KEN Mode Frontman Talks About Juno Nomination + More

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Winnipeg, Canada, sludge/post-hardcore trio KEN Mode started out in 1999 and have enjoyed a colorful career thus far, releasing five impressive studio albums and touring all over the place in the process. They were the winners of Canada’s prestigious Juno Award in the best metal album category for their 2011 effort ‘Venerable’, and have again been nominated for this year’s Juno Awards for their latest album ‘Entrench’. Currently on a US tour with Russian Circles and Helms Alee, the relentlessly touring KEN Mode are the definition of the term ‘full-time band’, as they continue to spread the noise to the masses wherever they go and as often as they can. The tour paid a visit to the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10th, and shortly after they were done playing a devastating 30-minute set, I spoke to vocalist/guitarist/bassist Jesse Matthewson about the Juno nomination and all other things KEN Mode. Enjoy the quirky conversation below.

Jesse, it’s good to have you on Metal Assault. That was a great set you just played here at the El Rey.

We did! Thank you very much for having me.

So, how’s this tour with Russian Circles been going?

It’s been really great. It’s the best US tour we’ve ever been a part of. So we really have nothing to complain about. Pretty much every show has been the best show we’ve ever had in every city. So, shucks!

You’ve toured with a variety of bands. I guess you’re able to fit in with bands of different styles because of the nature of your music.

Yeah, as anyone who’s heard us would know, it’s a pretty wide range of stuff that we do. I like to think that we can fit in with most bands in the extreme music spectrum. Some tours do better than others for us, but this one seems to be a really good one. Russian Circles have very attentive and appreciate fans who seem to be very open-minded, so it’s been really cool.

Exactly. Other than this tour, what I wanted to ask you first is, you’ve been nominated for this year’s Juno Awards in Canada. You won it in that category for your previous album and you’re featured in the awards for your latest album ‘Entrench’ as well. You must be doing something right!

Yeah, it’s cool! You know, it’s one of those weird scenarios where I’d be bummed out if we weren’t nominated but at the same time we don’t think we have any hope in hell actually winning it this time because this is only the third time they’ve done the metal category and if we won two-thirds of it, that looks really bad (laughs). The whole band really hopes Gorguts wins. I think that would be a massive statement for the Juno committee to be making, just from an international perspective, having a band like Gorguts who’s been around that long and is that artistic to win something like that. The awards are happening a week after we get back home from this tour, and I hope Gorguts wins. But at that time they’ll be on tour with Carcass!

Yeah, that’s true. You’re right, you have some tough competition this time with Anciients and Gorguts but I have a feeling Gorguts will win it.

That’s my opinion. A lot of people don’t seem to think that they’re the frontrunners. I disagree mostly because when we won, we were the most critically acclaimed of all the acts that were up for it at the time, and Gorguts is that band this time. So we’ll see what happens, but my money is on Gorguts, personally and it would be cool if they do win.

Are you guys attending the ceremony at all?

Yeah, it’s actually in Winnipeg which is funny, because it changes cities every year and it just so happens that it lands in our hometown. It’s too bad we can’t win it in our hometown, but oh well, at least I get to hang out there.

Juno nomination aside, the response to ‘Entrench’ must be satisfying to you as a band. It’s been highly acclaimed by everybody, fans and critics alike.

We’ve been getting some good press and we’ve been touring non-stop (laughs), so I’m glad people at least notice that aspect too, because in the past 12 months since the record came out we’ve been on tour for 10 of those months, which for a band of our size is kind of ridiculous. But if we’re doing this full-time, we’re doing this full-time. Shane and I have professional business degrees. Shane has two degrees just for him. But if we get ‘real’ jobs, we can’t just bugger off and go on tour. So we’re doing the full-time band thing very goddamn seriously.

So you guys are not working any jobs over in Winnipeg when you’re off tour?

None. When we get back from this one, we have no tours booked so I’m working a 100 per cent on writing a new record and figuring out what’s next.

You’ve hardly been off tour, so that helps. You don’t have to pay rent or anything.

Oh yeah, all my stuff has been in storage for years. It’s kind of weird. As a 32 year-old man to have no place of your own and a bloody van, it’s a weird way of life to wrap your head around, but I’m sure plenty of people out there doing this can relate.

So you’re already starting to write new songs, then?

Yeah, it’s been almost two years since we finished ‘Entrench’ and recorded it, which was in summer of 2012. So we’re overdue to write some new stuff.

Plus you play so much, so it must be a reason to write new songs too, so that you have new stuff to play live.

Exactly. I’m super bored. I’m tired of these songs and I want to do something new. Something catchy, something poppy (laughs).

Well, don’t go in that direction.

We’ll see what happens, says a wild-eyed Jesse!

You’re on Season Of Mist now and this was your first album with them. Obviously I support all labels and work with everybody but I think Season Of Mist had a really good 2013 with some killer new releases and signings. It must be good to be in that kind of company amongst bands like Anciients, Gorguts and Cynic.

Yeah it’s been cool. On the inside of the industry side of things, the guy running their US operations used to run Escape Artist Records who put out our first two records, which was in my opinion one of the coolest record labels of the 90s and the early 2000s. So it’s just been cool to work with ‘family’ in that aspect. Season Of Mist has been making some really cool moves and they have a lot of really great records coming out this year too, specially with the new Floor and Hark coming out right away. They’re both killer records.

In terms of your band lineup, in the past you had a lot of changes but now it seems like you’re settled. I guess touring plays a big part in bonding musicians together into a stable lineup.

Both bonding and destroying (laughs). We definitely need a break right now. We’ve been together too much, more than anyone who’s married to anyone. I don’t want to be married to those guys (laughs).

Interesting. I noticed when you were playing today that you used a variety of instruments and each one of them was dialed differently. How did you arrive at the sounds for those particular instruments? Is that something you’ve been doing for a while?

Yeah, it’s just something I’ve kind of honed in over the years. Each guitar I use is specifically for the tone that it has. A lot of people ask me if they’re on different tunings, but not really.

It’s about the different tones, not tunings.

Exactly. And I don’t touch my amp when I change instruments. So it’s 100 per cent from the pickups and the way those things sound. It’s really cool. Obviously a Fender Telecaster does not sound like a Gibson Les Paul custom. That’s why I switch. And I always freakpeople out whenever I pull out the bass (laughs). They don’t realize that the song “No, I’m In Control” is done with two basses. It’s just like a giant fart being dropped on people.

Exactly. So what plans do you have after this tour?

Nothing. Just writing, get to go home, sleep in a bed. It’ll be great. Do some Moi Chi training for once, may be get into Jiu-Jitsu again since I haven’t done that in two years. It’ll be nice to take a break. I think people in the States are probably sick of us in most cities. I think this is the fifth time we’ve played LA in the past 18 months. That’s a lot. New York we played 8 times, Chicago 8 times. It’s getting ridiculous. So we need a break and come back in the fall probably, which is funny because it’s not much of a break. But we’ll see.

Related – Gig Review + Photos + Video: Russian Circles, Helms Alee & KEN Mode Perform At The El Rey

Visit KEN Mode on the web:
KEN-Mode.com
KENMode.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/KENMode 
twitter.com/KENModeNoise

Remaining Russian Circles/Helms Alee/KEN Mode Tour Dates:
03/14 Oklahoma City, OK – The Conservatory
03/15 Kansas City, MO – The Record Bar
03/16 Chicago, IL – Metro

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