Collected chaos

With Red Mass, local stalwart Choyce
seeks some intense reactions

PROPENSITY FOR INTENSITY: Choyce (c) and Red Mass

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

When sitting down and talking to Red Mass main man Choyce over pints, barely a breath goes by without the word “chaos” cropping up. Choyce should be no stranger to anybody who has kept an eye on the Montreal music scene—he’s graced the stage with everybody from the Spaceshits and les Sexareenos to, most notably, CPC Gangbangs, whose chaotic escapades followed them around like toilet paper stuck to their Chuck Taylors.

After the CPC’s implosion while on their last American tour, Choyce returned bloodied but unbowed and began hatching plans to unleash the band that had been sitting in his subconscious, Red Mass.

“I knew I wanted this band to be a collective,” says Choyce, “with people from different backgrounds who don’t really know each other but to push each other and kind of try and harness a kind of controlled chaos. There is a chaos element to what we do, but we do put a lot of effort into it and work really hard. It’s really important that we are doing something that people can connect with spiritually, and get an intense reaction with.”

At last count, Red Mass features anywhere between 30 and 40 members within its collective, with Choyce playing the role of ringleader. To try to encapsulate the Red Mass sound in words is almost impossible. With a wealth of recordings already done since the band’s inception a year ago, that sound spans the spectrum of noise, dark ambient, garage rock, punk, psych-folk, improv, experimental electronic and hard psych. “I really want to touch every genre of music but always keep it on an intense emotional level because you can just touch more people that way.”

The first recording to see the light of day will be a four-song 12-inch on local label Psychic Handshake (see sidebar), showcasing the band’s more rock and post-punk side. A host of other seven- and 12-inch releases are already in the can and intended for a variety of labels in the new year, before the band finally puts the finishing touches on a full-length.

With the prestigious title of Noisemaker tucked under his belt, Choyce promises to not let us down. “We really want to change people through our music, and hopefully, after a year’s time, there will be so much blood on our hands we can paint the whole town red.”

EP LAUNCH WITH GUESTS DEMON’S
CLAWS AND NICK FLANAGAN AT CLUB
LAMBI ON FRIDAY, JAN. 9, 9 P.M., PWYC