Strap on your seatbelts for the wild ride that is Festival of Fools, the debut album by the Vancouver-based hardcore outfit Juice. The album was produced by WAR Records, and fittingly so, because Festival of Fools key theme centers around the modernity of political war in a conspiracy ridden culture. Every song on this 10-track LP is a resounding call to arms, one that seeks to engage and inform its audience through growling lyrical expression, beat-blasting drums, and high-pitched shredding guitar riffs.
Juice see themselves following in the footsteps of many of the Canadian greats including No Warning, Urban Blight, Career Suicide, Neos, and Wild Side, to name a few—bands whom they see as some of the best hardcore bands of all time. I spoke with Tony Ferarri, vocalist and songwriter, about the album and what drives the band to create music in today’s modern hardcore era.
All of the members of Juice have previously been in other bands before this project; what brought you all together to start making music, and when did you decide to officially form Juice?
Taylor and our first drummer Riley wanted to start something that sounded like OLC. I had always played in more ’80s-sounding bands but always wanted to do something in the vein of Dmize.
Most of the songs on this LP involve themes of what I believe you have referred to as “D-Boy” lifestyle shit, including violence, drugs, war, crime, etc. Can you explain what that means to you and the members of the band when it comes to expressing those themes through the music?
The re-recorded songs and songs off the seven-inch and demo were all about trapping, stuff I was living at the time and saw growing up. The 2000’s “street” subject matter kinda fell off as a result of the suburbanization of hardcore. You had, like, Trapped Under Ice who, lyrically, I always felt had the rawest shit. Rap music always kind of glamorizes certain elements of shit whereas I always liked the angle Geto Boys or Breakdown’s “Jail Of Depression” took.
Over the pandemic (or “plandemic,” we don’t discriminate) I read a lot of Peter Dale Scott and his work on U.S. involvement in drug smuggling. That really changed my perspective on a lot. We got a song on the record called “Drug Game” that goes, “It ain’t a twist of fate you’re flipping packs or pushing weight;” I think that kinda sums it up.
The single and video for “World War 3” released prior to the Festival of Fools is very symbolic and violent. Walk me through the inspiration behind the creative direction of that video.
TI think conservatives and liberals alike justify and enable state repression and building of capacity through the conjuring of fantasies. Nazis or Antifa super soldiers out in the woods. Some people seemed upset, probably because of lack of clear signifiers or intentionality. I don’t think people want art; they want propaganda—They want fantasy.
The video acted as a precursor for the rest of the LP, so what did you want viewers and listeners to get from “World War III” leading up to releasing the rest of the album?
There’s a war going on outside.
What are some of the key takeaways that you hope fans/listeners will get from Festival of Fools?
THERE IS A WAR GOING ON OUTSIDE.
From what I have gathered, you all started making music together back in 2018; how come it took so long to release your debut LP, and what has the progression of the band and its music been like during those formative years?
COVID ate up a couple years, and we had bad songwriting habits. Things really picked up with Rob writing a bunch of stuff and, of course, with Rav and Jeff filling out the team
What has your perception of the hardcore scene been over the last couple decades, and where do you see heading in the future?
I think every old head talks about how great things were when they were coming up. The only concrete thing I can say is…
It seems like a lot of money is finding its way into hardcore again. There was a mechanism in hardcore where eventually a band would get big enough … They would sell out. Everyone would stop repping them, and on and on. That cycle has kind of been broken, which is great if you’re a person who wants to live off hardcore but not so great for keeping money out. Taking the bag feels like closing the door behind you. Don’t forget the struggle; don’t forget the streets type shit.
How is the hardcore scene in Canada different from other countries, specifically America, and what does it mean to the band to be representative of that scene in Canada?
Canada has less people than California, and I think we’ve had some of the best hardcore bands of all time. No Warning, Urban Blight, Career Suicide, Neos, Wild Side, SHIT, Go it Alone, Inepsy. It’s difficult to tour the states because Visas are prohibitively expensive. Vancouver is the same size as Des Monies, and that’s the biggest city on the West Coast. It’s just a different world.
Now that you are releasing the LP, what can we look forward to from the band over the next year in terms of shows, tours, etc.?
We’re ready to play. We’re looking at Eastern Canada, U.S. dates, and a foray in Europe next spring.
Is there anything else you would like readers to know about the band or the LP or the making of it?
Have you ever listened to recordings of Jim Jones sermons? Do you know about the Gehlen organization? Did you know Timothy McVeigh received money from a CIA contractor prior to the OKC bombing? Find answers to all this and more by listening to “Festival Of Fools.”
Festival of Fools is out right now, and you can order it from WAR Records. Follow Juice on Instagram for future updates.
Photo courtesy of Jim Madden
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