WINSTON MCCALL delivers his Life Lessons. Note: we should all be more like animals.
One of metalcore’s most inspirational figures can’t hack divisions in the scene. he also bloody loves animals
Who kneW that some snotty punk rock kid from Byron Bay, Australia was going to grow up to be one of the most inspirational figures in the world of heavy metal? But that’s where we are with Winston McCall in 2019; as frontman of metalcore pioneers Parkway Drive, Winston has inspired devotion from a whole new generation of heavy music fans thanks to his band’s ever-evolving musical journey and his relentless positivity. We picked his brains to find out what makes one of metal’s modern superstars tick.
NEVER SECOND-GUESS YOUR AUDIENCE
“In a lot of ways [divisive 2018 album] Reverence got the reaction from critics that I would expect, but in other ways, in terms of our audience, I’m very shocked by the response. You have the review, which is one person commenting on how they feel about certain aspects of the record, and then you have the reaction of playing those songs to people. And you can never ascertain how those songs will go down live, which is why this record has been such a shock to us. The audience seem to have connected to it in a really genuine way, which is not something that happens with new music from a band at this stage in our career that much. That is a lovely surprise for us.”
MUSIC LIVES AND DIES ONSTAGE
“I will play our songs to hundreds of thousands more people than will ever read a review of our music. I’d rather concentrate on the connection you feel from showing someone your art and having an honest emotional reaction back from them than I would read a critique of what I do. It’s nice to feel that connection, it’s what music was created for.”
RISKS AREN’T REALLY RISKS
“When we take ‘risks’ in our music, we aren’t really considering them as risks. It’s all about committing to a concept and trying to do justice to that. I see them more as opportunities or adventures, they all come about from an interest in a sound that we haven’t tapped into yet and we want to do that. That’s why we started this band in the first place; to keep the canvas expanding. As you grow as a person you need that self-expression to grow – it’s imperative for our longevity. We aren’t going to shy away from it.”
BOUNDARIES ARE NONSENSE
“When we started out, the punk people did not like the metal people and vice versa. This is something we’ve always tried to kick back against. Metal always felt like escapism, and punk somehow felt ‘realer’. But there is definitely a place for both of those ideas. What do I identify with today? Neither. I love both punk and metal, but I am much more of a composite of ideas from across the spectrum, from all different types of music. Metal has such a vast canon of sound, more so than any other music, I think, and punk has such a great anti-establishment message. You shouldn’t have to pick one, and you don’t have to pick one.”
IT’S OK TO BE POLITICAL
“The whole ‘shut up and play’ thing mystifies me, because the entire reason I got into music was due to a connection with what the artist is saying, what they believe in, what their outlook on life is. I don’t want that person to shut up! It’s so hard in this day and age, in this political spectrum, to switch off, but people want to do that. [Politics have] become a part of who I am, and I can’t imagine the art I make being the same without it.”
WE REALLY NEED TO LISTEN TO EACH OTHER
“We can all be political. It’s just an exchange of ideas. I know a lot of people want to get into that world, so just talk to people! That’s honestly the first step. I know there is that idea that you don’t talk about politics at the dinner table, or whatever, but I think that’s such a stupid idea. You can only learn about human nature with the expression and exchange of ideas. That’s how things get done. So, to listen and to adapt your behaviour and to compromise, that’s really important. That’s something I feel the world lacks at the moment.”
WE SHOULD ALL BE MORE LIKE ANIMALS
“I look at human nature, and the destructive tendencies we have, and then I look at these creatures who are untouched by the concerns we have as human beings. I rarely see spite, or cruelty, or cut-throat ambition in the animal kingdom. They behave in the same way no matter what is happening in the evolution of our society; they live simple lives and behave solely out of the necessities of their life. We’re consumed by so many meaningless things. I envy the simplicity of their existence.”
OUR STAGE SHOW HAPPENED BY ACCIDENT
“It was never the plan to have our stage show. When we started, we were shocked that we were able to do shows at all! As the band grew it just became something that we felt we needed to do, to address the larger spaces. So, it was, ‘This venue is bigger, we can put a few inflatable palm trees behind us to fill the space.’ That’s still the idea! Filling space, giving people value for money, serving our songs in the best way we can.”
HOME KEEPS YOUR GROUNDED
“There has never been any consideration of moving from Byron Bay. I mean, I’m aware of how nice it is out here! Adam D [Killswitch Engage guitarist] came to stay with us a while back and he was like, ‘How can I move here?!’ So we come from a good place. Why would I leave? Also, I know that if I hadn’t been lucky enough to have made something with my band then we’d just be another bunch of guys working round here. Our friends from school aren’t impressed by us; they know who we really are, they knew us before this.
You come back and you’re just another dude in Byron. That’s a great leveller.”
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO PICK PUNK OR METAL”
LIFE DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE GREAT
“One of the easiest ways to remain positive is, ironically, to let people know that you are sad. You can’t be positive all the time, life can’t be great all of the time. We’ve had a tough year, so it’s not the best time to be talking to me about PMA. But that’s life, that’s the reality of life. If you are feeling down, don’t be afraid to express it, but always know that around the corner something good is going to happen. You have to ride life, you have to face all of its challenges head-on. I think that’s good for the human psyche – to open up and let people know it’s not always great.”
SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT REALITY
“I think the rise of social media is hugely damaging to people’s mental health. I see so much on there that is filtered ideas of happiness – your holiday, your food, your relationship. I came off when the album was released, because I am aware of how lucky I am and how I have a life that is full of moments that look really incredible. I’m not sure how helpful it is to expose that to people who may not be feeling happy within themselves. We all have our problems and our troubles, but you never seen them on Instagram, it’s just reinforcing someone else’s feeling of inadequacy if you bombard people with those sorts of images. So, I was like ‘That’s it. I’m out.’ I don’t want to give the impression that my life is perfect, it’s a fallacy. It’s really important to me that we all, as a society, recognise that.”
PETS TEACH US ABOUT LOVE
“I’ve learnt so much about unconditional love from my animals – no matter how you act, or how you feel, they will continue to feel the same way about you. I think that’s truly beautiful, that this animal relies on you so much, has chosen to put their entire life in your hands and gives you complete love and affection in return. We could all learn from that.”
YOU SHOULD NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU’VE COME FROM
“Of course, I have days when I look out into the crowd from the stage and I wonder what the teenage me would think of everything that’s going on around me. Usually it’s during Bottom Feeder, because that is the song where the crowd and the band are going the craziest. You know, people lose their minds to that song, and then all these lasers and fire bombs are going off around me, and sometimes you do think ‘How did I get here? How did this happen?’ But it’s been so gradual that I’ve just been able to feel very grateful for it. It’s never going to be something that I take for granted.”
METAL NEEDS TO OPEN UP
“There is a lot of talk in metal about the next set of festival headliners, who are going to be the next Maiden or Metallica. It’s really not something that concerns me. What concerns me more is the fans’ willingness to open up to newer ideas. Metal can be quite an insular genre, with quite rigid rules, but I always thought of it as a bastion for lawlessness.
So, these rules of how you dress, how you look, how long your hair is, is a pretty bizarre thing. Again, we’ve been so keen to push as hard against that as we can. I don’t want heavy music to be an imitation of the past, I want it to feel current and contemporary. I want people to embrace the change, visually or stylistically, and it is happening. Slowly and steadily, but we will do everything to help challenge those perceptions.”
“YOU NEVER SEE SOMEONE’S PROBLEMS ON INSTAGRAM”
REVERENCE IS OUT NOW VIA EPITAPH. PARKWAY DRIVE’S UK TOUR KICKS OFF THIS MONTH