Saturday, April 7th, 2012 we had the chance to relax and chat with AJ & Cody of The Dangerous Summer in their van. The band was in town for the Toronto stop of the Terminatour with Ten Second Epic and Brighter Brightest at Sneaky Dee’s. We talked to the band about why they love Canada so much, life on tour, kickstarter, what’s next for the band and more.(AJ Perdomo: AP / Cody Payne: CP) So you guys have been on the Terminatour for a few weeks now how has it been going for you so far?
AP: Uh, few mishaps but overall first full run of Canada. Didn’t really get to touch these markets before so we are happy to get to them. Usually when you come up here you only get to see Toronto and Montreal how is it getting to see these smaller cities this time?AP: It’s weird. Definitely weird, Canada is a weird country. Not in a bad way though, it’s very small cities very different vibe. Toronto is very American and you can get out to a lot of American establishments. How has the reaction been in these new cities you did a lot of shows in the east coast?
AP: We had a really good reaction, we got out to Halifax; and we had a lot of surprising reactions in uh. CP: Even last night in St. Catherines. AP: Yea last night, everywhere in Ontario has been really big and really awesome. East was kinda like new but we had lots of fans that knew us out there. One of the things I see you guys actually come up here a lot, mostly to Toronto and Montreal; and even in your song Symmetry you mention Winnipeg. Why do you love to come up here so much?AP: I think we’ve always had a big Canadian fan base. I mentioned Winnipeg we actually have never played Winnipeg, I’ve just been there before and I used to see someone from there way back in the day. Other than that I don’t know the shows at like Sneaky Dee’s we play sold out and it’s amazing kids come out and actually really bring it. There is something about Canada that appreciates the music better than America does sometimes. On this tour you have seen a lot of Local opening bands, have there been any that have really caught your eye?AP: Not so much locals but Brighter Brightest on this tour have been one of the bands that we’ve talked about being one of the best bands in Canada right now. I think they have a lot of promise and a lot of stuff they can bring to the U.S. So, maybe a The Dangerous Summer, Brighter Brightest U.S. Tour?
AP: That would be awesome. You guys have been all over the world. Is there anywhere you still want to go to?AP: Asia. CP: Yea, Asia places like Japan stuff like that. AP: South America. CP: Mainland Europe. Is there any talk about those locations yet?
CP: Yea, there is talk it’s just the matter of getting promoters to want to bring you over, having a release coming out stuff like that. What goes into choosing a set list for a tour you are supporting rather than a headliner?
AP: I think we kind of just pick the songs that are like a mix of what we think are the best songs to give to a crowd and what people wanted to hear. Like this tour we played a lot of songs off of War Paint because we are supporting War Paint. Like this is the record cycle for War Paint we are trying to get everyone to go grab that album. It’s just weird because on a supporting tour we only get to play seven songs unlike in America where we get to play thirteen to fourteen songs, so you really have to cut it down people aren’t going to be completely happy no matter what. After this tour you go to the UK with Deaf Havana and than head to Australia with Tonight Alive. What are you plans after those two tours?AP: We have a big run coming up this summer and it also has to do with our kickstarter, we are filming a DVD and all sorts of stuff. We are also going to write and work on new stuff, we just have to keep writing it’s a touring business and as soon as you know it we have to go in and record the new album. Finally, still early in your careers but what message do you hope to leave your fans for years to come with your music?AP: I’ve always been about the whole stay positive vibe, you know the grass is always greener. Like I always try to keep a really positive vibe musically, like I hope our fans take away that in dark times just listen to our music and you will find something better. For more on ‘The Dangerous Summer’ check out the bands Facebook page. Catch the band this summer on their headlining tour with From Indian Lakes & New Empire.___by Joey Porpiglia
Iowa christian metalcore natives For Today were in town a few weeks ago at The Annex Wreckroom on their ‘Fight The Silence Tour’, before the show guitarist Ryan Leitru had some time to chat with us about the bands upcoming release “Immortal”, The 2012 Warped Tour, religion in music, and more.
This tour has been going on for about a month now. How is the tour going for you so far?
Tours been great man, this is our first headlining tour we’ve done in a while the last one being almost a year ago. So we’ve been having a really good time with it, all the bands on the tour are really nice guys and the shows have been well attended and a lot of fun every night. I can’t really complain it’s been a great time.
The tour is called ‘Fight The Silence’ what does that title mean to you?
Well for us it was kind of an idea our singer Mattie had, the idea being that there are so many bands with so many messages and so few of the messages actually have any sustainable value. So we have some companies that we back, one of them being Pick A Pocket; one of them being XXX-Church; and one of them being Come and Live, that are non-profit organizations that are doing a lot of cool things in the world and kind of making a positive impact on the world. The whole fight the silence thing is getting bands with some things to say and putting them on a tour and having people come to a tour and leave with some sort of greater knowledge that there are some things going on in the world that can be changed and that you can impact the world that you live in, positively or negatively and we are just hoping that they choose positively. So we are just providing the positive information so they can make a choice to impact the world.
Being that this is your headliner, and that this was Mattie’s idea in terms of the basis of the tour. Were you guys involved in choosing the bands and the charities that were going to be on this?
Yea we were involved. There were several other companies as well that were supposed to be down to come but they were unable to do to financial restrictions and things like that. One of them being Skate4Cancer which is actually a Canadian charity, and we know we love Rob and all those guys and hopefully we get to see him while we are out here.
You guys have a new album coming out on May 29th called “Immortal” can you tell us some of the differences and what fans should expect from this album?
Yea, this record for us, it’s a record that is a natural progression from the last record we did. Its got a little bit of all the elements that we’ve always done as a band, some of the guitar work is always there, like there is some new twists and things like what we’ve kind of thrown on to it. Different kinds of melodic parts and things like that were kind of thrown in. I just feel like it is a more mature record and that the song structures are a little more mature and as far as transitions and stuff like that it just flows a little more smooth. We are all really happy with the way it turned out, I think it is definitely our best record as far as from front to back, we are all really proud of every song and we did some cool interludes and things like that with violins and cellos and things of that nature it was kind of a new thing we had never done before, and kind of a new departure musically for us
What was the writing process like for this record? Do you guys concentrate on lyrics first or your instrumentals?
Every record has been a little bit different. Typically, like as far as lyrics go their usually the last thing to go, but also we spend some time talking about if there is a certain part that we want to make sure a song has and Mattie will let me know typically beforehand and than I’ll try to work that into the song. The way that the process was for this one was, my brother and I would typically meet each other either at my house in Oklahoma or his house in Ohio and we would kind of start writing and like demo stuff out on my computer or we would write and record stuff, and send it to everybody and get everybody’s opinion. Than people would make little changes and request things change a little bit here or there, so we would go back through and make those edits and than demo all of Mattie’s vocals after that, than do adjustments based on what his vocals did. So it’s kind of a little bit different thing as none of us live in the same area anymore, so kind of a more over the computer and over the internet sort of thing, and then we would jam it out a few times before we went and recorded it.
The album artwork has the ‘Big Ben Clock Tower’ in London involved. What’s the concept behind that?
Well, the whole idea for the record is that the Gospel of Jesus transcends time, it transcends culture, and it transcends all things it is an immortal Gospel. So the idea with the clock was time; through all of time, through all of history there have been perversions of the Gospel but the core message of the gospel remains the same and it has for over 2000 years and it will continue to 2000 years from now assuming that there are 2000 years to go. I mean it’s basically like an immortal, unchanging thing and the truth of the gospel will live on forever.
The first single off the record is ‘Fearless’; the song is like an anthem. What do you hope people take away from it?
The whole idea behind that song is knowing who your identity is and knowing that if you are rooted in Christ you have nothing to fear and no matter what comes against you, you will always have the strength to over come it. The whole song is kind of an empowering anthem to just encourage people to know that they don’t have to live in fear and they don’t have to be afraid of all the things that are going to be thrown at them and they have the ability overcome through Christ.
I hear a lot of bands and fans say that religion doesn’t belong in music. Being a Christian band how do you feel about that?
I think a lot of the religious spirit that people have seen demonstrated by their parents, by their grandparents and all that kind of is an unfair representation of what spirituality looks like. I think if you are a spiritual person it should impact you in everything you are and everything you do. For all of us our Christianity impacts who we are, it’s just who we are anything we do and anything we create; who we are is going to be put into that. So I don’t see there really ever being a separation because we are a people that are creating music based on who we are and who we are is followers of Jesus. I’ve always been a fan of bands that have something to say and there is a purpose beyond just being a band that makes music. For us I just don’t see a real difference, we are just sharing who we are and it’s kind of a take it or leave it thing, if you don’t want to listen to it you have the opportunity not to listen to it. We are just sharing who we are we’re not trying to pretend that we’re something that we aren’t and at the same time we are not going to dumb down who we are so people may like us more.
Can you tell people who don’t know what you guys will be embarking on this summer?
This summer we will be on our first Warped Tour, which will be going all through the U.S. and into Canada. It’s our first time on that tour and we are really looking forward to it, it’s a big opportunity for us and it’s a large group of people that may or may not we are and we can kind of reach out to a new crowd.
Are there any bands that you are looking forward to seeing live or meeting for the first time on the tour this summer?
This year there are a lot of bands that I grew up listening to and some of the other guys as well. Tons of bands like bands that got me into bands; bands like Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Bayside and all those bands that I grew up going to their shows. So I’m kind of excited to see them for the nostalgic value and I still enjoy their music. There is also a ton of our friends’ bands The Ghost Inside, Motionless In White and all those bands we’ve toured with. It’s almost going to be like summer camp to see friends that we normally don’t get to see much.
To finish up, is there a message you would like to give to your fans?
Yea, like our whole message with our band has kind of always remained the same is that the Gospel changes lives, it’s changed our lives and we believe if anybody is searching or is broken or is looking for truth is that they are going to find it in Jesus.
For more on ‘For Today make sure to check out the bands Facebook page. The band’s new album “Immortal drops May 29th on Razor & Tie Records be sure to pick it up and check the band out on this Summer’s Vans Warped Tour.
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Interview by Joey Porpiglia
Australian four piece band The Jezabels took the time to chat with LiveMusicTO before the set at Mod Club. The band consists of Hayley Mary (vocals), Heather Shannon (piano/keyboard), Nik Kaloper (drums), Samuel Lockwood (guitar). When did the band form and how did you all get together?
Hayley and Heather grew up together in Byron Bay and met Nik and Sam at Uni in Sydney in 2008. What were the initial plans in setting up the band and did you think you would end up travelling the world? We started as just a bit of fun, playing pubs and after a few shows we got really good responses. It was like a runaway train really. How did the band name come about? The name came about because the lack of ideas, Heather and Hayley have been playing under that name since high school. We couldn’t think of any other name and had such an attachment to that, so we kept it. Tell us about your genre of music, I have heard that you came up with your own?
It started as a joke posted on facebook by Sam. Then people started writing about it seriously. Nik says it’s now our self proclaimed genre of music “Intensindie”. Whatever you want to call it at the end of the day doesn’t really matter; we just do what we do. You received a lot of airplay on Triple J, a national radio station in Australia. You were an unearthed artist. Could you tell us more about that? Australia is unique really, because it has Triple J, it is a totally National radio station. I don’t think that there would be too many more examples of that around the world. Once they start to play your music you can virtually do a tour of Australia straight away. It’s really a big stepping-stone, once you tour Australia you learn how to be a real band and then can start to tour the world and hopefully pull it off. You have played with a few Canadian artists such as Tegan & Sarah & hey Rosetta, how was that? We are also about to do a tour through Australia next month with Lights. There is a bit of Canadian / Jezabels connection. Canada probably produces some of the best artists such as Neil Young, the audience here is really discerning. Our experience here has always been great. I love the clip for one of your singles “Endless Summer” what is the inspiration and story behind it? Also I bet you were hoping bet the horses don’t bolt. Lucky the horses were really tame and were joyride horses, not wild brumby’s. Nik and Sam had really small horses and Hayley had the big horse. Not sure how that worked. The song has a loose love interest thing happening like a Beauty & The Beast thing. We wanted to create a period piece and it worked really well. It is a connection between Australian legends and the “Endless Summer”. It was a lot of fun. You played SXSW last year, how did that impact on your exposure and following into North America?
Its funny really with the big showcase based events, its never like you play that one show and all the A&R reps are like, that’s the band lets sign them. Those things are good for putting your bands name in a few people heads so its more recognizable if you come back one day. We did 6 shows in 3 days so hopefully our music stuck in people’s minds. You are on tour now, where have you been and where to next? We have just come from a month through Europe and then back to Australia with Canadian artist, Lights as our support. Tell us of any interesting stories while you have been on tour. When we were in Montreal last time, Nik says that a guy came up to him after the show and said his son was learning to play the drums. I gave him my sticks and said to him to give them to your son. This time when I went back the same guy came back to the show and gave me two of his son’s favourite toys. The boy had given him to me in return. Thought that was really cool. The night before I scratched my chest and it wouldn’t stop bleeding all day, it finally stopped but half way through the set I noticed my shirt was all covered in blood. It was really weird. Has social media helped your band in any way?
Yes it has completely changed the game. It has created fans all over the world and opened up tour opportunities that would have been very difficult before. All of a sudden it puts you on peoples computers everywhere. You have also had one of your songs featured on Greys Anatomy. Yea that is really cool, Internet and TV is the new radio we think. It opens up many opportunities for bands. You can check out The Jezabels website for further information and news. www.thejezabels.com___ by Craig Winterburn
It was eleven o’clock on Easter Sunday when the Detroit based psychobilly trio Koffin Kats walked onto the stage. As I looked around the packed room of the Bovine Sex Club, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one who gave up on the egg search to come out and watch a night of great music. As soon as the Koffin Kats finished their sound check, they took their pre show shot and the in your face, hard-hitting music began. From start to finish they didn’t stop moving, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an upright bass used for so many acrobatic moves in my life. With Vic Victor taking the front on upright bass and vocals, the Koffin Kats delivered a perfect blend of aggressive punk and down to earth rockabilly. The show was as exciting to watch, as it was to hear.
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LiveMusicTO chats with Canadian musician and songwriter, Burton Cummings. He was the lead singer and frequent keyboardist for the Canadian rock band The Guess Who. During his 10 years in The Guess Who, from 1965 to 1975, he sang and wrote or co-wrote many songs including "American Woman," "No Time," "Share the Land," "Hand Me Down World," and "These Eyes" among others. His solo career includes many Canadian singles including "Stand Tall", "My Own Way to Rock" and "You Saved My Soul."  As a proud Canadian, what is your opinion on the state of the Canadian music industry today?
Way back in the 60’s when I first joined The Guess Who, I had just turned 18, and there really wasn’t
very much of a Canadian industry at all. In those days we used to joke about the fact that if a single sold 10, 000 units we’d break out the champagne. I think what really helped create the industry that we have today was the Canadian content ruling, CAN-CON.
Initially I spoke out loudly against that – even though I was biting the hand that feeds me rather well – but at that point I just didn’t think it was a cool thing for the government to be helping the artists, and I was yapping about how it made the artists look weaker. But, in the long term, once CAN-CON came into being a lot more producers and engineers came up to Canada from England and came up from the States and it really did help to create an industry that wasn’t there previously.
It’s a tremendous industry now, and it just didn’t exist that way when we were plowing away in the 60’s trying to cut some records. Now you can sell a million units here in Canada, but there was a time when Canadian artists really had to head for the States and Europe to make a living.
With the manor in which the music business has been deteriorating in recent years, do you think that the Canadian industry continues to have that kind of strength today, or do artists still need to head to the States and abroad to find international success?
No not anymore. You can now have a very nice career here in Canada, and its been proven over and over again. It’s so solidified now with the CAN-CON ruling and the airplay from coast to coast, if you get a record that really takes off in Canada it’s instantly from one end of the country to the other, from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland.
Today, thanks to the Internet it doesn’t matter where you come from anymore. Just look at Justin Bieber. Granted, he’s a bit of a different situation because he was initially something of an online phenomenon, but look at the level of success he’s had. That would have been impossible before the days of the Internet.
What is your opinion on the CBC closing their CD and vinyl archives?
Well, the CBC is famous for bonehead moves like that. The Guess Who did a weekly television show for two years, and rather than save the videotapes they just used them again and recorded over them. The CBC is just so bureaucratic. It’s been around for so long that it’s so set in it’s ways.
You know, the BBC in England did the same thing. They took Dudley Moore and Peter Cook who had wonderful shows, and they were all erased. It’s really a shame but you know the world keeps spinning and that’s the way it is.
You guys became popular during the cultural transition from the 60’s to the 70’s, and so to did your music. With music today being again in a period of transition, how do you think the experiences of young band’s coming up today stack up against what you guys went through 40 years ago?
Well, I’m a bit of an exception in a way because the songs that I wrote and sang have never gone away. I’m very lucky, and believe me when I say it I’m not trying to sound corny. I have that attitude of gratitude as I’m walking around because I still hear my songs on the radio every single day. For young guys coming up today the competition is worse. The population has almost doubled since we made it 40 years ago, and there are way more groups vying for the brass ring.
With the Internet, there is no more shock factor either. When Alice Cooper first came along, now that was shocking. He had a guillotine on stage and he had a Cyclops and a boa constrictor, today that wouldn’t be shocking, people wouldn’t even look twice. It’s a different world, so today you have to really be unique. But, that being said, the people that can really play and sing live are making a resurgence. I think the fans and people in general have had enough of auto-tune, the machines, and the computers.
With social media, the Internet and technology essentially being the name of the game in today’s world, like with anything, music has benefited but it has also suffered. Do you think it’s fair to say that much of the music today lacks the guts, and the grit, and that realness that just comes from the heart?
The music has become dehumanized in a way, if you know what I mean. When you make a record now there is no more tape. Everything is computerized and it’s so easy for people who can’t really sing or play to do a sub-par track or just something really unexciting, and go in and fix it with the computer. We never had those luxuries.
I’ll tell you something though, it makes me prouder of the records that we did way back then before the computers. When I had to sing a vocal track in the late 60’s early 70’s, I had to really sing it. If I wasn’t in key you couldn’t go in and fix it. These days, everything is perfect on record. The vocal is always perfectly in tune, there’s never a bad note on the piano or guitar or anything, because it’s all been fixed and meddled with after the recording.
It’s not natural for us to hear everything perfectly in tune. The human element is what makes records wonderful to me. I don’t want to hear everything machined out!
As a fan of music I crave for that human element we’re discussing, but as someone who came up while both rock and roll and the industry were really in their prime, do you think that the current generation will see the likes of a Guess Who or Led Zeppelin or a Lennon and McCartney?
Well, it’s hard to say. Progress is a one-way door. A lot of times things change and they don’t change back. But, as I mentioned, there is certainly a huge movement back toward acts that really sing and play.
Fortunately though, for every one of all ages, from every generation, all those records by Elvis and The Beatles and all the British invasion stuff, those records will live forever. That’s the great thing about recording; you’re freezing a piece of time.
Coming up on the expiration of copyright laws in 2013, in what way do you think that artists being able regain ownership over the publishing of their songs is going to reshape the power structure of the industry?
It’s been a very sad point of contention for years and years now because a lot of musicians lost the
rights to their songs. It took me years to get mine back but I got them a long time ago so it’s not going to
affect me one way or the other, but I think for a lot of artists the movement is on now. For a really long
time there were a lot of songwriters who just weren’t getting their props, and I think we are definitely
going to see some shake ups in the next couple of years.
In commenting on your days growing up in Winnipeg and performing with The Deverons you’ve said: “the music was the buzz” and that “the strongest thing at a Deverons performance was the people playing.” Is that still the bottom line today?
Oh the music has always been the buzz, you know? Everybody knows I haven’t exactly lived the life of a Buddhist monk, but the music has always been the number one priority for me. Even through all those days with The Guess Who, when we would finish an album the other guys would always go out partying and fly off holidaying; I would always stay until the very bitter end, until the final mixes were all done. The music has always been of number one paramount importance to me, and if the music is good then everything else falls into line.
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by Juliette Jagger
LiveMusicTO chats with Canadian producer, songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Daniel Lanois. He has released a number of albums under his own name and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Brandon Flowers and Ron Sexsmith. Lanois is best known for his work with Brian Eno, producing a number of platinum albums for U2, including The Joshua Tree. Three albums produced or co-produced by Lanois have won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and four others received nominations.  Coming up on your induction into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame this month after nearly 40 years in the business, can you reflect on what the musical climate was like when you were a kid growing up in Hamilton?
What was happening when I was a kid was that it was radio time. It was a magic world and I spent a lot of time in my bedroom listening to the airwaves. I lived in Hamilton and we got pretty good Buffalo and Detroit radio so I got to hear all kinds of really cool rhythm and blues music that was on the rise at the time. Plus I had a recording studio when I was really young. I started when I was twelve so by the time I got to be in my late teens I was recording some pretty great people. I was recording Rick James.
The studio really started booming, so I went from being really isolated to being influenced by the people I was working with and all kinds of windows opened up. Not just windows of business opportunity but windows of music appreciation. That’s when I really got hooked.
Was it any one particular band that hooked you?
I was fascinated by all of it. Obviously the rhythm and blues explosion touched my heart and a lot of other hearts, and it was happening right in our backyard in Detroit. How amazing is that?
In what way were you influenced by the music that was making its way over the border?
You know, just a few miles away, James Jamerson, one of the world’s greatest bass players was living and making music in Detroit. Because of things like that I started to take a look around Toronto and compare, and wonder: “why don’t we have a Motown?” We were so close geographically and yet we were doing such different things.
It was then that I decided to embrace the philosophy of Motown: that philosophy being that you would have a “house sound.” That was the opposite of what was happening in Toronto at the time. Our temperament in Toronto was that every studio was like a blank canvas and you walked in with your vision and asked the studio to follow it. Where as with Motown you walked into the studio and they already had a vision, a sonic vision.
I decided to go with that, and I decided that the window of opportunity for me was to rebuild my instruments and my sounds, and to have stations: things like a bass station, an organ station, a piano station, an electronic station. Then I started collecting hard to find pieces of equipment that I felt could really benefit vocal musicians, and that’s how I did it. I just built my own sound and that allowed me stand out from the rest of the crowd.
What does the word “sonic” mean to your practice?
I believe that you have to have a sound. Today its technological to a degree, but I think having your own sound is finally admitting that you have a voice and you have a direction. That’s something that should be embraced and encouraged.
In that way it’s really the opposite of the “blank canvas,” I wanted my canvas to already have colours so that the people that I work with can be appreciative of the amount of research I’ve done.
To this day I go into my laboratory and dial up my sonics, and I’m still fighting for what I’ve always fought for, how to mix flesh and machine. Essentially that is what I do.
At what point in your life did you realize that you wanted to commit all of yourself to being the best you could possibly be at producing sound?
That happened when I was about 14. It’s happened a few times in my life, where this wave has come over me, but at about 14 I had that little voice that said to me: “you’ve already found your first love, and you never have to change it.”
It seems that many people from my generation have a particular affinity towards a record that you had a big hand in creating, and that’s U2’s Joshua Tree. At what point in time did you cross paths with Brian Eno, and how did that come to be?
Well, in 1979 I got a call from Brian Eno regarding recording in my studio. I didn’t even know who he was. I was very isolated. But, it was a lovely encounter because Brian Eno was in New York working with the Talking Heads and he already made great recordings with David Bowie and Devo, and he was pretty much at the cutting edge of inventive music at the time.
Even though I was completely oblivious to all this, I certainly quickly learned about him and what a great man he was in terms of concentration. Up until that point I had been recording whatever projects came into the studio because we didn’t have any money. I was just running this little business in Hamilton and we were just trying to pay the bills and see if we could get to the next level.
When I met Eno he was so devoted to what people might have thought of at the time as “extreme isolated music,” but as I look at it now, those 3-4 years of ambient music recording in Hamilton is a pretty big part of my foundation.
When you began work on Joshua Tree, did you know in your gut that you were creating a new sound and that is was going to be something important?
Well, it was the second record I made with them because we had already made The Unforgettable Fire. But, at the end of making The Unforgettable Fire I said to The Edge that I thought that we had something left to say, and I just left it at that. He thought about it, called me back and he said: “what do you think we have left to say?”
I told him that I was feeling something inside that we had touched on with the first record, but that we might be able to reach into an even deeper place. I know I’m putting myself in the club by saying this, but given the people involved, Eno, the others, and myself, these are some really innovative minds, and we have an appetite to find something that’s never been heard before.
What do you think about synchronicity as it pertains to your meeting Brian Eno when you did and in turn helping to shape the career of band like U2?
I think there was some kind of synchronicity at play because while I was still in Hamilton, I began getting tired of the conventional recording studio and I started experimenting with bigger rooms. When the old Hamilton library moved its books I had connections through the city and access to that building. I made some records in there with my renegade equipment, and I really built up an appetite and knowledge of how to use particular spaces.
I did that not thinking that there would be any practical application for my experiments, but when I got to Ireland to work with U2 they said: “we don’t want to be in a conventional studio, we want to be in a place where we can be inspired by rooms."
I realized then that there was that synchronicity present. So without getting all overly mystical, it’s part of taking a risk you know? Sometimes you do something just because it’s burning in your heart rather than potentially burning in your pocket book. It was never driven by money, it was more about intuition, and it prepared me for Ireland!
I think it falls under the umbrella of courage in a strange way because to have faith is to have courage.
Over time you’ve become known for your ability to create “soundscapes” and in doing that nurturing sound in order to capture real human moments. What can you tell me about the process of achieving that?
In the end that’s what a record has to have. It has to have a certain soul content, and it has to represent the artist’s vision. But, probably more importantly, it needs to be a nice snapshot of what’s happening philosophically at the time.
Do you still find yourself being newly inspired by songs you’ve known your whole life?
Oh absolutely. Sometimes just in passing you hear something coming out of a shop door and you say: “whoa, that just really touched me, and I like being touched by music.” Sometimes I’m even touched by my own, and I think: “wow that sounds so great, hey wait a minute I made that!”
These days I have such a fat catalogue that if I hear “In the name of love” I think “oh right I was there for that!” Or if I hear “most of the time, I’m clear focused all around, most of the time, I can keep both feet on the ground, I can handle whatever I stumble upon, I don’t even notice she’s gone, most of the time,” I think of my time sitting next to Bob Dylan, two guys in two chairs on a back porch, just hoping that this kid from Hamilton can help to make a masterpiece.
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by Juliette Jagger
 Ten questions with Satelites bassist, Rayhan.How did you all come to know each other, and is there any meaning behind your name?Most of the members of the band and the rest of the Satelites crew pretty much grew up together actually since like high school and even earlier. And I actually got acquainted to them from a craigslist ad when they needed a new bassist. The simplest way I can explain the meaning, is to just say, Satelites is so amazing, it’s out of this world How long have you been playing together?The band’s been around for a little bit, like about 4 years now. Me and Chester, our drummer just joined about a year ago though.What have been some of your biggest accomplishments so far?Well, before my time, Sateites was on the Much Music show Disband, so being in a band that was on national television is definitely an achievement unlocked. But for me personally, just the chance to play with bands that I am genuinely a fan of. Just last summer, we got to play with After The Anthems, who I’m a huge fan of. And now we’re gonna play with Live The Story, another band that I’m kind of obsessed with. What is your favourite song to perform live, and why?Slow-motion love. It was a favourite of mine before I even joined the band, and I was so glad when the guys decided to bring it back. The song has a personal significance to me, but it’s also just so fun to play. It’s got a nice beat, beautiful melody, and Theo and I do this cute little back and forth thing in the 2nd verse that always makes me smile when we pull it off.How would you describe your fans? Any favourite fan moments to date? I would describe our fans as very patient and loyal, just because we’ve been a band for a while now, and due to a few unfortunate circumstances, including lineup changes, a lot of our plans have fallen through or been pushed back. But we’re still trying to stay strong and positive and do what we love doing, and the fans are still coming to our shows and supporting us however way they can, and we really appreciate it . Favourite fan moment, probably everytime I log in on our Youtube channel and see all the heartwarming comments on our music. What are you most looking forward to in 2012?Just getting back to the studio and recording something fresh, and going on tour to promote it. Not to mention just general thigns like new movies, albums coming out, iphone 5 and the world ending.What is your favourite venue to play or see a band play in Toronto? I loved playing at the Sound Academy and Opera House. But I love seeing bands at the Phoenix. I never got to play there yet.Where is your favourite spot in the city to hangout as a band? In the summer we chill a lot at the beaches or we’d be playing basketball at a court near our jamspot in Scarborough. Nowadays we’re usually indoors at somebody’s house. If there is one item you can't live without while on the road, what would it be and why? I wouldn’t be able to live without my Iphone. I gotta have my music accessible to me at all times whether I listen to it or not. It’s just comforting to have it there, because sometimes when I’m in a really bad mood or having a bad trip, music is the one thing that always calms me down. Also, I get a lot of reading done too so I have a lot of good e-books on my phone as well as a notepad to write. For people seeing you play live for the first what can they expect? What do you hope fans will remember? They can expect to have sore necks the next day just from bobbing their heads. When we’re on stage, we always try to bring the energy to a relatively high level., so they can definitely expect to have some good music to dance to. We’re gonna be playing some old favourites as well that we probably won’t play for a while once we get new stuff done so keep that in mind. And we really hope they remember our name, our twitter and our facebook links so that we can see them all again.Catch Satelites playing LIVE on January 27th at LiveMusicTO's showcase HERE.
 How did you all come to know each other, and is there any meaning behind your name?Mike and Jordan met while playing in a band together that broke up months before the formation of 'My Worlds End'. The band broke up because their vocalist was unwilling to compromise. They decided to carry on and went in search of a new bassist and vocalist. Mike discovered, our lovely songstress, Tammy, while attending a music class at their high school. Jordan knew Bruno from a music school they both attended and asked him to join the current regime. Thus, 'My Worlds End' came into being.Our tall, dark and handsome bassist came up with the name. It symbolizes the multiple faces people wear when interacting with each other; like having multiple realms of self depending on who a person is interacting with, and how, after a while, all those masks and facades can come crashing down, and a persons identity can be lost in the process; it's their worlds end.How long has the band been playing together?We've been playing together for just under 2 years. What have been some of your biggest accomplishments so far?Some of our biggest accomplishments as a band include recently releasing our Self-Titled EP and playing a full show outside of a library.
What is your favourite song to perform live, and why?Our favourite song to play would have to be 'Our Way'. The reason for this is because most of our fans favour the song and it is one of the songs we have the most confidence while playing. How would you describe your fans? Any favourite fan moments to date?Our fans are sexy, vibrant, and oftentimes have trouble keeping their clothing on at our concerts. Some of the best/ funniest things that they have done live include throwing beach balls in the audience, moshing, and supporting us in general.What are you most looking forward to in 2012?In 2012 we are looking forward to going back to the studio, pumping the year with concerts, and the 'Dark Knight Rises' movie. We plan on really excelling the band in the current year so everyone should stay tuned to what we have coming up. What is your favourite venue to play or see a band play in Toronto?To date, our favourite venue to play at has been the Sound Academy.
Where is your favourite spot in the city to hangout as a band?Our favourite hangout spot is definitely at "Timmies bro".If there is one item you can't live without while on the road, what would it be and why?Music.For people seeing you play live for the first what can they expect? What do you hope fans will remember?People can expect to have their minds blown due to the excessive amount of youthful passion we fuse into our music. They can also expect to have an amazing time because our shows are always packed full of awesome. We hope that they will remember our songs, our name, and the overall fun we have while we're playing together as a band. See My Worlds End perform LIVE on January 27th, 2012 at Hard Luck Bar. Tickets and details HERE.
LiveMusicTO chats with Toronto post hardcore/alternative rock band Body Doubles. Download their EP, Wish Me Luck, I Aim To Please, for free at: bodydoubles.bandcamp.com
How did you all come to know each other, and is there any meaning behind your name?We all played in local hardcore/screamo bands around Toronto for years. All of us wanted to be a part of something new and fresh, with a focus on melody rather than aggression. Our name doesn't have a strong foundation or meaning - after tossing ideas around for a while, this one just kind of stuck! It sounds cool.
How long has the band been playing together?We formed just over a year ago, around the summer of 2010.
What have been some of your biggest accomplishments so far?So far, we've played some awesome shows with some of our favourite bands, like Story Of The Year, Kingdoms and Lower Than Atlantis. Also, recording with Jordan Valeriote (Silverstein, Dead & Divine) was a big deal to us - some of our favourite Canadian albums have been produced by him. We're returning to his studio this March to record a new EP and we cannot be more excited!What is your favourite song to perform live, and why?We do a cover of The Street's "Blinded By The Lights" - we have a lot of fun jumping around to this one, since it's probably the least complicated song for all of us to play.
How would you describe your fans? Any favourite fan moments to date?Although we're still building our fan base, we've noticed a lot of new faces at shows lately. We opened the Lifestory:Monologue/Kingdoms show in Toronto and a whole bunch of kids were singing our lyrics and having a blast. This was amazing to see - it let us know that people really feel what we're doing and got us even more stoked for what's to come.What are you most looking forward to in 2012?Canadian Music Week, recording and releasing our new EP and transitioning from a local to touring band.
What is your favourite venue to play or see a band play in Toronto?Sneaky Dee's is the best. The sound is awesome, it's intimate, always has a great crowd, cheap beer and awesome food!Where is your favourite spot in the city to hangout as a band?Sneaks. For all of the reasons listed above! We even did our last photoshoot in an alley nearby. If there is one item you can't live without while on the road, what would it be and why?Smartphones. We use them all the time to keep in touch with people, fight boredom and play music.
For people seeing you play live for the first what can they expect? What do you hope fans will remember?They can expect to see four sweaty dudes giving it their all and having the most fun in the world. This is all we care about and all we want to do with our lives, so hopefully fans will remember our passion and energy.See Body Doubles perform LIVE on January 27th, 2012 at Hard Luck Bar. Tickets and details HERE. Photo by Matt Vardy
LiveMusicTO chats with Jordan Witzigreuter of The Ready Set in anticipation of their upcoming show in Toronto November 29th at The Opera House (info).
Give us a summary of your history as a musician and how you came to be The Ready Set people know today.
I started playing drums at the age of 11, and joined bands when I was 13 up until about 17 (always playing drums). I wanted to see what it would be like to write music entirely on my own, just for fun, so i started messing around with a keyboard and laptop. I ended up getting a decent response on MySpace, purevolume, etc and started taking things a little more seriously. As soon as I graduated highschool I began booking shows and tours, and pretty much independently toured up until I got hooked up with my management team and Decaydance/Warner brothers.What made you choose the name, besides needing something simpler than your birth name? Any meaning behind it?The ready set means being ready to set your inhibitions behind you and just do what you want. I was nervous to take a chance on the music thing right out of highschool, but i decided to just go for it. That's the main reason behind the name, plus my last name being Witzigreuter isn't exactly easy to pronounce, so the birth name thing wouldnt work too well.
What have been some of your biggest accomplishments so far or fondest memories as a musician?
The success of love like woe was definitely a huge thing for me. Hearing my music on the radio is always amazing. We got a chance to play some huge shows because of that- a few in arenas which was an entirely new and awesome thing.A lot of your music has a very upbeat, fun vibe to it. Where do you find the energy or inspiration to create it?Everywhere! It's sort of my natural inclination to write those sorts of melodies and lyrics. I want the overall vibe of my music to just be pretty positive. Ultimately I think I'm inspired by literally everything I hear, whether I realize it or not.How influential has the internet been in your success as a band?
Very. Early on with TRS MySpace was a huge thing. I spent a lot of time building a fan base there before I started touring. At this point I'm pretty active with twitter and Facebook. Social network sites are great for what I do; maintaining a connection with fans is awesome.How would you describe your fans and can you share a favourite fan moment?
They are amazing! Probably the most dedicated and cool bunch ever. I think one of my favorite moments happened a couple weeks ago. A girl gave me a big cake shaped like my cat, which was pretty amazing. I've gotten some crazy gifts.There’s been some talk about a full length coming in 2012, if so, tell us a bit about the songwriting process. What do you hope will make this record different?I just started writing the new album a couple months ago and will be spending a lot of time in January working on that. I try not to over think the writing process too much, or over-analyze anything. I just write whatever comes out, whichever direction it goes. I never really make plans in terms of what my songs will be like.If there is one band from Toronto you could share the stage with, who would it be?
I'm a fan of lights! I'd love to play some shows with her.
What about Toronto do you love or enjoy experiencing the most when you visit?
Sadly we haven't gotten a ton of time to experience much in Toronto. On warped tour, for example, you're pretty much landlocked in a parking lot, so I'm hoping to get a chance to explore a bit this time through. I can say that I do love playing shows in Canada though. We definitely always look forward to coming up!
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