My father has been in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for 35+ years. He is a trumpet player. This was the means that supported my family for my whole childhood. My mother went into teaching in my teens but really I was a kid being raised by music. That exposure made me a rock n' roll loving person that believes in solid composition of songs and meaning and depth that they can have...like you find in classical music. I used to go watch my father play at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver and never really understood how meaningful and important that was, and is, until now. That fact was, and still is now, that my country gives support to symphonies near the capital in Ottawa, but never gave any support to the west coast Vancouver Symphony. These players relied and still rely on the support on the public that go to the shows. They rely on members of the public who know that without their continued support, the symphony would vanish. To this day they haven't let that happen. If it was up to the Canadian government, it would be gone.

Living with this I am very sensitive to the preservation of culture and the need to value it and teach the value of it. Music in today's pop culture isn't valued by the people or the musicians. This is why there is no longevity for bands. The bands aren't challenging themselves to be creative and push boundaries; they just seem to want to copy what has been done before only with better recording equipment and gear. The labels don't want to sign anything new or innovative because it is too "risky" and "hard to promote". So in the end we are left with boring redundant music and culture...which leads to people not seeing worth in it anymore. That's way people don't even feel that they should have to pay for a song anymore and they burn it off the net.

Because of my upbringing and the struggle I watched my father and the symphony go through to keep culture and quality music alive, while being abandoned by government support and the like, I am focused on the same struggle in rock n' roll and don't give a fucking shit about anything else. I want music to mean something to kids and adults. I want to respect my heroes and elders that played quality music and worked against the odds to keep it real, by keeping it real myself, no matter what it costs me.

Formerly known as Mr. Underhill, now the band is simply known as Nim Vind. What caused the change?

Mr.Underhill was dealing with mainstream shopping contracts and labels that fucked us around and made us wait and wait until we got tired of their bullshit and left. The band was myself and my two actual brothers that joined me for the years that we were really making a name for ourselves. Robbie K, the bass player had enough of the heartbreak we were constantly being dealt and decided to leave music. At that point I decided that I wanted to keep doing what I was doing, but on my own terms and with my own name. This way I could play with anyone I felt fit in with what I was doing and the band wouldn't have to change.

Nim Vind is Mr.Underhill. Mr.Underhill was an idea of sound and approach that I started and therefore I felt it was time for it to be called Nim Vind. Robbie K now has a new band called the Vincent Black Shadow. I heard it and loved his idea and decided to back up his idea this time and now I play bass and sing back up vocals in that band as well. That record is signed to BoDog Music and will be out soon. It will be out with Warner distribution so it will be way easier to get than my own music ironically. With that band we are going to show the pop world what a pile of shit that it has become and burn it down from the inside, while Nim Vind is on the outside taking down all those trying to escape. Ha ha ha!!!

What would you say is the biggest difference between what Mr. Underhill was and what Nim Vind is?

I am more focused and smarter about my choices especially now with my name on it...having learned the hard way too many times in the past. The music is more aggressive in some ways but really it is the same approach I've always had. I like well thought out music that has style and meaning, while being fun to crank up and have a drink to as well. Like I said, Mr.Underhill is Nim Vind and vice versa. The Fashion of Fear is the album Mr.Underhill was going to make....it just didn't....Nim Vind did.

The main reason I find your music so appealing is because it's very different from a lot of the same regurgitated music you find everywhere else. What inspires you to write the music you do and what do you think is a key factor in your songwriting?

I believe in pushing myself and my group to go the extra mile to find that beat or progression or style that makes it mean more. It's hard to put into words but I can tell you this. When you have an idea there is a natural group of things that you will think of right away that will make it sound correct.... Then there is an idea that is out there that is so weird and off kilter and bizarre that it shouldn't work but it does....that's what I look for...it can be hard to find, but when you find it you know it. The push for these moments in lyrics and in music has an affect on a listener. I believe that is makes them come back to the music, to find out what that intangible quality is. People want to have a human experience in music too.

Rock n' roll comes from blues and folk music which comes from the street level- people expressing themselves in song. A person in pain playing a song has a painful feeling that you should hear. That's the experience. This is a big reason why most recorded music sucks shit these days. To explain: music is recorded now with so much correcting gear...pitch correction, drum programs that fix any imperfections in the playing, programs that make it so an engineer can cut and past parts so you don't even need to be able to play the whole song....all this stuff that in the end means that you no longer hear that human imperfections of a musician....you don't hear the character of the way a band plays together because they arent even really playing the song. The computer does more playing now that the band. This is why you go see a new band play your favorite song live and you can't get over why it sucks so bad. It's because they aren't the ones making it sound like it does on the album. Turn on the first Doors album, then turn on any new band that came out this year and you'll hear what I am talking about. Something is missing....the street level is missing. The emotion is missing. The character isn't present.

A lot of people categorize your music more towards the horror rock end of the spectrum and I don't necessarily agree with that. How would you describe your music?

I hate categories. Those are just for record store people so they dont get confused trying to find out where to put your album. I'm Nim Vind doing a bunch of different styles and songs the way I do them. I do what I like. I try to put as much of myself in the music as I can. When you listen to my songs, that is me singing the whole thing - no loops. I don't need help to get my pitch right. I play all the guitar - no looping....I feel that people would rather hear someone play a little sloppy than here them get one bit right once out of a hundred and have a computer loop the rest.

What exactly does Nim Vind stand for? Is it an acronym for something?

NIMH stands for National Institute of Mental Health. I don't feel that I am very mentally healthy so I took off the H. Vind is short for Vindication, which means freedom or liberation. So the name Nim Vind to me means freedom by insanity or being unaware of the rules. I don't care about the rules. I make my own.

Fashion of Fear is by FAR, the best record I've heard in a long time. It's very creative and futuristic in a sense. How was the writing process for that and how long did it take?

Those songs were all the ones that I liked from Mr.Underhill and new ones that I wrote for the new sound of Nim Vind. It is a group of songs that center around the current climate of fear and paranoia and the idea that you can break away from it by not allowing yourself to be beaten down and pushed into the crowd to become irrelevant, but instead releasing that you are as strong as the values you have, the person you strive to be, and the things you hold valuable. If you push for something better you can get it...and at the end of the day I'd rather die trying to make something of myself then stay alive hiding from the world.

One of my favorite songs is "Interviews with the Icon". What is this song about?

It's about the dangers of believing your own hype. You can sell out and be famous for five seconds but it won't mean anything to anyone. Stay true to what you believe in.

Being the man behind the music, what are some of your favorite songs that you've written and recorded over the years?

I like them all in different ways. It's hard to look back at an album and not get lost in what could have been better...but when I go out live and play for people, I don't remember when the song was made or for what or who was around...I just enjoy the moment and the atmosphere it creates.

Shortly, you'll be traveling over to Europe on tour. Have you been there before or will this be your first experience there?

Hmmmm..... The tour was killer. We'll be going again in March.

With the end of the year drawing near, can we expect any new material to be released this year, or will it be sometime in 2006 when we get our next does of Nim Vind?

2006 early. I have all the songs. It's gonna be a blast of heartbreak and weirdness.

Onto Some Laid Back Questions:

Who are some of your current and all time favorite bands?

Danzig, The Misfits, The Damned, The Doors, Bauhaus, Bowie, Fear.

If you could attain any goal, be it musically or personally, what would it be?

I would like to get my music to be readily available to the public without having to compromise it. I would love to be on the radio as much as the next guy...but not doing what these fake acts are doing. I want to be on the radio but I want to be playing the song the way I do it, and be the one you actually hear on the song....not a producer's take on what the label wants and what radio "needs" to be able to use it.

When you're not recording music and touring, what do you do? What kind of hobbies do you have?

I like to read a lot, TV, video games, movies, I love cooking...Thai food and such.

What are your favorite movies for each of the following catergories:

Horror

The Zombie Movies (typical but they are just the best)

Comedy

The Big Lebowski (LOVE this movie)

Foreign

The unbearable Lightness of being

Drama

The Hidden

Will Ferrell Movie

Anchor Man (Will Ferrell is a scream)

What final words would you give to your friends and fans?

If you want bands like Nim Vind to stay around, you gotta support them. Go see the Danzig tour with Doyle, it's the best one going...oh and the Bauhaus tour. These are big shows by bands with no radio support, no major label, but lots of fans that believe in them and their talents and willingness to stay true to their art so that we can all get something meaningful out of it. Don't let culture be taken away from you and replace by the Wal-Mart version. If that happens, we all lose out big time. And thanks for all your killer support.

www.nimvind.net