 13 years old or so. I would listen to my favourite bands and think “I want to do that”, as I’m sure many musicians do when they’re younger. For me, it wasn’t so much about “being metal” as it was about finding the right people to work with. So RHD could have been any genre of rock, as long as I meshed with the rest of the band members! I just love the band dynamic that we have.

3) Being Toronto is filled with many touring bands, what is it like for a local in that scene?

Toronto is a tough city simply because there are so many bands of ALL genres, so it’s hard for ANY Toronto-based band to stand out. Luckily we’ve been able to play as many shows as possible and build a rapport with a great group of people, and I think we’ve finally been able to make some waves on the home-front.

4) The band is very diverse as far as its members, how does that play a role within the scene?

Being a very multicultural/diverse band can be a blessing and a curse. On top of being one of the few female-fronted bands, we are essentially the United Nations but in band form haha! I think these things make us very unique within a very white-male dominated genre, but it can sometimes make us stick out in a negative way to those more interested in “image”. I personally love how we represent so many different cultures.

5) The band as a whole seems very focused on their musicianship, why do you feel this to be so important?

We’ve always put the music first. Gimmicks and trends have never been what we’re about. In the end, good music will have a better shelf life than a fad.

6) How does Wanderer differ from your first two albums?

When we created Wanderer, we wanted to make a record that had a focused sound and I think we achieved that. Our past 2 records were for lack of a better word, immature. We were still finding out who we were as a band, and Wanderer was the first album that everything in the band was harmonious, cohesive, and everyone was on the same page. Wanderer is a true representation of how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown as a band.

7) We know you wrote the song Limbo, have you started to process for the new album? How do you top Wanderer?

The new album is already underway and I’m happy to say it will be a full-length concept album. It’s looking like it will have the heaviest songs we’ve ever written as a band, but at the same time, keeping that shreddy and playful vibe that makes RHD, RHD. The new album is taking everything we loved from Wanderer and blowing it up into a full album. Both albums will be linked because the new album is the finale to the Wanderer narrative.

8) Explain how the band plays a comic con and what that did for the band.

Playing a con (twice) was probably one of the coolest experiences we’ve had because it’s like, what band plays a con? hahaha. (We also dressed up during the show and it was hilarious) I think bands these days need to take unconventional routes to pave their own path in this oversaturated market, and doing these weird shows definitely help reach a wider audience.

9) Although you only played one date, what was your experience on Warped Tour like?

We’ve actually played the Toronto date of Warped Tour twice! One year on the Ernie Ball Stage and another year on the Lemmon Stage. It was really cool to get a taste of the many moving parts that make up Warped Tour, and we got to meet tons of people that don’t normally make it out to the smaller shows.

10) How was the Eastern Canada tour? How did the East Coast respond to the band?

The East Coast tour was a wonderful experience and we got to travel across our beautiful country to cities that touring bands don’t normally play. The response out there was amazing!

11) How does one make it into Rock Sound?

Getting any press coverage from a big magazine can often seem out of reach especially for a local band that started from nothing. Rock Sound had reached out to us about the feature and it was a moment when we realized that what we were doing was getting noticed. I’m still trying to wrap my head around how a UK-based magazine wanted to cover us. It’s amazing how far music can travel and I’m so thankful.

12) You recently finished a small tour with Protest The Hero, what was that like?

Doing the little weekend runs with Protest the Hero was incredible. Not only were we able to share the stage with a band we look up to, but we were also able to perform alongside our friends in the other support bands. Every show was better than the night before and it will be something I’ll never forget.

13)  What is left in 2017 for the band?

We have a couple more shows left in October, but the rest of 2017 will be dedicated to finishing our new album. 

14) Which bands from around the Toronto scene would you suggest to someone looking for new music?

There’s so much talent in Toronto and the GTA. I have to give a shout out to The Frame Defect and Earth’s Yellow Sun!



Give our review of Red Handed Denial's latest album Wanderer a look here 

 Published Oct 12th, 2017