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

So once again Canadian Music Week, or Canadian Music Fest rather, has hit the streets (and venues) of Toronto. With so many acts to see we here at iheartthemusic figured we would make it easier for you by showcasing one artist in particular who caught our eye. For our CMW preview meet The Schomberg Fair:

iheartthemusic: Welcome guys! You are somewhat veterans now since you have produced a few albums, however inbetween your last album and your recent one, Gospel, I believe it was about a year and half time. That seems fairly quick?

Matt: The difference between the last record and this record was that I would come in with a song and it would come out pretty close after that. Now we have been working with the arrangement a bit more and Nate and Pete have really come in to shape the sound quite a bit. I think that came from confidence and playing.  It is now a very collaborative process.

iheartthemusic: For this last album didn’t the lyrics and overall feel of the album really came from your own experiences Matt?

Matt: Yeah, so I am the lyricist and I do street outreach with the homeless.

iheartthemusic: That must be incredible and give you quite a bit of writing inspiration, which is kind of an awful thing to say given the circumstances.

Matt: [laughs] Well there is no shortage of material!

iheartthemusic: This album definitely has a darker, well I guess I wouldn’t say darker side but…

Pete: I would say darker! [laughs]

iheartthemusic: Which is so odd to say because if I watch any YouTube clips of you, the energy is so uplifting! It is like a disconnect but in a really great way.

Nathan: I mean that is the kind of energy that we want to bring to the stage. Matt and I talked about it when we were naming the album because we weren’t sure about the name Gospel and the religious connotations behind that.

iheartthemusic: I didn’t even think of that!

Nathan: Yeah, we aren’t a Christian rock band or anything like that. We wouldn’t say we weren’t gospel music by any stretch of the imagination, but the true meaning of the word gospel is the good news and I mean that really shows in our live show because you know the message, the actual literal meaning, is not a positive thing but we are delivering it in a way that is fun and uplifting. We are kind of saying that in spite of bad things we are going to have a good time. You push through the tough times and have great times.

Peter: We have always said that the overall message is one of hope and I think that no matter where it [your material] comes from, whether it’s a dark place or a light place, at the end of the day when people pay money and see you live you put on a show. That definitely is in the back of our minds.

Matt: Hope and the idea of a future. The work that I do is trying to achieve that same goal for those people: to help them find hope.

iheartthemusic: Is it then an outlet for you?

Matt: I would drink a lot more if I didn’t write songs. It’s a pretty challenging job, I mean it’s rewarding but emotionally draining. The band is emotionally uplifting. I love playing music and I love playing music with these guys.

iheartthemusic: Is there a big difference for you, in terms of enjoyment, between the live show and recording?

Matt: They are very different beasts. [laughs]

Nathan: Every time that we go into recording we’ve had this idea that we are going to make a studio record, and then the engineers are always like “we are going to make this a real live sounding album”. They try to make it so that that same energy from our live show is transferred to the record, and I think they succeeded on this one. It’s definitely a different animal and we’re a lot more nervous when we go into the recording studio.

Peter: I think that with a live show, we are really used to playing live and we feed off the audience, so a recording studio is a very dry and can be stale because it is dead silence and we all went in with that feeling. So I think that’s why we feel recording is a little more challenging than live shows. I think we are getting a lot better.

Matt: I really enjoy both a lot. They are different beasts, if you played several hundred shows you would probably be pretty good at the live shows than only putting out two records right? [laughs]

iheartthemusic: Absolutely!

Matt: We were really lucky to work with the guys at Chemical Sound, Dean and Jake, they  were just so great and really helped to bring out the best performance and stuff. Again it’s a new collaboration with the engineers than with let’s say the fans.

iheartthemusic: So what’s up next then?

Matt: The road. Keep playing Ontario for a while and then go back and forth across Canada and the States hopefully before the end of the year. I would like to try and get back in the studio before then end of the year. That’s the long term plan.

10 March, 2010 marked the kick off of CMW and iheartthemusic hit Lees Palace to see the Zeus, Jason Collett and Bahamas show. We were pretty pumped to find out that all three bands were playing as a collective backing up each other’s songs… it was definitely going to be interesting to see what they brought to each other’s music.  From having checked out Zeus’ wicked debut album Say Yes, loving Collet’s Rat a tat tat, and craving Bahamas’ sweet sound… our expectations were pretty high and they didn’t disappoint.

Jason Collett started the show with material from Rat a tat tat that gave way to a super intimate, vintage vibe.  His songs had a great folksy, Dylan-esque quality to them and looking around you could see that the sold-out audience was full of true fans that knew EVERY song and were so appreciative to be the recipients of Collett’s mellow, eccentric yet sexy melodies. We especially loved High Summer, Love is a Dirty Word and Cold, Blue Halo.

In the next number, the men of Zeus, who instantly brought an upbeat and classic rock n roll feel to the stage, joined Collett. Zeus have a wicked stage presence and are even better live—if possible.  They are really consummate performers as each band member can sing, and play every fucking instrument possible.  It was incredible to see them rotate from the guitar and vocals, then pick up the base, then shove a peer off the keyboard and just kill every song.  Their lineup of songs like “Kindergarten”, “How Does it Feel”, and their first single “Marching Through Your Head” show just how versatile and skilled they are at creating lush, soaring harmonies and layering sound.  We have to highlight the fact that Neil Quin from Zeus definitely pulled out a mandolin while backing a Collet number… duly noted and totally appreciated. 

Bahamas breezed his way in next and we must say he totally blew everyone away.  This was truly a breakout performance for Bahamas who is just as smooth and warm as everything that his name evokes. His brand of soulful, blues based love songs basically had everyone turned on by the end of the show.  It was a little reminiscent of the Black Keys… but Bahamas definitely carves out his own lyrical, rich and distinctive sound.  His song “Already Yours” was a big crowd pleaser.

We have to comment on how well the show was structured as each band took turns performing and backing each other. There was an incredible organic quality to this collaboration and to be honest, each band brought a distinct personal element that resulted in an unbelievable counterpoint. In essence, Zeus, Collett and Bahamas are at their best when they are playing together—it’s really something you have to see for yourself. Our verdict? Buy the albums, go see the show… FOR SURE.

reviewed by Victoria Kuketz

photography provided by Aaron Alleyne

This band really needs no introduction considering they are one of the most popular and well known groups to come out of Canada, however Alexisonfire have definitely worked extremely hard to get there. With the release of their latest album, Old Crows/Young Cardinals in June of last year, Alexisonfire appear to be striving for a different sound and feel than their previous records. With this album comes a more tender side to the group- which appears to be working for them! Having recently won a Verge Music Award for Album of the Year, we caught up with vocalist/guitarist Dallas Green to learn a little bit more about how these guys view their success.

iheartthemusic: First off, congratulations on your won at The Verge Awards. You must have felt pretty great!

Dallas: Um, yeah!

iheartthemusic: Well fans voted so that is definitely a testament to your popularity.

Dallas: Yeah, those are the only awards that I truly care about. I just feel like panels of people and associations…I just don’t think that means anything . Music is a very personal preference so when a ton of kids get on their computer and vote for you constantly until you have enough [votes] to win, it shows that they are devoted to what you do and that feels great.

iheartthemusic: Absolutely. This award in particular must feel good since you are being recognized for your latest album Old Crows/Young Cardinals, which has been met with some hasty criticism in the press.

Dallas: Yeah, because it is different for us.

iheartthemusic: It is a little bit different for you so what made you switch up your sound for this album?

Dallas: I don’t know really. It’s our fourth album and I think every record we have made has been very different but this one in particular since George has started to try different things. It has kind of thrown some people for a loop but George spent three whole records screaming his head off and wanted to try some different stuff.

iheartthemusic: And give his voice a bit of a rest I’m sure!

Dallas: Well not really. I mean we just wanted to try something else. We [the rest of the band] constantly get to try new guitar things and use different amps and stuff like that, and George was always just screaming so he wanted to try something different with his voice. I am really proud of him for doing that.

iheartthemusic: Well I guess it is important to keep everyone in the band happy!

Dallas: Yeah.

iheartthemusic: Having lived in the UK myself, I had to ask about your trip to Reading this past summer because I have actually had the opportunity to travel to that place and hated it! What was your experience like?

Dallas: Really? I don’t think we ever played in Reading besides the Reading and Leeds festivals.

iheartthemusic: Okay, well then you are safe! [laughs]

Dallas: Yeah, we’ve played in Leeds a bunch, aside from the Leeds festival, and the shows are always great there.

iheartthemusic: You guys played to something like 45,000 people at that festival in Reading. That must have been incredible!

Dallas: It was amazing. But you know what was better? Because we played two shows that day, one at about 1pm on the main stage and then one at about 7pm on the smaller side stage, it was the latter that was truly incredible. Playing infront of 50,000 people is one thing, but playing for like 5,000 Alexisonfire fans singing louder than the PA means a lot.

iheartthemusic: Was that a defining moment in your career?

Dallas: I think that that Friday night show was the best show we’ve ever played in England. It was just so unbelievable.

iheartthemusic: What has been your favourite place to tour so far?

Dallas: Australia. I love it there! It is actually just like Canada but only hot all the time.

iheartthemusic: I think that Alexisonfire as a band have definitely paved the way for many young musicians trying to make it in such a tough industry. Being able to cross the border and be successful on an international front is a huge feat. Do you see yourself as role models to these young artists?

Dallas: I think that the mainstream looked at us and were like “okay, they are kind of cool and kids seem to like them, so maybe we have to start playing their videos”. Maybe that opened the door for kids to write more than just three and a half minute pop songs for the radio and that’s cool to me.

You can catch Alexisonfire on March 28th when they support Billy Talent at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

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