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

With the rapid success of their debut album, Say Us, Toronto rockers Zeus are quickly becoming the band to watch in 2010. We here at iheartthemusic were lucky enough to sit down with Mike O’Brien of Zeus during CMW to discuss the bands breakout success, new album release and their latest performance at SXSW.   Here is what we were able to learn from the Zeus front man:

iheartthemusic: First off, congrats on the Now Magazine cover, that must have been really amazing for you!

Mike: Yeah it was really exciting especially because we are from Toronto.  We have a really great publicity company, Canvas Media, that works at the label and they are just really on top of their shit.

iheartthemusic: Well it’s been a crazy time for you considering your album just dropped last month!

Mike: Yeah, actually on February 23rd. So it’s all been a bit of a whirlwind since then.

iheartthemusic: Fill us in on what your life has been like since the album was released.

Mike: Well we didn’t really get a chance to party that much because we were so busy, but it was really exciting for us.  We had been keeping the album to ourselves for so long that it felt great to put it out and hear feedback and share it with everyone.

iheartthemusic: We think it’s a really incredible album with a totally unique sound and we are interested to learn how you would describe your sound?

Mike: Basically its Rock and Roll or “Pop and Roll”. To me, Rock and Roll has always meant a synthesis of different music and that’s what we are trying to do: we are drawing from all of our different influences and trying to mix it up to make our own little stew.

iheartthemusic: Who are your influences?

Mike: When Carlin and I first met in high school we bonded over Nirvana from the beginning, along with NOFX and other Punk bands that were around at the time.  And then a little bit after that, we were really into the Halifax pop explosion like Sloan and all those bands we were super into as young teenagers. But throughout all that there are also some classic influences like the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks and the Zombies that were our bread and butter.

iheartthemusic: We read on your website that you guys aim to make “timeless songs”, so what are the elements of a timeless song? How do you try to put that together?

Mike: A “timeless song” can be in any genre and presented in any way. I don’t know if we have succeeded in making timeless music but the main thing to focus on is the songwriting and that comes first. We take a lot of care in the arrangements and the construction of our songs. That’s our benchmark—to  make sure the song is solid—and then we add all of the frills.

iheartthemusic: What’s your favourite song off of the album?

Mike: All of them have been my favourite at different points in time. We recorded the album over the course of almost two years. They’re all so much fun to play and totally feel fresh every time we play them.  But a personal favourite of mine is “At the Risk of Repeating,” because I really love to perform it.

iheartthemusic: We have noticed that your album bears a strong connection to nature, especially the video for “Marching Through Your mind.” How does nature connect to your music?

Mike: Well the video came about through Adam Makarenko’s vision.  We had seen his photographs and found out that he makes little models like the ones in the video. He builds really realistic things from nature like a ribcage of a deer with birds feeding on it. He builds them out of all these different things like pill bottles. The video came about because we loved his work and thought the video would be great using his visual style. I had the idea to take our EP artwork (a picture of our boots) and envisioned that our boots would come to life and have a journey up the mountain.  We brought that to Adam and he fleshed that out and also introduced the nature sounds to the beginning of the video.  It was really fitting because we are from North of Toronto and grew up cottaging and camping so it really is an extension of our experiences.

iheartthemusic: What sets Zeus apart?

Mike: We are a band that has three songwriters, which is important to us.  I don’t think that’s an easy thing to pull off but I feel like we have the people within the band to be able to do that.  It’s tricky to balance, to incorporate three different artistic visions and make it cohesive at the same time.  But hopefully we are doing that and I feel that we have achieved that on the first album.

iheartthemusic: Rapid Fire Round, ok?

Mike: Ok (laughs)

iheartthemusic: What is your favourite Toronto venue to attend or perform at?

Mike: The Magpie.

iheartthemusic: Favourite Breakfast Cereal?

Mike: Um…Cinnamon Life

iheartthemusic: Favourite Romantic Comedy?

Mike: Before Sunrise and its sequel After Sunset. They were both really natural and realistic.

iheartthemusic: Favourite Woman?

Mike: My girlfriend Andrea Wilson

Enough said. Great band. Great sound. Go check them out now!

interviewed by Victoria Kuketz

photography provided by Aaron Alleyne

iheartthemusic decided to choose a few keys players to interview during CMW 2010. Here is the first of many informal chats that we had with some talented individuals. Introducing Jonathan Chandler (guitarist/lead vocals) and Christopher Wilson (drummer/vocals) of Amos The Transparent.

iheartthemusic: I’m really excited to be here at CMW, it being my first time, but for you guys it’s not; you were here last year and played with Black Diamond Bay. Are you glad to be back?

Jonathan: Yeah, we played with Black Diamond Bay and Michou. The venue was packed, everybody was drunk and singing every word louder than I could. It’s so much fun here. Toronto’s a great vibe, especially during this festival…everyone is in music mode and ready to go. We love it, and are definitely glad to be back. (Toronto’s) starting to feel like home.

iheartthemusic: You guys just released the EP My What Big Teeth You Have, and were up for a Verge award – congrats, by the way -  what else has been going on with the band?

Jonathan: The biggest thing that’s happened to us is that we entered this radio competition in Ottawa called ‘The Money Shot”, and we ended up with $50,000. We lost to Hollerado, but for the record, we’re all friends, and we like them…

iheartthemusic: And you’re playing wth them tonight!

Jonathan: Yeah, it seems like ever since then, we haven’t been able to avoid each other; here and in SXSW. So, that (radio competition) was the big thing, which has kind of opened up the door; now we’re writing and getting ready to release a full length record.

iheartthemusic: That’s so good to hear! I know that on your last full length record, Everything I’ve forgotten To Forget, Jonathan, you were the creative centrepiece or the album’s lynchpin, but for “Teeth” you sort of de-centralized creative control. I’m wondering what it was like to let go of the creative reigns? How does that sort of transition work?

Chris (laughing)(to Jonathan): You’ve got a really good answer to this one!

Jonathan (laughs): Well, like I said, Chris has been the #1 partner from the beginning. When we started the album, it really just was Chris and I. So when we were making/writing that record, it was just me primarily writing the songs. I’d bounce ‘em off Chris and we’d arrange them together, and brought our friends in to play the parts, whereas with “Teeth” we widdled away and really formed a real band, so it was a good way to showcase how far we have come.

Chris: Even “Teeth” was still Jonny’s total songwriting, with the band having more input/influence, but I think you’ll even see with what’s coming up, the band’s really taken over. (Amos) has really become a band now. I think it’s been a slow, but good progression from intially just the two of us working together to having more collaboration, and for this upcoming record, it’s been the first time we’ve all actually sat in a room together writing songs before going into the studio. It’s been really great having everyones input and working through it as a team.

Jonathan: I bring skeletons of songs to the band, but I’m purposefully not thinking about drum parts when I’m writing them, not thinking about what the bass is gonna do. I’m really starting to get a “band” feeling…which is wicked.

iheartthemusic: Do you think this sort of change in dynamic has benefitted your sound?

Jonathan: I honestly feel like everyone has more of a home in the band now. It could have been perceived before that people were kind of like ‘hired guns’ to do things, and I can tell we’re playing more like a band now, we’re acting more like a band now just because everyone is in that happy place.

iheartthemusic: Where do you guys see the band taking you from here? What are your collective aspirations?

Chris: Hopefully out of my basement! (laughs) No, obviously we want to do this as our life.

iheartthemusic: Yeah, I hear you guys all still have full time jobs outside of the music industry?

Chris: Yeah, we don’t make really any money doing this, so we have to support ourselves, our greater families.

ihearttemusic: How do you balance both obligations?

Chris: It’s busy. Balance is hard, but you work your hardest to do what you need to do at home, play the shows when you’re on the road. It works out. We want to do this as our “fun job”.

Jonathan: It comes down to the fact that this is our passion, so we make it work. The end goal is just to have as many people hear our music who wanna hear our music. Have fun, and enjoy.

iheartthemusic: Let’s talk about people who want to hear your music. Is there any specific city or town in Canada you guys love to play because the fans are so great?

Chris: I think the small city of Toronto is probably my favourite place to play in Canada. I think the reaction and the response here has been absolutely amazing. Everytime we come here it’s usually like “this is better than our hometown”. Ottawa’s great, but Toronto’s always a blast. There’s always a lot going on down here, and it’s definitey worth the trip. We always have a good time when we’re down here.

iheartthemusic: So glad to hear it! We’re some of those fans! (laughs all around). What about the internet? It seems like for so many indie bands, the internet has been a really amazing means to more lucrative ends in terms of getting your music out there, the heightened exposure, the push and promotion, the free streaming, the blogs etc., but on the flip side, the internet is also the source of free and illegal music downloads and this takes – much needed- money right out of pockets like your own. So, the internet: scourge or saviour?

Chris: The internet has been great. I’d never complain. We’re at the point in our careers where we just need people to hear our music. If you’re gonna download it, well, it kinda sucks, but it’s a benefit for us because someone’s gonna get to hear our music. And you know what? Download the music, and come to the live show, buy the ticket – even a t-shirt – and that’s fine. You’re never gonna stop the downloads, so you might as well just accept it…

Jonathan: and firgure out how you can use it to your benefit. There’s now countless ways to interact with fans, and ultimately grow more fanbases. I just found out today we hit gold in terms of people stealing our music, all because of over 5,000 downloads of our one record. So, that sucks, but look at the positive: there’s over 5,000 people who just got the record. Hopefully they like it, and it’ll turn into ticket sales.

iheartthemusic: Funny Question: You guys did a cover of Alannis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know”, is she one of your favourite Canadian artists, or do you have hatred equal to hers for Joey Gladstone from Full House?

Chris: (laughs) The cover came from a tribute show in Ottawa for CBC Radio. It was getting artists together to pick a song or two to play. That’s how it came about. Jon picked the song though!

iheartthemusic: Hey Jagged Little Pill was a good record! (laughs)

Jonathan: It was a good record! Actually we were the final addition to the show, and it was Alan Neil from CBC who said no-one has done “You Oughtta Know” yet, and I was like “Really? No-one’s picked her song? So great! We’ll do that”.  I really like tearing things apart, so what I did was listen to the words and, although she did it as an angry song, if you listen to the words without the music, it can be a really heartbroken song. So, we figured we’d just switch it up.

iheartthemusic: So you don’t dislike Joey Gladstone?

Jonathan: (laughs) Nope. He’s fine. Shit happens.

** catch them back in Toronto April 17, 2010 with The Junction!

interviewed by Brittany Smith

photography provided by Renee Rodenkirchen

Considering we weren’t able to get into Dan Mangan’s showcase the previous night, we decided to try our luck on the Friday at Courthouse for the Music BC showcase. Adaline was the first to hit the stage that night. Hailing from Vancouver, Adaline is one of those performers that just gets better each time you see her. We caught her playing during an industry performance in the spring of 2009 and left feeling a little confused; not knowing exactly where she fit in. All that has changed in the past year however, as her voice and backing band have matured together to create a sound all their own. Her sound is infectious and mellow- a perfect blend to start the night.

We Are The City are made up of three band members or “composers” (as their bio suggests), however if you were to listen to them blindfolded, you would be convinced that more members were onstage. These guys are literally the manifestation of “go big or go home” as they play their own breed of progressive indie rock “opera” transitioning both their sound and voice from high to low. Opera is actually fitting since lead vocalist Cayne is classically trained on the piano. Stand out favourites were “There Are Very Tiny Beasts in the Ground” which showcased each members’ individual talents. The middle of this song had an incredible instrumental section that allowed them each to rock out on their individual instruments. When we say rock out, we mean it as the band opened their set with  “Morning Song” which had drummer Andy Huculiak taking a stroll around his kit while simultaneously playing.  Yes they are talented, and yes they are young so, no, we will NOT miss them again when they pass through Toronto.

Alright, so enough with the hype that I appear to have been projecting through my last post, but honestly, I am a Dan Mangan fan. I am a Dan Mangan fan who has never seen him perform live. I have to admit, I was worried. I mean I clearly had high hopes going into this and was worried that he wouldn’t measure up. Well, he did. This only proves how amazingly talented this guy is. I don’t really know what to say except that it was awesome. He showcased songs only from his latest album Nice, Nice, Very Nice, which was fine with me since I knew every word to every song. Yes, I am a fan and you will be too if you go see him play or grab his album. Do it….

Dan Mangan returns to Toronto on April 22nd at the Horseshoe.

photography provided by Nancy Kim.

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