INTERVIEW – Marcus Ireland (The Lifetakers)
Published on September 23, 2011 by Christian Sellers · No Comments
Late last year five frustrated musicians came together from several local groups in Vancouver to form The Lifetakers, a love letter to ‘70s rock like Cheap Trick and the Sex Pistols. Fronted by Marcus Ireland, the band launched a website and recorded a seven-track EP, which they then distributed independently across the internet.
Their hard work soon began to pay off when they came to the attention of Classic Rock, a magazine devoted to the kind of music The Lifetakers had grown up with. Not only praised as a promising new band, they are also included on the free CD with the latest issue, available in shops now.
Marcus Ireland looks back on eventful twelve months and what the future has in store for The Lifetakers.
The Lifetakes came together as a collaboration between members from several Vancouver-based groups, such as The Spitfires and Crystal Pistol. How competitive is the city’s music scene and was there any kind of rivalry between the respective bands?
“Um, not really, Not with the bands you mentioned. We all love the same kind of music so we really celebrate it together. There is so few rock ‘n’ roll bands out there that are any good. That’s why we eventually ended up playing together in some form or another. We really started out of total frustration for the music we dislike.”
Classic Rock magazine has helped to raise your profile recently by not only praising your music but also featuring one of your songs, Mommy Don’t Know, on the free CD. How receptive has the press, both in print and online, been to the band and are you conscious on how you want The Lifetakers to be marketed and promoted?
“Yes, Classic Rock magazine is really raising our profile. It’s such a hugely circulated magazine that how could it not help? Anyone who likes rock reads that mag, so we were really happy to find out that they wanted to review our record, but to praise it such as they did was especially exciting. It also branched off into more press for the band, which is great!! As far as how we want to market the band, there is no real game plan, we just put it out there in as many places as we can, and hope that people champion it such as Classic Rock magazine has. We are a DIY rock band after all, so word of mouth is key. And we hope people get excited enough to tell they’re friends to check it out.”
Websites such as iTunes and CD Baby have allowed you to distribute your self-titled EP independently, without the support of a label. Do you feel that the internet has placed the power back into the hands of the artists and how do you make the most of this?
“Anything Viral is GREAT! To think that I can sell my album anywhere in the world via the internet with the click of a button is fabulous. How could you complain about that? Saying that, if you have a shitty work ethic, your record is going to get dusty on the iTunes shelf, or the CD Baby shelf. Just as it would in your local record store. But with all the social network websites out there, you can make it known to your fans or friends that you have stuff coming out. So it does give the independent bands more power. What you choose to do with it is another thing.”
The style of The Lifetakers seems like a cross between late 1980s glam metal and mid-1990s pop rock. Is there a specific music scene that you feel has inspired the band and what era do you feel you belong to?
“First off, there is almost nothing in the ‘90s that we love. And if there is… most people have never heard of it. All of us like a ton of different stuff but the main thread in our songwriting is based around Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, (early) Kiss, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Sex Pistols, Gary Glitter, Aerosmith, Johnny Thunders, L.A.M.F., The Dolls, The Wildhearts, etc… That sort of thing. Our drummer is a huge Replacements fan. But it’s not really about that is it? Great songs are great songs. It’s all in how you choose to represent them. One of my favourite albums is Bat out of Hell. So it’s really about song writing more than anything else.”
Your song Dead Boy not only has a punk attitude but is also reminiscent of Sonic Reducer, the first track off the debut album by The Dead Boys. Were you inspired by this group and was Stiv Bators someone you idolised when you were growing up?
“Ya, our song Dead Boy is actually a nod to The Dead Boys. If you listen to the words it mentions all my fav Dead Boys songs. I wouldn’t call myself the hugest Dead Boys fan, but they’ve definitely got some great songs that I love. I really love the whole snotty attitude behind that era of music. That song actually came into rehearsal, and the intro sort of sounds like Sonic Reducer. And me being the lazy CUNT that I am, I just penned it as such. “Ain’t it fun? So true……. got me searching for somebody to use.” If you’ve ever played in a band you can relate to Ain’t it Fun. Aren’t all musicians fuck-ups? I happened to be listening to a bunch of Dead Boys at the time.”
What lessons do you feel you learnt from your previous bands and how did you put this into practice with The Lifetakers?
“The only thing I have ever learned from playing music is…….. “I’M A FOOL ‘CAUSE I’M A ROCKER.” You really got to love and respect the people you play with. If you don’t, you’re doomed. Blackie (one of the guitar players) and I were sitting around drinking in bar one night. Both pretty frustrated with everything we had done in music up to that point. Not ‘cause of the music but the people we had previously played with. And he said we need to start something that will actually make us excited about playing in a band again. My only stipulation was it’s got to be with people that we like. Nothing is worse than being around people you hate. So we started scratching around our close friends and that was that. So we put together a Johnny Thunders tribute band and played almost all of L.A.M.F. We did one show that was packed, and that was it. We started writing again.”
Being an independent band is a financial burden but many up-and-coming artists use their websites to sell merchandise, such as t-shirts and posters. Has this helped to fund both the recording of your EP and your life on the road and how have you managed to survive in an industry that relies less than ever on CD sales?
“Well it’s not really a secret that bands always have made money from touring and selling merch. I mean, some bands on Warped Tour are selling $30,000 a day in merch. That’s great for them. We’re really just trying to get the word out to people about The Lifetakers, so we can hopefully kick open as many doors as possible. We do make some money from merch but it mostly goes to make more merch. Our recording is all done in-house by our drummer, the magical Jay Solyom. So we did it on his dime. We sent it off to L.A to have it mastered. But every little bit helps for sure.”
What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment so far with The Lifetakers and do you have a masterplan?
“We’re a very new band so we’re just starting to scratch the surface of what we want to do. I’d say the biggest thing thus far is the Classic Rock thing, and fine sites like this one. The Lifetakers are less than a year old so we have a lot of work ahead. So far we’re covering pretty good ground. But I guess we want what all bands want, to be able to make a living doing what we love. I think it’s all you can ask for in this day and age. Our goal in the next year is to tour the U.K and Europe, and put out great records that we love. So if anyone is listening?????? Hahhahaha.”
For more information on The Lifetakers visit the following:
- Official site
- Facebook
- MySpace
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