No Harm Done - Charles Chaussinand
Posted on August 26, 2008 at 8:00 am by Luke
One week after the release of “Escape” I managed to fire off an email to Charles Chaussinand of Flroida’s punk act No Harm Done, it was tough to dig up some information and questions for this band, a band that plays punk rock the way it should be played: loud, fast and to the point! I did manage to find some interesting facts to ask, as you will read, and I did realize one thing; when Charles fired an email right back in only 3 hours I knew they were a band that was all about the music and trying to get their music to as many people as possible.
Way Too Loud!: What influenced you into the music scene?
Charles Chaussinand: I took a different route from most of the other members of the band. When I was about 12, I started really getting into hardcore and going to a lot of youth crew shows and whatnot. Bands like Youth of Today, In My Eyes, Ten Yard Fight and the like are really what lyrically made me think “This is something I want to be a part of and involved in!” From there, I just stuck with it and 12 years later, here I am.
WTL!: Is there a theme for “Escape”?
Charles: “Escape” is really a self-explanatory theme. The album deals with issues of feeling you’re stuck somewhere, be it physically or emotionally, and you’re just not happy with it and you’re trying to get out of that situation. For us, the album deals a lot with the aspects of Florida that we don’t all enjoy. I can’t speak for all of the lyrics, as I write just music for the band, but on my end, I tried to theme the record with the structure and aggressive qualities of a hardcore record while mixing in melody and catchy hooks. I have always been a huge Fastbreak and Ignite fan, so I tried to work in that direction.
WTL!: “Festivus Yes, Bagels No” stands out both musically and lyrically, was there anything that you were going through when writing the song?
Charles: The music was something I had been sitting on for a bit and not really knowing how the song could all come together. I would have a bit of the chorus and fidget around with that for a while, then finally I was just playing something at practice that seemed to fit right in as the verse. When we got to the end of the song, we would just play up to that part and then hum what we thought would sound cool next until we came up with the part we have now.
WTL!: Do you have any way of working around writers block, or was it simply not an issue this time?
Charles: Writer’s block isn’t really something that happens to me too often. I am in a few bands of different styles so when I am not really feeling like I want to write a certain kind of song, I just work on something else. I think that conceptualizing songs in your head, just humming out parts you think would be cool, is a good way to get through anything that you’re having trouble writing.
WTL!: Why did you choose the Straight Edge lifestyle?
Charles: My decision to be Straight Edge was an easy one. I claimed it when I was 12, never having done drugs or drank before, and pretty much never looked back. I haven’t ever been curious about what drinking or doing drugs is like, I don’t understand the fascination with it. People will always tell me things like “Oh, it’s so hard to be Straight Edge” after they break, but what’s hard about it? Not drinking alcohol or doing drugs? I don’t get that mentality. It’s like saying “It’s so hard for me to walk out of the house with clothes on.” All you have to do is not do it, I think people just like to make excuses. Being Straight Edge is probably the best decision I have ever made in my life! I have had nothing but positive experiences as a result, the only rivaling decision I could say I have had is when I decided to be vegetarian. Our entire band is Straight Edge and vegetarian. It’s the first time I’ve been lucky enough to be in a band like that. I can agree that either of those lifestyle choices aren’t for everyone, but they are something that anyone consciously minded should really take a moment to look at. Being Straight Edge also used to be something that people would say and it didn’t seem to be as big a deal as it is now, not to say it is something to be taken lightly, but it shouldn’t be something that determines your friends or how you treat others. I think that the media sensationalism and metal influence into the hardcore and Straight Edge scene have really killed a lot of what attracted me to both in the first place. I’m Straight Edge for myself and everyone should do the same, not to fit a mold. Just my two cents on the issue!
WTL!: You guys seem to be all about the music with minimal information about the band available online, is there a reason you’re keeping yourselves low profile?
Charles: Haha! I didn’t really know we were keeping ourselves low profile. If there is anything anyone would like to know about the band, they are welcome to shoot us a message or come ask us at a show. One thing I know that none of us likes the way that band image gets worked into promotion more than the bands music. Everyone is wearing girls’ pants with bleached, teased up hair these days. That is not something we’re about. We dress the way we dress, with short hair and no eyeliner or whatever these other bands wear and just play songs we want to play. We seem to be getting a good response from it so far, so I would think that a doctored up image is not what is needed to get kids into a band.
WTL!: Do you guys have any other day jobs?
Charles: I run a record label called Get Outta Town Records and run a mastering suite called Stompbox Studios. Our bass player, Jack [Vermillion], does pizza delivery. Both our drummer and guitar player were working at another pizza place, but quit before our recent tours because we’ve been gone so much. Our singer does graphic design, primarily for bands.
WTL!: Are you in any other bands?
Charles: I used to play in a few other bands including Flame Still Burns, Esteem, Make or Break and others.
WTL!: Who would you like to tour with who’s feasible but not obvious?
Charles: Within the realm of feasibility, I would say we’d collectively love to go out with Paint it Black, Lifetime, Static Radio, Rotting Out, Ignite or any other of a load of bands I could name. Finding touring pairs has to work out in a way that you want to watch the other band every night and you like them as people. All of these bands I would love to watch every night and sing along.
WTL!: Is there anywhere in the world you’d like to tour?
Charles: Pretending money is no object for a moment; I would love to tour through Asia, Australia, New Zealand (do kids go to shows there?) and South America. The other areas in the world I haven’t named are pretty obvious spots, but I want to go to obscure places. I remember years ago seeing bands like Good Clean Fun announcing they were going to Israel and Trial going to Budapest. That kind of stuff just seems totally insane to me. I would love to be able to get out in remote parts of the globe and have people want to see my band like that.
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