The Vaine
It’s A Disease
(Dead Famous Records) Interview with Clik Rogan - Vocals

    Ever get the feeling that your favorite artist or group fails to take the execution of their particular craft seriously or seriously enough?  Don’t get me wrong; I’ll be the first to admit that I wholeheartedly embrace a staggering array of acts that don’t necessarily focus on all things black and death, hence my disturbingly intense love affair with the margarita-soaked antics of the now apparently dormant Sugar Ray.  Despite this (or perhaps in part because of it), I’ve grown more than a little weary of artists insistent on issuing release after release of strictly ‘…by-the-numbers…’ efforts.  Where, dare I ask, has all the originality and creativity gone?  Am I really asking for too much here?  Fortunately for all parties involved, the Sydney, Australia-based quintet The Vaine have once again returned with a musical offering apparently designed to save us all from ourselves.
On the brilliant It’s A Disease (2008), an expertly assembled thirteen song collection of thunderous, Emo-tinged (and thus emotionally-charged) Hard Rock, each track, beginning with the slow-building (albeit unrelentingly searing) “Sounds Of The Mary Celeste”, and the thought-provoking social lament “If No News, Start Rumours”, wastes little--if any--time with the payola and chart position-driven formalities so often employed by their would-be contemporaries.  Effortlessly swaggering through a wisely-chosen collection of material that somehow manages to remain lyrically and stylistically varied without straying from the group’s coveted, still evolving target audience, the frequently frantic fivesome scores major points early and often, easily firing on all eight cylinders without bogging down amid their own soon to be well-documented talents.     
Continuing with the maddeningly infectious “By The Hand Of The Butcher”, and the impossibly scathing--yet unabashedly emotion-laden--“Damage In The Waiting Room”, the steadfast (to say the very least) combination of vocalist/rhythm guitarist Clarissa “Clik” Rogan, vocalist Shelley “Shell” Partridge, lead guitarist Bilal “Bee” Fouani, bassist Stephanie “Steph” Rogan (i.e. Clarissa’s equally talented twin sister), and drummer Jack Brunn steamroll ahead with a sickening ease that belies the quintet’s tender age.  Wisely capitalizing on the grassroots momentum initiated with the release of 2007’s occasionally overlooked Regrets & Hollow Threats EP, the group attacks each multi-faceted composition with a bloodthirsty vengeance, resulting in a frequently barbed sonic barrage that is, without a doubt, quite easily worthy of the highest of critical accolades.      
Co-produced, mixed and engineered by a ‘…dream team…’ tandem of the acclaimed Shane Edwards (Ash Phoenix, Red Distress, Thy Art Is Murder) and Dave Petrovic (Bagster, Cog, Tyler’s Riot) at Sydney’s legendary Electric Sun Studios, other standouts, including the quasi-Power Ballad “March Of Bastille”, and the curiously-titled “(Bee)n Stalking Jaque”, only further solidify the group’s already well-deserved reputation as a bona fide creative and commercial force to be reckoned with.  Yes, my friends, it really is that freakin’ good.  Even if you somehow ultimately find yourself less than enthralled with the delightfully pummeling, full-throttle blast that is the mighty It’s A Disease, one must, at the very least, sincerely admire the improbably young group’s arguably unparalleled ability to deliver such an undeniably mature effort so early in their career.   
So why should you care?  What makes The Vaine worthy of your undivided attention?  Easily the most exciting (and perhaps outright memorable) Australian export of the last decade (!), the majority--if not all--of the decidedly hook-laden wares contained herein are jam-packed with a mind-boggling blend of unbridled youthful exuberance and sheer metallic crunch, a much-welcomed and increasingly rare characteristic that seemingly guarantees the self-proclaimed ‘…Screamo…’ group an exceedingly long and truly bright future.  Consequently, if you’ve once again found yourself in search of a refreshingly fist-pumping, mosh-inducing alternative from the painfully blasé, regurgitated bullshit that is so often the status quo of the mainstream, then this, my friends, might just be the high octane cure the doctor ordered.  Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Ever wonder what makes a truly great band ‘tick’?  Yeah, us too.  Thus, you can imagine how thrilled we were when The Vaine vocalist extraordinaire Clarissa “Clik” Rogan was kind enough to speak with us regarding the group’s critically acclaimed full-length debut It's A Disease…

Todd: How was The Vaine formed?

Clik: “In our previous band, I played the drums and Steph was on bass.  …We had issues with the third member who didn’t want to expand on what she was playing; she wouldn’t apply herself and so The Vaine was, originally, nothing more than me and Steph making a point.  “We want heavy. We want intricate.”

Todd: Has there been a consistent factor behind the line-up changes the group has undergone?

Clik: “I think you’ll find the consequences of excessive beer and bullshit anywhere and it’s just a matter of how long you choose to put up with it.”

Todd: Have you found it difficult to find replacement members that meet or exceed your musical standards?

Clik: “We found our second bass player in a back alley behind a venue; he had a wicked Mohawk, two thumbs, and eight fingers so he was in.  We held formal auditions over three weekends to find our drummer after Steph resigned from the stool.  Jack gave us goose bumps – good ones – so the gut feeling we had for him paid off. Steph moving onto bass was a natural move.”

Todd: Musically, what are your influences?

Clik: “Whatever comes through.  While there are bands and particular artists we all admire, we don’t want to be anyone other than ourselves.  Yes, you can hear tried and tested elements in our music but I doubt if I could say that “this” influences “that” or whatever.  When I write, I provide the emotion / feeling / mood and the music makes its own decisions; we just have to tweak it here and there.”

Todd: In hindsight, have you found yourself more influenced by Australian-based acts or by acts based outside of Australia?

Clik: “It doesn’t really matter where an act hails from.  If he/she/they or it has that element that hooks you, then where they’re based is irrelevant.  There always seems to be more new acts coming from overseas than from Oz and that’s probably because the Australian scene won’t touch anything unless it’s fully proved itself and can come with guarantees.  How many times has an act or product returned from overseas a success only to be claimed as “our” this or that by those who had no intentions of supporting it when the need was there?”

Todd: Overall, how would you describe the music The Vaine creates?

Clik: “I’m not one for set genres in terms of what I write.  I give the music all the rope it wants and I work with it from there.  It’s free-range music.  I sort of know how I want the individual pieces to sound but they still spring surprises on you.”

Todd: Do you feel the Emo/Screamo tag accurately describes the music contained on It’s A Disease?

Clik: “No.  Genres are set by others.  We just write what comes.  It has to please us before anyone else. Tune in to any radio station and you’ll hear “manufactured music” specifically designed for a waiting market.  There are those who manufacture and there are those who create; I’d like to think that I create my music as it comes from inside. I don’t sit down with any type of writing plan.”

Todd: What are your current touring plans?  I’m assuming you’ll be touring as much as humanly possible in support of It’s A Disease…

Clik: “Currently in negotiation so I can’t say.”

Todd: If presented with the opportunity, how well do you feel you'd be received touring the United States (or, for that matter, anywhere else outside of Australia)?
Clik: “If the Myspace visitor map is anything to go by I think we’d do ok. There is and always will be an audience for everything and anything. Just check out my dad’s record collection!”

Todd: What type of set list are you working with?  Is it safe to say you’ll be continuing to play material from the Regrets And Hollow Threats EP?

Clik: “Ones with songs we know (laughs). Regrets And Hollow Threats has done a lot of hard work for the band and we understand that we’ll have to play those songs somewhere, sometime, so we keep them as well rehearsed as we can. We might even throw in a few newbies too, if we’re touring.  …At the moment, local shows, we flick between “Unnamed Train Song” and “Sanctuary”.  You have to remember that Steph and Jack come from two completely different drumming planets and “Steph-time” is a unique force not entirely known throughout the universe.”

Todd How did the group become involved with Dead Famous Records?

Clik: “As far as The Vaine is concerned, that’s a mystery…like the pyramids and income tax.  That’s probably a question for our management.”

Todd: Looking back, how do you feel 'It's A Disease' compares to the 'Regrets And Hollow Threats' EP? 

Clik: “The EP was basically recorded in a lunch break. It was far more spontaneous and so therefore pretty raw whereas the album, while it contains some of The Vaine’s first songs ever written, is more structured and planned as far as the recording process was concerned. Who knows what the next offering will contain?  A selection of Metal Polkas perhaps.”

Todd: Realistically, what are your commercial expectations for It’s A Disease?

Clik: “It would be nice for the album to do big things everywhere. We are happy with it, people have said its good, and we know there is some demand for it around the world, but I wouldn’t say that I have any set expectations of it. Some will love it, some will hate it and it will achieve what it will.”

Select Discography
It’s A Disease (2008)
Regrets & Hollow Threats (EP) (2007)

myspace.com/thevaine