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

How much do you love that feeling you get when, after spending a few days trying to complete a puzzle, you finally get down to the last few pieces?! You are left with that excitement of near completion but also that pending sense of void as your task nears completion. You ask yourself if you should start a new puzzle right away or simply sit and savour that sense of pride of realizing the final objective of the task at hand. This was somewhat how iheartthemusic felt when they were approached by Toronto based band Oh No Forest Fires. Why, you ask? Well, if you have been following our ongoing Toronto music scene coverage you might have noticed that we mentioned several times the “band affair” between Dinosaur Bones, Great Bloomers, Arietta and Oh No Forest Fires, and having already interviewed the first three bands, it really did feel like they were the missing piece to the puzzle. This band is made up of several members of previous (and fairly popular) bands, they have been known to call their sound “guitarded”, and they have managed to maintain a great reputation amongst music critics and fans alike. We spoke with all four members – Rajiv Thavanathan (guitar/vocals), Matt Del Buono (vocals/bass), Brock Swanek (guitar) and Adam Nimmo (drums) – about their “guitardedness” and how we are now finally realizing that the puzzle is complete… so what is next?

iheartthemusic: Firstly, I want to thank you for being the missing link!

Rajiv: We kiss each other on the mouth! [laughs]

iheartthemusic: [laughs] That’s far too much information for me! Let’s talk about your album The War on Geometry, which was apparently was named after a video game?

Adam: We had the biggest bonding night playing Xbox in my apartment and Brock had told us about The War on Geometry so we played it and were like, “this should be the name of the record”- badda bing, badda boom!

iheartthemusic: When did it drop?

Adam: November 11^th, 2008.

Brock: I dropped it this morning, but then I picked it back up!

iheartthemusic: [laughs]  So you guys are a relatively new band?

Adam: Yeah our first show was September 20^th, 2007, but everybody in this band has been playing for the last 10 years.

iheartthemusic: Yeah, you guys seem to all come from totally different backgrounds, having previously played in some big name bands. Was it difficult to create an identity separate from your past ones?

Adam: I left The Most Serene Republic and then Matt and I played in another band together. Rajiv and I had wanted to just jam for years before I forced him to move to Toronto. So when Rajiv and I started playing [like that] we brought Matt in and then Brock joined. There was absolutely no real direction or goal as to where we wanted to be; we just wanted to make something and now it’s turning into music that we feel really proud of and isn’t the token thing that you hear everywhere. It came from us just being like, “hey, play a riff and let’s make that” and then it turned into a song that we really love playing.

iheartthemusic: You do have a bit of a Moneen influence in your band though, as I read that you recorded the record in Kenny Bridges’ place?

Adam: We recorded the vocals at Kenny’s house because we are all really good friends with him. Really it was just the vocals that we recorded there, which is funny because we read all these reviews where they are like, “oh, the long song titles are from Moneen” when in reality we had those song titles before we even talked to Kenny. You know people will think what they want to.

iheartthemusic: It’s not a bad reference to have, though!

Adam: Exactly! Every band that comes out of this city seems to have one member of thier band who only plays music because they went to a Moneen show back in the day. It was really good and to tie in with such an incredible band; that’s absolutely fine with me!

Rajiv: One hundred percent on the record, the only reason that I moved to Toronto was because I went to a show in 2003 and I saw Moneen play in St. Johns, Newfoundland and the opening band was Fallen Year, which was Adam and Matt’s band back then. It was amazing! I watched Kenny play and Adam and Matt play and, at the time being like a young impressionable, emotional kid in Newfoundland, the only thing I could do was want to play in a band and I thought that the most luck that I could ever have in my life would be playing with people that loved music. I mean the fact that I am playing with guys in Fallen Year, which 10 years ago was my favourite band, is incredible. I watched these guys play and it was a moving moment in my life!

iheartthemusic: I love that! 

Brock: I used to live with Adam’s tour manager when The Most Serene Republic was around and I remember standing beside my girlfriend at the time, who was a major babe, and seeing Adam play and thinking, “I want to be in a band with that guy.”

iheartthemusic: Have you guys done a full cross-Canada tour yet?

Brock: No, but we are going to.

iheartthemusic: You are an unsigned band, so would remedying that be the next step for you?

Rajiv: The next step is that we can afford a rehearsal space! [laughs]

Adam: I feel like if the right thing were to come along then we would listen, but it’s not like we are bombarded by labels. We are having too much fun and too much luck somehow being a DIY band! What’s better than four guys that play in a band where there are no managers, no agents, no labels no one telling us what to do or where to go; it’s working out so far. Obviously if someone were to say we want to tell you where to go and what to do, then we might listen, but we’re happy.

Rajiv: We are really lucky that we are at a point where all the deadlines that we make are because of us and its not because of any label or any management. If we want to put a record out every four years or one a year we could.

iheartthemusic: Tell me about your show at the Horseshoe on June 10th.

Rajiv: It’s with two amazing bands. One band from the US called Telekinesis who is on Merge Records,which is the same label as Arcade Fire and Spoon. The other band is called An Horse from Australia, but they have toured with Tegan and Sara and played Letterman, like, two months ago. All the bands are really huge, but I feel like in Toronto they might not be as known, so the opportunity to play this show is awesome.

Oh No Forest Fires play the Horseshoe June 10th at 9PM.

Slim Twig returns to his hometown of Toronto this Friday, May 29th at the Horseshoe Tavern to celebrate the release of his debut full-length offering Contempt!. No stranger to the left field, Contempt! is filled with eccentric, sample-based instrumentals, an off-the-wall vocal delivery, and dark, haunting lyrics that only add to the intrigue most newcomers will feel when they hear this album. What seems to entice people even more is the fact that Slim is only 21 and yet has managed to make several recordings that all involved a heavily experimental sound that artists twice his age find hard to mimic. With a blend of what feels like rockabilly with a bit of a hip-hop (Paper Bag records calls it “Elvis stuck in the 36 chambers”), Slim’s ability to attract fans is nothing short of remarkable. Indeed, Contempt! is an acquired taste, but if you get it, you get it, and if you don’t… well, just don’t bother the rest of us. Having already caught the attention of music heavyweights Pitchfork just under a year ago, it’s clear that Slim’s on the right path to making a name for himself as someone whose album might’ve made your head explode.

iheartthemusic are stoked to be giving away a pair of tickets along with a copy of the album to one lucky winner for this Friday’s event. Send us an email at info@iheartthemusic.com and one person will be picked at random. Don’t miss out folks- this will surely be an unforgettable evening!

reviewed by Sebastian Galvez

Sharing the stage starting in April with Ladytron on their North America Tour, is the electro band The Faint, who hail from Omaha, Nebraska. On their Toronto stop at Phoenix on Monday (April 6), The Faint totally stole the show. Before their set, iheartthemusic did some theft work of their own and stole a few moments with The Faint’s keyboardist and backup vocalist, Jacob Thiele.

iheartthemusic: How many times have you guys been in Toronto?

Jacob: I think this is the sixth show we’ve played in Toronto. No, sorry, seventh. We played with Bright Eyes at that place that’s near the water.

iheartthemusic: Koolhaus?

Jacob: No, it’s a different place. There are driving ranges and a go-kart track over there. I can even see it from the CN Tower.

iheartthemusic photog: The Docks [now the Sound Academy]!

Jacob: Yeah, we played there. So this is the seventh show.

iheartthemusic: You guys are playing Toronto today and then heading over to Montreal tomorrow, what do you guys most look forward to when playing Canada?

Jacob: As oppose to other places, Canadian people are very friendly. The shows are probably very similar to other shows in North America. I mean, we just like to play, and it’s fun for us to be playing in a different country technically. But other than that we just like to play shows and we appreciate the politeness of Canadians as a whole.

iheartthemusic: I guess in terms of playing the States…

Jacob: We dread the border sometimes, that can be a real hassle, especially during the Bush Administration going back into the States. It was sometimes kind of a nightmare.

iheartthemusic: Yikes!

Jacob: We had an LD that was deported. He was denied entrance to America one time and we’ve been held up at the border probably for a grand total of six hours. But this time coming into Canada was easy. I think our bus driver is Canadian, so that might have helped.

iheartthemusic: I’ve actually had horror stories too, especially passing through to the States, but I’ve never heard Americans having a hard time crossing the border.

Jacob: It happens. There’s a documentary made some years ago, where they had a funny episode of [people] trying to cross the border and they’re trying to explain to the border people what they do for a living and what they’re trying to do. [Laughs.]

iheartthemusic: Haha, that’s crazy. In terms of your routine, you guys are pretty busy with your shows and you all play day after day, what would you say your daily routine is, especially before playing a show?

Jacob: I kind of wake up and usually, if I have time, I’ll go get some breakfast and coffee somewhere. I have some internet responsibilities like the Twittering and Facebooking and MySpacing. But other than that, sound check and finding the time to call my wife and if we’re lucky we get a nice meal somewhere, but we don’t really get to see too much. We don’t get to really do too much unless it’s close to the venue, like if there’s a record store nearby. So mostly it has to do with the show; setting up our gear and sound checking and sometimes interviews.

iheartthemusic: You guys are touring with Ladytron in North America and they’re one of the most known electro bands at the moment, do you have any stories from touring with them?

Jacob: They’re very nice people. We’ve only been in the road with them for less than a week so we haven’t really hung out that much. We’ve had an after party in Chicago and they had one in Milwaukee and I’m just really glad that they’re really nice people. They have similar tastes and they’re cool to hang out with.

iheartthemusic: Cool. I know your band has also moved record labels. How’s that going?

Jacob: It’s working out probably about the same as it would have in Saddle Creek [Records]. We’ve thought pretty long and hard about different ways to put out this record and after pretty much doing everything else ourselves we decided to put it out ourselves too because it seemed like it was the right thing to do with this particular album. We would have that option for future albums and possibly other projects that we might be involved with as well as friends’ groups and that sort of thing. We’ve always had a lot of artistic freedom and what not with Saddle Creek and now we still do since we just answer to ourselves. Yeah, no complaints. I think other bands in our position will be well off to do the same thing.

iheartthemusic: And for the people who haven’t seen you live, what should your audiences and fans expect?

Jacob: It’s kind of a flashy, energetic live show. We tend to play the songs that work best in a live scenario. We’ve played a lot of shows, hundreds over the years and we certainly have our favourites and I guess we play our favourites, which is maybe a bit selfish, but I think it makes for more energy and better morale.

iheartthemusic: That’s so true.

Jacob: There’s also a lot of ridiculous dance moves happening on stage. We try to set an example through our actions. I’ve seen bands that can inspire dancing without moving a lot or bands that don’t move a lot but then try and tell people that they should be dancing. I think the best way to do it is to just enjoy the music yourself. Sometimes it’s hard to get the crowd moving and then I just kind of ignore them for a while and get into my own world. And by the time I start paying attention to them, they’re all into it.

iheartthemusic: I think it’s good that you guys are playing your favourite songs because if those are your favourite songs, then it would totally show in your performances too.

Jacob: Yeah, that’s part of the whole idea.

iheartthemusic: What are you guys look forward to in the summer?

Jacob: We don’t really know. We were going to do some festivals and shows in Europe but I think we kind of decided against it because of the economy and where we are as a band. In Europe it’s really hard for bands from America, especially bands like us that have a lot of gear, to get our gear over there and travel and accommodations and everything, to come home without losing a decent amount of money. I hope we can figure something out and still play some of those festivals and do some travelling and maybe get to Mexico or something, but yeah, right now it’s totally up in the air. We’re kind of just keeping our fingers crossed hoping that we can do some more travelling or do some more shows and work on some new music.

iheartthemusic: Is there anything else you want to add that perhaps I didn’t ask?

Jacob: I guess I could tell you that we’ve spent a lot of time trying to make the live show work well with programming lights, making videos and making all these things ourselves. Because, I want people to appreciate the fact that we’re a very hands-on band. We’re just trying to make the show as good as it can be whether we’ve hired someone else to do it or we do it ourselves.

iheartthemusic: I know a lot of people I’ve spoken to in the line-up are expecting and looking forward to seeing the show, and many are very excited.

Jacob: Awesome. Yeah, Ladytron is really good too. It’s difficult to have completely different looking shows on the same stage, or on the same tour, but I think we’ve managed to work it out. I think it’s a good show overall and everybody that I’ve talked to seems to have thought the previous shows went well, and I think it will only get better from here.

Interview conducted by Chris Jai Centeno

Photography by Joyce Wong

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