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

So I’m going to be completely honest here and tell you that I was sooo looking forward to Friday, February 6th and let me tell you why. Firstly, I got to see probably my two favourite Canadian bands out there right now play on the SAME stage at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern. I believe you know who I am talking about: The Waking Eyes and the Arkells. Secondly, iheartthemusic got to sit and chat with them before the show. And lastly, I got to do all this on my birthday. I really couldn’t ask for anything better! Let’s start with our chat with The Waking Eyes.

The Waking Eyes formed in 2001 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, however they seem to spend so much time in the T.dot that I am dubbing them honorary Torontonians. The band consists of Rusty Matyas (vocals, guitar), Joey Penner (bass), Matt Peters (vocals, guitar) and Steve Senkiw (drums). Although in all honesty I wouldn’t even go by their allocated sections in the band as they seem to magically be able to play a plethora of instruments! We spoke with Rusty before the show and here is what he had to say:

iheartthemusic: So correct me if I’m wrong but you formed because of two bands dismantling?

Rusty: Yeah, one of them is still together actually. Matt and Steve were in a band called The Pets and I was a massive fan. Their album is still, like, my favourite album from Manitoba. So I approached them in this local bar in Winnipeg – its called The Toad in the Hole – and as I was approaching them I was so nervous to talk to them! So I walked up and was like “hey guys do you think you could record an album of my songs?” Their response was crazy, they said, “Wow, weird, we just broke up as a band and were going to ask you if you wanted to start a new band with us.” So it was totally serendipitous – The Waking Eyes were born and it’s just been awesome.

iheartthemusic: Your most recent album entitled Holding On To Whatever It Is came out in the fall both digitally and on vinyl and CD format, was there a reasoning behind these choices?

Rusty: There is a resurgence of a love for vinyl. I’ve personally always had it and collect old and new vinyl. Now when you purchase vinyl it usually comes with a download card because nowadays everyone has iPods so nobody really needs CDs anymore. All CDs go onto your laptop and then onto your iPod anyway. So with vinyl you have this huge tangible thing and then you also have it on your iPod. So we kind of just told our label that we were putting it on vinyl.

iheartthemusic: Was it a struggle to get that?

Rusty: Actually, there was somebody at the label who wasn’t too keen on the idea and then the president of Warner was like “no, you know what, these guys really want their record on vinyl, it’s coming out on vinyl”. I was like “wow thanks.” He was super nice about it. It comes with a free download card too!

iheartthemusic: This new album seems to have tons of variation in terms of instruments and sound from one song to the next. Was this done on purpose?

Rusty: Yah, I guess so. I mean, by nature, we are all a little bit psychotic – we have short attention spans. But everybody nowadays have short attention spans too. Nobody wants to hear the same sounding 12 songs, they are more into a mix tape type of thing. We’ve never really been like that naturally, our last record was sort of like a garage record, but this time we wanted to branch out and accept the fact that we are four guys who all write songs and play lots of instruments and like tons of different music. We wrote about 120 songs for this record and then just picked the best 12. It didn’t matter what they were and from there we let them blossom into whatever parts or instruments sounded the best. So somehow it managed to be cohesive but still a little crazy and all over the place, but I like that. It keeps it interesting.

iheartthemusic: You guys have been lucky enough to tour all over Canada already, but is there anywhere else in the world you might like to go?

Rusty: We’ve been to Germany and the UK already. Germany was really good. UK was tough because there is a lot of real “coolness” going on over there and we were just some Canadian garage rockers. I think for this new album we’ve sort of matured and our sound is more and a little bit less defined. We’ve just grown into a sound and grown into an aesthetic that we like and think it would probably be better accepted in the UK next time around.

iheartthemusic: But first this amazing cross-country tour with the Arkells, you must be pumped!

Rusty: Yah, we are playing like 10 shows in Ontario and then head out west to Vancouver Island. This is the first show that is actually sold out… but it’s not just our credit, it’s the Arkells too. It’s a co-headlining tour but we switch off every day.

iheartthemusic: How did you guys come together?

Rusty: Actually, the first time we met them was when they were on tour with Matt Mays in November. They couldn’t make it to one show so we filled in as the opening slot and that was sort of our first contact/connection with them. Then they were looking for a tour in February and so it just kind of worked out. It feels great and right – I mean we are only two shows in but both shows have been pretty decently attended.

iheartthemusic: Has the crowd differed between both bands at all?

Rusty: Same type of crowd and same type of guys. Actually, the first night someone came in for an interview and said, “we’re looking for The Waking Eyes” – we had JUST met these guys [Arkells] like five seconds before and they were like, “oh yah, I’m Rusty” and the other guy’s like, “yah I’m Matt and we’re The Waking Eyes.” So we left and they ended up doing half of the interview as us. But we’re nice guys so we had to go in and tell them the truth. We essentially have the same kind of humour – that’s why we got along with them immediately. So we know its going to be a great tour.

iheartthemusic: We hear that you have another member joining you on this tour as well?

Rusty: Yah, we have a fifth member with us right now. His name is Bucky, he’s filling in some guitar and keyboards and bongos (he plays it amazingly). So that adds a new exciting layer to the tour.

iheartthemusic: Well, we are definitely looking forward to this tour and seeing what you boys get up to along the way! Any favourite spots in Toronto you like to play at?

Rusty: Uhhh, honestly probably The Horseshoe. Every time we play here there are always people – whether they are here to see us or not. The staff are really nice to us and it just feels like the centre of where you want to be playing and I like it.

iheartthemusic: Is there a particular venue that you aspire to play at?

Rusty: I mean the Air Canada Centre is alright. We played at The Sound Academy before and that was really great. The sound system in there is just amazing. They’ve got this PA in there that is like 15 feet on the sides, it’s pretty awesome. Other than that I don’t know – giant theatres?!

iheartthemusic: So you must come to Toronto quite often then.

Rusty: Yah, in the last six months we’ve been here more than home. I do miss home but as soon as you are there you get into this Winnipeg zone and it’s a bit of a rut – but it’s my rut. We are also appreciating and enjoying the time we get to spend traveling. Really, it’s amazing that we can do this.