The release of Moncton noise-rock band Pervert’s self-titled debut has all of the hallmarks of having been a long time in the making. In 2009, all seemed like it was going well for the band, having supported the likes of Israel’s Monotonix while cultivating a respectable and loyal local following.
The following year however, the band endured a stop-start recording process while making their new release only to be reborn after a somewhat unintentional layoff. Pervert is ready to finally unleash their debut effort with a show at Moncton’s Manhattan Bar & Grill tonight.
Prior to forming the band in 2008, original Pervert band members Jesse Leblanc, drummer Matt Hogg and guitarist John Jerome had logged many live shows and released a couple of noise-rock inspired recordings under the band name Heimlich. After Heimlich went their separate ways in 2004, both Leblanc and Hogg spent time in western Canada before returning to their Metro Moncton home.
Before too long, Hogg and Leblanc were making music together again. Jerome was actually the last member to join the trio that would become Pervert, having joined forces with his old band mates after hearing the musical direction the duo was taking with the music they were writing.
“Jesse and Matt had been jamming before I had become involved but after I heard what they were writing, I asked to join them. It was completely natural to be making music with them again considering our past together and the destructive force that Heimlich had become,” Jerome says.
It wasn’t long before things unraveled somewhat for the group. Pervert bassist Jesse Leblanc ended up leaving the band in 2010, citing that his heart was no longer in the group. Leblanc was eventually replaced by Kyle MacDonald, a member of many local bands including Cop Shades, The Woods and Red Rum. Jerome says that MacDonald joining the band ended up re-igniting what was a dying flame between he and Hogg, pushing the duo to complete a recording that they had started more than a year prior.
“We had recorded a number of bed tracks for the record in early 2010,” Jerome explains. “The recordings sat untouched for more than a year while we contemplated the future of the band. I was trying to finish the record alone in the studio but it just wasn’t the same. I felt like I would never get it done and it would be forever lost.
“When Kyle joined though, he really pushed us to complete the recordings we had started and actually got Matt and I excited about being in the band again. Pervert was reborn with Kyle.”
For his part, MacDonald insists that joining Pervert was pretty much a given, considering his love for the band and their music even prior to having joined.
“Pervert was one of my favourite active bands in Moncton. They actually made me feel a little insecure about the music I was working on because of how incredible I felt they were,” MacDonald confesses. “So when the idea of me joining them to play bass came about, it was pretty much a no-brainer.
“Pervert is a special beast which is equally as fun to play in as it was to see live before I was in the band,” MacDonald continues. “One of the main things that I found so intriguing about the band was their stage presence and presentation of the songs, making it more of a total experience rather than just three guys playing music on a stage.”
Though the process of getting their debut release out has been a somewhat challenging process, Jerome is optimistic that more new music will be coming down the pipe from the trio in the future.
“We have been talking about making a video to support one of the tracks on the record but the future is kind of unknown,” he admits.
“Having gotten to the point of getting this batch of songs out is a great thing. We have started writing new music for fun; only time will tell what happens with Pervert down the road though.”
Considering the fact that MacDonald, Jerome and Hogg also play together in Red Rum and The Congregation, there is no shortage of musical possibilities looming around the corner for this trio of musicians, regardless of Pervert’s fate.
“Considering all of the bands are active, touring and releasing music, there is no shortage of possibilities and avenues of where we can go with songs and music in general,” MacDonald says.
Article published in September 30, 2011 edition of the Times & Transcript