Vancouver-based band Priced Out channels frustration with the opioid epidemic and housing crisis into powerful punk music, addressing societal issues and advocating for marginalized communities.
1.
Priced Out was formed from a deep frustration with the opioid epidemic and
housing crisis in Vancouver. Can you elaborate on how these issues have
personally impacted you and influenced the creation of your music?
When you are witness to extreme poverty, but not a part of it, there are a
couple of broad ways we think people process this. Either with compassion and a
desire to help; or by dehumanizing those people, stigmatizing them, and putting
blame for failures in policy and social safety nets on the people who are more
impacted by them. All too often it’s the latter of those two, because it’s
easier to do that than face the reality that almost any one of use could end up
in a similar situation due to things outside of our control. It’s easier to
blame a victim than admit we live in a flawed system.
These songs are born out of a desire to give more of a voice to stigmatized
people. People who have nothing left to lose, and very few advocates and
allies.
2. You cite bands like Idles, Dead Kennedys, and Lou Reed as major
influences. How have these artists shaped your sound and lyrical themes?
Punk music is inherently political. It’s in the DNA of the genre to criticize,
and to be inclusive of all types of people (with the exception of intolerant
people, who must not be tolerated). Bands that speak truth to power and do so
with a raw edge to their music are part of the core essence of punk music, and
something we hope to do in our songs as well.
3. Your EP addresses significant societal issues such as inequality and the
opioid crisis. What inspired you to tackle these heavy topics in your music?
There are many ways to draw lines between us, intersectional politics and
policy are nuanced and complex. But one thing seems simple to us, we are living
in a class war, and you only need to look out your window in any major city to
realize it. We want to do whatever little we can to speak to a different
narrative than what people might see on the news. If you look at any major
societal issue today, at the root there is some form of wealth inequality
driving the problem, and rarely is that by accident. There is a status quo that
allows a small few to extract wealth from everyone else, and not put it back.
We should note, we aren’t inherently against Capitalism. What we are against is
a billionaire class exploiting labour and continuously eroding the stability
and opportunities of the working class in order to maintain power. To the
detriment of people and the planet. We live in times where there is enough to
go around, no one needs to go without basic needs like food and shelter.
Unfortunately, for some reason, that idea is often labelled are “radical”. We
think it’s the most logical idea out there. If people have opportunities, they
contribute instead of taking away
4. Recording your EP DIY at your rehearsal studio in East Vancouver sounds
like an intense process. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced
during this recording session?
Honestly, it was really smooth process to record it all ourselves. No one was
more surprised by that than ourselves. The songs came together pretty quickly
and naturally, and we made a decision early on to treat recording with a
similar approach. Because we didn’t worry too much about a polished finished
product, things that would normally be challenges in the process seemed to
drift away. There is probably a good metaphor in there somewhere…
5. The EP was recorded live-off-the-floor in just six hours. How did this
approach affect the overall sound and energy of the tracks?
It allowed us to really capture some of the raw energy that went into making
them. We recorded very similar to how we wrote the songs, all in the same room,
playing them together. We didn’t want perfect, we wanted genuine. Recording in
the same room helped us achieve that.
6. Tracks like ‘Pull The Ladder Up’ and ‘Poisoned Drugs’ convey powerful
messages. What do you hope listeners take away from these songs?
There is a lot of unfairness in the world. Sometimes the most minimal thing we
can do is acknowledge it and talk about it. Often that’s all we can do about
it. Sometimes things feel hopeless, sometimes we feel like the deck is stacked
against us, it’s ok to feel that way. It’s ok to be really angry about it. It’s
not your fault. We can do something about it by coming together and supporting
each other when no one else will.
7. ‘Pull The Ladder Up’ received positive feedback for its bold punk
aesthetic. How does it feel to get such acclaim on your debut release?
It feels good to get a bit praise.
8. Your music speaks to the struggles of marginalized communities. How do
you hope to raise awareness or inspire change through your music?
We want people to realize that there are larger reasons for inequality, often
by design, that are imposed on marginalized communities. We need to refocus our
collective energy in the right ways to address change. We hope to help people
understand that for real change to happen, we need change at a policy and
systems level. Individuals will continue to struggle until we understand we are
stronger together. Our anger should be pointed up, not across, and certainly
not down.
9. What are your plans for the future after the release of this EP? Are there any upcoming shows, tours, or new projects that your fans can look forward to?
We are looking to play some local shows in Vancouver, so keep an eye out if you’re in the city. We also have a second EP planned for later this year with 4 more songs.
10. Rob, you mentioned feeling like you’re “just yelling into the void” some days. How does creating music with Priced Out help you process and channel that frustration?
It’s an outlet, which is something. Sometimes just the act of giving voice and naming our frustrations can help us deal with them. Even if that’s all it is. Sometimes the void yells back and you find a new connection point. Creating these songs helps me feel movement instead of stagnation, even if it’s just perceived, with no real change. It’s therapeutic to write it and perform it. I hope it’s similar to listen to it. It helps me channel being angry, constructively.
11. With members like Graham taking on multiple roles such as engineering and mixing, how do you manage the various responsibilities within the band?
We are pretty casual about responsibilities. We are doing this because we love it and because we want to. It’s very much a collective process. We are sum parts of a whole, and it’s all come together organically and naturally so far. We will probably keep doing this until that’s no longer the case.
12. Your themes include universal basic income, free healthcare, and free education. What societal changes do you hope to see, and how do you envision your music contributing to these goals?
Ultimately I think we’d like people to reflect on larger power structures at play in our society. Question our assumptions and our bias towards certain groups of people, and realize we are have a lot more in common than we think we do. We have collective shared interests. We’ve all agreed to never take a pay cheque from this band. So one small thing we are doing aside from trying to produce meaningful content, it donating all proceeds of the music to resources in the Vancouver downtown east side (DTES).
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