Muted Screams is a rock band from Canada. Though their name came from a random discovery, it’s a reminder that in music, everyone can hear you scream (Alien, anyone?). With a reformation and a break in their history, Muted Screams definitely seems to be on the right track to make it big with their songs focusing on the individual. We say down for an interview with Melanie Gagne, the lead vocalist, to dish on their origins, accomplishments, and their new single, “Deadwood.”
Cliché: How did you come up with the band name?
Melanie Gagne: It was just a brainstorm of some ideas on a piece of paper. We googled “muted screams” and no band appeared in the search results! That’s the story of why we picked this name!
How did the band members meet each other?
Charles-Alexandre Beaudoin was the first guy that I met. He was just a friend of a friend who heard that I was looking for a drummer for my band. After our second guitarist left, Charles decided to take the guitar. So I put a little ad on a website and a man that was looking for a dresser (our drummer, L-P La Roche) finally found the advertising that Muted Screams was looking for a drummer and he decided to join us. Our bassist, Matt Boulanger, is an old friend of Charles and when we heard that his band was taking an undetermined break we took a chance and he said, “Yes, I’ll play bass for you guys.”
What is your biggest musical accomplishment to date?
I think that it was to get our first single “Broken Wheel” added to high-rotation on mainstream radio stations in Quebec. It was fantastic to hear our song playing next to Shinedown, Papa Roach, and Ozzy Osbourne. You know, like a dream come true.
What song has been your best so far?
It’s hard to say, but I think that “Broken Wheel” would be the best. It’s a powerful song and a great example of what we are capable of. The lyrics mean something that could reach almost anybody. There is also a great guitar solo in it that you won’t find in each of our songs.
Do any of your songs have messages?
Yes, they all have one. We based almost every lyric of our album around the idea of “What are you made of?” But for example, “Strong Enough” talks about our dreams, to take control of our life, and that we can do what it takes to realize our dreams.
Are any of your songs based on personal experiences?
“Broken Wheel” is a song about a breakup, a bad situation where I was. This is something that I had to face and people could recognize their self in it. “Speak” is also really special because we wrote it at first thinking about what it would be like to be between life and death. This song really touched my drummer L-P because one of his best friend died in a car accident. We based the story of the video on this accident, but we chose to give it a happy ending.
What is the message behind your song “Deadwood?”
We don’t need much to be happy and there are some easy ways to spread happiness around us. We should all stop worrying about the past and move forward. Sometimes the simple things could bring you joy.
Can you describe what the music video for “Deadwood” is trying to show? Is there a different message than the one in the song?
I’m sure that the message of the song isn’t really obvious in the video. I mean, the man who smells the socks could seem really weird. Maybe you won’t really understand what he is trying to do with these socks. But the socks represent happiness and how you could spread it everywhere. There are not drugs on those socks… [laughs]
What are some of the “same old mistakes” that you see people make, and is there any specific one you have in mind for the song?
For example, a mistake that people make is giving too much importance to things that don’t deserve much importance, being too superficial. Also, feeling sorry for ourselves and focusing on the negative. That would be the “same old mistakes” that we had in mind when we wrote this song.
Image Courtesy of Peakafeller
