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

SUNRiSER are asking many questions these days, but the one that stands out the most corresponds with their recent album titled Is This a Good Life?.  Having had the opportunity to do tours across Canada, the UK and Ireland (which was made easier by bandmates actually being from that part of the world) the title of their recent album appears to be fitting for this up-and-coming act. They just played an amazing set at the PEACE DOT LOVE Music Festival during NXNE and are currently travelling to promote the recent addition to their musical accolades.

iheartthemusic: Your band consists of a bunch of guys from all over the world, how did you all meet then?

Davey: It was a lot of things happening at the right time really. We’ve all got our own stories of how we all met; some guys are online, some guys are friends of friends, some guys through other bands. Just the fact that we managed to stick it out this long together, we take pride in that.

Declan: I was online. I came here in 2001 and went online and the  lads were advertising for a bass player so I met the guys and then that was it.

iheartthemusic: You guys got very lucky then! So let’s talk a little bit about this album- what was the recording process like?

Declan: It was recorded in Toronto.

Saam: We did the drums and bass in Toronto. Most of the vocals were done in preproduction.

Darryl: It took about a year and a half- it was a long process!

iheartthemusic: Often times bands find the recording process very  strenuous. Are you a band that are more partial to playing live than recording?

Darryl: I am totally live as opposed to recording. These guys love it, but I love live.

iheartthemusic: In the age of digital downloads; were you apprehensive at all to come out with a new album?

Davey: Yes.

iheartthemusic: So why not just do the download thing?

Sean: Well we have both. I think just old school wise it’s nice if you are going to  a show that you have something to take home with you.

Darryl: At the end of the day you might as well just have both!

Declan: You can’t go home with an MP3! [laughs]

iheartthemusic: How was it touring overseas?

Declan: It’s different in every country for me. In Canada there are so many places  and so the advantage of touring in Ireland and the UK is you can play in a lot more places in a faster time. Canada is just geographically massive and so is incredibly different.

Darryl: St.Johns, Newfoundland is the best place in Canada!

Declan: iTunes and MySpace have made it so accessible for fans from all over the world to research you and get in contact with you which is great!

iheartthemusic: So I am assuming you’ve jumped on the twitter bandwagon too!

Darryl: Yeah we have.

Davey: There are only so many hours in the day to update all these social networking tools! It’s like an hour out of your day sitting at your computer!

iheartthemusic: What has been your favourite venue to play at in Toronto?

Davey: We have a really good relationship with The Horseshoe and the vibe and history of that place is awesome. It’s a great room. We also really enjoy The Mod Club. You know it’s a newer place but its really band friendly which is cool.

iheartthemusic: I love seeing shows at The Mod Club, so its nice to hear that a band enjoys playing there too!

Davey: Yeah, I mean the “dives” are cool and you can’t turn your back on that but when you show up at a really posh place it’s a nice treat too.

Saam: Supermarket is nice as well because it is a more intimate vibe and you get a nice connection with the audience.

Declan: But the history of The Horseshoe is pretty intense- I mean you can feel it when you walk into the place.

Darryl: Everyone gets treated the same too. It doesn’t matter if you are The Rolling Stones or  us- we are all in the same room, walking up the same stairs and getting treated the same.

iheartthemusic: Absolutely! Has there been anyone that you were able to play with that blew you away?

Darryl: French Kicks from New York were pretty cool.

Davey: We are certainly hopeful that with the release of this new album we will be able to play with some of these bands that we idolize. That’s sort of where we are at and the place that we want to go.

iheartthemusic: What made you guys decide to play for  PEACE DOT LOVE?

Saam: A friend of mine had been to a few shows and enjoyed them and her friend was actually organizing the festival and then it turns out that a couple of our friends knew the two guys that got killed. So they basically got in touch with us to play.

Davey: It’s also got some other great bands playing, its at the Kool Haus and we’ve never played there before so that is cool. We are pretty honoured to be a part of it. We feel pretty lucky.

Darryl: It’s one of the best things that musicians can do. They are always the first to answer the call, I think. I believe that musicians have a pretty good social conscience.

iheartthemusic: Tell us something that people woudn’t know about SUNRiSER.

Declan: I think musically we are kind of diverse. There are different elements to our sound that other bands don’t usually have.

iheartthemusic: You have to have some stories along your travels that you can share?

Darryl: Well in Manchester we ruined our rental van.

iheartthemusic: Partying?

Declan: Yeah, you could put it that way! It was the most expensive tour ever!

Darryl: We will just say that we had a band member that decided to get the party going in the van before we got home. The cleaning bill was huge and let’s just leave it at that!

iheartthemusic: After this album release what’s the plan?

Declan: We will be going out East supposedly in July.

Davey: We aren’t able to do it all at once, so we are going to handle the East coast in July and then Ontario/Quebec in August and then take it as it comes for September.

Darryl: Hopefully we can head back to the UK at the end of September.

New Music Night at The Horseshoe is always guaranteed to be a good time, no matter who is playing. This past Tuesday (March 10^th) was no exception. iheartthemusic ventured in the rain to check out the all-star lineup set to play and open up Canadian Music Week. The night began with Vancouver’s own Bend Sinister. Having not played in Toronto for more than two years, these guys proved to be a great kickstart to Canadian Music Week. They captivated the crowd with their jazz-inspired rhythm and lead singer Dan’s voice was hard to miss. They began their set with “The News,” the first song off their album Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers. Having listened to this album many times, I felt as though I was somewhat of an expert on their music, and I have to say, their live performance is better than anything I’ve listened to on my iPod. So many bands just don’t cut it live, but the boys from Bend Sinister show that real talent is still alive and kicking! Lead guitarist Joseph was incredible and his solos were unmatched by anyone else the rest of the night (not to mention the splits that he managed to pull off on stage!). It was a great change to not have to write much as the performance was THAT good.

Next on the lineup was the female foursome Machetes, who were up for a challenge after Bend Sinister’s performance. I had heard good things about these ladies, so I was excited to see what they had in store for us. After listening to their MySpace page, I got the impression that their sound was an acquired taste, which isn’t good for a picky eater like myself. They started with a song that contained the lines “why don’t you go fuck yourself” many times.  It was an odd choice to start off with, but it related well to their tough-girl persona. After about the fourth song I felt as though I had pressed repeat on my stereo with each song sounding like the next. Despite this, I have to admit that they were clearly talented, especially Alana Devee, the lead guitarist. She is a musician that will give the boys a run for their money and at one point attempted to play the guitar on her back (and managed to successfully!).

The band that I was quite excited to see perform goes by the name of Walter Mitty and The Realists and they hail from Limerick, Ireland. The name may sound familiar, for they were here in the fall for Indie Week and ended up walking away winning the whole thing! Well, they are back and eager to showcase their talent and show Canadians the reason why they won. These guys proved that there is amazing musical talent coming from overseas. Lead singer Niall MacTaidng (don’t ask me how to pronounce that one) started the show by painting football-like stripes under his eyes – I am assuming to suggest that they were ready for battle and battle they did blowing everyone away with their high-energy performance and, of course, incomprehensible accents. Niall proved he was a force to reckon with as he danced spastically about the stage and even joined the crowd below at one point. They used an array of different musical instruments during their set including a cowbell and, my personal favourite, bongos! At one point a drunken bystander got on stage and started to preach some incoherent gibberish, however this did not faze the boys at all, which makes me assume that this is probably a common occurrence in Ireland. They ended their set with a song called “Lie in the Summer” which is my new favourite song and was a combination of fast and slow syncs that flowed seamlessly together. Call it the luck of the Irish or whatever you want, these boys proved that they deserve to be here and with the 500 plus bands playing this week, this is one that you won’t want to miss. They are playing a plethora of dates starting tonight (Thursday, March 12) at The Hideout at 7:30pm. For more tour dates or to have a listen check out their MySpace.

Happy CMW!

photography provided by Kristin McCormack