Dead Rhetoric: What would you say are your top three albums of all-time- as well as the best concert that you ever witnessed purely from a fan perspective?
Auclair: The best concert that I witnessed was in 1993 when Robert Plant and Jimmy Page came back together, the No Quarter album, and they played in Montreal at the old Forum. Definitely the best live experience I’ve ever witnessed- not only because those two are icons but also the way the set up was made. They had a Moroccan orchestra ensemble on tour, and in each city they were performing they were hiring the local orchestra. Just the whole set up and scope of the performance was mind blowing. A huge Zeppelin fan, having the two orchestras, that was certainly the most memorable live experience I’ve ever witnessed.
As far as top three albums- I am a huge Kansas fan so I would say Leftoverture is definitely one of them. Just because of the vocals, the songwriting, “Magnum Opus” the last song is such a masterpiece. I am also a huge Peter Gabriel fan, and my favorite album is oddly enough Passion – the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ movie. It’s so haunting and phenomenal. A third album… I would say Rush Hemispheres, because of the bass and the whole album is phenomenal.
Dead Rhetoric: Is the Montreal scene still strong as far as heavy metal support- beyond progressive metal and into other sub-genres?
Auclair: I would say… Montreal where people go to see shows, besides Heaven’s Cry I went to see Steven Wilson at his last show the Metropolis sold out, so yes the crowd is still there. When I play, I play with tribute bands including one that is called The Wall: Live Theatrical Extravaganza. Musically we are doing The Wall from Pink Floyd as a musical and as a theatrical play. There is a lot of people that will go to see this show. But in the metal scene, I don’t necessarily go to see a lot of metal shows. I love to consume other outlets for music, I will go see Steven Wilson but I also like go to see Peter Gabriel and Sting. I probably wouldn’t be the best person to ask, but we draw crowds when we perform and when I go see others they are sold out. I play so much that I don’t go to see as many shows as I’d like.
We will do some opening act shows- we did this for Pain of Salvation when they came to Montreal. That was a good turnout, but we don’t play with Heaven’s Cry as much around here. I have a Supertramp tribute band, and a Sting/The Police tribute band as well. That’s how you make a living out of it, people know the music and you use the nostalgia to go with the flow.
Dead Rhetoric: Tell us about your appearance on the Canadian version of “The Voice” television show last year? There must have been some good takeaways from this…
Auclair: Well, it was definitely an interesting experience. I did get some visibility out of it, as far as repercussions I was already in the circuit and already playing with a couple of bands. I didn’t necessarily feel a difference as far as repercussions, outside of the fact that I would get recognized now at the convenience store. Did it bring more work? I don’t think it did. I didn’t get to go very far in the competition, I got to the second stage. It was an interesting situation, and that’s what I wanted- some exposure and put my face out there to see what would happen.
The thing is at 43 when I did this, I think there is a lot of difference between the young kids who are 16 or early 20’s that are doing it- they jump into this big machine and they live such an intense experience, when it’s over if they are smart enough they’ll take that and use the momentum to create something. As far as I was concerned I was already involved in different projects, it was a good experience. I think that what they shot and how they edited and presented me was very professional. I take it as a very positive experience, one extra step into my career.
As far as television reality shows I would say that you don’t have a lot of control over what is happening. You are sort of put in the grinder, the important thing I retained is I was able to stay and present myself without fluff and without too much exaggeration. I stayed the same and didn’t try to play games not like I am- for some people it will change them and once they are out of the grinder they’ll be changed and not necessarily in the best way. It can twist you and intimidate you- I was older and more experienced and already playing in projects and bands.
Dead Rhetoric: What is on tap for Heaven’s Cry over the rest of 2016 in support of Outcast? Will there be festival and short tour excursions, both in North America and abroad?
Auclair: As far as right now there are three CD launch parties across Canada, playing in Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec next week. After that, there are plans but I can’t really tell you what they are, it’s a work in progress with Prosthetic. I would love to say that we could go back to ProgPower USA and ProgPower Europe, or go on a tour to support a band. But there is nothing concrete in the plans, but bring it on. We are focusing on the record launch and very excited to see what people think of the record.