This is the first publication from a series of interviews with Toronto-based musicians.
Take a look inside to see what some of Toronto’s musicians are doing on and off the stage, where they come from, and where they’re heading in their careers. Here is the deal with a gifted OCAD lady and her band:
Justine Smith and THE LOVE AND TERROR CULT
“We think [our band name] is a fitting description of humanity as a whole.”
Click on this link to listen to THE LOVE AND TERROR CULT’s Hal Johnson & Joanne MCLeod
2nd year painter, writer and video artist Justine Smith and her also artistically active friends Ryan Naray, Collin Young, Jon Galletly, Nilsson Gonsalves got together in 2005 to form this music project.
Edison Osorio: You guys are a Torontoburb-based underground band and being musicians is your part-time hobby/profession. What do you guys do on the side?
Justine Smith: All of us pursue our artsy interests: Ryan and I go to art school, Collin and Jon teach music, Nilsson and Jon run an art/ culture shop in their hometown.
EO: When did you guys get together and that sort of thing? Tell me anything you want about the band.
JS: We began I think in 2005 as a joke band, playing off all of the typical hardcore and metal sounds popular at the time. For some reason people responded, so we decided to get more real about it. This does not imply more serious- merely more true to creating the type of sound that appeals to us personally. We have changed and evolved as a band in the five years or so we have been together.
EO: Where does the name The Love and Terror Cult come from?
JS: We think it is a fitting description of humanity as a whole.
EO: How do you describe the music you guys make?
JS: It is weird and difficult to categorize… I don’t think I could give you a specific genre. We are aggressive and loud. Experimental. Influenced by tech metal and Tori Amos…
EO: What are some of the local bands you guys enjoy listening to?
JS: Dance Electric, Authors, Creeper, Metz, Ancestors, Deadly Hopefuls, Whiskey Priest, Please Standby… There are far too many to list. There are hundreds of good local acts, no matter what I will be leaving out many friends and talented musicians in this section.
As labeled on myspace by the band itself, experimental/grunge/punk are the genres that would best describe The Love and Terror Cult.
www.myspace.com/theloveandterrorcult
NOTE: Justine has announced future contributions related to the music scene in Toronto. More to come…
This blurb was originally conceived as an article for the OCAD Student Union publication, Cadmium, where it is presented in a different format.