by Shane Lange:
Canadian grindcore band Fuck the Facts has been terrorizing North America for 15 years with their innovative brand of extreme music. Currently on the last leg of an intensive U.S. tour which ends in Philadelphia on Sunday (24 February), vocalist Mel Mongeon touched base between shows to answer a few questions about her lyrics, touring, and motherhood.
In a previous interview you said, “I can’t fully separate myself from my subjects.” Is it a bad thing to feel attached to your subjects?
It is definitely not a bad thing. Some of my lyrics, I could say, are further from me and inspired more by social or political issues, but other subjects are really closer to me. It’s almost like relationships, some people are closer to you than others!
What do you hope people take from your lyrics?
I don’t have too many expectations. For myself, I have to really love a band to read their lyrics and I am sure I’m not the only one. I definitely know that the texts I write won’t be read by a large group of people, and that’s fine. I still spend a lot of time on them, probably too much time, but I really enjoy the writing process. I sit down, with a fresh pot of tea and without any sort of disturbance, for some hours, and let myself get really submerged by a subject.
In the song “95” you reflect on the recklessness and naivete of youth, recalling what your life was like then as a teenaged girl. What would you say to that girl now?
There’s probably not much I could have told her. I was a strong-minded wild kid that didn’t give a fuck about a lot of things. I think listening to advice from an older or wiser person was not super relevant to me at that point. You just have to live your experiences and learn from it I guess. That’s what makes us who we are!
How does parenthood affect your work as a band?
I mainly now have less time for myself and the band. It is not necessarily a bad thing, as instead I do hang out a lot with my daughter and enjoy life in general. That being said, we still tour and record the same amount. The main impact so far is that I had to stop doing the t-shirt designs, I just couldn’t find the time anymore. It turned out to be an awesome decision. We got so many great designs from some talented artists, I’m really stoked.
Between the other band members and metal’s predominantly male audience, being the vocalist and the only woman in the band, is it frustrating to be in the minority a lot of the time?
No, not at all. It is not an issue and it is not something I think about. I’m part of a group with rad friends and that’s pretty much it. At shows, I just do my thing and I get to meet interesting people from all over the place. I’m not someone that needs a super high level of comfort so shitty bathroom, smelly vans and scummy clubs don’t scare me.
When you first started as FTF’s vocalist, did you get any flak from fans because of your gender?
No, not at all. I started in bands in ‘99, and in FTF in 2002, and I remember a lot of stupid and funny shit but nothing related to my gender.
Do you do any other writing aside from lyrics?
I really stick to lyrics. I don’t have what we could call a “writer’s talent”. French being my first language, I just focus on writing lyrics and getting better with my written and spoken English.
You experienced a severe depression after your daughter was born, which is common. How did you get through that? How has the band managed to stay together all this time; what keeps you going, individually and collectively?
To answer the first part of the question, I got insanely down after my daughter’s birth because of the 3 weeks we stayed at the hospital together (she was born prematurely). The conditions were just joining forces to create a nice and strong depression: my daughter in an incubator, cables all over her little body, needles, etc.; I was in a tiny cold room with no windows, phone, TV, or decent food, and waking up every 2 to 3 hours to go take care of her for as long as I could. I functioned as a zombie for 3 weeks. The minute we were released and sent home, I was good, depression left as we stepped out of the hospital. It was funny because at some point my boyfriend brought me my laptop with a few movies I had downloaded a few weeks before. All I had were these super harsh depressing movies I normally enjoy. One of them was Precious. I never wanted a light comedy so bad! On the plus side I wrote a good part of the lyrics for the Misery EP from that hospital room. It was a good way to channel that sadness.
For the band aspect, I think what keeps me going, and I think my band mates share this as well, is a combination of many ingredients including a great chemistry between band members and an interesting and non limiting writing process. I have been writing vocal patterns and lyrics for this band for now 11 years and I am not feeling like it is redundant yet!
When he’s not writing for DarkMedia, Shane Lange swims in the cultural sea, up to his ears in music, film, and literature. If it’s dark, and it’s smart, chances are you’ve got his attention.
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