2007 Update: Here is an update I received from Patrick: The last year turn out to be a year of transition for Drillpoint. In March 2006 we saw longtime guitar player Myles Rourke leave the band. The replacement process was quick and fruitful. We welcomed Cody Gilchrist to the band. Cody had worked with us for awhile, so it seemed the logical choice. With Cody on board we began rehearsing the live show and of course kept writing new material. We signed a digtal distro. deal, so "Where's the Soul" is available at pretty much any online music store. 2006 ended for us with a SOLD OUT headlining show, as well as an opening slot on a "Core across Canada" tour stop with Hatebreed and Sworn Enemy. 2007 begins with us writing new material for the next release. In March 2007 after a couple of months of writing, it became evident that Carl Gervais(drums) and the rest of Drillpoint had musically grown apart. So almost exactly 1 year later we are back in the auditioning stage. April and May were spent listening to demos and auditioning a wide variety of drummers. In May we introduced Steph Desilets to the fold. After waiting a few weeks for our new jam space to be built we are now in full swing, writing and polishing our set. With these 2 new members, new life has been brought into the band and predict great things to come later in 2007. We are going to be recording a new "single" near the end of the summer, titled "Enemy", to be released on Myspace, so watch out for that!! We will be relaunching the website in the near future, as well as a new photo shoot, so keep your eyes peeled!! Other than that Keep it metal!!!! You will be hearing from us soon!!!

Interview with Patrick Fynn and Carl Gervais of Drillpoint by Jen

First off, the first picture on your web site is a picture with you guys and Dimebag (RIP). When was that taken and how did you meet him? We are missing a true legend in the metal industry.
We had the pleasure of sharing the stage with DamagePlan on June 16th/2004 at the Capital Music Hall here in our home town of Ottawa, Canada. That picture was taken right after the show in one of the backstage rooms and it was the beginning of a fantastic evening. Having had the chance to spend time and party with brothers Vinnie, Dimebag and the rest of the guys was just totally awesome. We are truly missing a legend and an absolutely beautiful human being!!!
Now, on to you guys, I have your self titled CD and I think it is the best. I said you guys had a Slipknot, Mushroomhead sound to you. Would you agree with that comparison?
That comparison seems to be fair and thanks for the compliment! I would say that the aggression and percussive attack is similar.
I also said your CD had so much energy on it, your live show have to be incredible. What can someone who never saw you expect to see at a Drillpoint show?
Well, from what people have told us that have seen our live show is that we are an unrelenting barrage of power on all senses. We always make sure we have a good sound man and we always bring on extra lights ect... to push up the live experience. We strongly believe that playing live with no show is just not acceptable. Might as well stay home and listen to the CD. Of course the crowd always plays a big part. So far they are pushing the levels up and in return it makes a Drillpoint show fully energy driven.
Tell us a little about the relationship the band has with Jon Van Wingerden, who co-owns The Audio Valley Recording Studio in Ontario. How did that come out? Did he help produce the album? Will you go back there and use Wingerden again?
Jon was working out of his basement when we met him. He was getting ready to open his new studio and current location when we were ready to record. We shopped at a few different studios to see what was available and we felt Jon had the most to offer. The experience was great and the recording turned out quite well. We were Jon's first band of our genre so references and our input played a big role in the production. Yes we are back in the studio mid April/2005 with Jon to record a new five song EP.
Are you satisfied with the final outcome? Anything you would have wanted to do different?
We are very satisfied with the outcome. I think for a five song promotional CD and being our first release it sounds damn good!!! Of course with anything there are things we will do differently next time. However that is what progress and more steps are for. All of these steps are important to take and never skip one. Mistakes are sometimes good, we do not mind making them and learning but of course we would like to keep them at a minimum.
How has the reaction been to the CD?
The reaction has been truly amazing!!! Definitely surpassed expectations for our first release. We are getting fantastic and extremely positive feedback worldwide. Now we just need to keep building that ground work.
In the early years of the band, you practiced your ass off and did a mini recording just for the band to use. Tell me about that, how that came about, why you didn't just jump into a releasable album like most bands would have? Do you feel like it helped your songwriting?
We did practice and write a lot at the beginning and still do. The mini recording, or at least the first one, was to sense the direction of the band. It's really hard to play, listen and fix all at the same time. We learned so much from just that little recording and to be honest a lot of those songs were changed quite a bit after that mini recording. It takes time for a band to mature musically. We have kept that practice up and still do record like that often. As for song writing, it absolutely helps. Getting a vibe and groove of a song before it's brought out to the public is very important and doing mini recordings of songs is an invaluable tool for a band.
Is there anything you guys do as a band to get prepared for a show? Warm up?
We don't do anything different, at least we do not think so. We practice our live set at least twice a week so we're always ready to play for those last minute shows. Right before going on stage we will stretch, warm up and stuff and always meet together in a huddle to psych up and wish luck. Then we hit the stage and hope we have a killer show.
Tell me a little band history, how you guys got together, when, etc.
Myself and Carl started getting together and putting down ideas in the summer of 2000. Not being able to find compatible musicians at the time we decided to turn to the computer to write the skeletons of songs. Myles joined the fold about a year after and Kelly followed shortly after. There have been a few members in and out not for long in the early days but nothing really worth mentioning.
You guys are a fairly newer band, being around since 2000. I also noticed you have not had any member changes, which is great. How do you guys all get along after this much time? You must all feel like you are brothers. How often do you guys practice? Are you guys friends outside of the band, hanging out at clubs and bars?
Do you mean "how do we manage to get along?" or do you mean "do we still get along?" Hahaha!!! Well we manage pretty good to get along because we have a common goal and we are good friends. We still get along great probably even better now then we used to. Again all because of the common goal. We get together and practice as a band 3 times a week. Yes we are friends outside the band as well. Of course we hit clubs together and go see live shows as much that we can, party and get drunk and whatever. This is a life long endeavor so we better get along.
How do you promote the band? Do you get a lot of random emails from fans who just surf onto your page?
We promote Drillpoint many different ways. Of course through web sites and links like yours. We are very proactive 24/7 with emailing new people, web sites and internet radio to see if they want a promo package. We also have a street team rolling in our home town Ottawa and of course word of mouth is still a very good way. We have a full line of merchandise to promote us like: key chains, T-Shirts, posters, 8" x 10" and of course our promo CD. The most amazing thing is all the random emails that we get on a daily basis. We do answer all of them back and appreciate them. Keep'em comin!
How many people come to your web site monthly? Are you selling lots of merchandise from the site?
I'm not too sure on the exact numbers but i do know it's pretty high. We do sell merchandise online on a regular basis but nothing compared to the great sales when we play live.
Do you have any labels interested in you right now? If not, why the hell not?!?!
I HOPE SO!!! Maybe someone is looking at us from a distance to see what we do next. To be honest we haven't really worked on that aspect yet. With this new 5 song EP coming out early summer we will start knocking on doors. We wanted to let the band mature a little more musically before venturing to the labels.
What is the scene like in Canada? Do you come to the states for shows ever? Do you see any difference in the fans in the US, compared to the fans in Canada?
The scene is O.K. to good in Canada. We hear a lot of people complain about it but it seems to be treating us O.K. I think if you stay proactive on what you do something will always come up.We haven't been to the Sates for shows yet and let me tell you we can't wait!!! The differences that we can see is the fans in the US seem interested in us as people and individuals. That seems to be equally as important to them besides the music itself. Very nice! Fans in Canada seem more interested in the musical aspect only. They can be the most loyal fan or just not give a shit period.
What is new for the band? Tours? New material and new album?
We are constantly working on new things. Writing new material and getting new merchandise on the go. As far touring goes, not sure yet. Maybe will try to get something on the go for the summer. Although we would ultimately prefer to go out as a support act for someone bigger. We are back in the studio mid April/2005 to record 5 new songs. This EP should be out by early summer.
What do the guys in Drillpoint do for fun? Do you all have day jobs?
We love checking out shows as much we can. We do everything from chilling at home to all out freakin' out of control partying. Ha...Yes we all have day jobs, which adding band time and party time all together it keeps us very busy.
What are the top 5 releases of 2004?
1.Fear Factory - Archetype
2.Slipknot - Vol.3(Subliminal Verses)
3.Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake
4.Rammstein - Reise Reise
5.DamagePlan - New Found Power (We could add many more to this list)
Anything else you would like to add?
Well Jen, thank you so much for all the help and support! What you do for bands is incredible!!! Keep it up. We hope to meet you and everyone else in the near future.
http://www.myspace.com/drillpoint 
http://www.drillpoint.net