One Question Interview W/ Choyce aka Roy Vucino of Red Mass

A Red Mass is a yearly Catholic church service given to lawyers , judges and anyone else in the legal profession as a way to have the Holy Spirit guide justice.


Red Mass is also a new band from Montreal , with a foot firmly planted in the city's garage rock scene , and another in it's art-rock scene. Led By hy ex- CPC Gangbanger , Sexareeno , Daylight Lover (and the list goes on and on ) Choyce.



Chloe: How is religious worship important to your creativity?




Choyce: The Red Mass is not religious in the sense that what binds us is an objective based on goals and ideals as opposed to a value system.  Some of these objectives necessitate a certain course of action, but ultimately its more a work ethic.  It does have elements found in a religious organism such as spirituality which is facet of the mass, but only in a very open ended way.  In both gospel and experimental music there is definitely a call on more primal  instincts, which tend to move the listener in a more intense way when one allows himself/herself to be carried away by the sounds.
People are often weary of the term magik (be it white,black, sex or chaos magik) but in the mass we've simply tied in notions of chaos magik in the icons used and the soundscape created.  When chaos magik surfaced (see occultist Austin Osman Spare) it made a parallel with magik and science.  As chaos theory became a recognized factor in modern scientific research so did the idea that there were still many forces we are unaware of.  It simply referred to the inexplicable energy and electrical currents around us as magik.
The mass uses some of these principles to break down our own barriers and leave our comfort zone.  Through intense stimuli, in this case with art & music, we are using all the energy at our disposal to obtain our objectives.  It's creating your own "religious" symbols and rites and we invite people to do so with us.  The sacrifice is not to a specific deity but to a serious, open-minded artistic work ethic and when speaking of the beast we are referring to the lifeforce surrounding and affecting us.
At this point in time we've concentrated on creating a foundation for the mass and once this foundation is solid we can build on it and invite younger artists to join in, be productive and get their own art out there.  Some of the more occult and mystic components may come into preparing a certain environment but these are some of my own beliefs which are not necessarily shared by all the members.  No beliefs are imposed on the members, the only thing we ask of them is interest and commitment according to what each member wants from the mass.  

Red Mass have a 12" out on Psychic Handshake and a 7" on Goodbye Boozy. They are playing Quebec City , Toronto and Montreal this weekend.