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

Melbourne-bred band Forgiven Rival were one of  few Australian bands that had the privilege of coming to Canada to play during CMW. These guys are not new to the music scene, they’ve already toured all over Australia and are now ready to conquer Canada with their new rock sound that covers everything from pop rock to hardcore. In 2006 they independently released their debut EP, The Symphony of Words, which got them heard by both music fans and labels alike. Now in their third year together, they have released their first full length album, shared the stage with some incredible acts, and are hoping to expand their fan base Canadian-style.

iheartthemusic: Welcome to Canada! Is this your first time here?

Simeon: It’s my first time overseas so I’m really excited to be out of Australia!

iheartthemusic: And into the cold!

Joel: It’s good though!

iheartthemusic: For those Canadians who have yet to hear about you, let’s go back to how you guys started.

Adrian: Simeon and Joel were playing in a punk band in high school and I always wanted to join but my parents would never let me, so I was kind of bummed out about that. Then when that band broke up we started jamming. We ended up snagging a bass player, who was a friend of a friend, and started doing some shows. Our bass player ended up leaving about two years ago to travel, so we picked up Pete and we’ve been traveling around and touring with the four of us ever since.

Joel: We did all go to high school together, so we’ve all known each other for 10 years.

iheartthemusic: Why the name Forgiven Rival?

Simeon: It wasn’t anything very original. We had a whole bunch of words that we liked the sound of and we just sort of went through them piece by piece. Forgiven Rival we all sort of agreed upon at the time and thought it was pretty sweet.

Joel: It is kind of a band name that you can make your own meaning out of. We don’t really have a meaning for it, we just thought it was cool at the time.

iheartthemusic: You guys have an independently released EP out and also recently released your debut album: This is a War. Tell us a little bit about the sound of this album.

Adrian: Probably a cross between Story of the Year and Underoath.

Joel: It’s also got influences from soft bands like Boys Like Girls and Cartel. They are more vocal and harmony influenced and we combine that along with the screaming and breakdowns and all that kind of stuff. It’s all chucked into one big mash of music.

iheartthemusic: You have also released a video for your single “Like The Effects of the Wind.” What’s the concept behind that video?

Adrian: We actually kind of threw around a few ideas, but we had to do it in a place that was cheap because we didn’t have much money. So Simeon’s uncle actually had a farm about 40 minutes from where we live with a bunch of land and that is what you see in the background. We did it with a film company called Room Three and they hiked all this gear up this insane hill that we could barely get up or down. It was really cool and turned out really well. We did it at about midnight until four in the morning and it was freezing.

Simeon: The concept behind the video is related to its title “Like The Effects of the Wind.” We thought it would be cool to have the wind and the leaves falling around and at the end it get a bit more intense. It gives it more meaning than just the lyrics themselves so that you can put a visual to it as well.

iheartthemusic: You have already done tons of touring in Australia including a stint with Canada’s own Silverstein!

Adrian: That was pretty early on. We got hooked up with a really cool booking agency from Australia called Destroy All  Lines and they were touring Silverstein at the same time so we got hooked up with them. They took us on a few shows which was really cool. We’ve been really lucky with some of the spots we’ve been able to do, like doing shows with Underoath, Story of the Year and Escape the Fate, stuff like that.

iheartthemusic: So who have been your favourites?

Simeon: My favourite band definitely has been Underoath. So much so that I got a tattoo of Underoath on my foot! Loved it!

iheartthemusic: Do they know about this tattoo?

Simeon: No they don’t, I got it a couple of week afterwards.

iheartthemusic: What was so cool about playing with them?

Simeon: I think because we all really dig their music and think it’s really good that it was great to be able to share the stage with them. They are also cool guys and because we were the only support on the show, it made us feel a bit special. It was a sold out venue so it was a great show to play and we got a great response from it.

Adrian: They were really cool dudes. They would actually chat with us for a bit, which was great because sometimes big bands won’t even be there until two minutes before they play. These guys actually took the time to introduce themselves and even watched us play.

iheartthemusic: Why did you choose to showcase during CMW?

Adrian: There’s a much bigger scene and market for our kind of music in Canada and the States. There are also a ton of label reps out at CMW, so our management has been working on getting a few of them along to the shows. Hopefully this showcasing will get us back over here for a more serious tour. We would love to do a straight month of touring or something like that so we can actually come back.

iheartthemusic: Is  that what you are hoping to get out of it then?

Joel: We can’t just want more exposure because we want to try and do a second album, and it would be great to have it all over the world instead of just in Australia. Hopefully by playing here a lot of people will see us and enable us to release a second album over here and get on a label or have someone help us and promote us in a different country, which would be sweet.

iheartthemusic: Canada is your first choice then?

Joel: I think a lot of the bands here are similar to what we do. I mean, if we can get anyone like Alexisonfire to tour with or even get people who listen to them listen to us, that would be awesome! That’s what we are hoping for!

iheartthemusic: What has been the biggest culture shock for you so far?

Peter: Definitely the cold weather was a bit of a culture shock because we just came from 40 degree weather for two weeks straight. We had bush fires and stuff everywhere. It does beat down on you so much, so it’s been good to get out and into the sub zero weather. I am kind of sick of it now though.

Simeon: The food is also totally different here. You go to McDonalds and there is maple syrup on your egg and bacon McMuffin and you don’t expect that. Everyone is so obsessed with coffee here as well! Tim Hortons is intense man, there are so many of them.

Joel: I’m excited about lots of different beers. In Australia there are not that many good beers.

iheartthemusic: You have Foster’s though!

Joel: It’s horrible stuff.

iheartthemusic: Apparently it’s number one in the UK!

Joel: Really? I feel sorry for them.

Peter: I have to give props to all the cab drivers here. They are rad. Back in Melbourne they suck, they won’t pick you up. You stand on the side of the street for a minute here and wave your hand and they pull over for you. Back in Melbourne you do that for an hour and they drive right by.

Simeon: We did walk past a place called The Jerk Spot and thought that was pretty funny.

iheartthemusic: How would you describe your live performance?

Peter: Amazing!

Adrian: Energetic and tight probably. All the bands we grew up listening to were super tight, both the Australian and international bands, and so if we want to compete with them we have to work really hard to keep our songs at album quality or better.

Joel: We also try and give people something to watch. So we move around, jump around and hopefully get the crowd involved as well, hence the word energetic. We don’t like to go see bands where they just stand there and play music.

Simeon: If there is nothing to watch then you might as well be at home listening to the CD. It’s the whole reason you go to a live show, to see a show.

iheartthemusic: Anything you want to add for your Canadian fans?

Peter: Canadians are the nicest people ever. They rock.

Simeon: They smoke more weed than we have ever come across! Thanks for being so nice, even people that we would never expect to know who we are and just see that we are tourist, they stop and ask us where we want to go and give us directions. A big thank you because you have been super nice.

Joel: Hopefully next time we come to Canada you can come watch us!

These guys put on a stellar show during CMW that had the whole house rocking out or handbanging along to their tunes. We wish them all the best and hope that we will see them soon back in Canada! Check them out on their MySpace!

photography provided by Matt Vardy

One of the bands that I was really pumped to see perform on the Take Action Tour was Every Avenue. Now I have to admit, before they came to Toronto I had never heard of them.  How could I be excited to see a band I’d never heard of before?  Because I did my research and my ears were pleasantly surprised by what they heard. The band which formed in Michigan in 2004 consists of David Strauchman (vocals/piano), Josh Randall (guitar), Jimmie Deeghan (guitar/backup vocals), Matt Black (bass/backup vocals) and Michael Govaere (drums). They released their first full length album last year entitled Shh…Just Go With It and have been on countless tours since, including a recent trip to the UK opening for Boys Like Girls. I was lucky enough to catch up with Matt and Josh backstage after the show where we shared some fan moments and a nice CANADIAN beer.

iheartthemusic: How’s the tour going so far?

Josh: It’s been great so far, it’s only day four so we are still early in the tour, but all the other bands are really nice.  We’ve actually toured with Breathe Carolina before so it was great to see them on the bill as well.

Matt: Usually on a tour there’re like maybe five days to a week where there is this awkward period between the bands who don’t know each other and then you kind of get to know them and then you’re good after that first week. But with this tour it’s been like that from the first night, everyone was just best friends so it’s been going great.

iheartthemusic: Have you been to Toronto before this tour?

Matt: Yah, we played here a couple of months ago with All Time Low, which was awesome, and then last summer we did Warped Tour here. So this is our third time to Toronto.

iheartthemusic: Any crazy tour stories you want to share?

Josh: Nothing that we can put in print because my mom will read this.

iheartthemusic: Off the record maybe??

Josh: Let’s just say it’s been crazy…

iheartthemusic: Ok we’ll leave it to our imaginations! So explain how Every Avenue came together.

Josh: That’s an interesting question. We’ve been around since maybe 2004, but we’ve had a few reincarnations of the band over the years.

Matt: Josh and I were in a band in the summer of 2004 and Every Avenue was kind of just starting. At the time it only consisted of two people:  Mike and Dave. They were playing shows around the same area where we were and so we started playing shows with them and when our band broke up they grabbed Josh up and it went off from there.

iheartthemusic: Has touring helped introduce you to some new bands?

Josh: Pretty much every tour we end up being pretty impressed with a lot of bands that we are out with. You learn to appreciate all different kinds of music as well. Like Breathe Carolina is a band that is kind of different from the stuff that I normally listen to but I love them now.

iheartthemusic: Any particular musical influences?

Josh: We each have our own personal influences but as a band I would say The Police, The Cars, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Eat World.

Matt: Its kind of weird because I feel the five of us have artists that we listen to that are similar but for the most part we kind of branch out into different musical genres. Like, what I would sit down and listen to is probably completely different than say what Jimmie would sit down and listen to.

Josh: Matt is like the rap guy, I’m like the folk guy. We’re all over the place, but we appreciate everything.

iheartthemusic: Being on all these tours you  have to at leat have one crazy fan moment that you can share with us?

Matt: Not really from this tour, I mean sure, give it some time and something crazy will happen. Although in the past we have had some people give us some weird gifts and we were just like, “what is this?” Like last Valentine’s Day we were in Philly and these girls, who honestly couldn’t have been over like 14, made us these very sexually explicit Valentine’s cards. One for each person in the band!

Josh: They wrote things that made even me blush! I’m not offended easily and I was even just like, “this is awkward!” Another kind of weird fan moment  is when people know so much about you and you’ve never met them. Like at Bamboozle last year, I had just broken up with my girlfriend at the time and so many people were asking “what’s going on with you and Ashley?”

iheartthemusic: Well that’s what happens when you are famous, I guess! Speaking of fame, has there been a defining moment where you felt like you had made it?

Matt: I’ve had a few moments when I’ve been like, “wow we are at a place we’ve never been before where people know our songs.” I think for me I kind of got the “whoa” feeling when we went to Japan and just walking down the street people knew our name and would come up and talk to us and know stuff about us. My thinking was, “how does anybody in this country know who we are?” To me we are still this tiny band…I don’t get it.

Josh: I think personally there are a lot of small steps to fame and it’s so gradual but when you look back you really appreciate it. We look back and appreciate everything. Like we can’t even believe we are in Toronto and playing to this many people! Our mentality is like “we are just a band from Michigan and write songs in a garage.” We still appreciate everything and can’t believe we’ve come even this far.

iheartthemusic: So then what would that next step be for you guys?

Josh: In a year I’d like to see Elvis Costello and The Police opening up for us. I’d like to be more along the lines of Elton John and Sean Connery and be knighted [laughs].

Matt: Yah, I’d like to be knighted and be Sir Matt.

Josh: We have a new album that will be coming out this year. We’re just in the process of writing that right now and so far we have, like, 14 songs done so it should be out by this summer. We’re really excited about that.

Matt: In the next year I’d like to see us have a successful headlining tour. I think that that would confirm a lot to me. I mean every tour we’ve done we’ve always been the opening band. Even if a lot of people are actually singing the songs, you don’t know if they are coming to the show to see you or if they came to see the headliner and just happen to know a couple of your songs. So that for me would be something that I would hope we could get to.

iheartthemusic: Anything you want to tell your Canadian fans out there that they might not know about you?

Josh: I snore pretty bad sometimes.

Matt: In like the last week people keep saying, “you were snoring pretty loud last night” and I never snore! So my advice to our Canadian fans would be don’t drink and then sleep on your back because apparently that is what causes you to snore. It’s a recipe for disaster!

Josh: I want to say to our Canadian fans honestly thank you so much. That’s all I can really say. I can’t believe I’m playing in Toronto and a lot of people in the crowd know our songs. Songs that we wrote in my basement! It’s surreal that anyone knows our songs. Kids come out to shows and buy our merch and that’s just awesome!

iheartthemusic: If you want more of Every Avenue then be sure to check them out on their MySpace:

www.myspace.com/everyavenue

photography provided by Matt Vardy, www.mattvardy.com