,Tyranny of Hours- TOH
Interview conducted on January 29, 2021
By Dan Locke
Tyranny of Hours is a Progressive – Symphonic Metal band from the Pacific Northwest United States. Melding fusion and progressive rock with European metal, featuring the soaring vocals of Michelle Mattair, Tyranny of Hours’ self-titled debut generated rave reviews from regional and international press and fans.
Your band is from the Pacific Northwest. What is your upbringing?
Don: Different for each member of course, but we all grew up in the region. We all grew up loving music and especially prog and other complex music.
How did you discover music?
Don: I think the first thing I really remember listening to was classical music. My parents had a record player and at a really young age theory bought me a record of Beethoven’s 5th. Around that same time, I was taking piano lessons, so I think the classical music stuck with me even after I started listening to rock and metal.
Michelle: My grandpa was a professional trombone player in big band and symphony orchestra, before serving in WWII. I grew up on classical, big band, musicals, and radio. The Beatles and the British Invasion were also huge for me. Along with all the other incredible music bursting out of the 60s and 70s — prog and fusion, AOR, pop, power pop, rock, hard rock, proto-metal, southern rock, “California country”, New Wave, Funk, RnB/Soul and Disco… a dizzying variety of fantastic and original sounds. And radio programming then was far less segmented, so it was almost unavoidable to develop an appreciation for a wide array of musical genres. I’m so grateful I grew up with that.
How did you start to write music?
Don: I always wrote riffs from the time I picked up a guitar – maybe because it was easier than actually learning a song. In the early days, writing music was just stringing a couple of riffs together and jamming on them over and over with whatever band you were with. Once I had the equipment to record decent sounding tracks in my home studio, my writing matured because I could really spend the time writing music and being able to immediately hear back what I was doing, and at the same time I was meeting some great creative partners.
Michelle: I wrote poetry early on, but first co-wrote original songs in my nightclub cover band days. So many musicians dreamed of the respect and achievement of being an original band, which of course did not pay so well unless you got famous. So – the compromise was to “throw in a few originals” to your cover sets. But it takes time and a ton of effort to learn how to write decent songs, and since playing covers paid the bills, writing originals eventually just fell by the wayside… I saw a lot of bands go through that. After Don and I stopped performing for a living, we started writing together for fun, then around 2009 we developed a focused sound that eventually became Tyranny of Hours.
Describe your music.
Don: Hmm. Progressive Symphonic Metal is as close as I can get – although that’s more of a category than a description.
How did you form the band?
Don: Michelle and I had been working together on a couple of different projects and starting to narrow in on the sound we were looking for. We met James Borst (Composer/Keyboard player from Cry for Eden) in 2010 and I recorded guitars for his album. At that point we were writing together and put together the first ideas for Tyranny of Hours. After that we hired session drummer Larry London (who played on the first album) and bassist Jordan Harrington for the first few shows.
How did your band get its name?
Michelle: from the lyrics of one of our songs.
What was your first performance together like?
Michelle: We put on this killer Halloween party in 2011, with about 80 friends crammed into our living room and lights and a small PA flown from the rafters. We sent out flyers and invited (warned, haha) the whole neighborhood, so they wouldn’t bitch about the noise. A few even showed up. It was great. We only played a few songs; it was over quickly and we were nervous as hell but man – it felt like a coming-out. People told us they’d never heard music like that and they loved i
What makes a good songwriter?
Michelle: Well, that’s an interesting question! Opinion is often based on what turns you or your audience on, but I won’t say “good” is necessarily relative. Great songs of any genre consider rhyme, structure, lyrics, dynamics, cadence, tempo, melody, harmony, etc. Some elements may be thrown out the window to interesting effect, yet even though formal musical training is by no means required to come up with a great song, even a very basic knowledge of music theory gives a better understanding of how to play with the rules and still be coherent.
What is the process of writing your music?
Don: It depends, but most of the time Matt or I will come up with an idea and throw it down in Pro Tools. We’ll work on most of the ideas and develop them a bit to see if the ideas really get our interest. From there we narrow it down to our favorites and arrange and re-record them.
Michelle: a lot of the time, they’ll give me a scratch arrangement — or sometimes just a really cool riff — so I can build melody and words. They come up with so many good ideas, it’s hard to keep up! Partly because it takes me time to create a backstory for the lyrics first – a key part of my process. Anyway, that’s one way we write, but not the only way. Any of us can bring an idea to the table or offer input at any point of development.
Do you belong to any songwriter organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
Don: Only through the distributors. I have looked into it a number of times, but never got around to it. I am not sure it matters all that much for an obscure metal band.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
Michelle: “Destined For a Memory” was the first we wrote style wise specifically for what would become ToH. Actually, we took our band name from its lyrics: “…. the tyranny of hours, it bleeds us…” We recorded it as a scratch track but never released it as a single or on an album. Maybe it’ll find its way as a “bonus tracks” thing…we’ve got tons of them floating around the stratosphere.
What was one of your first shows like that you opened up on the Girls, Girls Girls Tour at the Hawthorne Theater on March 29, 2015- with Romantic Rebel, Kobra and the Lotus, Kaleido and Elora?
Michelle: Kobra and her band were very cool! She’s just so down to earth. There was a minuscule turnout due to lack of promotion but it was good to just get out and be on a larger stage and play live. That’s how you perfect your chops, get tight, and get used to playing to an audience so you’re less nervous
Michelle- Back in 2015 you were the band’s photographer. Are you still doing photography?
Michelle: Well thanks. Don really was the one who took most of ToH’s pics. He did a great job, too! Around that time, we’d recently bought a nice DSLR and I did some shooting, but it wasn’t like I ever really “did photography”.
Can you tell me the story behind the release of “The Silver Wheel”? And what happened to the European Metal Christmas compilation album?
Michelle: A fella contacted us early 2014 to ask if we’d contribute a Xmas song for a compilation album to release in Europe. We wrote and recorded “The Silver Wheel”, then found out the project fell through. Never heard why – maybe lack of funding or contributors – or both, who knows? So, we made a video for the song and released the single free for Christmas that year
Your debut album was in 2013. How did it feel to have a finished product?
Michelle: It felt fantastic to complete it! Especially exciting to share something that felt fresh and new because the symphonic metal genre then was still relatively unknown in the States compared to Europe, where bands like Nightwish, Epica, Leaves Eyes, Kamelot, Symphony X, Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, Therion, Edenbridge, and others were already well-known and headliners.
Tell me about your second album Darkling?
Michelle: “Darkling” is not a concept album with an overarching “theme”, per se — but it does have a certain thematic feel and atmosphere. It probably lives up to its title, is the best I can describe it.
How is the third album coming along?
Don: – Very well. We actually have enough material scratched out for 2 good albums. At this point we are choosing which ones to concentrate on and then we will finish, arrange, rehearse and record them.
What is your favorite track on the album?
Don – On the new album? That’s still a secret 😉
How do you stay healthy while performing?
Don – I stay active in general, but am far from a gym rat. When preparing for shows I try to step it up, work out (mostly run) a bit leading up to the shows. I’m never in as good of shape as I would like to be.
What are your feelings about streaming music?
Don: – I think it’s a rip-off for the artists. As a service I’m not all that interested, but it’s here to stay.
How can people forget about the origin hashtag # Sharp in a musical score? Because of social media #sonyrecords vs. F#
Don: I would venture to guess that most ToH fans would see # as a Sharp versus a Hashtag
Digital vs. vinyl?
Michelle: If you’re asking about the decision of whether to offer vinyl in addition to a typical digital release — it partly depends on how fans of your music prefer to consume it. Many get music free and don’t believe they should have to pay for it at all. Some go with streaming subscriptions for cost and convenience but don’t buy physical media. Some like vinyl, which is still trending. We considered pressing a small run for “Darkling” but it was vastly more expensive than CDs (which ain’t exactly cheap, either). The 2020 fire in California’s Apollo Masters facility probably didn’t help. So, the decision of vinyl can boil down to cost – sometimes that’s just how ya gotta roll. Given how much we’d need to charge fans to merely break even, it didn’t seem a reasonable business choice.
There is (or used to be) a small brick and mortar music shop in Salem run by a local musician who sells original and regional music – which is very cool, as musicians appreciate and need local support — but we can’t sell our CDs there as he only sells vinyl. Oh, well
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Michelle: “Peggy Sue” by Buddy Holly. Because we’re (re)watching Peggy Sue Got Married right now on Netflix. Haha.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Don: Working from home and writing the new album.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
Don: With the quarantine and more time at home I have been working on renovating the house…I guess that’s my new hobby.
95% of people said that they have changed the way they watch television. This includes people who don’t have television and use their computers to do streaming of programs and movies. Which is your favorite streaming channel?
Don: Probably Netflix.
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?
Don: They have to stay engaged and keep producing material.
The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will include [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only.
How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook?
Don: Hopefully Facebook will be surpassed by platforms more friendly to artists instead of trying to squeeze every last penny from every attempt at promotion.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means things like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Don: Yeah, live shows at decent venues in a city are nearly always pay to play (hidden in the context of buy and sell some tickets). Buying into a tour will still exist once things return to normal…whatever that means.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
Don: Definitely. At least in terms of VR or Augmented Reality optics.
If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
Don: For a living? Electrical Engineering (which is what I do).
Michelle: We can and will always “do” music, no matter. We do it for the joy of it.
What is your happy place?
Don: My studio of course.
Michelle: A good book. Nothing like the smell and feel of old books.
Any words you like to say about Jason Wade.
Don: Yes. Jason was an old friend from my concert sound days and a TOH soundman since our first show. He learned that he had colo-rectal cancer back in 2016 (He died in 2020). He was always very open about it and would always tell people “Get yo ass checked” because he ignored early signs of the disease …because it’s embarrassing to get your ass checked.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Don: Yes, thanks for taking the time to interview us and make sure to check out our new album when it’s out.
Michelle: Way to pitch it, Don! Haha. And yes – thank you for the interview, Daniel.
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