PipemanRadio Interviews AxMinister About Napoleon and More

On this episode of the Adventures of Pipeman, Pipeman speaks to AxMinister, a band that has a unique style of music. They create music that has a story and a foundation. Nicholas Klaus, the bassist, vocalist and accordion player for the band, joins Pipeman on the show. Nicholas talks about how he had to learn the accordion for their latest album, and he did it without any prior lessons. He played the accordion for the first time in the recording studio and it was featured in their song, "Napoleon". Nicholas Klaus reveals that he does not require many takes for his recordings. He usually does his takes once or twice and only punches in when he is feeling off. Nicholas is proud of his nickname, 'One Shot Klaus'. The band's obsession with Napoleon Bonaparte is also discussed in the show. The drummer of the band suggested writing a song about Napoleon, and the band ended up creating a 17-minute song that covers Napoleon's life from his birth to when he took control of the French army. The band plans to create three more songs about Napoleon, each one longer and more epic than the last. The conversation also touches on the topic of bilingualism in Canada. Nicholas Klaus talks about how Canada is a bilingual nation, and he only knows about 10 French words, despite the Canadian system's attempts to teach him French. Pipeman mentions his trip to Montreal, where he discovered that the French spoken there was better than the French spoken in France. Nicholas Klaus talks about the rejection of Michael Ignatia, a candidate for Prime Minister who spoke with a Parisian French accent, by the people of Quebec, who preferred their low-brow French. The best way you can connect with the band is by going to axminister.ca for all of the latest information. You can stream the music on the major streaming platforms and follow them on all major social media channels, most of all MySpace! Live, AxMinister really wields their weapons of choice to great effect. “We put on a show, as we play medieval characters on stage. Sometimes we make a human sacrifice as our guitarist solos, other times we chant and pour blood on ourselves. We try to be theatrical and our stage show is constantly evolving.” “vir fortis” is due out May 11, 2023 and available for pre-order on Bandcamp. The Age of Napoleon…The Rise, is act one of a 3 part saga, inspired by the rise and fall of the French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. It is just over 17 minutes long, starts at his birth in Corsica, and ends with the French revolution, and young Napoleon as Captain. The following two songs are about Vlad the Impaler (aka Dracula); two historic looks, through a supernatural lens. “A journey through history, we examine the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and the story (along with the myth) of Vlad the Impaler. The songs are historically accurate, and the lyrics for the 17 minute Napoleon song, are academic; this EP is a history lesson.” – AxMinister The artwork for the album are oil paintings by our drummer Bas. Bas is sort of obsessed with Napoleon Bonaparte, and there at least 2 more songs about the French Emperor to be released in the coming years. The Napoleon song has been in the works for over 5 years. 2. Nicholas Klaus had to learn the accordion for ‘The Age of Napoleon…the Rise’; fortunately, being of Eastern European heritage, it came naturally to him! The melody that appears at the end of the Napoleon song, on the accordion, as well as the guitar outro, are one of the melodies for part 2 of AxMinister’s Napoleon saga, to be released in the coming years. 3. The two Vlad songs were always meant as two parts, and the band still refers to them as Vlad 1&2. The original Vlad 1 got scrapped, with only the main melody carrying over to Vlad the Impaler…Son of the Dragon. https://axminister.ca/press/