The Fight The Silence Tour
Bands: For Today, A Skylit Drive, Stick To Your Guns, My Children My Bride
Date: Wednesday April 11, 2012 
Venue: The Annex Wreckroom
Photographer: Amy Buck

Band: Affinity
Date: April 28, 2012
Venue: Virgin Mobile Mod Club
Photographer: Matt Klopot

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.

___
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

I caught up with local Toronto Rock band Affinity after thier jam session on Sunday afternoon. The jam space was hot with the after effects of an intense practice session ready for this Saturdays show at Mod Club.

If you like Evanescence, Foo Fighters & Linkin Park you will be in for a treat when they take the stage. All these artists have a strong influence on Affinity’s set list.

Formed in 2010 the band is made up of Ashley Curtis (lead vocals), Sean Hillman (drummer), Mack Flynn (bass/keys/synth/BG vox), Mark Kaczor (lead guitar) and Mike Bagshaw (rhythm guitar).

Affinity played Canadian Music Week this year and the response was great. Want to see a great Rock band this weekend then be sure to swing by the Mod Club for the Free show if you RSVP via one of the below links.

More details on the bands webpage:
http://www.affinityband.net/
https://twitter.com/#!/affinityband
https://www.facebook.com/affinityband

Check out the attached Audio Interview for more on the band:

___
by Craig Winterburn 

LiveMusicTO chats with Andrew White “Whitey” from Kaiser Chiefs before their sold out show at Opera House. The rock show was intense with the band bringing a bit of the UK party attitude to the Toronto crowd who were in an even bigger party mood.

How long has the band been around for?
Andrew jokingly says, “Before guitars were made” The band started as two bands merging into one around 9 years ago.

Where did the name Kaiser Chiefs come from?
The original band was called Parva, we had a record deal and then lost the deal, we then decided we would take a new direction with the name Kaiser Chiefs. Whitey says it doesn’t matter how you say it as long as you buy the record.

Your debut album “Employment” sold more then a million copies and earned the band three Brit awards. How did that feel?
It felt great, we sold more then a million copies in our hometown Leads.  I think our friends and family bought them all. Just kidding. From the time we released the first single not even the first album our career just took off it was ridiculous. We battled so hard and had so many knock backs before that it was incredible, it kind of felt like overnight but wasn’t and that year was great.

What were the initial plans for the band was it started as a hobby band or did you have a grand plan?
The initial plans were just to “be cool” that’s what teenagers and people in there early 20’s did. We wanted to have fun and play local pubs, in the very early days we never thought about having a record deal, we were just to busy enjoying it. There was a lot of music around at the time and a lot of competition.

How long did it take you from the pub scene to getting a record deal?
Once the two bands were merged it all happened really quick, we started getting more interest, we changed our sound a bit. We stopped being Brit Pop to more like “The Strokes” from then it took about 5 years, one we really started trying.

Recently the band took a break from recording what was that to ref-focus or what was it in aid of?
It was a bit of everything really. Mainly to relax we worked pretty hard so we wanted a bit of time off from “The Band” we still hung out it only lasted 6 months then we got bored. We slowly got back into it, which was nice because there was no pressure. The main thing was when we came back was that it was on our terms.

A song that everyone knows is “Ruby” you still play it at every show. What was the inspiration for that song and did you think it would be as big of a hit as it is?
It was so long ago and we will always play that song, it has done us proud. I don’t know how it came about it was so long ago but we did know that when we wrote and played “Ruby” it was going to be a big song. It’s done us proud really. At first we weren’t sure if we were going to release it or not but we are glad we did.

Even though so long ago that was one of the first songs I listened to by Kaiser Chiefs.
I am essentially on the same tour really and it was a good 5 or 6 years ago. When you were younger. I still feel the same age. It’s so weird the first album came out in 2004 and you get 17 year old kids saying that was the first album they owned. They were 10. The older we get we realize that we are in a privileged position and we appreciate that.

Your on a big International right now, you just played Coachella that must have been a great experience.
It was great and the best thing is we play again next weekend. It’s the same lineup and same show. Weird but I loved it. I was a little skeptical about a big festival in America; we have had some bad experiences there before, some great ones though. The bands were great the weather was great. We loved it.

Did you get a chance to see any of the sets?
Yes I did, that’s probably why I enjoyed it more then any other festival, I had time and a day off to see some great bands. Saw Dre, which was phenomenal. Justice, At The Drive In.

Next stop is Australia I hear?
They want us back apparently. Some unpaid tax bill they say that we need to work it off. We are doing a festival tour there as well as our own shows. It’s great because we are also playing some remote locations, which we are really looking forward to.

After Australia where to then?
We are back in the UK for a week of Jet lag recovery, then off again for festival season, Europe, Russia, Spain and anywhere that will have us.

Your album Employment has been nominated for best album of the past 15 years. How does that feel?
That’s great, I didn’t know that. I think that there have been a lot of great albums in the last 15 years. I guess people need to vote? So everyone vote for us.

With the evolution of the Internet and social media, do you think that has helped you as a band?
It helps other people access us; I cant really put a sentence on it at the moment. I just think that’s the way it is at the moment and everyone is online. I know I am always online, whether it’s good for humans or bad I don’t know. If you are a consumer of “everything” its great.

In saying that, I am glad I was a kid in the 80’s and 90’s. I am glad I had the opportunity to buy records. We always release or albums on vinyl and CD’s although getting harder to find people that make them.

Your venue was changed what was the reason for that?
We sold out the other one, which is great. I was gunna say they moved us out of the other one because it was getting cleaned but have you seen the state of this one? It’s a right mess, someone needs to get a mop and bucket. But seriously Opera House is a great venue though, bands like Nirvana and Radiohead played here. We have always had good shows in Toronto and in Canada in general we love it here.

___
by Craig Winterburn

La Dispute is a five piece band from Grand Rapids, Michigan that formed in 2004. As of 2012, they have released two albums and seven EPs. 

La Dispute consists of lead vocalist Jordan Dreyer, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, guitarists Chad Sterenberg and Kevin Whittemore and bass guitarist Adam Vass.

With a mutual passion for using music as a means to express, challenge, inform, and connect, but also as a fantastic excuse to have fun, make tons of new friends, and travel anywhere and everywhere that people will have them. 

La Dispute is touring to support their sophomore album, Wildlife, released on No Sleep Records last October, which debuted at 135 on the Billboard Top 200. 

Wildlife is a nearly 60-minute musical examination of the twenty-something search for purpose; an exploration of the struggles that confront, damage, and redefine us inevitably in life through 14 tracks of new material. Set up as a collection of "short stories" complete with the author's own notes and sectioned thematically by four monologues, Wildlife discusses the difficulties inherent in growing up by interweaving the author's own ambiguous loss and struggle for meaning alongside the stories it compelled him to document. 

Recorded at both Drasik Studios in Chicago and StadiumRed in New York with Andrew Everding (from the band Thursday) and Joe Pedulla using no artificial reverb, La Dispute's sophomore full length organically captures the sound of five friends committed to pushing their own creative boundaries while still retaining a desire to create honest and emotional music. 

This band is well worth the listen, they are playing at The Mod Club in Toronto on Thu May 3, 2012.

The band have partnered with 826michigan, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping kids with writing and self-expression. To support this, the band will be selling 150 limited edition packets at their shows, including “Conversations,” rare photos, a poster, postcards, and other great things. “Conversations” is a lengthy interview with La Dispute’s lead-singer Jordan Dreyer, analyzing and elaborating upon the stories and themes present in the band’s 2011 album Wildlife.  For more information, please see the link below: 

http://www.ladisputemusic.com/2012/03/conversations-826michigan/

___
by Craig Winterburn

**ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN PASSES TO SEE CHIARA YOUNG AND THE EARLY NOVEMBER**

On April 28th, Toronto’s own Chiara Young will be performing in her first hometown show in a really really long time at Sneaky Dee’s in with special guests The Wet Bandits, RPTZR, Harbour, and Lambs Become Lions. It’s going to be one huge party and we want you to be there!

LiveMusicTO will also be giving away tickets to see The Early November at the Opera House on May 27th with The Wonder Years, The Swellers, & Young Statues courtesy of Union Events! You can check out the full details here.

So to recap, LiveMusicTO is giving a lucky fan a chance to win:
> 1 pair of passes to Chiara Young’s April 28th show @ Sneaky Dee’s
> 1 pair of passes for The Early November on May 27th @ The Opera House

HOW TO ENTER & WIN

Step 1) Post the “April 28th Poster” (which you can download HERE) as your Facebook Cover photo

Step 2) Include the following in the caption:
* A link to the Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/323097827751101/
* A link to Advance Tickets Page:  http://www.ticketscene.ca/events/6122  
* And most importantly, why you deserve to win the FREE PASSES!

Step 3) Post your Facebook profile link (or direct link to your display photo) on the LiveMusicTO Facebook Page to qualify: http://www.facebook.com/LiveMusicTO

Fans who have the most amount of interactions (a combination of unique “Shares”, “Likes” and “Comments” of their Chiara Young April 28th Event Poster Profile Pic and along with some uber amazing comments on their Facebook Cover photo will win this contest! So be sure to get all your friends to your cover photo! Good luck to everyone. The Winner will be contacted on Friday, April 27th.

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.

Click for interview with the Band:

___
by Craig Winterburn

I hopped in a cab and was off to my second Canadian Music Week show of the night, after getting a recommendation from a friend, to see Eriksen at The Central. It was my first time visiting The Central and I had no idea what to expect (I hear you gasping...). Little did I know it would turn out to be one of my 'new' favorite venues in the city.

Walking up to the venue (a small pub) I could honestly feel the good vibes and energy radiating from inside, the foggy windows were an honest indication of just how much buzz this show had. The bar had an overwhelming feeling of friends among friends - what more could you ask for! 

Eriksen, I was told, is the music alias of Erik Jorgensen. Erik says he's "been writing music and performing live for over 10 years now with a lot of experience under [his] belt." 

I was looking forward to hearing what that kind experience sounded like.

When Erik took the stage attention quickly shifted from small talk at the bar to all ears on the stage. And the entire audience was truly captivated at the first strum of his guitar. It was an intimate setting and he was clearly taking proper advantage of that with a clever mix of heartfelt and upbeat original songs mixed with a couple covers - "foot-stomping" covers like Peggy Sue - which had everyone singing and tapping along. 

The band was musical and tight, despite the fact we were told that it was the drummers first show and I don't think anyone would disagree when I say he did a fine job. It was the kind of show you wish didn't have to end, in other words, rare these days and AWESOME.

Kudos to the drummer and the whole band for sharing an honestly fun and enjoyable show my friends and I won't forget. Certainly, a CMW 2012 highlight for me.

__
Words and iPhone pics by Matt Vardy.