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

The Weakerthans need no introduction- they have become a staple in any true Canadian music lovers repertoire. Hailing from Winnipeg, iheartthemusic were able to grab a few minutes with Stephen Carroll to talk about the importance of those Canadian roots in their music.

iheartthemusic: You won artist of the year at the XM Verge Awards in 2008. What did winning that mean to you?

I think it was the extra financials that made a big difference, but also the exposure is so useful and helpful. It’s generally a lot of work to get people’s attention, so anything we can do to do that is really useful for us and makes our lives easier is great. Establishing that relationship with XM was also key because they are the ones that play our music all the time.

iheartthemusic: And I am sure the fact that fans voted for you was great to hear too!

Yeah, and the fans!

iheartthemusic: Who would you have liked to see win artist of the year last year (2009)?

My money was on Joel Plaskett.

iheartthemusic: Album of the year?

Arkells.

iheartthemusic: You guys recorded 2007’s Reunion Tour in a factory I believe. What was that like?

Yeah it’s part of the factory lunchroom. We did it all at night and it was really crazy. We were totally isolated on the outskirts of Winnipeg in February. Living without sunlight for most of the time, because we would be sleeping in the day and going into the studio at 3:30am or 4am, it was a really interesting experience.

iheartthemusic: Would you do it again?

It felt like we had put ourselves in this secluded environment and the last couple of records we have done, we have worked regular hours and been in the city, like really in the city. So this was neat.

iheartthemusic: Where you are from, Winnipeg, seems to be heavily prevalent in all aspects of your music. Is this done on purpose?

Two reasons why that’s happened or two things that are playing into that: one, is probably trying to explain the city to ourselves, understanding it, thinking about it, singing about it and maybe trying to explain it to other people at the same time. And then, there is just the city itself. Winnipeg’s favourite thing about itself is mythologizing itself. That’s a main part of the process in mining all these little pieces of history that only we would have picked up on.

iheartthemusic: Tell me your thoughts on the state of Canadian musicians transcending into other markets. You guys have been able to do that quite successfully and I wanted to know your thoughts on why or how?

It’s not quite the same in the States. Maybe once the awards have more of a national recognition it will help, but I don’t really know. It’s kind of hard to tell. I don’t see it reflected in the US media.

The Weakerthans have just released a live album Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre and concert DVD. All the Canadian content was shot on tour. The Weakerthans play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26th with Bahamas.

photography provided by Sara Collaton

Since releasing their latest album Blood, Guts, Bruises, Cuts last summer, The Dudes have been dealt a couple of shady hands, most notably enduring a plethora of injuries. iheartthemusic sat down with them to see just how things are looking (up) these days.

iheartthemusic: I take it you guys are quite accident prone- between broken collar bones and broken moustaches, this past year has been a crazy one for you guys! Tell me, what has been the worst?

Dan: I guess I think mine is worse, but he [points to Scott]  would say his moustache pains were worse.

Scott: [laughs] Well you suffered through pain but I lost my identity! What do you [looks at Dan] think is worse?

Dan: Ya, you’re right. I guess it’s the price you pay when you choose to live the lifestyle we do.

iheartthemusic: Such a great lineup of artists this week [CMW]. Who are you looking forward to checking out?

Dan: Bend Sinister is really great

Bob: Look, I’ve got the T on here

iheartthemusic: I noticed you are giving away a free track on your website. Do you feel that that is a necessary thing to do in today’s dwindling industry?

Dan: Well they [fans] are going to get it anyway. We don’t mind, we have been giving music away forever. I mean the weird thing now is not giving it away.

Scott: You’re in la la land if you think everyone is going to buy it.

iheartthemusic: “Had Enough of it” is a great track on the album with a great guest spot by Lisa Lobsinger (Broken Social Scene). How did you guys hook up?

Dan: Ah, well Lisa is an old Calgary girl and we chilled years ago. We actually tried to release that song like maybe five years ago and it just sort of took that long to get it all together and get it out.

iheartthemusic: Did you write it together?

Dan: No, it’s just that she has the very best voice in Canadian music. We asked her if she wanted to do it with us and she said yes and that was rad. All she wanted in return was one of those bathroom placards (boy or girl) in return. So if you ever see one, just rip it off.

iheartthemusic: [laughs] Tell us what the writing process is like for you guys.

Dan: I write most of the words and then we collaborate.

Scott: Getting loaded in the basement (laughs).

iheartthemusic: When you do sit down to write, do you keep mass appeal in mind?

Dan: I don’t know. It kind of feels more channeled, like the song was already there.

Scott: Definitely not, no mass appeal. We just want music that sounds good.

iheartthemusic: Is there anything you are trying to achieve tonight, i.e.catch the attention of anyone in particular?

Scott: There are some Australians scouting for this festival that is happening in the summer. We can just hope that somebody shows up tonight (laughs).

iheartthemusic: The Dudes, as a band name, has existed since 1996, but the members have changed around right?

Dan: Bob and I have been friends since high school, we were just wee children and now we have achieved our dreams. [laughs]

iheartthemusic: What has been the biggest struggle so far?

Scott: Driving across Canada is probably the hardest part. It is fucking huge!

iheartthemusic: Who is the driver?

Scott: I am.

iheartthemusic: [laughs] Well that explains why you don’t like it! Tell us what your favourite games are to play in the car.

Bob: The alphabet game but that gets old pretty quick.

Scott: Have you ever played Cow/Horse? Crazy good game. [laughs] “cow horse cow horse”, but you know these are all games that come after you go fucking insane being on the road [laughs].

iheartthemusic: Every band has that moment when they realize they are starting to gain momentum and that they must be doing something right. Tell us what that moment has been for you.

Dan: Well I think we have had that feeling from the beginning. It’s like every little bit counts.

iheartthemusic: So I guess you could sum it up as a sequence of mini achievements along the way?

All: Yeah definitely.

iheartthemusic: What are your goals as a band?

Dan: Just to keep doing it.

Scott: You know even if you were to win a Juno or whatever you can still go down the toilet.

Dan: We don’t want to go into the toilet that’s all (laughs). I don’t care where we are until then.

iheartthemusic: Anything you want to say to the i heart the music readers?

Scott: Come to our show, we’d love to show you a good time!

We wish this hard working band the best of luck. Considering the chain of events they endured subsequent to the release of their album, hopefully they will choose their next album name more wisely

interviewed by Catherine Russell

photography provided by Mike Palmer

With tons of new releases set to explode onto the music scene this spring, it is hard to decipher what is listen-worthy and what is not. One way that artists are giving fans (and critics) a taste of what is to come is by sampling tracks off their future releases during their live shows. The Russian Futurists aka Matthew Adam Hart appear to be doing exactly that; showcasing a few songs off thier highly anticipated album The Weight’s On The Wheels during both CMW and SXSW. Matthew caught up with us right before he was set to take the stage during CMW.

iheartthemusic: So, you’re from just outside Toronto, and you’ve been doing shows all over Europe and the UK, does playing CMW feel like “coming home”?

Matthew: Well, we havent played now for a while. Our last real show was in Tokyo and that was a year and a half ago, so it feels great to be playing again and building up again. When you go away for a while, it’s not like you just jump right back to where you were in terms of popularity. We’re having to re-build our status in Toronto. It’s not like the old Toronto where we used to play every couple of weeks; it’s new, and it’s good and it’s humbling and you have to be good and work hard to succeed. We’re trying to do that.

iheartthemusic: Do have a venue or spot in Toronto where you like to play best?

Matthew: I really love the Mod Club in terms of sound. But we always seem to do really well in Victoria B.C for some reason. We always do really great shows there and the fans are so supportive. It’s the small shows that I think they’re really appreciative of.

iheartthemusic: I wanted to talk a little bit about your name. “Russian Futurism” was an artistic movement in early 20th-century Russia that dismissed the traditional, old, static forms of art in favour of those more representative of dynamic, forward-looking, urban, modern life. The parallels between this concept and your music cannot be a mere coincidence, can it?

Matt: Actually yeah! (laughs) My brother took a Russian History class in University, and we used to talk about shit he was learning, and I just really liked the sound of it. It’s funny cause now I get asked questions about the significance behind the name all the time, and I’ve had to do a little reverse engineering and be like, “Yeah, there are definitely parallels”. But originally it was just a name – it was like calling yourself “The Corvettes” – but I liked how it sounded phonetically.

iheartthemusic: How hard is it to pick a name?

Matt: Really hard

iheartthemusic: I mean, I spend at least ten minutes in the produce section of the grocery store trying to decide between red or yellow peppers! I can’t imagine trying to choose a name for my musical baby.

Matt: I say it’s at least as hard as being a doctor (laughs). No, but it’s hard to pick something you’ll like forever. You call yourself something really dated like when it was all “The Vines”, “The Shins”, “The Strokes”, “The this and that” – that seemed to be a real trend. Instead, I wanted to pick something that people would really remember. I’m glad I didn’t put any thought into it at all, it just kind of stuck.

iheartthemusic: In the beginning, The Russian Futurists was all you. It was your baby, a creation that you have developed from scratch. Recently that has changed, and you have added some band members – especially for the live shows. Other than in the literal sense, how has The Russian Futurists changed; how has it affected your sound?

Matt: I still write and record everything myself. It has changed in the sense that, for a lot of years I didn’t like playing live – at all. I was pretty reluctant and got really anxious, and didn’t want to be up there. I was just like, “let’s get this shit over with”. Now that I’ve got a live band that I’m really excited about, it’s cool being up there. It’s like in hockey: you play better in front of a goalie you trust, and it’s the same with the live band now. I really trust them and they’re really excited about it. It’s just a good bunch of new energy in the band, and it’s totally made me more into playing live, for sure.

iheartthemusic: First and foremost you’re a hip-hop fan, so who’s your favourite hip-hop producer? Premier?

Matt: Yeah! I mean I love Premier. Right now I love Alchemist, he’s like, my dude now. There’s so many. I really like early Rakim production, early Hieroglyphics stuff, Souls of Mischief…I mean I’m a really big east coast hip-hop fan, so lots of Premier, even early Mob Deep. I grew up doing that kinda music, makin’ beats like that. My first music gear was a sampler, and still, most of my songs are built around samples.

iheartthemusic: Do you have any plans to make an album more fully grounded in hip-hop?

Matt: You’re definitely not gonna get me to spit a verse (laughs)

iheartthemusic: That was my next question! How come you sing and don’t spit rhymes?

Matt: I do a little bit, but it’s with my little brother. He’s got a few different hip-hop crews, always centred around a theme. Like he’s got one about having the best gadgets, like cell phones and shit, and they’re called “The Mad Gadgets”. We just did a track together about fishing, and ONLY about fishing. So we do hip-hop, but it’s not about a big concept, but something really specific. It’s just-for-fun, but I do the beats for those guys.

iheartthemusic: Back to electro. A far as my knowledge goes, electro is a very studio-specific genre in terms of the heavy production involved, the layering techniques etc. It’s music meant for the album. Are there any aspects of your recordings that don’t carry over into the live performance?

Matt: Well, there’s just some stuff you cannot reproduce. It’s a lot of samples and stuff like that, and even if you have a band to reproduce it all, I’m not crazy about seeing people reproduce everything. We still use backing tracks and samples cause you kind of need to, and I don’t want to totally abandon that. You just need to resign yourself to the fact that you’re not going to create something live exactly like it is on the record. Once you get over that, it’s fine.

iheartthemusic: Well, you have been doing this for a long time now! I mean, you’ve gone from producing in your bedroom to the studio; from just recording to being thrown into the whirlwind of the music industry – with all international touring, the notoriety etc. What’s that transition been like for you?

Matt: I’ve been doing this for 10 years now! And I got lucky that my first record was picked up in Europe, and was over there right away. So, we were really lucky and didn’t really have to ‘pay our dues’ by driving out to like, Saskatoon. We got to go over to Spain pretty early on and do a lot of tours in Europe. It’s kind of been gradual. I take it for granted now because back then, it’s just the way it was for us, and I thought every band did it like that. (Our success) wasn’t out of nowhere, I really like that it’s built slowly as opposed to being really popular for two years and then no-one gives a shit about you after that.

iheartthemusic: Can artists separate the desire to make art from the desire to make it big?

Matt: Yeah, I think so. I’m always 10 steps ahead of what’s happening. It’s never like “this year my goal is to play here”, but you do have loose goals. Basically you just gotta check your email everyday and you get some weird shit, some cool opportunities, and just hope that they keep coming.

interviewed by Brittany Smith

photography provided by Aaron Alleyne

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