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When one of our good friends at Indoor Recess told me that she would be able to hook us up with an interview with Newcastle, ON band, One Second 2 Late, I jumped at the opportunity, having gotten their CD about a month prior. I remember listening to them, and bopping my head around and being impressed at their ability to jump from sound to sound while still sounding like the same band. I got a chance to talk with guitarist Rob Henderson about inspiration for their songs, the recording process, and the making of their video for "Fear of a Nation".

“Another thing about touring with bands is that it's like, we're all in it for the same cause, and the same common goal is to just bring music to people and have fun and to be able to do it as a living”
- Rob Henderson: One Second 2 Late

For our readers who don't know who you are, roll call! Can you introduce yourself and tell us what you do for the band?

I'm Rob, I play guitar in One Second 2 Late. I'm also very involved with the song writing process, as is everyone, we all kind of write together. Absent from this interview right now is Brian Pisani, who is lead vocals, Adam Wishak, other guitarist and vocals, Steve Leca, Bassist and vocals, and Derrick Knox, who is on dums and percussion.

So how did One Second 2 Late come about, and where did the name come from?

We met in highschool, like, the core of the band right now was Brian, Derrick and myself, who all met in school, and we kind of jammed out together with some other guys. Actually a former member came up with the name, Adrian *

Manda's note: Apologies if I spelt that wrong.

(Cont'd) it was just kind of like a... we were young and it was a catchy thing and we were into the pop-punk scene, and One Second 2 Late stands in with the whole number thing that was going on then. After highshool we got a little more serious and once we kind of determined who wanted to do this forever, we found a couple other guys who were playing in other bands, Adam and Steve, and we kind of drafted them into out band and unfortunaely broke up a band that they had at the time, but I think it worked out for the both of us better this way.

Probably, yeah. You released your debut CD, "World Time Bomb," in the summer, and worked with people like Greig Nori and Ian D'Sa, so what was it like getting in the studio with such well known, talented people, and what was it like in general recording for you guys?

Being with Greg and Ian was awesome, we learned a lot from them. We were kind of... I guess, fans, before we were friends, which was kind of neat for us, but it was surprising just how humbling they were, and when we got into the studio with them... They really just let us do our own thing, and be creative on our own terms without kind of stepping in and trying to take over on their own terms, because they both already have so much experience that it would be understandable for guys like that to kind of want to grab the wheel and take control but they were really good with just letting us get our ideas out and do things we wanted to do and we ended up with an album that is ours, and true to us. We learned a lot from Greg and Ian along the way.

So they didn't try to take over, but did they try to help... guide you guys?

Oh yeah, definitely. Like, when it came down to it... like, the pre-production stage, we definitely worked some parts out in songs and they got hands on then, and it was kind of cool for Wishak and I being guitarists sitting down with Ian and Greg and like the four of us just all having guitars and jamming it out trying to work out parts. It was pretty sweet.

I can see that being fun! So what is it that inspires your lyrics?

Our lyrics are inspired in different ways. Brian and I do pretty much the majority of the lyrics, and a lot of the times it'll just come from an idea, maybe even just one line, and then we'll go from there. There're songs that definitely have a bit more of a political aspect to them, so we kind of touch down on that, and sometimes we end up doing research, and kind of using the research and kind of putting that into lyrics. It's kind of scattered right now, we don't really have a pattern that we follow every time. it's just what comes out at the time, and how we are and where we are. A couple songs we would go to certain spots where we would kind of be able to gather inspiration from that particular area and just start writing.

Well sometimes that's better than having a set process! It just comes out more real and less... calculated that way.

Exactly, yeah. And I think kind of what our band's all about is just going with the flow and doing what we feel like doing at that point in time and that's why a lot of our songs turn out, in the process, not being the same style at times, and I think people will see a lot more of that in the future, too.

What's been the biggest moment for the band, and on the other side of the coin, what's been the biggest challenge?

Uhm... The biggest moment... I guess... would probably be... Hm. I don't know! There's a lot. I think, personally, the Hedley tour was a big thing. Playing live shows is our favourite part of this and those were the biggest crowds we've had to date and consistently. So I think it would be that, the fact hat we've got to tour already and do what we've done at such a young age is pretty cool for us.

The biggest challenge, I would say, right now, would just be the way that the industry is kind of working. It's hard to get your name out there without either being scandalous or having a lot of money to put yourself in the spotlight. For a band like us, we've got to really work hard at just staying on the road and doing our best to get exposed that way and getting our name out there and hoping people like it and come back.

That makes sense. So something I noticed about "World Time Bomb", which is actually something you mentioned before, about how each song kind of sounds different, and each song has it's own individual sound, but it's still stays cohesive, and the overall CD has a cohesive sound to it. So what inspires you to make each song so individualistic, and how do you still manage to make it sound like your own?

I think what inspires us is that we all have a lot of influences and we all want to create music that we want to listen to. So if we want a song that kind of sounds like a Pink Floyd song, something for us to kind of relax to, or maybe experiment with new things, then we'll just go for that, and start writing. But then I think, just naturally, because it's the same five guys doing it, it comes out sounding like the same band. Like us every time. I guess a lot of that has to do with vocals as well. Brian's got kind of a distinct sound that he can pick out and you can say like, 'that's the singer from One Second 2 Late'. If he does that on every song, or it's kind of in that ballpark, I guess it's the best way to make it sound as one.

Who are your biggest influences out there in the music scene right now, and who inspires you to keep pushing forward?

Right now, who's still out there in the scene, I would have to say Billy Talent obviously would be a big influence, because we've worked with Ian, and just being another Canadian band. They've done really well for themselves, and we hope to be at that point soon, for sure. Yeah. I'd say Billy Talent would be our biggest inspiration right now.

So you've opened for bands like Ill Scarlett, Social Code, Gob, and Mariana's Trench, is there anything that you've taken from those experiences? And anything that these bands have taught you that will help you on future tours?

Yeah, for sure! A couple of bands you didn't mention were Anti-Flag and Faber Drive, we just recently toured with them, and I can't say enough about Anti-Flag. They're just the most humble, down to earth guys, and they taught us really to just stay true to yourself, and another thing about touring with bands is that it's like, we're all in it for the same cause, and the same common goal is to just bring music to people and have fun and to be able to do it as a living. So they kind of taught us the morals of... just going out and being good people, and not having that rock star mentality that like, 'we're out to take over the world!' We're out to see the world, and see it with everyone else, and enjoy it with everyone else.

You released your video for "Fear of a Nation" last month, how was shooting the video, and what kind of reception has it gotten?

Shooting the video was fun! The first time- we actually shot a video for that song before, and it didn't end up getting used because we did some re-recording, that day was kind of breaking us in. It was like, eighteen hours straight of that. When we went to shoot the version that's out now, it was actually a lot quicker of a day, and it seemed like a breeze to us because we'd already kind of been through how on the first one, so it was actually fun. Everyone in the industry, all the guys that we talk to are like 'oh, you'll get over shooting videos and they'll just become a pain in the ass'. But we enjoyed ourselves like we always do when we get together, and rocking out while lip-syncing is always funny.

So I have to ask, I've listened to "Skanky Santa", and I love it, but what inspired the song, and what are your plans for the holidays, and the new year?

Skanky Santa (laughs) I guess my inspiration for that is just kind of a twist on getting coal in your stocking, maybe taking it to the next level. I was just sitting in my room and I just got this idea to lock your doors on Christmas Eve, and then it just kind of unfolded from there. And I think, maybe for next year, we're going to bring that song back, and we're going to shoot a little video for it. We've already written the treatment ourselves.

You definitely should, that'd be fun!

Just as a little gift to the fans. Like, a Christmas special.

Where do you see One Second 2 Late going in the future, and what are your overall goals for the band?

In the near future we're hoping to get on a couple of tours in January, February and March. We're maybe going to be hooking up with Social Code again.

Fantastic!

That would be fun. Our overall goals, really we just want to keep writing music. Our goal is longevity, so we want to make sure we do things the right way so that we can be a long lasting band and not just kind of fall off the face of the Earth one day.

So we here at the Sound Faction we are five of the most random people you will ever meet, so we like to end our interviews on a less serious note with five random questions. Are you up for that?

Oh yeah!

Alright, awesome! Who would you want to win a date with?

Hm. ...Rhianna.

What's one girls fashion trend that confuses you?

Uhm... Lady GaGa's bangs.

(Laughs) I have to agree in full. If you could play one instrument that isn't typical, like not a guitar, bass, drums, stuff like that, what would it be?

Oh jeeze. Uhm... a harp!

A harp?

Yeah! It's a lot of strings!

That is a lot of strings! If you were a scented candle, what would you smell like?

Cinnamon and lilac!

At the same time?

I don't know! Is that a bad combo? (laughs)

I don't know! I don't think that would work very well!

Okay, let's just go with... cinnamon!

And if you could be any old school "Rock God" for a day, who would you be, and how would you abuse the power?

I would be David Gillmore, and I would probably just sit in my room and play guitar all day.

I would just like to take the chance to thank Rob for taking the time to sit down and talk with us! If you'd like to check out One Second 2 Late (Which you really should... mhm), you can find their MySpace here!