Interview with Rose Perry of ANTI-HERO

While this Canadian three-piece band may have formed in 2004, ANTI-HERO is full of seasoned performers. Borrowing from a diverse collection of musical influences including the SEX PISTOLS and TED NUGENT, Anti-Hero manages to create richly-textured songs, inspired by a lifetime of musical hertiage.
Now, you might ask yourself "What's that all MEAN??"
It means NOTHING other than we have another excuse to fire off a bucket full of silliness to a female-fronted band. Take it away!

FoundryMusicRob: I want to ask you something right off the bat: You started a band called HER, which then gave birth to HER Records. After the band ended, you kept the record company and started Anti-Hero. Naturally, Anti-Hero is signed to HER Records. So you’re not only the front-woman and founder of the band, you’re also your own A&R and PR person, among other abbreviatable business terms. Doesn’t your head start to hurt from wearing all those hats?

Rose Perry: It definitely can get exhausting, especially during the Spring/Summer (the ideal touring seasons), but if I didn't love what I was doing, I wouldn't be doing it.

FoundryMusicRob: Did you know that abbreviatable isn’t an actual word? I think it should be a word, what do you think?

Rose Perry: I am indeed aware of that fact that it is a neologism of your own. English was one of my majors in school. However, if you feel compelled to use it, I'm not going to act as the grammar police. It's your speech, not mine.

FoundryMusicRob: Alesse Birth Control is one of your sponsors. A band being sponsored by birth control is a ballsy move for anyone, regardless of genre, gender, or country. How did you get Alesse to come onboard and be a sponsor?

Rose Perry: They approached us because they really respected and appreciated the strong empowerment messages geared towards women within our music. We are thankful for all of their support as it has generated some great exposure for us.



FoundryMusicRob: I was reading your tour rider, and you guys pretty much ask for simple things. Parking and travel compensation and an equipped place to play. Aside from that all you really seem to ask for is to have other bands that draw their own crowds as well. Has anyone ever tried to book you for a show and actually had a problem with meeting those demands?

Rose Perry: Yes. You'd be surprised how uncompromising some bookers can be. We don't feel as though we are acting like rock royalty, and demanding unrealistic expectations. We just want to ensure that we can at the least cover our asses for each gig. Unfortunately, we've had the pleasure of working with some promoters who really don't seem to care about their shows or the bands they book, but I can understand their point of view; they are taking a risk by booking a new act. However, considering the demands of some other indie acts with whom we've shared the stage, we barely ask for a thing.

FoundryMusicRob: I also noticed that you make mention that all of your merch sales are solely yours. Meaning the venue isn’t entitled to any of the money made from selling your CDs, T-shirts, etc. – In some places that are Union run, the Union demands a cut; would that, or has that, ever stopped you from playing a show?

Rose Perry: No, not at this point. We are actually members of the AFM, so in the event there was a dilemma regarding that issue, we'd be taken care of through our union.

FoundryMusicRob: You’ve only done select U.S. cities so far, are there any plans for a full U.S. tour in the near future?

Rose Perry: Indeed, we can't wait to tour to new and exciting places! We're taking a little downtime right now through the winter weather to work on new material, but come Spring, in the words of Willie Nelson, we'll be “on the road again.”



FoundryMusicRob: Each of you had other musical endeavors before getting together to form Anti-Hero. You all have had experience playing and writing music before, how many, if any, of the songs on Unpretty were pieced together with ideas that didn’t work out in your previous bands?

Rose Perry: Only two of the ten tracks were from my HER days. I wrote both “Wake Me Up” and “Lost (On the outside)” when I was about 15 years old. However, since then and obviously with different musicians, the sound of each of those pieces has changed dramatically. I'm much happier with the ANTI-HERO versions.

As for “Unpretty”, again when I was in HER, I wrote a song which could be considered its precursor entitled, “American Perfekt”. Its lyrics deal with the similar issue of societal ideals of beauty. However, I would definitely say that “Unpretty” offers a more polished, and mature approach to that subject matter, and is a stronger song in terms of its instrumentation.

FoundryMusicRob: What do you do when you’re out on tour and you get hit a bout of homesickness? Do you carry anything around with you to remind you of home just in case of such an event?

Rose Perry: I'm not one to really get homesick as I live in a crummy one bedroom apartment to which I'm not particularly attached. However, I do miss my cats a great deal, and as soon as I get home, I smother them with love.

FoundryMusicRob: Here’s one that might seem a little crude, but believe me, it’s completely for a comedic purpose. There are 2 women in the band, and every woman turns into a lovely, tolerant, understanding, rational, perfectly sane human being for a week each month. (Note the sarcasm) What happens if you’re on tour and right before a show you’re doubled over with cramps, or your mood is swinging like a clock pendulum?

Rose Perry: The same thing that happens if any band mate is feeling unwell, we obviously deal with it the best we can, trying to accommodate their needs, and in the end, we just rock past it. Plus which, I'm sure any woman can concur, exercise (well for us, in the form of headbanging, and jumping around on stage) always makes you feel better when you are in that state.

FoundryMusicRob: I really like the song “2 Words”. The only problem with the title is that using the term “2 words” in music has been done so much that you automatically think it’s either “Fuck You” or “I’m Sorry”. In the song, ironically enough, it’s both of those. Let’s see if you can find a way of saying the same things, only this time the song title is “5 Words”

Rose Perry: Well, first off, I've never heard of a song by either title so I'm not quite sure about your statement. Secondly, I wouldn't say it's been done to death because “Two Words” is actually one of our songs that merits the strongest response because everyone, whether old or young, has had someone in their life to whom they are dying to tell those two words. Furthermore, before performing the song live, we call upon the crowd to join us in a “fuck you” chant, and they always love it.

Anyways, to answer your question about creating a song title with “5 Words”, I'm not one for swearing excessively. I feel that profanity is more effective when used sparingly and only at climatic points in songs. You'll notice it's the only time on our entire album that “fuck” is used, so when it comes to creating a five word title that evokes the same emotion, I don't think it's possible to be as effective.

FoundryMusicRob: Even though you’re a relatively new band, you’ve done a ton of press. I’ve read over most of the interviews that you have posted on your website and most of them contain the same questions. Do you ever tired of telling people who your influences are and what your favorite part of touring is?

Rose Perry: Talking about the bands and musicians whom have inspired us to become a band never really gets boring because every time that question is asked, I almost always can think of acts that I'd like to mention in addition to my main influences.

In regards to talking about our favourite part of touring, well most bands will tell you the same – the actual performance – so I'd have to say that overall, that's not a very inventive question.

The one question that drives us crazy, at this point, is explaining the origin of our band name and how we formed. Seeing as we've been together for two years now, and have done countless interviews, I would expect a keen interviewer to conduct some background research on us so that he/she is able to ask us probing questions, instead of forcing us to regurgitate stories that are already widely known amongst our fans.

FoundryMusicRob: Lastly, is there anything you’d like to plug? Any inspirational last words for our readers?

Rose Perry: We are currently doing the preliminary filming for our “Rockumentary” which documents our band's struggle for success, and our personal lives. As well, we are taking part in a compilation disc for London bands to cover other London bands in the city. We will be covering a well-known punk act that has made the London punk scene what it is, so keep your eyes and ears out for both! Check out our official website Anti-Hero.ca for more info and add us on myspace if you'd like: Myspace.com/antiherocanada.