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2 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013
Available on Bandcamp
SPF Editor-In-Chief
Janet Adamana
Contributors & Photography Credits Spencer Marr Asia Werbel Tazrey Abenoja Redids Megan Carlson Special Thanks Matthew Chevalier Liz Lawrence Billy Chevalier Cassie Werner Dylan Mattheisen Ben Barlow Lloyd Roberts Matt West Fil Thorpe-Evans Dani Abasi Mark Brusegard Pat Hansen Colin McTavish Dana Jerlo Graeme Woods Garrett LaBarge Michael Mahn Drew Fahle Pamela Roz Lauren Reading
Sound, Phrase & Fury is a
Canadian music magazine and website out to help promote musicians not usually covered in mainstream media. All music, photos and articles used are for the sole purpose of spreading the knowledge of these artists and their music. We always encourage readers to support every act through purchasing releases, merchandise and attending live shows. soundphrasefury@gmail.com @soundphrasefury facebook.com/soundphrasefury Sound-Phrase-Fury.com
May/june 2013 Just Find The Horizon
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Words from the Editor-In-Chief
All In The Family
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Tiny Moving Parts talks touring and their debut album, TCIL & FOF
Everything in The Name of Supporting Music
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Cassie Werner lets us into the world of Aesthetic Heart Promotions
The Head & The Heart
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Liz Lawrence and her debut album, Bedroom Hero
In Too Deep
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Neck Deep and their new EP, A History of Bad Decisions
Deep Treble
26
Local folk-pop group, The Treble and their new album, Northern Lights
Simple & Sincere
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Red Tin Box gives us a track-by-track of their new EP, Simple & Sincere
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Editor’s Note
just find the horizon... April 2010. One week before college graduation, excited for the end, and terrified for this
new uncertain beginning. The pressure was building and I cracked. I felt so lost in this world that seemed so vast and scary. Everything was supposedly mine to conquer. Powerful, motivational words that did the exact opposite. I'll never forget the teary-eyed walk I took that day. Talking to the universe in my head, asking God, Buddha, aliens, whoever, to tell me what I was supposed to do. Angry because I knew nothing could save me. Headphones blasting to drown out the world. You gotta to swim... The familiar soothing croon of Andrew McMahon came ringing through. Swim for your life. Swim for the music that saves you when you're not sure you'll survive... Lyrics I've heard numerous times before, yet absentmindedly ignored until then. Lyrics that hit something in me. Lyrics that made me pull my head back up and walk back home, with a new sense of safety. Still terrified for the unknown, but comforted by knowing whatever was going to happen now, it would always be okay. Fast-forward 3 years later. Here I am, with Sound, Phrase & Fury. A magazine still in its infancy, but constantly growing, even faster than I could have ever expected. A magazine that holds so much more meaning than I can ever put into words. And like a musician who grows with every new album, I'd like to think I'm doing the same with every issue. Experimenting with new layouts, formats, genres and even the launch of our new web store, I'm happy and excited to see where this will all go. And its times like these where I reminisce about the bad days and wonder where I'd be without those perfectly-timed words seeping through my headphones. So I'd like to dedicate this issue to those moments we all experience. The times when nothing can help but unexpected inspiration from a stranger's words. I owe every ounce of my happiness to music...And I'm very happy to be able to share this grandiose adventure with all of you. The fact that you've made it past the cover and even care to read the words laid on these pages is a beautiful thing. So thank you all, and thank you to all those musicians who lay their hearts out in each and every song. There's always going to be someone out there who needs it.
Keep Swimming Janet Adamana Editor-In-Chief 4 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013
Ever find that one song in a cyber sea of a trillion others, that seems to fix every single calamity and emotional ailment thrown in your direction? One song, that, through some miraculous binding of strumming, bashing and thumping of noisy inventions, shakes every cell in your system and wakes a part of your existence that felt so stagnant yet fleeting like a hazy childhood memory? The one song reminiscent of late summer nights with good friends, running wild and free. The one song that reminds you what it means to be young, hopeful, and naive. This is an ode to those songs and an ode to the ones who have created them. The ones who write, dream and hope that, with the little song they wrote in their bedroom they could someday reach someone. That somewhere in the simplicity of minimal lyrics, soft pretty keys, or a poignant honesty in a singer’s voice, a stranger can find their footing and all becomes right in the world again. Somewhere in the divine chaos of that beautiful noise, a stranger can find their old impassioned self and regain their old unwavering composure.
Headphones in, the whole world out. This is what it feels like to get lost in sound.
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ALL IN THE family Q&A
When brothers, Matthew and Billy Chevalier, began a punk band with their cousin, Dylan Mattheisen, they didn’t expect that in a few short years, they’d have a beloved full length album, a spot on SXSW, and be widely-recognized as one of punk’s up-andcoming bands of 2013.
Now, fresh off a giant 6-week tour across the United States, the boys of post-hardcore/spoken word band, Tiny Moving Parts, talk about their recent success, life as a family band and their awesome debut album, This Couch is Long & Full of Friendship. May/june 2013 • Sound, Phrase, & Fury 7
Q&A
you feel scared you feel so dumb You don’t know what to do, except hope for the best. You pray to a god to help you out with the rest. - Amateur night, Tiny Moving Parts
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Q&A
ever seen an independent band do. What was that whole experience like? TMP: The tour was incredible! We knew after we released This Couch is Long & Full of Friendship we had to do a longer tour in support of it. When the time came around it was amazing! The hard work definitely paid off. Being in the van is always a great time, except when we were in Corpus Christi, TX on spring break. We parked the van on the beach for 3 days, and It was impossible trying to fall asleep. Being severely sunburnt, really drunk, trying to find a comfy spot with sand everywhere, and adding 3 SPF: It seems you guys basically live on the road dudes in the picture was pretty tough. We always so I have to talk about touring. You guys recent- laugh about how funny spring break was! We didn’t ly did a huge tour, probably the biggest one I’ve fit in at all, it was totally Bro City! SPF: Can you explain how Tiny Moving Parts came to be and how you guys got into music in the first place? TMP: When we were in junior high, we got instruments and started a punk band, “The D-Cups.” We were super stoked on Blink 182, Sum 41, etc. at the time, and that influenced us to start playing. We’ve always enjoyed music, and we figured starting a band would be a wonderful idea! We decided to take the band more serious and started Tiny Moving Parts in 2008.
SPF: Tell me about playing SXSW. TMP: I would have to say SXSW was the best part of the tour. We played 3 awesome showcases with awesome bands. The second day we played at The Habanero House for the “Meatspin 2” Showcase, and that was one of our favourite shows we’ve ever played as a band. Super packed house with nothing but great vibes from wonderful friends.
stuck in a van for long periods of time with people we would be living with and hanging out with the whole time any way. Bill and Dylan share a one bedroom apartment in Moorhead. Bill sleeps in the living room/kitchen. But we are all always hanging at Matt’s house, “The Emo house.” Our gear is always set up in the basement, just incase we get drunk and want to cover some Springsteen!
SPF: You’re all related... two brothers and cousin. I would expect there to be some disagreements of sorts, but how do you think being a family has helped with the growth and success of the band? TMP: We have always been around each other our entire lives. The connection we have together is awesome. We basically can finish each other’s sentences in every conversation! It works so well being
SPF: What did your families think of all of this, especially when you guys first started out? TMP: Our parents first thought it was really cute, but it’s pretty obvious they didn’t know how serious we were about being a band. They weren’t too happy when we started doing tours and the fact that all of our money we make from jobs go straight to the band. They are supportive nowadays. It just took a while for them to realize it!
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Q&A SPF: Talk to me about This Couch Is Long & Full of Friendship. I heard you went to Fargo to record. How was it different than recording your EPs? Was there anything about the song writing process that was different as well? TMP: It was a blast recording the album! We felt a lot more professional and responsible about this al bum compared to our past splits/eps/etc. A big worry about the album was making the songs all fade together nicely, since there are different tunings for certain songs. We planned ahead and had a majority of ideas prepared before we got into the studio. During the mixing process it was really cool hearing the songs flow together. It made us feel like a bunch of happy campers!
SPF: Is there anything in particular you hope people will take from listening to the record? TMP: The reaction from the record already surprised us a band from what certain people have said. It’s a truly great feeling when the listeners understand why we write the way do. We put so much effort in this album, and couldn’t be happier with the responses we’ve been getting from everyone. I hope our music affects people in any way they want it to. The whole album is basically about growing up, dealing with situations, and it’s your choice to be happy or sad about it. SPF: And like I said, it seems you guys live on the road..so tell me about your upcoming touring plans? TMP: We are touring our East for about 3-4 weeks in July! Hopefully we’ll get to Florida since we had to miss it last tour with the silly van break down. In October we are planning another tour, hopefully a longer one. Early next year we hope to go to the UK, but everything is still in the works for booking and what not!
SPF: Can you describe some of your musical and lyrical influences? TMP: There are so many awesome bands out there that we are fortunate enough to become friends with as well. When it comes to writing, we basically ask ourselves “What songs do we want to risk everything and play for friends in different cities every night?” Our music tends to be emotional in that as- Get your copy of This Couch is Long & Full of Friendship at TinyMovingParts.Bandcamp.com pect, which we love!
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I just want to be a part of something beautiful. - greyscale, Tiny Moving Parts
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PHOTO BY Tazrey Abenoja Redids
Industry
Cassie Werner
wants to save the music industry. The 21-year-old began Aesthetic Heart Promotions, a free promotion service for bands of every stage and every genre. She shows us what it takes to run a company on nothing but pure love.
SPF: For those who don’t already know, what is Aesthetic Heart Promotions? CW: Aesthetic Heart Promotions is a free music promotion page/company that supports everything in the name of supporting music. Aesthetic Heart Promotions doesn’t just specialize in promoting bands, AHP promotes all things that support music, like record labels, recording studios, show flyers, booking companies, promoters, event pages to shows, venues, music media pages, music production companies, clothing companies that endorse bands, graphic designers that help bands with their logos, artwork, etc. Anything and everything music related with the scene or industry, Aesthetic Heart Promotions wants to promote it! SPF: What sparked the idea for AHP? CW: I was promoting with a friend for a little while and I just decided I wanted to do my own thing. I have always been so passionate and dedicated to promoting and sharing music news with everyone and I needed somewhere to do it. Aesthetic Heart Promotions allows me to do that every single day. I’m so thankful for it. It is absolutely one of the best things I have ever done with my life.
SPF: Why do you think the industry needs something like this? CW: I believe it really helps the music industry/ scene to have more places to promote what they do. I’ve been told by numerous musicians that, it’s people like me that allow them to do what they do every single day, and if it wasn’t for people like me, they wouldn’t even exist. I honestly love being a help to them. I just want people to know that there are people out there that care about the music scene and industry, and Aesthetic Heart Promotions will always be one of them. SPF: Is there any significance to the name? CW: Yes, there actually is. A day before the page/ company was founded I was browsing words. I wanted something really different and interesting. The word “Aesthetic” really hit me. It deals with beauty, art,creation, and appreciation. To me, all of those words relate to music. There’s so much beauty to music, so much creation put into it. You have the ability to create a sound anyway you really want, nobody can tell you how you are suppose to sound or what you wanna write about, it’s your music, your
“I could never leave the music scene... May/june 2013 • Sound, Phrase, & Fury 13
Industry who do come out, so I strongly believe things will go back to how they used to be. I honestly could never leave the music scene no matter what direction it takes. It’s always been there for me and I will be there for it. I’ve been going to shows for about 9 years now. A lot of bands have started doing DIY SPF: This is a pretty young company, and you’re tours and recording. A lot of bands have also been pretty young yourself. In the few short years doing “kick starters,” reaching out to their fans to you’ve been doing this, what have been some of help them record a new EP or fund a tour. I have always followed the music scene and industry and I your favourite highlights? CW: Truthfully, I absolute love every single second have seen changes, good and bad, but I would never of what I do. I get to talk to new people all the time, leave, this is who I am and who I’ll always be. which I love. I find new bands, record labels, recording studios all and honestly that’s my favourite. SPF: What can fans and bands do to help feed I would have to say, my biggest highlight so far, was the indie scene? when AHP turned a year old, on March 31, 2012. So CW: Just share and talk about it everywhere you can, many people were thanking me and congratulating on facebook, twitter, tumblr, instagram. Seriously me on my progress and hard work that I made in every little bit helps and is appreciated. Bands can just the one year and that was one of the best feel- do the same thing. Never stop telling people who you are and what you do. Share your band on every ings in the entire world. networking website you can! Reach out to people in SPF: Now, you work closely with and are obvi- the music scene/industry. You never know until you ously in contact with artists all the time. What’s try! your opinion on the way the scene is going and what are some of the changes that you’ve seen Like Aesthetic Heart Promotions on Facebook and stay connected to independent bands, labels, happening over the years? CW: I definitely believe the scene has had its down- designers, promoters and more. falls in the past 3 years. It’s harder to get people to come out to shows now, but there are still people
thoughts, your sound, it belongs to you. Heart: if you don’t have a heart, you aren’t even alive, you aren’t even a person. Without a beating heart, you can’t make music. This is how the name “Aesthetic Heart Promotions” came about.
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“...It’s always been there for me and I will be there for it.” 14 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013
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new ep from acoustic duo, vocal Few 16 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013
vocalfew.bandcamp.com
THE HEAD & THE HEART heartbreak
STORY BY JANET ADAMANA PHOTO BY ASIA WERBEL
equipped with a bounty of wisdom way beyond her years, Liz Lawrence battles the ups and downs of an indie-artist life. The London-based folk-pop singer-songwrier, Lays out all her truths in her debut album, Bedroom Hero.
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Profile
One ‘s young life is a fast and fleeting span of time. Confusion, frustration, determination, fascination, despondency and fearlessness all manage to command and co-exist at once. It is every aspect of life in all its emotional glory. 18 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013
Profile Liz Lawrence captures every inch of this glorified struggle, in her new album, Bedroom Hero.
witness the songstress live would concur, she still exudes punk on stage. “I think the place where I really outlet my punk past is on stage. I really like A chronicle of her life between the ages of 18 and 21, to give it some, push the acoustic guitar to drive a the now 22-year-old, transformed her bittersweet rhythm and sing with more grit. I don’t think that formative years into a ten-song album, that moves attitude ever really leaves you.” with her pop-infused folk style, her delicate Feistlike croon, and sincere and spirited lyrics. The album Since the release of Bedroom Hero, Lawrence has encapsulates the chaos of naivety, love, pride and gotten a lot of positive feedback, and honourable most deeply, the uncertainty of the future. Opener musical comparisons, like Florence & The Maand title track, “Bedroom Hero”, proves to be one chine and Feist, all of which has brought on a few of the most revealing songs about the inner turmoil good changes, including several interestingly set that burns within the heart of an indie-artist. All of tours around the UK and Europe. “I tour a whole lot the doubt, the outside pressure to give up, and all more now. I’ve played a few foreign countries like the blind hope that keeps you holding on; feelings Germany and Belgium.” Lawrence says. “Touring life which Lawrence says never reis immersive. I take trains and ally go away. “ I don’t think these busses and lifts in cars where doubts and fears are something I can. You never know quite an artist can ever shake off. It’s where you’re going to end up.” about harbouring them, being in As honest as she is in her mucontrol of the up’s and down’s.” sic, Lawrence also reveals that as fun and exciting as touring Like many musicians, Lawrence’s has been, it still does wear her musical love affair began as a away at times. “ Its hard work, young child, as an innocent and and can be very isolating, twit- When I was younger, liz Lawrence seemingly trivial interest at the ter becomes my council. It can time, it eventually pulled her into the life she now send you a bit crazy but you get in to it and the road leads. “Music is the kind of thing you don’t realize becomes your home, wherever you lay your hat, so you’re involved in until it’s too late. I have been a mu- to speak.” sic lover since I was tiny, taking Desmond Dekker, ‘The Israelites’ to my primary school dance classes.” Lawrence is currently working on the follow-up to Lawrence recalls. “My mum always played music in Bedroom Hero, a currently untitled EP, as well as a the kitchen, anything from Faithless to Edith Piath. fun and semi-secret side project. “I have a producI think from this and watching live Clash videos I er friend who wanted to start an electro-project so wanted to start my own bands.” Lawrence joined a we’re in the studio a day or so a week laying things punk band at the age of 13, playing guitar and spent down and just getting fresh ideas going.” Lawrence much of her early teens immersed in the genre. It reveals. “It’s really cool for me to do something sepawas this that sparked her love of writing and per- rate from what I do as a solo artist. As for the [solo] forming. She eventually put herself in front of the EP, I’m just really keen to keep releasing stuff that’s mic, a move which instantly captivated her and in- current and relevant to what’s going on in my world tensified her need to perform. as well as the world.”
when i was younger i asked my father why are we so human?
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Although at first listen, it seems Lawrence has left Get your copy of Bedroom Hero at most of the rough-and-tough punk essence behind, LizLawrence.bandcamp.com she says, and as anyone who has had the honour to
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Q&A
o o t In deep
The boys of neck deep have ha d their fair share of making bad decisions, From dating the wrong girls, to pis sing off their moms. s a glimpse of u s e iv g t, s e W t guitarist, Mat their new Ep, d n a , s e iv l ir e h t d decisions. A history of ba 22 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013
Q&A SPF: Take me back to where Neck Deep all began? MW: Neck Deep began with Lloyd and Ben just recording a few demos in Ben’s brother’s bedroom. Myself and Lloyd used to play in a band names Spires, Neck Deep was literally meant to be a laugh between a couple of mates, it’s gone beyond anything we bet could have expected already!
more time to actually construct the songs.
SPF: The EP has gotten a lot of positive feedback already, and people are pumping out really lucrative predictions for you. How have things changed for you guys since its release? MW: We’ve seen an insane amount of coverage in UK publications and a massive rise in feedback from SPF: What has your touring life been like? industry creatives, as well as seeing a rise in fans too. MW: It’s been really good to us so far. We’ve only In all honestly it’s been really overwhelming, we still had two breakdowns and one robbery, so in all it’s don’t believe it’s all happening! not too shabby. Obviously on tour you have your off days and good days, but luckily for us most of the SPF: Is there anything in particular you hope gigs have been amazing. people will take from listening to A History of Bad Decisions? SPF: You guys are slated to do a bunch of MW: We just hope people enjoy the songs as much different fests this spring/summer. What else as we do. From what we’ve seen though, people seem do you have coming up later this year? to be digging it, which is always ace. MW: We’ve just started writing and recording our first album, so that’s what we’re focusing on. By the SPF: I heard Ben’s mom freaked over a recent end of the year we hope to be touring the album, tattoo he got. Any other funny ‘bad decisions’ maybe even outside of the UK! you guys have made? MW: A few years ago I thought it would be an ace SPF: Talk to me about your EP, A History of Bad idea to grow a mullet. Suffice to say I looked like a Decisions. It’s a bit different than your previous knob and had it swiftly cut off. stuff. MW: With this EP we had more time to actually sit down and write the songs. We didn’t take Rain Grab your copy of A History of Bad Decisions at In July that seriously, as it was just something we Musicglue.com/NeckDeep decided to do for fun. With ‘A History Of’ we took
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“You are my hesitant smile. You are my crippling doubt. You’re everything that I hide about myself” - tables turned, Neck deep May/june 2013 • Sound, Phrase, & Fury 23
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new ep from pop-punk band, don’t call it a comeback May/june 2013 • Sound, Phrase, & Fury dontcallitacomeback.bigcartel.com
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Deep treble PHOTOS BY Megan Carlson
On the brink of mainstream success, folk-pop band, The Treble, have gone from playing every small show they could find, to big name stages with big name acts, including a recent performance at JunoFest (Fest for the Canadian Grammys). Vocalist, Mark Brusegard, talks to us about breaking into the industry and their new album, Northern Lights. May/june 2013 • Sound, Phrase, & Fury 27
Local love SPF: So how was Junofest? MB: It was phenomenal, it was awesome, we had a really good time. We got to go to the awards and stuff and had the chance to attended some parties. And then we had our second album release at the West End Cultural Centre, here in Winnipeg. SPF: And how was that? MB: It was awesome, it was a great way to cap off 8 months of lots of hard work. It was packed and everybody was in good spirits. SPF: Yeah, it’s good to just see everyone all excited... So take me back to where The Treble all began? You guys haven’t been a band for very long... MB: Not too long. We released our first album [Shaking Hands and Taking Names] last august. We basically put the band together for that. The guitar player, Graeme Woods, piano player Colin Mctavish, and myself had been writing songs and we finally decided to get ourselves together and release the real album. We were going do an acoustic album, but the producer basically said no. [Laughs] SPF: Why? MB: I guess there’s a lot of big melodies there, and
stuff like that so he said it needs drums, and we’d never really heard it like that before. So we put that all together in the studio. We came across Pat [HanSen], our bass player, a few years ago while we were going to be playing in a different band. We got him to actually play bass on the record. He had happened to play with Dana [Jerlo] in another band of his and he just called him up one day. Dana ended up coming to practice and we just all clicked. SPF: In a nutshell, how did things change after your first EP, Shaking Hands & Taking Names came out? Because that record opened a lot of doors for you guys. MB: Yeah. It moved slow at first. I think a lot of people release a record and expect the world to just welcome them with open arms, but it took a lot of playing the same show, night after night. You keep working at it and working at it, and you realize, after your friends and family have stopped coming, other people start to, and people start hearing your name. That’s what I think started happening about a year ago. We just started meeting people who started helping us out. And by keeping our heads down and writing music, playing every show we can play, now it seems like a different door opens every week.
I know it’s just a taste... 28 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013
local love
...But what if we could make this make believe a reality? - one way, the treble
SPF: What are some of the things you’ve learned about the industry itself? MB: Mostly that it takes a lot of hard work. I think maybe we’ve known that from the start but to also never turn away even the smallest opportunity. Even if it’s just to play a charity show here or a high school BBQ there. Some of the most important shows we’ve ever had we were the ones we weren’t going to play. You never know who’s going to be there, you never know who’s going to be your next biggest fan. I think that’s the thing we learned the most. We try SPF: So do you ever get nervous when you think our best to absolutely take every opportunity that about it, that you get to share the stage with we can get. people like that? Does it blow your mind? MB: A little bit I think. I mean, it always does. I SPF: Tell me about your new EP, Northern think to date the biggest shows we’ve played was Lights. with FaberDrive, you know a fairly reputable Cana- MB: I think the same themes run throughout all of dian band, really popular band, and that was really our stuff, just about getting out, going away, travelcool for us, to get to really see behind the curtain ling, life and people. I think it’s a really good coland what its all like. It’s cool to be able to see the lection of the types of music that we play, who we similarities, like they get ready for shows the same are as a band. We always call it pop-rock-folk, but way you get ready for shows, and they talk about rather than those bands that blend it all together, writing music the same way and playing shows the sometimes we just have different songs. We have some songs that are poppy, some songs that are resame way. I think it’s just fun more than anything. ally rock, and some songs are legitimately just folk songs. We try to stay true to a single sound but we do have a lot of different influences.
We got selected to play a showcase in Los Angeles and actually landed a show of our own out there. Playing in LA was pretty cool for us and we met some people out there that said, ‘hey keep going on and I’ll give you a hand. Let’s keep in touch.’ We’ve been a band every since, and that just lined us up with things like Junofest and things like. We’re doing Edgefest this summer, with The Lumineers and Band of Horses and 20 other bands that are all like the coolest bands in North America.
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Local love SPF: So living in Winnipeg, a lot of people know that we have a pretty vibrant music scene, but what was it about living here that influenced you guys, whether its in the way you write, or even the way you guys go about representing yourselves within the music biz? MB: I would say that Winnipeg keeps you grounded in terms of knowing who you are. It breeds a lot of humility growing up here. It really fosters musicians. It’s a great place to grow because the scene is very small. If you work hard you can be the big fish in the small pond, which definitely helps a lot of bands in town. When someone is doing something in town and doing really well, everybody hears about it and that’s really encouraging and really keeps you going. And also the cold and stuff, it really inspires a lot. SPF: Yeah that’s what a lot of people say! MB: Well yeah those long winters and short summers!
it’s really like touring Canada. MB: There’s a book out there, I forget what its called, its like a touring for dummies kind of book, and they say you should structure your shows with no more than 4 hours of driving distance between gigs. That’s kind of the rule of thumb for planning a tour. On our tour this summer, we definitely had a few shows where we would leave a show and drive anywhere from 12 to 16 hours to the next date. I mean we did a lot of 7’s and 8’s and a few 11’s and 10’s. SPF: And you guys are doing this in a van right? MB: Yeah, 5 guys plus our manager. SPF: So you guys did JunoFest, Canadian Music Week, and your release show. What else do you guys have coming up this year? MB: Edgefest this summer is a big one. We’ll be touring across Canada kind of around Edgefest. The next little bit will be gearing up for that, we’ll be filming a few videos, and play a few shows here in and around the area, and big things hopefully on the horizon after that.
SPF: I want to talk a bit about touring Canada, because a lot of our readers are from the U.S. And the UK, who have no idea how vast our country actually is, and how crazy is really is to tour around here. So, paint me a picture of what Grab a digital copy of Northern Lights on iTunes.
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Sound Spotlight
Lyndonville-based acoustic-pop trio, Red Tin Box, takes us through their new EP, Simple & Sincere
Simple & sincere I started writing this song in the middle of the night in my dorm room. When my roommate was sleeping, I quietly wrote the lyrics while whispering out a melody. The song was due in a few days for a songwriting class with Joe Gittleman, Bassist/songwriter for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and I really wanted the song to follow a storyline that would show my take on religion. The story starts out with a character, (I imagined his name to be Adam), who was being a total debbiedowner while struggling to agree with what “really” happens after life. Adam soon commits to what he believes is a shameless suicide, simply to say ‘whatup’ to God and finally understand life after death. He soon realizes that he is stuck in a type of limbo afterworld, living as an unseen ghost, without a God to give him any type of explanation. Obviously pretty ticked, Adam flips out at himself, curses into the sky, and is greeted by a talking snake (Kind of like the devil, get it?!). The snake pitches a deal to Adam, basically saying since they both knew he’s been a pretty good kid, he could grant Adam his life back 5 minutes before he called it quits. Being stubbornly prideful about following through with his regrettable decision, he basically tells the snake to shove it. “I’d rather not.”
Sail on... This song was an idea Mike had written on his banjolele two years earlier. It was such an awesome progression that we all felt pretty excited about and attached to. We immediately started collaborating on lyrics for Sail On with intentions of making a back-story for the character in Simple & Sincere. We wanted to show Adam’s hopeless romantic struggle, when he was happy and trying to sail off into the sunset with the girl of his dreams. Obviously it doesn’t work out for him in the end, and concludes with a ‘Romeo & Juliette’ style tragedy. We even played with the idea of infusing themes from “Castaway” (WILSONNN!!!!) and “Jaws”(When the boat is finally trashed) into the initial vision of the song.
May/june 2013 • Sound, Phrase, & Fury 33
Sound Spotlight
Sleep Away
This song was born similar to many other songs and children alike, with an epic jam and little to no protection. Weeks before any lyrics or guitar parts for ‘Sleep Away’ had been started, I had the idea of writing a song I could sing my sister asleep with. After the initial guitar riff was created during a chillchill-mega-chill jam, and before Drew’s groovy-as-hell bass licks were introduced, most of the lyrics were being written inside my (I swear it’s haunted) apartment. Sleep Away was extremely close to not making it on the E.P., it rightfully took the place of a song I had written in high school called “Let The Stones Slide”. We unanimously agreed that Sleep Away was a much better fit for the E.P. and is quickly becoming a fan favorite.
I Killed the Captain
Ah! The first verse’s lyrics, melody, ukulele progression and Drew’s catchy guitar riff were all incredibly conceived from the top of a school monument. Not to mention, it was like 1am while Drew and I we were both chillin’ (not quite comfortably), on that 40 degree morning. Later on, while trying to come up with some “sunny” feeling lyrics to match the, “I’m-totally-getting-giddy-over-the-ocean” feeling the song has, I simulated writing outside on a beautiful day under a blanket with a beach ball, and a fluorescent bulb as my makeshift sun. Turns out that day had been sunny and gorgeous, and jamming inside my dorm, alone in my boxers, under a light bulb, probably had the opposite effect on the lyrics.
Colors
If you happened to be a super-fan, and had heard the song, “Colors” when I wrote it WAY back in those high school days, then you can appreciate the transformation it’s gone through, after the recording, and re-recording of “Colors”. The first time we recorded the song to a click-track, but it didn’t have the emotion that we knew it should have, so we decided to re-record everything without the click track. Thank sweet baby Jesus.
Available at redTinBox.Bandcamp.com 34 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013
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36 Sound, Phrase, & Fury • May/june 2013