I recently had an email exchange with Jon (who looks like the Joker in the above picture) of BEAU NAVIRE who ended up being one of the nicest and most sincere people I've had the pleasure of interviewing. Wondering if the band is finished? Read up and find out! Don't forget to jam the hell out of the embedded songs whilst reading. Afterwards, check out the OPENmindSATURATEDbrain review and mp3 downloads here.

Considering the point of this blog is to introduce people to new bands, which bands would you recommend checking out?
I have recently been listening to tons of Forstella Ford, Strike Anywhere, Meneguar and Grails. Newer and current bands I have been listening to frequently are Ruined Families from Greece, this band is blowing my mind and keeping me stoked with every release. I also think Birds In Row and Holy are two of my favorite live and recorded bands of the past couple of years... I feel really out of the loop a lot of the time though.

Besides tour, how do you find out about new music?
Before I stopped using a computer everyday, I was checking random music blogs or spending too much time on things like facebook seeing what friends were listening to... Now I just talk to friends, people at shows or bars and at work about their new favorite records past or present! It is much more fun and I don’t get stuck listening to the same style of bands over and over again.

How was the band chronologically assembled?
The band kind of fell into place pretty quickly. Basically Trei and I worked together and had been friends for years. He told me he was playing music with this Kris and our friend Jasmine and that the original bass player in mind wasn’t available too much. So I said I really wanted to play and we began writing the second half of the original Demo. We finished that up and started playing shows in the Bay pretty often. About six months passed and we parted ways with Jasmine... Sean and I had been talking off and on about starting a band for a long time so I invited him to a show we played as a three piece and then he said he was way into playing with us and the rest is history!

What side-projects and/or offshoots have the band members taken part in?
Trei and Sean write solo stuff they don’t share much but it rules! Sean is also always busy with Loma Prieta and Archeopteryx (his noise-punk two piece band). Kris is playing drums in a hardcore band called No Limbs and a new band I havent heard yet called Yearbooks. I have been in numerous bands for various amounts of time over the past few years.  I sang in a band called Heist, played bass in Great Apes and Nervous and now I play guitar and sing in a band from Seattle called Where My Bones Rest Easy.

If you had to slap a genre label on BEAU NAVIRE - so potential new listeners could get a good idea of your sound without hearing you, what would you label yourselves as?
I have no clue... Emo hardcore, soul punk, flower violence. We have been told a lot of different things. We are noisy, pretty, fast, slow, heavy etc... If you like harsh/beautiful music you might enjoy us haha.

Would you consider yourselves a screamo band? What would you like to say about the genre?
I guess? I dont really know what that means these days... I would say we have some part of that word’s meaning at some point but mostly we are just a hardcore band of some sort. I don’t really like genres at all and the labelling of everything just so you can keep it all in this neat box to describe what you are listening to. It all becomes very convoluted and confusing.

There’s usually so much going on in your songs, so I’m wondering who generally writes the first part of a song?
It truly depends on how we have all been feeling. Early on most songs came together after Trei brought a bunch of parts or majority of a song to practice. After a while of all getting used to jamming more we would all bring in bits and pieces of ideas and jam things out until we fell in love with the songs we were creating. Lots of alcohol and laughter is also involved!

Why the feedback? Is the abrasive and raw nature intended?
You totally nailed it! I think feedback is beautiful to be honest. For me it represents the disconnected feelings we have from the rest of the world. The band’s whole reason for writing music is just an outlet for our emotions and thoughts so when we can show every element in a song it always makes me so happy inside.

How long does it take BEAU NAVIRE, on average, to write a song?
I feel like we can typically get a whole song down for the most part in about two or three practices which I guess equates to about 5-10 hours or so?

What was the most difficult song to write?
Ummm.... I think “It’s Not an Art, It’s a Myth” was easily the hardest. It just has so many riffs going on and was a huge game changer in our progression together. I remember when we finally got it with vocals and everything I couldnt help but smile all night and be stoked!

Can you explain the significance or meaning behind some of BEAU NAVIRE’s artwork?
Sean would be the best to ask about this one whenever you see him. He is the master behind that side of things. We all discuss ideas or themes but it’s ultimately his brains interpretation of what we all ramble on and on about. He is kind of a genius for being able to make that happen.

Why the name, BEAU NAVIRE?
We were originally named Life Moves & for various reasons decided to change it. We then just wrote down a ton of names and ultimately fell into this one. Its taken from a Charles Baudelaire poem of the same name.

I’m sure you’ve been to many countries. Which countries appealed to you guys the most? The least?
I would say that Slovenia was the most amazing place we got to visit. I did not know what to expect going over there and the drive through the countryside was breathtaking and then the city we played in was absolutely beautiful and right on the Mediterranean Sea. I would say there is no country we have been able to see that I was not beyond excited about going to!

How have your hometowns influenced your band?
I dont know about hometowns really because we are all from slightly or vastly different places. But the bay area is our collective home and always will be. The bay has always been a melting pot of amazing music and art. I think we have always felt lucky to be in such a place that makes us want to push ourselves and continue to watch everyone around us push themselves as well.

What is the best tour story off the top of your head?
This brings us back to Slovenia... Swimming in the Mediterranean, hanging out with the Panda Banda crew, playing during the sunset on a pier and diving into the sea while Thou and Moloch played!

What was the biggest surprise that has come BEAU NAVIRE’s way?
I would say the fact that people gain so much from the music we make. It is not possible to put into words the love and appreciation we have for everyone who supports us.

Looking back, how do you feel about your older releases?
I love them thoroughly. Its interesting to hear the progression we have taken and we plan to bring back some of the old songs we used to play when we do end up playing again. 

What is the most frustrating thing about the "music industry"?
I would say as a band like ours the “music industry” does not have much relevance to us, at least not at this time and place. We just love playing the music we do and having great friends help release it so we can share it with the world around us. The only thing I wish we could do is make art for a living and the “music industry” has made it to where that is a bit hard to do without dealing a lot with them.
    
Everyone has phobias, especially irrational ones. Mine? Sharks. Yours?
I am very afraid of the idea of ghosts or spirits. If you leave me in a dark place that I am not familiar with my mind will play tricks on me and I will lose my shit. (maybe literally)

Future plans?
Going back to school for woodworking, traveling with my wife and hanging out with our cat Dillinger, playing music and seeing friends more often!

Top 10 albums of all time?
Anything by FORSTELLA FORD
OKARA - Months Like Years
SUFFOCATE FOR FUCKS SAKE - Blazing Fires and Helicopters on the Frontpage Of the Newspaper. There’s A War Going on and I’m Marching in Heavy Boots.
HOT WATER MUSIC - No Divison
STRIKE ANYWHERE - A Chorus Of One
DILLINGER FOUR - Midwestern Songs Of America
WELCOME THE PLAGE YEAR – Welcome The Plague Year
THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES - Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps Its Antelope Go Home
UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON - The Switch Is Down
ENVY - All the Footprints You’ve Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead