I Heart the Music: Your Online Source for Live Music Reviews and Interviews in Toronto!

Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (or USS) consists of one part vocalist/guitarist Ash Bucholz (“Ash Boo-Schultz”) and turntablist/hypeman Jason Parsons (“Human Kebab”). Don’t ask us where these names came from, just know that it IS an indication of how crazy and out there these two guys are! Having garnered acclaim through being “hearted” by Toronto radio station 102.1 the Edge, this duo have taken Toronto and Canada by storm. With the recent release of their album Questamation gaining more and more attention from music lovers alike, we felt like it was time to for us at iheartthemusic to delve deep into the minds of the duo and get serious about who they are…well as serious as we could get!

iheartthemusic: The past two years have been pretty nuts for you two eh?

Jason: Yeah, going from being left to obscurity, to how do you catch up, to how do you get bigger now.

iheartthemusic: That’s true. I mean you did win the CASBY awards last year!

Jason: Yeah it was amazing.

iheartthemusic: Can you pinpoint at all one defining moment for you in the past two years?

Ash: I was actually in Texas and that’s when I found out that our music was on the radio, but not even just on the radio but getting played like seven times a day!

Jason: Also the fact that he [Ash] was in a different place mentally doing some incredible things for himself and I was working in Alberta at the time; that in itself was a pinnacle! It is actually true that the little band that could, without major label support or any label for that matter, could actually still find its way into that realm. Most bands would think that you would have to sign with the four majors and spend all this money and stuff, but we just stayed positive.

Ash: We are in total alignment with the idea that if you truly love something, you let it go. You can push so hard and you can try so hard to make something work and at the time we both were just like “let’s just let this go man”. We were driving ourselves nuts.

iheartthemusic: I truly believe that if you are meant to do something or be somebody then you will and I feel like you guys are a true testament to that.

Jason: It’s like Ben Kowalewicz from Billy Talent has a tattoo on his collar that says never give up and when I saw that I was thinking that I didn’t know if I’d ever get that tattoo but he was basically saying  that no matter what happens, it’s going to happen- which is totally true.

Ash: I mean if we weren’t here having a good time and laughing and telling jokes, we’d be on a roof somewhere digging ditches and dirt.

iheartthemusic: But probably still having a good time and joking around!

Ash: That’s what just kicks our asses!  You know you can dream about something your whole life, but you have no clue what its going to be like until it actually happens. Its hilarious because I still wake up in the morning and my instinct is to put on my work boots but its actually like no, I get to put on these colourful shoes that don’t need to have a big hunk of steel in them because hopefully nothing is going to fall on my toes today!

iheartthemusic: And now you have the cash that if you ruin one pair you can get five more! [laughs]

Jason: [laughs] Exactly!

iheartthemusic: You have had such great success which, I’m assuming, meant that major labels were knocking on your door, so what made you decide to not go the major route?

Jason: We started  our own label basically. We realized that we had a good grip on a business model, but we also had a good manager and an excellent team behind us that we felt that we had found the pieces to start putting the puzzle together. Right now the puzzle is almost complete; we’ve taken it as far as we can take it now based on what we have currently. We financed the whole operation, made all the management and creative calls.

iheartthemusic: It must be nice to retain that control over what is ultimately your future success.

Jason: That’s the compromise you have to make. If that [signing to a major label] is your goal then that’s what is going to happen for you. Like Avril Lavigne signs with SONY in New York, but her only interest at seventeen years old was probably to be taken care of for the rest of her life and be an absolute superstar.

iheartthemusic: And where is she now? [laughs]

Ash: Actually I was listening to Avril Lavigne this morning in my kitchen on top of my fridge next to a sweet potato…I really should not have that sweet potato anymore. I’ve had it for a really long time and it’s got to go in the green bin. I have this habit where instead of putting stuff in the green bin, I just throw it out the window into my backyard. Like if I have a pit of an avocado, I’ll just think that that can just go in the bushes.

iheartthemusic: I feel like that is totally fine!

Ash: I don’t want to hit a squirrel!

Jason: I still have a problem that I can never number two outside. Even if I had to, I would just hold it until the next fifth wheel or something.

iheartthemusic: Far too much information for this interview! [laughs] So how has the process been from self-releasing your first album Welding the C://, to now having a label (your own) backing your recent release of Questamation?

Jason: Creatively, the process seems to work in Ash’s favour no matter how random it gets or how focused it is. The business side of it, which I’m more involved with and our manager, we just try to plug in as many resources and networks as possible for the three of us to make it all happen in sync. It is really hard to maintain deadlines when there is only three of you, but you are still trying to maintain that level of control and of course creativity while at the same time create future opportunities, play shows, do interviews, be places, try to live a normal life and be healthy. I mean it’s a balancing act!

iheartthemusic: And a lot of musicians definitely cannot do that.

Jason: No they can’t and its unfortunate that it happens, but we’ve been through enough emotionally already that this is kind of easy compared to that.

Ash: Yeah, when we were recording our EP, I was roofing for fifteen hours a day, six days a week and then bringing my laptop to work and I was on a roof covered in tar and dirt and it was like ninety degrees and I would have my headphones on thinking I’ve just got to finish this drum part because we have to get it done by tonight. So the process was a bit different because we were still under pressure with this album in terms of getting it out, but in totally different circumstances. It’s just one of those things where its like; life on the road is such a grind, but roofing seventy hours a week while trying to record an EP is a grind. So it makes us very greatful if anything.

iheartthemusic: I wanted to ask you about your “Laces Out” video. How did you guys come up with the concept for that?

Ash: I had been talking about the idea of this neo-vaudeville, so it kind of came out of that. There’s the circus thing, but then there is just randomness: question marks on parachutes falling from the ceiling, etc. Then we kind of put it into the hands of the production company after planting the seed and we showed up day-of and were just like “nice growth”.

iheartthemusic: So the dude in the video isn’t actually a guy that comes to all your shows?

Jason: Yeah we know him. The film company is called Brook Street Pictures and they are from Ottawa and they are incredible dudes. They did their first feature with the guy who played Freddy Krueger.

Ash: Because they mainly make horror movies.

Jason: But they were absolutely inlove with our sound and then came out for a bunch of shows and the director saw something that Ash was talking about and then through the phone between Toronto and Ottawa put together the storyboard and then we went to the Sound Academy and the production company hired like sixty people and it was a full-on production.

iheartthemusic: One thing that I found pretty cool with this new album was that you guys use something called a “z-card”. Can you explain why you decided to use it for your album?

Ash: The ironic thing about that is that I worked in a factory on a machine that made the z-card. I worked there when we [Jason] met during a time when I was not really that accessible or available to society. It’s okay though because Jay kind of helped guide me back to relating to the rest of the world which was really great. It was handy to meet a person to do that.

ihearthemusic: He’s a good husband eh? [laughs]

Jason: [laughs] Exactly!

Ash: Father, son, brother…

Jason: Idiot.

Ash: Yeah, whatever you want. Putz! That’s a good one.

Jason: I hate that word!

Ash: I know eh, who likes that word!? So when the album came along I was like “we should make something that is like a map” and then it kind of came back to where it started.

iheartthemusic: What’s on the horizon for you guys?

Jason: Hopefully we will see Canadians at their various post-secondary institutes in the fall!

Reality TV programming is a phenomenon that appears to have taken over our TV screens with persistent aggressiveness. It is not only where people’s lives are being displayed for all to see, but also where they are changed for the better (and the worse). “Change for the better” was definitely the case for Edmonton pop-rock group STEREOS. These guys achieved stardom from MuchMusic’s reality show Disband  that saw STEREOS go from being a band known only amongst their few followers in their hometown of Edmonton, to being the first group to get signed to a major label (while simultaneously being broadcasted for all to see)! Now with a number one single on iTunes and a video for “Summer Girl” on constant rotation on MuchMusic, it appears as though there is no stopping this group! These guys play probably the catchiest tunes we have heard in a while and each member appears to (along with their sleeve of tattoos and plethora of piercings) not fit the typical mold of “pop star”. We sat with all of them to find out exactly how they see themselves now that fame has literally come knocking at their door!

iheartthemusic: This is a very exciting time for you guys!

Daniel: Yeah, it has been crazy!

iheartthemusic: How did the whole reality show appearance come into play for you?

Daniel: We actually didn’t send a video or anything like that! Greg Nori found us on MySpace and so we ended up sending him demos forever. It was kind of up in the air if we were going to work with him or not because we would send the demos and were always waiting for him to reply. Then, out of nowhere, he called and said that there was this new show that he wanted to get us on and that it would be perfect for us.

iheartthemusic: That’s awesome! It just kind of took of from there?

All: Yeah!

iheartthemusic: Reality shows often get judged for being contrived or “staged”. Was that at all true with your experience on “Disband”?

Rob: We didn’t know anything ahead of time.

Pat: Looking at the show, it looks like we are so happy and we definitely didn’t know about the Universal deal ahead of time.

iheartthemusic: So how long have you guys been a band?

Rob: In June it was two years.

iheartthemusic: Only two years! That’s incredible.  Is your fan base in Edmonton already huge?

Daniel: Since we started, it literally has just grown.

iheartthemusic:  The video for your single “Summer Girl” has achieved number one status on MuchMusic, so I am sure many girls would like to know what the criteria is to be a summer girl?

Pat: In the context of the song it is about a summer fling and the best time of year.

Rob: We like summer and we like girls so it just makes sense.

iheartthemusic: You are also working on your debut album at the moment; how is that going?

Daniel: Yeah, we are working with Gavin Brown on the album.

iheartthemusic: That’s awesome! Looking forward to the final product. With regards to signing to Universal, have you always seen yourself going the major route?

Rob: Honestly we’ve said since day one that we wanted to go straight to a major label and it turned out exactly the way we planned it to.

iheartthemusic: With a lot of bands there seems to be that fear that once you go major you end up giving up a lot of creative control. In your experience so far have you found that at all?

Rob: No, that’s just a myth that people who don’t get signed make up.

iheartthemusic: In a short period of time it seems like you guys have accomplished so much: signing to Universal, having the number one single and video in the country. So I want to know what is left for you guys to accomplish?

Rob: Honestly the sky is the limit! Up and up and up and never maxing out- always heading up.

Aaron: Number one!

All: Yeah, number one!

iheartthemusic: And then take over the US maybe?

Aaron: Take over the world!

Rob: That is definitely the plan.

Eleven years is a long time for any band to stay together these days, but for the guys in Down With Webster (who have a combined average age of 24) those eleven years have culminated into a recipe for success. Their story is a success story not merely because of their recent signing to Universal Motown, but because they have been able to build up such a loyal following over those eleven years that it really feels like they were destined for stardom no matter what. The band consists of about ten “sometimes” members  and seven “constant” members who each have their own unique style and sound that they bring to the stage; which always results in a live show that cannot be beat! iheartthemusic caught up with four of their members: Tyler, Cam, Bucky and Pat right before their set at the PEACE DOT LOVE Music Festival- which was good timing for us as they have since been touring in the US on Warped Tour. Haven’t been to a show yet? You ARE missing out!

iheartthemusic:  We need to start by recognizing the fact that you have been together for SO long!

Tyler: Yeah, it was our eleventh anniversary last week.

iheartthemusic: Did you celebrate at all?

Tyler: We did! It was also Pat’s birthday.

Pat: It was my birthday and I was kind of overwhelmed with the birthday and the eleven year anniversary.

iheartthemusic: So fastforward eleven years and you have just recently signed to Universal Motown- congratulations!

Tyler: We did, thank you.

iheartthemusic: After hearing about your signing, I was really curious to find out what the process was like deciding to go the major route and why Universal Motown was your choice?

Tyler: The initial conversations that we had with them were really comfortable: we trusted them and they got the vision of the band. We talked to them a few times probably in the fall, they came to see a couple of our concerts and then just hanging with them in the studio we got a good feeling that if we are going to let someone on our team, that they would be good teammates.

iheartthemusic: Did you always know that you wanted to go with a major label?

Tyler: It’s definitely an unknown time in terms of whether that will be the right way to go and up until a month or so before we signed, we were still contemplating going independent and retaining more control of our career. That being said we were able to structure a deal where it wasn’t just sign a dotted line and let the big machine run your bed. We cut a deal that allowed us to keep control of our website and the relationship with our fans and our songs for that matter.

iheartthemusic: Well eleven years of having full creative control of your band would have been a huge shock for not only yourselves but your fans if you were to just give that all away.

Tyler: And if I were the guy at the label I would be pretty afraid of telling ten people at any given moment that he didn’t like what we were doing!

iheartthemusic: [laughs] Your numbers totally work to your advantage!

Tyler: It does!

iheartthemusic: I really feel like your live show is key to Down With Webster. From the props, to the clothing you wear- it is all uniquely “Webster”. So where did the whole live “act” originate from?

Cam: It originated from the idea of trying to make our shows more like parties than actual shows because from my experience kids want to party more than they want to just sit at a show. Our reasoning was why not try and fuse the two together and make it a great experience for you and the audience! I mean I want to party while I’m on stage.

Bucky: Exactly!

Tyler: Most concerts we go to, the band is off by eleven thirty and then everyone is wondering where they should go next. So we basically just tried to do a one stop shop and combine the music and the party.

Pat: It’s also fun for us! We think about what we want to be doing on stage which is not to just stand there and pour our heart out into the song and that is it. We can have Kap running around with a flag throwing stuff out into the crowd. It’s great!

iheartthemusic: Do you still get nervous at all when you go up on stage?

Tyler: I get nervous and our drummer gets butterflies pacing around half naked.

Bucky: That’s my home! That’s where I live.

Tyler: Part of being in a band is listening to your music so much during the recording process, so that by the time we are on stage we are so familiar with the material that we can totally have fun with it and not have to worry about the parts or the chords and all that stuff.

iheartthemusic: It must be a nice change to be recording new material. What has the recording process been like for this next album?

Tyler: To be honest we haven’t changed our recording process from before. We had a few meetings [with the label] and they asked us how we wanted to make this album: do we want to get a ranch by the lake or do we want to go to New York and do it there? We were like no we are going to keep doing this and at different moments if we want to step the recording process up a little bit we will go rent some better equipment. We were so happy when, the day after we signed, they came up to us and asked us how we wanted to do it and we told them and they gave us the thumbs up. They actually said we were the easiest band they had ever worked with because they didn’t need to rent out crazy studios or blow hundreds of thousands of dollars making music. So now we can spend more on touring and marketing and stuff.

Pat: And partying too!

Cam: We’ve always really been involved in the recording process. We’re not one of these bands who write a song, then rehearse it a bunch and then go into a studio and record it in one day.

iheartthemusic: Don’t you have your own studio?

Tyler: We kind of have a bunch of studios amongst the band.

Cam: A lot of guys will produce the music as we write the song so they will start off the recording and then it will be brought to an acceptable level. We like to be hands on and don’t like people telling us what to do every step of the way.

Tyler: What we’ve realized is that its not the case where you sign a deal and you get hooked up with a superstar producer and all of a sudden they are operating at this different level than you are. We’ve realized that if anything we have to stay in more control now because that’s how stuff starts to deviate.

iheartthemusic: From your first EP to the new album yet to be released, have you noticed any difference in your sound or are you sticking to the “tried, tested and true”?

Tyler: I think everyone just keeps stepping it up. In terms of the lyrics, one guy will bring a new thing to the table and then all of a sudden the bar just gets put higher and higher.

Bucky: It’s still Down With Webster, its just what we are doing now.

Cam: It’s a matter of a lot of us coming into our own and what exactly it is that we do; what our strengths are. A lot of our older stuff was experimental. It was all of us getting together in Tyler’s garage and just going at it. People have now found what their strengths are and it’s much more of a piece now with guys doing what they do best constantly.

iheartthemusic:  So you are more of a unit now?

Tyler: Exactly.

Pat: I think if you had played some of the newer songs to us three or four years ago when we were playing, we would have been in awe that we were actually going to grow that much and become that type of a unit.

Tyler: I guess that’s why you don’t see many teenage bands out there who write their own music because it takes a while to form exactly what you are doing. It’s a lot of trial and error.

iheartthemusic: So being such a large band, how does the writing process work for you?

Tyler: It really changes a lot of the time. Everyone is extremely musical so one day it will be one guy bringing it and then everyone adds their part. It changes all the time.

iheartthemusic: What is your musical background?

Tyler: Some are more classically trained than others and some are self-taught. Myself, Marty, Bucky and Pat are more classically trained. Cam taught himself how to produce and make beats and rap. A few of us went to music school together. I studied music at University, Pat’s done a bunch of conservatory stuff.

Pat: I just kind of hung around music a lot and read a lot of books and enjoyed it.

iheartthemusic: You are definitely the most unique and fashionable group of guys that I have come across and it almost seems like you each have your own unique style that represents your personality, but it all works together cohesively. So how does fashion play a part in Down With Webster?

Bucky: From our own characters we wear what we like to wear.

Cam: Our stage clothes are our street clothes. We dress like this all the time; this isn’t a stage getup. Personally, I’ve always been into fashion. In high school I was obsessed with what was coming out and when. When you hang out a lot with a group of people then your taste, its not that it changes, sort of meshes together so that you look like you are from the same “team” but we are still able retain our individuality.

Tyler: We used to think that all that matters is the music, but that’s not the case. It’s the total package.

iheartthemusic: Well you seem to have that down to a tee!

Pat: A lot of time when you talk to A&R people they say “it’s great because they don’t look like they hang out together” but I think a lot of bands take that the wrong way and think that they all have to dress the same. You see a band and they all look the same and you can’t really tell the characters and we are very diverse characters and so we have to show that in the way we dress ourselves. If there is something that I don’t want to wear, but the rest of the band is wearing, why should I wear it. Everyone kind of respects each others styles.

Tyler: Sometimes if we don’t like  what someone is wearing we just steal it and hide it from them!

iheartthemusic: [laughs] That’s the best way to rectify that “problem”!

Tyler: Things disappear all the time in this band.

iheartthemusic: So only US dates for Warped Tour, was that done by choice?

Tyler: Basically it was kind of in alignment with our deal. We were the last minute addition and I guess Canada had already filled up all their Canadian dates with Canadian acts so that’s the only reason we aren’t on it. We are so excited to finally get south of the border and play in front of some different kids and see how it works down there because from our MySpace we know that we have a US fan base so it will be neat to see what the turnout will be like in different cities. We have a lot of disappointed fans in Canada unfortunately.

iheartthemusic: Well I am sure they will still all be in attendance at your next Canadian date! Anything else you want to add?

Pat: For all the fans that will miss us on the Canadian Warped Tour dates: we will probably put on a big Down With Webster show at some point this summer that is not in a parking lot at three in the afternoon!

There you have it guys- a group who look out for their fans no matter what! Make sure you keep an eye out for when their album drops this fall across Canada!

photography provided by Matt Vardy & Carl Heindl

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