ADAM SEWELL OF DEF CON SOUND SYSTEM, MONSTER VOODOO MACHINE & STEREO DYNAMITE RECORDS ANSWERS FIVE QUESTIONS

10/29/24 - Posted by Anthony Haley

Author, musician, producer, and Toronto metal and punk pioneer, Adam Sewell, answers Five Questions for the Fannatickets’ Fannablog

#DefConSoundSystem #toronto #metal

If you're discussing Toronto punk, metal, or indie music and you don't mention Adam Sewell, you're missing a giant piece of the puzzle. From breaking away from the norm with the riff heavy Monster Voodoo Machine in the 90's, to working with Motorhead, starting his own label (Stereo Dynamite), developing countless up and coming musicians, and now writing and performing with Def Con Sound System, Adam Sewell's credits are too great to list. Its why we're thrilled he took the time to answer Five Questions for this edition of our Fannablog.

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You can see Def Con Sound System November 16th at Bovine Sex Club in Toronto on November 16th. Get tickets here.

BIO:

Def Con Sound System is the experimental musical project of Toronto-based, Juno Award winning musician Adam Sewell.

Since 1996, former Monster Voodoo Machine vocalist Adam Sewell has used 'Def Con Sound System' as a catch-all band name for various miscellaneous musical projects; including soundtracks, one-off live performances, and even a short lived full-on touring band.

Sewell has recently completed the first full-length Def Con Sound System album titled ‘Silver Bullets’. Co-produced by Sewell, and Jon Drew (Arkells, Tokyo Police Club, Fucked Up), the album was conceived, and written as a fictional movie soundtrack compilation album which borrows from Sewell's love of '60s and '70s Spy film soundtracks, The Clash, trip hop, electronic music, reggae, punk, and combines everything into radically different sounding songs and soundscapes to (hopefully) take listeners into the world of ‘Silver Bullets’, and out of the comfort zone of a traditional rock album format.

“I am blessed to have found myself in a position with a musical project in Def Con Sound System that allows me to do anything that I want creatively. No rules. No boundaries. No stereotypical genre stereotypes to have to live up to, or exist by. The people who like this band, seem to like it because it breaks most of the rules of current musical convention. This to me is the most (quote/unquote) “punk” thing I could possibly do. And I’m thrilled to have this amount of artistic freedom.”

'Silver Bullets' was released July 12, 2019 on the Stereo Dynamite Recordings label (www.StereoDynamite.com)

LISTEN TO DEF CON SOUND SYSTEM HERE:

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH ADAM SEWELL OF DEF CON SOUND SYSTEM

WHEN AND WHERE DID YOUR LOVE OF MUSIC FORM?

It came from my father - who had one of the greatest record collections I’ve ever seen. Music was really the only thing we ever talked about (and we didn’t talk much). And he bought me a lot of really “cutting edge” records when I was still a little kid. All of my neighbourhood friends, and their families were also into really cool music, and some worked in the entertainment and music world, so from the mid-to-late ‘70s on my friends and I had a front row seat to a lot of underground music genres literally as they were being unleashed on the world for the first time. I was also a pretty lonely kid growing up, and this weirdo music kinda spoke to me and connected with me in ways that people didn’t.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST CONCERT YOU WENT TO?

I honestly have no idea. I got dragged to a lot of stuff when I was a kid - and I was too young to remember. The first big arena show that I saw was (I think)… John Denver with my Mom.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST “BIG SHOW”? OR YOUR FIRST SHOW EVER?

I think my first real show (that wasn’t in someone’s basement or living room) would have been playing at the Bloor St. club which would later become known as The Bridge (Ildikos) in Toronto. That was with a teenage punk rock band that changed its name every other week, and made an ungodly drunken racket. LOL There were maybe 30 people in the room, but it felt like a thousand.

WHAT WAS YOUR WORST SHOW OR FUNNIEST SHOW MEMORY?

The funniest show memory wouldn’t be from one show, but rather from the majority of the Marilyn Manson tour I did back in early 1995. The clubs were often surrounded by protestors, the Christian Coalition, riot police, etc. It was just surreal to be in the middle of that traveling circus for 2 and half months, facing off every night with people who thought they were going to witness satanic child and chicken sacrifices. You could say the dumbest, most outlandish things on stage aimed at these outraged people, all while knowing that the audience was in on the jokes. The absurdity of it all was hilarious.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOUR BAND?

We are loooooong overdue to start recording again. I’ve decided against making another full album for the foreseeable future, as I’d rather we knock out some singles in a much faster fashion. Also working on playing some more live shows. We (meaning me) have been a bunch of slackers in that department. Would kinda like to change that asap and get back to playing regularly again.