Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Victories
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
We all grew up with music being important in our households. For me (Chris), my father was a wedding musician and he would have band rehearsals in our home every week. So I would spend nights falling asleep to the sound of his band playing through classics like RESPECT, Macarena, Shout… all the hits!
How did your passion for creating music begin?
From a young age, we got interested in music from our families or older siblings. For me, I inherited directly from my father.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Victories started as a refusal. A refusal to write music that pretended we were younger than we are, a refusal to stop making art just because life got complicated, and honestly a refusal to slow down even when it got hard. Our lead guitarist Stef lost two fingers in a construction accident right after we finished recording our EP in Toronto. We kept going. That felt like the whole story in one sentence — this is a band that doesn’t stop. We play pop-punk for people who’ve actually lived.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
We found a perfect sound that sounds very modern while holding a lot of nostalgia in our hands. We sit in that sweet spot between aggressive and melodic — songs that hit hard but have a chorus you can’t get out of your head for three days. The guitars are loud, the drums are loud, everything is kind of loud, but underneath all of it there are real lyrics about real things. Heartbreak that doesn’t feel like a teenage diary entry. Regret that actually sounds like regret. The kind of music that sounds best at full volume in a car with the windows down, but also works perfectly well when you’re sitting alone at 2am wondering where things went wrong.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
That a song is truly good when you can remove all the layers and enjoy it with just a voice and a guitar.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Guitars, voices, pens and pencils (we still like to write to paper), a decent microphone, a whole lot of energy drink and an open mind and heart.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Our friends in SUCKERPUNCH!, while they may not be necessarily indie, are carving a way through the scene that is inspiring and something we are so incredible proud of.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Sometimes to a fault. Being too much of a perfectionist is usually wrestling with the artistic side that says to just be messy and let feelings take the wheel sometimes. We have had times where we released a song and argued let the “moments” breathe instead of sticking to some “ideal song structure or formula”. Taking pop punk and ramping up musicianship and composition is important to us. We want to also be a ‘musician’s band’.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
We try to have fun, share wisdom from living life and remind people to enjoy things from time-to-time. A key message from our music is that everything is temporary. The terrible moments eventually end, the great times also come to an end, people come and go but the memories are forever. So make the most out of the time you have with the people you love, don’t sweat the small stuff and it’s okay to look back on a life well-lived.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That success and good work do not always perfectly overlap. Sometimes, people don’t get your vision. Sometimes, you are the insane artist. Both are okay. Both are beautiful.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Slam Dunk in the UK
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
The obvious answer would be Blink 182, New Found Glory or Good Charlotte
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Web: Victoriessucks.com
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Write a follow-up EP to the 6 songs we are already releasing between now and October
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
That it’s okay to live. Wear those scars like the life XP that it is.
VCR Music video:
