Review Fix Exclusive: Tunic’s David Schellenberg Talks ‘Exhaling’ And More

Review Fix chats with Tunic’s David Schellenberg, who discusses his origin in music, creative process and the band’s goals for the coming year.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

David Schellenberg: I was about 13, some friends of mine were starting a band, they needed a bass player, I begged my parents to rent me a bass, they eventually caved and rented me one. I played bass for the next decade and then eventually thought i’d try playing guitar and now there is tunic. 

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Schellenberg: We have a variety of ways, but one of my favourite ways is to listen to a song I really like and then try to recreate it without learning it and I don’t really know how to play guitar, which allows me to get out of my muscle memory way of writing songs in certain rhythms and allows me to try new things. Once I have two pieces that work together I’ll take it to the band and we’ll flesh it out together in rehearsal. 

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Schellenberg: To answer broadly, everything. But mostly there is this need to create that I have to feed that i’ve had since I was a teenager. I usually take inspiration from my own life as I sometimes have a harder time yelling about other people’s experiences. So that typically entails my lifelong struggle with my  mental health and addiction and the heartbreak I’ve experienced or witnessed. 

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

Schellenberg: As cliche as it sounds, music means everything to me. I’ve built my entire life around music. Besides playing in this band I’ve been a professional show promoter for over 10 years and currently am a co-owner/booker of a local venue here in town.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Schellenberg: When asked by a stranger at a gas station, border crossing or restaurant we usually just tell people punk to keep it simple. If they inquire further we tell them we make noise punk and that usually ends the conversation. 

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Schellenberg: The recordings have overdubs, so there is a bit more happening in those tracks and all the songs are a bit slower. Our live shows are loud, energetic, abrasive, cathartic and usually rather sweaty. 

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Schellenberg: Musically, it’s inspired by the subgenre of ‘egg punk’ which is really just Devo influenced hardcore. Lyrically it’s about the depression you feel when you’re on tour for 11 straight weeks and you’re exhausted and getting into unnecessary arguments with your bandmates.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2021?

Schellenberg: Stay healthy, be able to start practicing again, we can’t right now due to the pandemic, finish writing our third album and release a bunch more material into the world. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Schellenberg: We just announced a new release called ‘Exhaling’ and we’ll be releasing a new single with a video in January.