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

When you think of Newfoundland, specific things come to mind: fishing, the sea, fish, water…you get the idea. What normally doesn’t come to mind is music (sorry Great Big Sea lovers). This is all changing however, as there appears to be such an influx of amazing acts coming out of the east coast these days, that that stigma is rapidly evolving. This is where Hey Rosetta! step in. Hey Rosetta! are a six-piece hailing from St. John’s, Newfoundland who have been able to break out of their small hometown and make it big time all over Canada. With the release of their 2007 EP Plan Your Escape, these friends were followed with eager ears as they toured and tried to make a name for themselves in the “big city”. Well they certainly made an impact during that time and have since released their full length album Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your ) which saw them grab three East Coast Music Awards, album of the year at The Verge Music Awards and most recently a Polaris Music Prize nomination (for the second time). It appears as though there is no stopping this group and we got the chance to speak with lead vocalist Tim Baker to hear how they handle this new found fame.

iheartthemusic: You guys have had a tremendous year so far, including being nominated again for the Polaris Prize. What was your reaction to hearing you had been recognized?

Tim: I was certainly expecting not to win it given the competition. I mean I didn’t think we really deserved to win. I don’t know much about the Fucked Up record so I can’t really comment on that, but I wasn’t really particularly surprised hearing what I’ve heard about the record and how forward thinking and new and groundbreaking it is. Polaris seems to be in the business of awarding that, which I think is great.

iheartthemusic: How did it feel to win Album of the Year last year at The Verge Awards and what has that money done for you as a band?

Tim: It was great and very surprising. A pleasant shock and it has done a lot. The money itself took us to Australia on tour and we got a trailer that we can stash our gear in. It certainly didn’t take long to spend all that money but it was extremely helpful. The publicity of it has just given the record sort of a second life, which I think is extremely helpful. This is what these awards are about really. Also, just being rewarded for work was excellent.

iheartthemusic: What I found interesting to hear is that you don’t actually listen to music yourself. Can you give us the lowdown on that statement?

Tim: It is a bit of an overstatement. I mean I listen to music, but I’ve never really been an avid music listener and I never really went to shows. I saw maybe three or four bands play in my life before I started this [Hey Rosetta!]. I grew up in St.John’s and I didn’t hang out with people who were into music. I was the only musician in our group of friends. It was just something I did because I liked it and was also skilled as a piano player. I don’t know how to play anyone else’s songs, I mean the simple ones I could learn but I enjoy making stuff up.

iheartthemusic: This album was the first time that you didn’t take recording to the bedroom- literally! How was that?

Tim: This album was recorded in The Sonic Temple; a really nice recording studio in Halifax. It was a great experience. A little rushed though as it took only two weeks. There are a lot of tracks on thealbum so it was kind of stressful, but we tried to keep calm and confident.

iheartthemusic: Well clearly it payed off!

Tim: Apparently two weeks was enough time then! [laughs]

Hey Rosetta! play two sold out shows at the Horseshoe this weekend; Friday, December 4th and 5th w/ Julie Fader and La Strada

photography provided by Sara Collaton

Metric have garnered much attention with the release of their most recent album Fantasies. The success of this album is due in part to each member going their own way for a short while and eventually coming back together to record and produce an album that is as loved on the mainstream as it is amongst the underground music community. Following the success of their 2005 album Live it Out, Fantasies is an album that is deeply personal to the members of the band and it is this undeniable connection that has enabled Metric to be recognized both within North America and abroad. During their recent stop in Toronto for both the Polaris Music Prize and the Verge Music Awards (to which they were nominated for both) we sat down and chatted with James Shaw and Emily Haines about what this success has meant to them and what it has been like going the independent route this time around.

iheartthemusic: First off, congratulations on your nomination for the Polaris Music Prize and at the Verge Music Awards!

James: Thank you!

iheartthemusic: One thing that I read about you that I found really interesting was the fact that your previous album [Live It Out] took you something like ten weeks to record and Fantasies took significantly shorter. Why did you decide to take your time with this album?

James: I think it was just mostly that we didn’t feel like we were under any sort of time frame. We didn’t want to let something out that we weren’t happy with, so we literally just kept working on it and working on it until it was the record that we wanted and that took a lot more than ten weeks. It was really gratifying while making the record because it gave us time to explore and do things musically that were different than our previous album. For instance, one song alone could take a few weeks just simply because we were trying out different versions and feeling out which one felt really good to us and which one felt like it was crossing a weird line musically. It’s hard to develop and figure out who are, what you are doing and what you like.

ihearttthemusic: Would that be a strategy that you would repeat with the next album?

James: I can’t really see us going back to making records in as short a period of time as possible, but I also couldn’t see us taking that long. It will probably be somewhere in between.

iheartthemusic: I watched an interview you did where you mentioned that this album felt like it was “right for the time” and what is going on in the world right now. It seems to me like there are a lot of bands that try to build up this political message and incorporate it into their music. Is that something that you have in the back of your mind when you are writing?

James: I feel like what we were probably talking about was the way that we were releasing the album; the fact that we spent a lot of time getting all of our rights back and really focusing on building our own record label and ultimately releasing the record ourselves all over the world. I feel like that is a really timely thing to do because,  right now, everyone in the music industry is standing waiting for the wind to change direction. I mean they don’t really know which way it is going to go and so they are holding all their chops waiting to see what is going to happen. I feel like there is a lot of stagnant people in the industry and we are trying to bravely move forward wherever we can and I feel like it’s an interesting time to do that. There aren’t that many people making bold moves right now and you get noticed for doing it because there isn’t a lot of movement in that direction. It feels really good. It feels like it was not only timely but it’s working for us.

iheartthemusic: Yeah, I was going to ask you if you were in fact seeing results through self-releasing the album?

James: It’s going great! Our album is doing up to ten times better than the ones in the past were which was over a four year period and it’s only been four months with this one! It feels really empowering for us to sort of like make all of our own decisions and feel like when we make mistakes it is our mistakes and there is no one to blame but ourselves and when we make good decisions, we can congratulate ourselves and do it rightfully so.

iheartthemusic: Do you feel more pressure to succeed then?

James: Yeah, definitely.

iheartthemusic: Back-to-back nominations with the Polaris Music Prize and then the Verge Award is impressive, especially because both awards are very different. I was wondering whether one fairs better for you as an artist since the Polaris Music Prize is chosen by music “experts” and the Verge Awards are chosen by fans?

James: Both realms exist: there are blogs and there is Rolling Stone Magazine and there are fans. As long as everyone has a vague understanding of what each one is and what the actual award is and what it means, then it is all kind of cool.

iheartthemusic: Where would the extra cash go if you [had] won the awards?

Emily: Financially, it would go into our neighbourhood studio where a lot of local musicians work. We co-own it with Sebastian Grainger and so many great artists have worked there. It is really a community based thing so if we win it will go straight back into that.

Metric play a double header with The Stills at Massey Hall on October 20th and 21st.

photography provided by Sara Collaton