As the months of 2022 march forward — and those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain — Rocktographers is pleased to share that Standard Issue Pleasure Model will be The Zone @ 91-3’s Band of the Month for March 2022.
To put it plainly, there is nothing standard about this Victoria, BC-based three-piece. Fueled with a healthy dose of psychedelia and a love for science fiction, Standard Issue Pleasure Model is made up of Malik Hogue on drums, Raine Balson on rhythm guitar and shared lead vocals with guitarist Shady Lane.
Rocktographers’ leading man, Tyson Elder, had a chance to chat with Shady, Raine, and Malik after a whirlwind photo shoot filled with neon lights in Victoria’s historic Chinatown.
Tyson Elder: Congratulations on being March’s Band of the Month, Standard Issue Pleasure Model.
Standard Issue Pleasure Model: Thanks!
TE: Let’s talk about the band name… it gets flagged in my e-mails [band laughs]. Where did the name come from?
Raine Balson: It came from the character Pris from the Blade Runner. It’s a movie from the ’80s. She’s a cool replicant sex worker and she’s badass.
TE: How do you feel about the sequel to Blade Runner?
Raine: I liked it… but it’s not as good as the original. [laughs] but it is still really good.
TE: Nothing ever is.
TE: How’d you guys form as a band? You’ve been making music for a few years now and you put out your record 2020 in December of . . . 2020. Tell me a little bit about the band.
Shady Lane: We started because my old band broke up. We still had a bunch of dates booked and I didn’t want to cancel them, so I decided to get a band together and it’ll be no problem. I’d started working at Dodd’s Furniture and the second day I was working there Malik showed up and I knew he played drums because out bands had played together before. I got on him and was like “you play drums, right?” [laughs]. The rest is kind of history.
TE: Your Band of the Month single is Private Reserve. Can you tell me about the song? It’s got this driving drumbeat and some super good shredding in it. It’s catchy as fuck.
Malik Hogue: It’s one of my favourites to play live.
TE: You’re the drummer – tell me about it.
Malik: I didn’t really write the song. Raine wrote the song but we all jammed the riff together and that’s how we write most of our songs. We come together at practice and jam riffs and then decide if it’s good enough to continue writing. We all just felt really connected to the instrumental that we came up with and Raine wrote the lyrics for it. The we recorded it, and it seems to be a hit.
TE: Raine, tell me a little bit about the lyrics in the song. It’s pretty powerful.
Raine: It’s definitely a breakup song [laughs]. I think it could be about any time you’re in a dark place and you’re kind of spiraling out of control. Looking for anything to abuse to numb yourself.
TE: We’ve all been there.
TE: The music video for Private Reserve was shot here in town. In Rock Bay. I noticed a few of those key locations. What was shooting a music video like? I assume you guys did that during the pandemic, right? How was that?
Shady: It was super fun. We’d never shot a music video before and had no idea how to do it. We only had the one day to do it so we had to drive around from two separate locations and I think one is only in it for a few seconds. It was a lot of fun because we’re running around the streets at night spitting out blood and pulling attempted murder. People are coming to work their night jobs and wondering what the heck is going on and why there’s blood all over the street? [Band laughs]
TE: No cops showed up? No flashing lights?
Malik: Definitely not.
Shady: No they all hang out at that Starbucks, though. They’re always there so I was kind of worried that maybe they’d roll up and be like, “What are you doing?”
TE: Go in for a caramel macchiato covered in fake blood from the shoot [laughs]. Might have been some red flags there.
TE: Now, what do you have on the go for new music? You released your record a couple years ago. Well… in COVID times, what is a couple years ago? I did see you had played quite a few gigs right before the pandemic kicked in and a few at the Phoenix right before things shut down again. How’s the new music coming along?
Raine: It’s good. We’re working on a new album and also a little post-rock EP. Just writing lots.
Shady: We’ve got a lot of songs that we’ve been kind of playing for years and some songs from older bands that didn’t get released or anything. We’re just developing them and kind of bringing them into the sound of this band. It’s definitely going to be more honest and close to the heart lyrically.
TE: I know you put on a pretty epic live show judging by the photographs I’ve seen from other photographers at the Phoenix. Hair flying everywhere and everything like that. Do you have some shows coming up anytime soon?
Malik: Yeah, we do! We’re booked for March 30th at the Victoria Event Centre. The other two bands are still to be confirmed. It should be a good one, especially now that all the restrictions are stating to lift. It’ll be at full capacity. People can get up to dance and move around as long as you’re wearing a mask. It feels like a show and you don’t have to sit in your seat there. It’s going to be good. I feel when you are a high energy band and you’re playing for people who are just sitting there staring at you it throws you off. It’s a little awkward. I definitely missed it when people could jump around. We feed off that energy for sure.
TE: I feel it. I definitely went to some high energy shows where you’re sitting the whole time and the whole time it’s “I guess I could get a craft cocktail today and watch this thrashcore band.” [everyone laughs]
TE: That’s wonderful guys. I’m excited to hear new music from you and see you playing live again. I think that’s going to be the best part of this year is bands out there playing live again. A big part of that is bands getting local support from things like The Zone. Congratulations again on being The Zone’s Band of the Month.
Standard Issue Pleasure Model: Thank you so much!
Standard Issue Pleasure Model’s heavy hitting track, Private Reserve, will be featured all month long on The Zone @ 91-3. Find out more about the band and two more of their songs by visiting their Band of the Month microsite.
Rocktographers is a proud supporting sponsor of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.