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Forming just last year in 2018, Second Harbour released their debut EP 'Transparent.' back in March of 2019. Consisting of brothers Xavier Morency (vocals/guitar) and Vincent Morency (bass), the duo are preparing to release some new music, as well as their first-ever music video. I got a chance to sit down with the boys before their show in Montreal on October 3rd. I got the details on how the band wants to grow going forward, how to handle a career in the music industry, and much more! You can keep up with Second Harbour and their upcoming projects @secondharbourband on Instagram and @secondharbour on Twitter!
Bailey: What are your top 3 goals related to the band? Any dream venues you want to play and/or bands to play with?
Xavier: Starting venue wise, I really want to play Chain Reaction, Warped Tour is pretty much out of the question unless they do reunion show or something similar, but Chain Reaction for sure just because so many bands that I've listened to growing up played there and cite it as one of the major places to play so that would be really cool! It doesn't even matter if it brings a lot of people in, its just the fact of playing in a place where so many bands have played. As far as the 3 goals for us, just growing an audience as much as we can, would be pretty great, I think to establish a really pure connection with people, so not just trying to attract the most 'pop' fans but really just trying to get on a one to one basis with as many people as we can. Also, writing songs that not only are people content with not just now but in the future. We don't want to write a song that we were unhappy with 2 years from now, we want to try and write stuff that for ourselves is timeless.
Vince: For the 3 bands we want to play with, Neck Deep is a really big one for us, as well as The Story So Far, Green Day, The Interrupters...I mean I could go on all day!
Bailey: That's awesome! So, out of the two of you, is there a main songwriter in the group or are you both involved? And, what are the main themes discussed in your music?
Xavier: So, we both have different roles when it comes to writing. I write the majority of the songs and piece everything together, I'm kind of like the 'puzzle maker' and Vince is the one where when I bring a bunch of ideas to the table, he handles cutting down the things that are not that good or things that wouldn't be good for the songs, he decides where the songs go direction wise. Its a dynamic that works, it's a bizarre dynamic, but it works for us. For the main themes, it's a lot of self-doubts, that's like the MAIN theme, so like, being scared of what other people think while also trying to not be scared of what other people think, just like contradictory stuff. Self-doubt for sure and we try to just blend in a bunch of metaphors and nautical terms.
Bailey: I know you guys are brand new to the scene, so what has been your biggest challenge so far as a band?
Xavier: I think inter-personal relationships are tough, especially since Vince and I live together and we have grown up together, we get along really well but it can be challenging just because if we have an argument we can't take a few days off and then regroup a week later...
Vince: Yeah! I still have to see his face!
Xavier: Yeah, and then the next day we are making stuff or we are together. That for me would probably be the most challenging thing, but we make it work! As long as we don't end up like Oasis we are going to be fine I think.
Vince: I mean, if we end up as big as Oasis, then I'm fine with that!
Bailey: What are your rehearsals like? Do you have a set time each week where you need to practice or is it more spontaneous where you just decide when and where you will rehearse?
Xavier: It depends on schedules. Vince goes to school, so apart from that our live drummer and myself both have jobs that are morning and day jobs so we can all have the nights to practice. We usually practice 5 times a week on any given day.
Bailey: Pretty generic question, but if you guys were not in a band, what else would you be doing? Would you still be involved in the music industry somehow?
Vince: I don't actually know if I'd be involved in the industry, I like to surf and rock climb so I'd probably try to find a job somewhere in that field, we live in Canada so I can't do that here but hey, it's fine!
Xavier: I think I'd definitely be in the music industry still because I grew up playing drums, I've been playing the drums for about 15 years now, I still play and record the drums in our band so it's not something that I would ever plan on giving up ever. I think I'd also be a drummer for another band because there is actually a really high demand for drummers. Music aside, I think, I just recently got into comics and art so if I got a side job it would probably have something to do with art!
Bailey: If there was one thing that you wanted people who listened to your music to remember about you, what would it be?
Xavier: For me personally, I would love it for people to dive into the lyrics and see all the connections that we made and that I really like to play with them. If anything, I prefer playing with the words and making complicated little messages instead of writing meaningful lyrics, I do enjoy doing that but my priority is stringing together all sorts of weird rhyming words and stuff related to that. I'd really like people to remember me for the lyrics and to look into all the little bits and pieces and the crazy things I try and add in that I take hours to do.
Vince: I'm not the main lyric writer so the way I can answer that is, I'd like for people to retain whatever good emotion they get when they listen to our music.
Bailey: In your own opinion, what is your best song you have released so far and why?
Vince: Tough Luck, simply because I wrote the bass intro lines!
Xavier: My favorite song we've released is Aim Below The Head which is the closer of our EP because we took a different approach to it, it has lots of parts and pieces that come together in cool ways, especially at the end, and it is a really nice way to close the EP. We had to limit our selves time-wise, which we usually try to, and it was cool for me. I'm not sure if people will latch onto it like the other songs since it is a bit longer but for me personally, I just wanted to put that song out there.
Bailey: Who was the first person or people you showed your music to and what was their reaction?
Xavier: I wrote music alone for a long time, so I showed Vince and my music must have been pretty bad when I started out, but he ended up joining the band, so maybe he enjoyed it?!
Vince: I mean I'm in the band so it worked!
Xavier: Realistically when we had our real recordings of our EP, I showed a few close friends and our dad. It's hard to get real reactions off people you are close to but, they all seemed proud of us so that was the cool thing.
Bailey: What is your advice for anyone else who wants a career in the music industry?
Vince: Don't do it! No, I'm kidding! Just be prepared. A lot of people are going to tell you that you can't do it. Have a backup plan and be ready cause you never know what is going to happen. If you are going to want to do this for real you have to go 110% and go all in. Practice as much as you can.
Xavier: Definitely give yourself wholeheartedly, give all of yourself to the craft and practice day in and day out. Try and write songs that please you as well as other people.
The boys are currently in the process of working on their new EP which they hope is even better than their first and are looking forward to continuing to grow as musicians. Make sure to check out Second Harbour and to follow them on social media to know everything about their upcoming music, first-ever music video, and more!
Met these guys in the Summer of 2022, crazy to see how far they've come. They always exceed all expectations at their shows, especially their recent shows in Montreal and Ottawa. Excited to see how far these guys can go!