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

Everybody was excited for CHARTattack’s CMF showcase on Thursday night at the Horseshoe, and for good reason. Whipping together some of the best raw talent that Canadian music has to offer, the night consisted of performances by Magneta Lane, Amos The Transparent, Green Go, Hollerado, The Besnard Lakes, Great Bloomers and Arietta. It was a palpable plethora of the many shades of the indie music scene and (luckily) they all basked in the bright light of victory that night.

Amos The Transparent took to the stage first (we missed openers Magneta Lane). Here is a mid-level indie band capturing the hearts of audiences everywhere, probably because they play with so much of it. Kicking off their set with “Catch and Release”, you couldn’t help but venture to the pit in want of becoming part of this 6-member musical family. Going back and forth between their traditionally slower, almost emo-pop sound, to lengthened bridges and intensified jam sessions, Amos’ live performance is filled with nice surprises; layers of sound, beautifully held harmonies, pan-band vocals, call and answer sequences with the crowd, and even friendly sing-a-longs onstage with friends as seen during the tail end of “Greater than Consequence”, creating one of those inexplicable, tingly concert moments.

I don’t even want to review Green Go. I just want you to go see them, and by the looks of the audience, so do they! This electro-pop dance party machine is meant for the stage. Even the most brooding of hippies awaiting The Besnard Lakes couldn’t help but bust a move – no matter how teeny it was. A decidedly awesome, pumped up mix (think Arcade Fire meets Talking Heads meets Fujiya and Miyagi), Green Go has excavated their own super sound through duet-styled vocals, tons of synth, commanding lyrics, undeniable creativity, and a full band behind ‘em- including a really, really tight drummer. Turning the mainstream into electro (even the haters) one audience at a time.

Hollerado came out like fire with front-man, Menno busting out the windmill and immediately declaring “I’m outta tune and I fucking love it!”.  Their energy un-chartable, the drum solos possibly un-re-creatable, the fist pumps from the audience definitely un-stoppable, Hollerado make a sledgehammer to the head feel like a walk in the park. With hard riffs, incredible pace, tons of sweat, they still manage to deliver catchy melodies which, coupled with their straightforward lyrics, make sing-alongs and clapping sequences possible. These guys define power pop. The only thing missing were the drunk, shirtless babes whipping their sweaty bras on stage. The album does not do justice to the spectacle that is Hollerado. Go see them. Oh yeah, and the lead singer horked on himself.

The Besnard Lakes were next on the bill. Not much to say that hasn’t already been said about them, however the crowd appeared to dwindle a bit once they hit the stage..??

**this is the point where our photographer’s camera died. Sorry!**

Great Bloomers are hard to pigeon-hole. Not your typical country, rock or even alt folk, but rather a little of each. Throw in the piano and some beautifully-crafted melodies, mix in the refreshing hooks and the 5-member harmonies, add a little orchestral twang, and a pinch of grit of and you’ve got a splendid musical salad perfect for those interested in feeling good while digesting. From songs of foot-stomping quality (“Speak of Trouble”) to sounds reminiscent of old Broken Social Scene (“This Aint You”) but with stronger vocals, Great Bloomers are a band you’ll want to see again and again. Even though the crowd thinned out before their set began, both the remaining fans and the band fed off of this more intimate, highly pleasurable atmosphere.

As reviewed by Brittany Smith

photography provided by Renee Rodenkirchen

Still Life Still are a band from Toronto via East York who formed nearly a decade ago. Their debut album Girls Come Too, has garnered them acclaim from both the media and fans alike, but it is their live show where they truly shine. The connection of having played together for so many years makes watching them perform live such a treat. Comprised of Brendon Saarinen (guitar/vocals), Eric Young (guitar/vocals), Derek Paulin (bass), Aaron Romaniuk (drums) and Josh Romaniuk (keys/percussion), this line-up has virtually remained the same since their humble beginnings, which is a true testament to their dedication and determination as a band. It was a chance encounter with Kevin Drew of Arts&Crafts that spurned their musical careers into a success story virtually over night. We caught up with members (and brothers) Josh and Aaron before their album release at the Horseshoe to congratulate them and see how they felt about their recent stardom.

iheartthemusic: This has been a very exciting year for you guys! It feels like it has been one thing after another after another. Has there been one defining moment, in the past year, where you have stepped back and been like “wow this is really happening”?

Aaron: Yeah, I guess it took a while to set in. Now it feels a lot more real than it ever was.

iheartthemusic: So how long did it take to get where you are today?

Aaron: Ten years we’ve been a band. We’ve had the name Still Life Still for eight, but it has always been the core four.

Josh: I have only been in the band for five years. We [points to Erin] are brothers so when we grew up they [Still Life Still] would jam in the basement and I would hear them everyday and then eventually I was like I want to join the band!

Aaron: I begged him for years!

iheartthemusic: What I was really curious to find out was if Arts&Crafts was always a label that you strived to be a part of?

Aaron: That was the dream label, but we never really thought our genre was compatible with them. As we progressed and our songs progressed, it got closer to that. It seemed though, that they only signed bands that were with the “family” and stuff like that, but it has always been the one we wanted. We didn’t really hunt around at all; it just kind of fell into place. I like to think that it was just fate.

iheartthemusic: I think your story is exactly that and I think that that will give hope to bands that are just starting out. You get a lot of comparisons to Broken Social Scene, which is ironic since you thought that you didn’t fit the “Arts&Crafts” mold, so how does it feel to be put into the same category as one of the most popular indie Canadian acts?

Aaron: It doesn’t feel bad but it can get a little bit repetitive. It isn’t something that we are trying to shake off, I mean we love Broken [Social Scene] and always have and if you are going to compare us to them then go ahead!

Josh: Broken [Social Scene] get compared to a lot of bands because they sound like a lot of bands.

iheartthemusic: Who are some musical influences for you then?

Aaron: The bands that Kevin says we sound like we had never even heard of. The bands that we like automatically influence us. We have been listening to very heavy amounts of Arts&Crafts bands for a long time, but we  also listen to Animal Collective and all sorts of music.

iheartthemusic: Do you find that all of you have the same taste in music?

Aaron: It is definitely pretty similar. Every once and a while someone will be like “I love this band” and we are all like “that is shit” and then later on you find yourself listening to that band. Brendon is the wildest-he listens to the craziest music.

iheartthemusic: Like what?

Aaron: Noise music and just a lot of really weird experiental music.

iheartthemusic: I know this is a rather standard, boring question to ask, but I wanted to know what your band name meant to you?

Aaron: Our name came to be really randomly. We didn’t think too hard about it, we just liked the name “still life still”. Later on, thinking about what it actually means to us, I think it means that no matter what happens to you in your life or what is going on in the world it is still going to be life still no matter what. You are still trapped in this world and have to live here and accept it. So it is like living for the moment and no matter what happens it is still life, still.

iheartthemusic: Let’s talk about the recording process for Girls Come Too.

Aaron: Martin Davis Kinack has a studio hidden in the woods and is pretty much an old barn. It was kind of an experiment of Kevin’s where he was like “let’s go to Marty’s and record two songs in one weekend”. We didn’t bring any of our instruments, just the basics that we absolutely needed and then we started and banged out a song and then another one and then another one, and by the end of the weekend we had nine songs finished and everyone knew that this was the album. Essentially the album took six days in total and it was all live from the floor with everyone playing at the same time.

iheartthemusic: That’s awesome! Is that something that you would continue to do for the next album?

Aaron: Definitely! We really liked being in the comfort of our homes, instead of being in downtown Toronto. Once we got into the car and out of the city, we kind of left everything that was going on in the city and just focused on recording. It was like a winter wonderland up there. Freezing fucking cold, but it was great!

iheartthemusic: So what is your favourite song to listen to? To play live?

Aaron: I am loving “Neon Blue” right now to listen to and to play. I really like the vibe that I get from it and the vibe that we are sending out.

Josh: Favourite song on the album is “Flowers and a Wreath”. Favourite song to play is probably “Dance Cave” just because we usually open with it and it is really chill.

iheartthemusic: If you weren’t making music or being musicians what do you think you would be doing?

Aaron: I would probably teach the arts or something like that.

Still Life Still return to Toronto for a double header at Lee’s Palace on Saturday, September 26th and Sunday, September 27th.

Shoved in a little crowded space backstage at The Horseshoe Tavern, iheartthemusic got up close and personal with bandmates Tomas and Matt from indie rock band DD/MM/YYYY.  I chatted it up with the talented twosome about such things as their music (duh!) and their love of the old school Nintendo jams.  These two talented gents are making truly inspiring and unique music and their stage show is a must see.  Check out the Toronto indie rockers when you can, they will blow you away!

iheartthemusic: I really like your approach to music, which is kind of no approach at all, which works amazingly – not the same old shit.  Is there a method to your madness?

Tomas: We’ve been around for so long that there are so many different formulas. We always bring something to the music where someone will instigate something and someone will write a part. Like Mike, he’s an amazing bassist and when I present an idea to him on guitar he’ll write the perfect bass line and we evolve together; we learn how to play together and that’s the way we feel about drums too. When you have five guys constantly mixing like that the madness is that everyone has ideas and everyone wants to communicate them to each other and some just want to respond to an idea.  It’s complicated that way, but it’s not at the same time, it’s just like hanging out with your friends and saying, “I’ve been working on this idea, let’s try it!” and you do. We wrote the song “777″ so fast, the whole song is basically three two note cords that I play on guitar, but how we play it stretches out for the whole song and it changes but you wouldn’t even tell. 

iheartthemusic: Do you use the same formula for every album you make?

Tomas: We do the same thing, we just keep switching members.  For the first album it was just me on guitar and Matt on drums; one of our members Mocher wasn’t even in the band at the time.  So there is an evolution of our band that I think that anyone who has followed us for that amount of time is probably really aware of how much we’ve changed and how deliberate those changes are.

iheartthemusic: You guys are known for using non-conventional/abstract instruments.  What new instruments did you use on your most recent album Black Square?

Tomas: We use a lot of synthesizers, but the synthesizers aren’t really that unconventional, it’s just that we use delay pedals and certain layers like looping layers. I think the weirdest instrument we have is Mocher’s omnicord, which is like a keyboard with sonic strings that are not real stings but you can play them like a string and they have these little chords you can play like autochords.

iheartthemusic: Where do you find that?

Tomas: It’s kind of rare.  You can find it on the Internet on eBay or certain junk shops or trade shops. It’s a cool instrument! It’s not a cheap instrument either it’s got a really good personality for a synth. That’s the thing about our band, although we’re writing kind of weird music we’re actually using really traditional instruments. I play guitar and drums, Mike plays bass, we have a keyboard player and Jorden is a trained pianist… In a lot of ways we’re responding to the tradition of rock and roll.

iheartthemusic: And you use the other instruments to add depth to the traditional ones.

Tomas: Our sound is a bit more unique.  We’re doing these things like layering a guitar and a bass and a keyboard just like anyone else does but maybe it’s our rhythms that change the feel of them.

iheartthemusic: Also, and I don’t know if I’m saying this correctly, but don’t you guys change intervals throughout the song?

Tomas: I know what your saying, yeah, it makes sense. That’s also part of it, sometimes a part of a song just demands to be in a different time signature because of the feel and that’s a really personal thing. It’s complicated because there is so much of us in the music. I think the most successful thing about DD/MM/YYYY is that a lot of our personalities and sensibilities are in the music and those choices of time signatures aren’t just to be flashy or technical they’re there to insert more soul… I think our music is very danceable too, so it’s all about feel, if it’s moving you it’s successful that way.

iheartthemusic: I also hear you guys rotate roles? Do you just do that in your stage show or on the album as well?

Tomas: We rotate for our show and for the album.  Ultimately the big goal for DD/MM/YYYY is to be seen as a collective not unlike Broke Social Scene.  We have different music but we have very similar sensibilities in some regards.  In terms of music I’ve always loved drums and rhythm, I’ve always loved guitars and synthesizers. Oh look Matt is here!  Would you like to join the interview?

Matt: Sure.

Tomas: [Recapping what was said......]

Matt: I totally agree! [Laughs]

Tomas: Do you want to elaborate?

Matt: Well, I don’t want to be redundant, but some people say that your sound is defined by your limitations like how good you are.  Maybe if you’re really good at guitar you do a lot of guitar solos or something. So for the changing instruments, it’s like not all of us are as good at one instrument vs. the other, so the songs are bound to be different sounding.

iheartthemusic: You mention Frank Zappa as being an influence. What other things influence you, and it doesn’t have to be an artist or musician?

Matt: The answer is video games. We’re in the van all the time on tour and one of the dudes has an iPod with full out video games, people think we’re insane!

Tomas: All the good Nintendo music wasn’t made coincidentally it was made by a specific composer and I can’t think of his name at the moment.  The guy who made a lot of Nintendo music is a musical genius in a lot of ways because he incorporated all of these pop songs that have existed, they sound like Madonna or sound like Prince and then make them into a video game song that’s all just little synthesizers. It’s like DD/MM/YYYY, we’re incorporating all these pop influences and pop sensibilities and somehow converting them.

iheartthemusic: This is like old school Nintendo, right?

Matt: Yeah.  Like once you get into stuff like Play Station, you have Garbage on the soundtrack, like literally the band Garbage.

iheartthemusic: If you could choose, what is your most favorite thing to do: compose, tour, or make music videos?

Tomas: Write music.

Matt: Yeah, easily writing music.  You loose sight of it when you play if you play the same songs night after night. It’s still fun but it looses something.

Tomas: I don’t think that’s true, I think that sometimes you get a song after playing it certain amount of times, after sixty times you get that song finally,not how to play it but you begin to understand it as a musician or as a band member at least.

Matt: Let me rephrase, we’re a lot more giddy while we’re writing it and than afterward I still love the songs and everything but I don’t have that giddiness about it.

iheartthemusic: What do you want your fans to feel when they leave your gig?

Matt: Just like confusion I guess. I want people to be like “what was that?”.  My favorite is when someone says they liked it but they don’t know what happened.

interviewed by Kristen Tignanelli

photography by Joyce Wong

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