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

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.

When we heard that the worldwide phenomenon that is Queen was coming to town we had our doubts. For one thing, Freddy Mercury has been dead for quite some time now and we hadn’t heard that an Elvis-like situation had taken place whereby fans and the media were convinced that his death was a fake. So when we actually looked into this some more, we soon came to find out that it was an actual stage reproduction of Queen’s last world tour with Freddy entitled Queen: It’s a Kind of Magic. Headed by Australian musician and bona-fide Queen historian Craig Pesco, this reproduction literally goes as afar as to create EXACTLY what would have been seen and heard during Queen’s heyday. When we say EXACTLY, Pesco actually explained to us that he sports fake teeth that look just like Freddy’s in order to make it as authentic as can be. Once we heard this, we had to see it for ourselves.

Seated in the second row (yes, we were amazed that we were able to grab these seats too) and amongst some of the biggest Queen fans in Toronto, we set out to discover the magic that is a Queen live show. The stage was decked out with all the trimmings that apparently one would find during their reign; the white baby grand piano, the blinding lights and the huge sound. Pesco (Freddy Mercury) came out in full force in costume (and teeth) and as soon as he hit the stage the crowd went crazy. Their first song “A Kind of Magic” started and we felt like we were literally thrown back into the early nineties.

Throughout the course of this production Pesco changed approximately five times, including one number in full drag (with the boobs to match), and it became more and more apparent that Pesco was the man leading (and stealing) the show. His enthusiasm and passion were evident and became even more so against the not-so-enthusiastic rest of the band. This lack of enthusiasm was extremely evident and continued throughout the rest of the production. Another rather distracting feature of this show was the wigs that they were wearing. I understand that they were there to “look like” the original Queen members, however, the wigs were not only extremely obvious to the point of funny, but also took away from the fact that this was a serious show. Their skills, however, blew me away as each member of the band spent a good two minutes each showcasing their talent on their respective instruments. I have never seen a bass solo, so that was a pleasure to view so close!

They played all of the well known tunes (and a few that I had to ask around for) including “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Another One Bites the Dust” and came on for their encore to perform cult classic “Bohemian Rhapsody” which was clearly met with chants by everyone in attendance. The crowd consisted of the young and old and most people left fairly satisfied. I did, however, meet one fan (Randy Pater) who found the whole performance a little too obvious and was not convinced. I understand where he was coming from but then you have to bring it into context: it is a tribute band in all its forms and with that, they did well.

« Older Entries

Newer Entries »