A SeeJaneDrum Exclusive Interview

by Denise Cook

Elie BertrandThe end of Scarlet Sins is a new beginning for the young and very talented Elie Bertrand. Elie auditioned for Scarlet Sins in 2007 at the age of 17 and rocked hard with the band for the next two and a half years as their drummer. Since the November 2009 announcement that the band was breaking up, her fans have followed her YouTube channel for updates. She posted a vlog entry hinting that she’s got plans in the works for something new, but until now she’s kept the details quiet.

What’s the big news?

Elie and Scarlet Sins founder and lead guitarist, Cristina Bishop, are forming a new band. “Cris and I are especially close and we missed each other so much. We’re really excited to be reunited” says Bertrand.

“We’re not going to do the girl band thing. We have another great guitarist, Bradley Bishop, who is a good friend, and we’ve started writing and are recording demos.”  The new band will have more of a hard rock focus than Scarlet Sins. “We’re working on some songs that are soft and some heavier, but definitely rock.”

So how did this new collaboration come about?  “I think we kind of decided when Cristina and Bradley were over in Montreal for New Year’s Eve.” says Bertrand. They came down to my place to party it up for the new year.  It had been two months since I’d seen Cristina and we jammed together. It was just easy. We had to do this. We didn’t even really think about it. It just happened.”

Soon after, bassist Jean-Philippe Bourgeois joined the band. Another close friend (like a brother says Elie), Jean-Philippe is a wicked musician who has toured all over North america from a very young age.

Right now the band is rehearsing and auditioning vocalists. Influenced by their interest in politics and events happening on the world stage, they decided to name the band Harbinger. “The word meant everything. We’re messengers of truth.” says Bertrand with conviction.

It’s hard to say when the band will be ready to tour but fans will get a chance to see the group together soon. “I was invited to perform at the Cape Breton International Drum Festival in May, so that will be our first official appearance together. I definitely want them with me.”

Elie also shared her current practice focus. “I want to have a little more heaviness to the riffs, to my playing. So I got myself a Demon Drive double pedal. They’re amazing! I was so happy when Pearl sent me a pair. I stopped seeing anyone I knew and just played. I have no more friends.” (she laughs) “I’ve been working a lot on double bass and more polyrhythms.  I’ve been listening to Chris Adler and watching a lot of  DVDs, Tomas Haake as well. I’m trying to go more in those directions with definitely more double bass than we had in Scarlet Sins. I’m practicing about 4-5 hours a day.”

Elie Bertrand

We also talked about her cover of Drop it Like it’s Hot on YouTube. She had her fans wondering if maybe her new direction was Hip Hop. “I would love to play Hip Hop! Music is art.  Like painting, you don’t use only one color. I would love to play it at some point…do what Travis Barker did playing remakes. It would be really cool. I actually have a friend in Toronto with whom I’m working. We’re collaborating on one of his songs. But it’s just for fun, nothing serious at this point.”

On the topic of being a female drummer, Elie shares her frustration about the fact that many people are still surprised to hear a women with skills. “I had a conversation about this just last week.  Someone made a comment on one of my YouTube videos that I was a girl playing drums. It really annoyed me because there are all these awesome ladies out there playing. So how can this still be an issue in 2010? When I was in school in the beginning playing drums I always felt like I had to work twice as hard as the guys and I didn’t feel I got the same recognition. That feeling eventually went away, maybe because I stopped caring about what they thought.”

She went on to say that some believe that female drummers get way more credit than they deserve simply because they’re a novelty.  “That might be true on a promotional level, but you still have to prove yourself once you get noticed.  I feel like I have to prove myself all the time. On a professional level, peers aren’t the ones making those comments.  It’s either people who don’t know much about music in general, or people in the industry behind the scenes.  Often that’s where stuff happens that I feel is unfair to female musicians, not just drummers.  People assume it’s not going to be good if you’re a girl band.”

Elie’s excitement about her new band is irrepressible, but reflecting on the end of Scarlet Sins she says “It was sad that we had to make this decision, but we did what we had to do.”

Watch for more Harbinger news from Elie in the months to come on SeeJaneDrum.com.     We can’t wait to hear what comes next for this gifted drummer and we wish the band the best of luck.

Learn more about Harbinger and connect with the band with these links:

Auditions are currently underway for vocalists. Inquiries can be made at harbingerofficial@gmail.com.



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