Still Life Still are a band from Toronto via East York who formed nearly a decade ago. Their debut album Girls Come Too, has garnered them acclaim from both the media and fans alike, but it is their live show where they truly shine. The connection of having played together for so many years makes watching them perform live such a treat. Comprised of Brendon Saarinen (guitar/vocals), Eric Young (guitar/vocals), Derek Paulin (bass), Aaron Romaniuk (drums) and Josh Romaniuk (keys/percussion), this line-up has virtually remained the same since their humble beginnings, which is a true testament to their dedication and determination as a band. It was a chance encounter with Kevin Drew of Arts&Crafts that spurned their musical careers into a success story virtually over night. We caught up with members (and brothers) Josh and Aaron before their album release at the Horseshoe to congratulate them and see how they felt about their recent stardom.

iheartthemusic: This has been a very exciting year for you guys! It feels like it has been one thing after another after another. Has there been one defining moment, in the past year, where you have stepped back and been like “wow this is really happening”?

Aaron: Yeah, I guess it took a while to set in. Now it feels a lot more real than it ever was.

iheartthemusic: So how long did it take to get where you are today?

Aaron: Ten years we’ve been a band. We’ve had the name Still Life Still for eight, but it has always been the core four.

Josh: I have only been in the band for five years. We [points to Erin] are brothers so when we grew up they [Still Life Still] would jam in the basement and I would hear them everyday and then eventually I was like I want to join the band!

Aaron: I begged him for years!

iheartthemusic: What I was really curious to find out was if Arts&Crafts was always a label that you strived to be a part of?

Aaron: That was the dream label, but we never really thought our genre was compatible with them. As we progressed and our songs progressed, it got closer to that. It seemed though, that they only signed bands that were with the “family” and stuff like that, but it has always been the one we wanted. We didn’t really hunt around at all; it just kind of fell into place. I like to think that it was just fate.

iheartthemusic: I think your story is exactly that and I think that that will give hope to bands that are just starting out. You get a lot of comparisons to Broken Social Scene, which is ironic since you thought that you didn’t fit the “Arts&Crafts” mold, so how does it feel to be put into the same category as one of the most popular indie Canadian acts?

Aaron: It doesn’t feel bad but it can get a little bit repetitive. It isn’t something that we are trying to shake off, I mean we love Broken [Social Scene] and always have and if you are going to compare us to them then go ahead!

Josh: Broken [Social Scene] get compared to a lot of bands because they sound like a lot of bands.

iheartthemusic: Who are some musical influences for you then?

Aaron: The bands that Kevin says we sound like we had never even heard of. The bands that we like automatically influence us. We have been listening to very heavy amounts of Arts&Crafts bands for a long time, but we  also listen to Animal Collective and all sorts of music.

iheartthemusic: Do you find that all of you have the same taste in music?

Aaron: It is definitely pretty similar. Every once and a while someone will be like “I love this band” and we are all like “that is shit” and then later on you find yourself listening to that band. Brendon is the wildest-he listens to the craziest music.

iheartthemusic: Like what?

Aaron: Noise music and just a lot of really weird experiental music.

iheartthemusic: I know this is a rather standard, boring question to ask, but I wanted to know what your band name meant to you?

Aaron: Our name came to be really randomly. We didn’t think too hard about it, we just liked the name “still life still”. Later on, thinking about what it actually means to us, I think it means that no matter what happens to you in your life or what is going on in the world it is still going to be life still no matter what. You are still trapped in this world and have to live here and accept it. So it is like living for the moment and no matter what happens it is still life, still.

iheartthemusic: Let’s talk about the recording process for Girls Come Too.

Aaron: Martin Davis Kinack has a studio hidden in the woods and is pretty much an old barn. It was kind of an experiment of Kevin’s where he was like “let’s go to Marty’s and record two songs in one weekend”. We didn’t bring any of our instruments, just the basics that we absolutely needed and then we started and banged out a song and then another one and then another one, and by the end of the weekend we had nine songs finished and everyone knew that this was the album. Essentially the album took six days in total and it was all live from the floor with everyone playing at the same time.

iheartthemusic: That’s awesome! Is that something that you would continue to do for the next album?

Aaron: Definitely! We really liked being in the comfort of our homes, instead of being in downtown Toronto. Once we got into the car and out of the city, we kind of left everything that was going on in the city and just focused on recording. It was like a winter wonderland up there. Freezing fucking cold, but it was great!

iheartthemusic: So what is your favourite song to listen to? To play live?

Aaron: I am loving “Neon Blue” right now to listen to and to play. I really like the vibe that I get from it and the vibe that we are sending out.

Josh: Favourite song on the album is “Flowers and a Wreath”. Favourite song to play is probably “Dance Cave” just because we usually open with it and it is really chill.

iheartthemusic: If you weren’t making music or being musicians what do you think you would be doing?

Aaron: I would probably teach the arts or something like that.

Still Life Still return to Toronto for a double header at Lee’s Palace on Saturday, September 26th and Sunday, September 27th.