Interview- Provision

Band: Provision Interviewer: Donovan Tate Date: 3/1/05

In November of 2003, Provision was honored to license their 2nd album - "Visualize" for release with U.S. record label – A Different Drum. The album was delayed due to circumstances beyond Provision's control and not released until September of 2004. The delay to the fans, was offset by a Limted Edition release of 1000 copies featuring a bonus disc with Remixes and Bonus tracks.

Visualize expand's on Provision's signature sound by combing classic progressive dance, industrial dance, & synthpop textures with top of the line production and programming. Visualize picks up where Evaporate left off. Pushing the boundaries of emotion and longing, even further. Filled with songs that tug harder at the heart, than on any previous efforts released.

Performing tracks from their new album Visualize, along with hits from their debut album Evaporate... Provision once again took their music to the masses, with their self book, self promoted Visualize U.S. Tour in December 2004 / January 2005.

The new album continues to make waves as reviews, interviews, and playlists justify what has already been called

"Provision's best work ever!!!".

GC: How did the band's name PROVISION came about?

Breye: The name was taken from a Scritti Politti album. Fred Maher is someone I’d love to work with someday, and the definition seemed fitting. Provision – An agreement or promise, a solemn declaration. I guess we could have called the band “Promise” but I’d always be reminded of the When In Rome song.

GC: How much input did you have in the writing process for "Visualize"

Breye: Writing and composing Visualize was very difficult for me. Founding member Leslie Hyman had graduated college, and began her career as a Trauma Surgeon. So I was left to write everything myself as she began her very demanding medical career. It was a very stressful and trying time. So ultimately all the input was completely in my hands.

GC: What is the concept of the album?

Breye: Visualize is about how we see the world around us, how we take it in, and how we feel things in our hearts and our minds. It’s about looking to the future and moving ahead.

GC: Can you tell me how your songs develop? Is it a situation where one plays a demo for the other first or is the songwriting effort a complete collaboration from start to finish?

Breye: We are constantly writing music and lyrics both. Sometimes one inspires the other, and we spend a lot of time in the studio adding parts to the songs we’ve already written. Everything goes through months of mixing and changing as the final versions develop. Our 1st album Evaporate was more fictional as far as subject matter. On Visualize I wrote about how I viewed other peoples lives, and I tried to put myself into their shoes to feel what they felt in those situations. It was very hard at times and made me very emotional. A lot of the Provision stuff is very close to my heart, especially the Visualize material because I lived it.

GC: How do you decide when an album is finished?

Breye: It’s hard to describe what I am about to say, but we know it’s done when it feels right, when it sounds perfect, and it has become everything we wanted it to.

GC: You guys now are signed to A Different Drum label, one of the biggest support in synth-pop music and underground. Who approach who first?

Breye: We are no longer signed to A Different Drum. We agreed to a 1 album 1 single Licensing agreement and our commitment to A Different Drum is complete. No band on A Different Drum, Metropolis, or Insert Independent Label Name Here _________ really signs to their labels. It’s a licensing deal, that’s it. I’m so sick of bands saying “I just signed to this label or that label”. It’s all a smokescreen. In releasing Evaporate, we shopped to lots of Indy labels, and no one was interested. So we self released it and we’ve sold more than 2,500 copies. I think we probably would not have done as well if we’d licensed it. We went with A Different Drum for Visualize, because they offered us the best deal for where we were in our career. We lost a lot of control though, and didn’t agree with certain decisions made regarding our product. Our 3rd album, will not be on A Different Drum. A Different Drum cannot push us in the way that we need to be, to be successful at this point in our career.

GC: When "Visualize" was released, it became the best seller off ADD. How did the band react?

Breye: Because of our relentless promotion and touring, and the fan base that we’d established; we thought it was well deserved. The album has done better than we thought it would, and that was a surprise. But it was a long time coming and the album was 6 months late, so there were many fans that had been waiting and were eager to pick up the release when it became available.

GC: What are your favorite songs on the album, and what kind of impact does it have on you?

Breye: Illusion and Visualize are my personal favorites. Illusion in my opinion is the best song that I’ve ever written. I’ll be chasing that one for a while. Visualize has a special place in my heart where my life changed, I healed myself, and moved on. Every time I hear it, or perform it; I always remember that moment in time.

GC: Are you targeting club-play?

Breye: We have a very established and extensive D.J. Servicing list that we get our releases out to. We of course stay in touch with everyone who gets our music to the masses in the clubs, because this is where many people hear us for the first time.

GC: A lot of new bands are formed every year. Some may have a difficult time winning new audience because they're not well-known like the other bands who made a name for themselves. Does the band have that same problem?

Breye: We may have had that problem in 2001 when we began, but now being 4 years old and having 6 releases under our belt, many conferences attended, and multiple U.S. and Regional tours it’s not a problem to us. We’re actually very well known, and found out that we are even more so than we thought while on our Visualize U.S. Tour. It was a welcome surprise, and our fans are the best. To the new bands my advice is this. Bust your butt to promote yourself, and play out as much as possible. Don’t worry about getting a deal with a label if none are interested. Record the best product you can and release it yourself. Make your own waves, and make a name for yourself on your own terms. It will mean more to you in the end, and the respect you earn will be your own. That’s doing it.

GC: What variety of people do you anticipate your audience to be?

Breye: Our crowds are always varied. We do not cater to one scene, or type of fan, and I think our diverse sound has always brought in a wide range of fans. We enjoy the fact that we have a diverse fan base, and wouldn’t want it any other way.

GC: The band is now on a North America tour, how well is that going?

Breye: We have now finished up our Visualize North American Tour and I have to say that we were very well received. Some of the shows were almost too incredible for me to comprehend. We learned that we’re a lot bigger than we knew, and the most rewarding thing was getting to reach all of those fans that know us, and connect with them from the stage, and off stage in person.

GC: Charles MacKenzie and Jen Foxx have been recruited to play live with the band. Did both have to audition by playing Provision songs before a decision was made?

Breye: Yes both went through practice sessions that were essentially tryouts to making it into the group. Both are extremely talented musicians and I was honored to have them on the tour with me. Charles has since left to pursue his solo project – P for Flamingos. And Jen has since become a full time member of Provision. She is currently writing and composing tracks to be on the 3rd Provision album due out this spring.

GC: A couple of artists did some remixes for you, which ended up being a 2nd bonus disc with two unreleased tracks. Did you pick them for a song to remix or the record label?

Breye: The only remix we got to pick was Cloudless. I was actually opposed to the bonus disc and it delayed the release of our album by 4 months or so. The Cloudless remix was also supposed to be on our single, not the bonus disc. We ultimately had little say about that disc and we didn’t even hear 2 of the remixes until we got the album ourselves. The whole thing was out of our hands.

GC: On your website, three music videos been shot. You plan to release them soon on DVD. When can we expect the release?

Breye: We have now completed 7 videos total. We will be releasing a Provision DVD which should come out this summer and will feature Music Videos, Live Concert Footage, Backstage Footage, Tour Footage, Fan Footage, and some extra stuff too. It will showcase a visual side of Provision that many people haven’t seen yet. A look into our world and a view of what it’s like to be out there with us.

GC: Is there any new material being written for a new album? Will the new album be different from "Evaporate" and "Visualize"? Breye: Yes, our new album is almost completely written and will be very different from both Evaporate and Visualize. It’s darker and slower than our previous releases. The songs have a darker, edgier feel to them than anything we’ve ever done. If you’ve heard the exclusive track – “The Persistent Rhythm of Before” on the A Different Drum compilation – “Listen to the Future”. That is what the new Provision album will sound like. The working title is “Deception”.

GC: Where do you see the future of synth-pop music? Where do you see it going from here?

Breye: I honestly cannot say. Of course I’d like it to become better known, but we ask ourselves this same question every year, and no one can really predict what will happen. I see it progressing as always, and I encourage many new acts to stay at it, and get themselves out there.

GC: In closing, what would else you like to say?

Breye: To those who still don’t know us, please check us out at –

www.Provision-Musik.net and let us know what you think. To all of our fans – Thank You for all of your support. And to you Donovan thank you for the interview, you rock bro!!!