Posts tagged Pop
FIINN

There’s something to be said for keeping it in the family…
Three brothers, Dan, John and Matt Baron create the genetic make up of FIINN. With ear haunting melodies and clever rhythms, FIINN creates unique soundscapes, leaving audiences with an eerie sense of human synchronicity. 

 
 

All pre-recorded music has been removed from this episode.

The set list originally featured in this episode included:

FIINN “Big Roots“

FIINN “Du Bell Can“

FIINN “Montreal“

For more local music, check out the Winnipeg Music Project website.

Thank you to UMFM 101.5FM.

Music by Will and Art from Collector Studio.

John and Matt of FIINN with Ashley Bieniarz

Support local music-makers FIINN!

Ghost Twin

Episode 52 of the Winnipeg Music Project is with Ghost Twin! Joining Jaimz and Karen in the comfort of their living room, we talked about their highly anticipated album release on May 5th at the Good Will and their album release tour. They also shared stories of how they started making music together and odd escapades on their previous tours. A really great interview with two fun and goofy music-makers. This dark synth gloom pop (or as Jaimz describes it dirty bass synth sleaze industrial baroque gloom pop) is a party you don't want to miss!

(Music video link coming soon!)

Set List:

Ghost Twin "Not Our Time" from Plastic Heart

Ghost Twin "Saturn Swallows the Sun" from Plastic Heart

Ghost Twin "Plastic Heart" from Plastic Heart

Stacey James

This episode of the Winnipeg Music Project is with the lovely and talented Blues/Rock/Funk/Pop singer-songwriter Stacey James. We talked about her love of music from a very early age and how she blossomed into a multi-genre force to be reckoned with. 
Excited for her album release "11:11", Stacey shared her songwriting process and what the music on this album represents to her and her plans to move forward!
Stacey is a super sweet and talented lady and this interview is a definite tune in!

Set List:

Stacey James "Something You Regret" from 11:11

Stacey James "Wanna Sing" from 11:11

Stacey James "Walk to My Beat" from 11:11

Support local music-maker Stacey James!

Micah Visser 3.0

The thirty-ninth episode of the Winnipeg Music Project is with fan and friend of the show Micah Visser returning for his third time on the project! We talk in-depth about his songwriting style, his decision to move towards a pop sound from his indie folk roots and what it's like to tour with the band! He's also here to promote his cassette re-release show at the Handsome Daughter on November 26th. Doors open at 8:00pm.

Set List:

Micah Visser "Keeping Up" from Forward

Micah Visser "Teenagers" from Today is Nearly Over

Micah Visser "I will not return as a tourist" from Forward

Jaylene Johnson

The thirty-second episode of the Winnipeg Music Project where I chatted with the beautifully talented singer-songwriter Jaylene Johnson. We talked about her album release for her new album "Potter & Clay", her songwriting and collaborating experience, and the importance of networking.

Set List:

Jaylene Johnson "Fallin" from Potter & Clay

Jaylene Johnson "Find Us" from Potter & Clay

Jaylene Johnson "Potter & Clay" from Potter & Clay

Support Local Artist Jaylene Johnson!

Josh and Josh from June Killing Stones

The twenty-sixth episode of the Winnipeg Music Project with Josh and Josh from the indie rock band June Killing Stones. This was a crazy fun and exciting interview with lots of tangents and goofy conversations. We had a lot of fun talking about they're recently release EP "Little Portents". 

Because the extended version is so much longer than the broadcasted version, I've included the links to both. The extended version is pretty hilarious though, Josh the drummer took over asking ridiculous and hilarious questions. You need to listen!

Extended Version:

Set List:

June Killing Stones "I fell down" from Little Portents

June Killing Stones "Coup de Grace" from Little Portents

June Killing Stones "To Be Loved" from Little Portents

(EXTENDED ONLY) June Killing Stones "All is well" from Little Portents

The Heights

The twenty-fourth episode of the Winnipeg Music Project with Sam and Eli from the emerging band The Heights! We talked about their past musical adventures and how it led them to form their newest project. They are super excited to release their official self-titled EP at the pyramid on Saturday June 11, 2016 (WHICH IS TOMORROW).

If you want to order some tickets in advanced for the show for $10, PM these guys on any of their social media accounts. Otherwise you can pay $15 at the door.

I hope to see you there!

 

 

Set List:

The Heights "Sweater Season" from self-titled EP

The Heights "Through the Looking Glass" from self-titled EP

The Heights "A Touch of Grace" from self-titled EP

Martin Samoiloff

The twentieth episode of the Winnipeg Music Project with Martin Samoiloff where we talk about about his life involved in music and his improvisational music and song fusions of rock, jazz and some pop! 

Set List:

Martin Samoiloff "Out of My Mind" from Peace of Mind

Martin Samoiloff "TGIF" from Peace of Mind

Martin Samoiloff "Midsummer night" from Colour of Bliss

 

Here is a music video for his song "What is Enough?"

NOTME

The Eighth episode of the Winnipeg Music Project where Isiah Schellenberg talks about his current project Not Me a sad pop band who released their first EP on January 10th, 2016.

Set List:

Not Me "Smoke" from Sinking

Not me "Sinking" from Sinking

Support Winnipeg Band Not Me!

Tin Can Bandits

Listen to it again! Interview with Ian Gilhuly and Ryan Sorensen from the Tin Can Bandits.

The fourth episode of the Winnipeg Music Project with Ian Gilhuly and Ryan Sorensen from the Tin Can Bandits~! We talk about their band and the upcoming album they are so excited to release for the world to hear.

Set List:
Tin Can Bandits "The Way" From Baboon Buddies
Tin Can Bandits "Doesn't Matter" From Rushing River

beefdonut
www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger beefdonut

Instruments: Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keyboard, Voice (and some flute)

Genres: Danceable Lap Pop, LoFi Silly Songs, New Wave, Acid Jazz, Grunge and More

Joel Klaverkamp is the mastermind behind the varying styles of beefdonut. After a short and sweet introduction and interview, I could immediately tell he is a relaxed and laid back dude. His musical CV is all across the map when it comes to genres and musical styles so the best thing you can do it check out his soundcloud and hear them for yourself. I promise you won’t be disappointed! 


Ashley: Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

Joel: I’ve played for a long time in the Winnipeg music scene. I played bass in Skingerbreadman and bass in The Hummers. I also played keyboard in Drums and Wires and I played guitar and everything with beefdonut which is sort of just me and my songwriting. I also play drums for people like A La Mode and Boats.

Ashley: So where did the name come from?

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger Beef Donut

Joel: I worked at HMV a long time ago and I worked with a friend of mine who brought donuts from sears and they tasted like they were deep fried in oil that had deep fried beef so it had this disgusting flavor to it. We started calling them ‘beef donuts’ and later on I thought it would be a pretty good name so I took it.

Ashley: How often are you practicing your instruments? 

Joel: The correct answer is not often enough, but it also ebbs and flows. Lately I’ve been practicing drums a lot more because A La Mode was preparing for Real Love summer fest and a show at the Handsome Daughter. It all depends on which gig is coming on. I am mostly practicing for shows three times a week.

Ashley: What is a practice or jam session like with the band?

Joel: It depends on the project, if its very collaborative it’s very magical. I try to respect that magic and allow it to happen and that’s one of the main reasons I play. If it’s not collaborative, if it’s someone else saying theses are the parts or if I’m saying these are the parts it tends to be not as magical and a bit more technical. You have to actually figure out their vision or you have to try to communicate your vision [to others] so it’s less just “letting it happen.”

Ashley: And with beefdonut, how do you perform your music? Do you do it solo or do you book musicians?

Joel: It depends, we played at Graffiti Gallery and it was a whole new line up. I got flute synth parts, electric guitar, backing vocals and percussion, synth and drums and it’s got a bigger band and dance focus. The last record I did was very grunge rock themed where there are very little dynamics. It was a four piece [set-up]. Before that I have done performances alone with laptops but I don’t really like that; I’ve also had guitar loops solo shows where I’ve had a guitar loop pedal and play. It can be whatever. I’ve also done a lot of recording for sound track work mostly for modern dance shows so a lot of the times I’ll be live mixing that while the show is going so the sections all match up with each other. It really depends.

Ashley: What is the most stressful part about being a musician?

Joel: I’m really easy going and relaxed in general so there really isn’t anything that stresses me out about music that I can think of. For me, that’s the fun part.

Ashley: Then who inspires your music?

Joel: That changes a lot. Currently I’m really inspired by Goat and Thee Oh Sees although if I had to pick, in the past I would have said Bjork or Prince. But now I would have to say James Murphy. The stuff he makes is just perfect in my mind. If you were to break it down into actual quantifiable metrics, thearrangement of the song, the tones of the instruments, the lyrics, the melodies and everything about what he does is matched in my DNA for music.

Ashley: So then what is your songwriting process?

Joel: I don’t have one. Nope, I just sit down and let them come out. I don’t think of them as coming from me.

Ashley: Is it what’s in the your head and you put it out there? 

Joel: Yes the music will usually come to me, usually on the bus, and I’ll write down the words I’ll hear. I’ll try to keep the melody in my head until I’m near an instrument and try to figure it out. Usually by then it’s somewhat changed or I don’t get it exactly right.

Ashley: Would you say your music is more lyrically or melody based?

Joel: Oh definitely not lyrically based. Although a lot of times the music will start with one lyric or one phrase that comes into my head and it will have a melody attached to it already and I’ll just build on that.

Ashley: What accomplishments with beefdonut are you most proud of?

Joel: I recently won an award for ‘Best Music for a Short Film’ that was in a film festival. The film is called Alice and Kevin; it’s a really touching movie, really well done. It’s about a mom and her son and the son has I believe its cerebral palsy; basically he has special needs and she lives on a reserve with him and she’s not getting the same level of health care that she would get if she lived in the city. She’s filed a human rights claim and she’s just found out she has cancer and has a limited amount of time to live. She feels that if she’s gone then he’s not going to get the proper care to live without her. It’s a very powerful story and it’s true. It’s a documentary. I didn’t even know it was in festivals and I got a check in the mail and it said ‘Best Music’ from the Nanaimo Arts Council.

Although that said, that would be for beefdonut. For other projects I’ve been in, I’ve been doing [music] for a long time but playing at Folk Fest with The Hummers in 2007 was probably the highlights. We went on we were supposed to play for maybe an hour long set but we ended up playing from 3:00am to sunrise. There were just thousands and thousands of people, it was a lot of fun.

Ashley: What’s your favorite song to perform?

Joel: My favorite song to perform is Signs of Seasons. I also really like performing with Robo Jam; which is a band I play drums in. We have a lead vocalist/dancer and a keyboard player and we use prerecorded loops and a software that generates music and it’s a lot of fun. It’s very theatrical and we all dress up like robots. It’s a high-energy band and the crowd reaction is pretty good.

 

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger Beef Donut

Ashley: How do you balance with your other obligations?

Joel: I don’t do anything else. I work and I have a family and I have music. I’ve never seen an episode of Breaking Bad and I miss out on all those pop culture references. I work with a lot of people who reference shows that I’ll never get around to watching. I probably won’t see anything until I’m 70 and I’m in my hospital bed and I have nothing else to do but watch them. Hopefully I’ll be mentally fit to understand them.

Ashley: Since you’ve started working with people, what’s the best advice you’ve heard since you started as a musician that has stuck with you and helped you with your music career?

Joel: [I would say] I try to be, as much as I can, a person in the music scene. The music community in Winnipeg is pretty wonderful and pretty open. Anyone can get in there, just start going to shows and you can start being [one of those people] that are part of the community. For me, I try to go to as many local shows as I can, listen to their stuff in the car and the Internet radio. For me everything it gears towards that. What I’m talk about is just support. I try to support the music scene as much as I can in confidence that it will be reciprocated. The people who come out to see me play are the people I go out and see play.

Maxine Peters
www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger Maxine Peters

Instruments: Guitar and Voice

Genres: Pop, R&B

Infusing soul into vocals with jazzy chords into a pop song structure, Maxine has a ton of feelings to share and uses music as a way to express herself and connect with other people. Her honesty in her music leaves a relatable feeling that tells you she’s singing her message from the heart. Maxine and I hung out on her balcony and chatted as she did her makeup for work later that night. It was a lot of fun spending a relaxing afternoon with her in the warm summer air. She talked about all her hard work on her upcoming single and experience as a songwriter and performer.


Ashley: How long have you been playing?

Maxine: Well [I’ve been] singing always. When I was really little, like four or five years old, my parents would have me sing in church all the time. I would go up [on stage] and do solos in my little church dress and hats with no fear. As I grew a little bit older and grew very shy. I was very academically focused and did really good in high school. [Music] was this secret love of mine. I only started playing guitar when I was 18, a friend of mine got me a guitar because he believed in me and knew I had this secret love for singing. From then on I started writing with a guitar and then I went to college I finally admitted to myself that [music] is what I wanted to do with my life and have been pursuing it ever since then.

Ashley: How often are you playing or practicing at home?

Maxine: Practicing? I find that at this point I am so busy gigging, I have a lot of things that just keep me up to practice. I find that I’m not practicing as much as I used to when I was in college or when I was taking voice lessons. These house gigs I have are great places to try out new songs and make sure I stay in practice, as long as I’m doing it in a weekly or biweekly basis. That keeps me up to speed on a lot of things. Otherwise, I don’t have a lot of time. If I’m at home, I’m songwriting.

Ashley: What are house performances?

Maxine: By house gig I mean I have a regular gig there.

Ashley: Have you toured before?

Maxine: I went to a music school in Nashville and when I was there we went on a tour collectively; but I haven’t done a solo tour. I’ve traveled around to Toronto and some places in the states but I haven’t done a full-fledged tour.

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger Maxine Peters

Ashley: What would be the most stressful thing about planning or getting ready to tour?

Maxine: Booking is tough in outside markets, especially when you are doing it alone and trying to sell somebody on yourself. It’s definitely easier when you have somebody else booking for you. Being an unknown and reaching out to a market that doesn’t know you is the toughest part. In Winnipeg, I feel like I have decent handle the regular big gigs I want to book. Everybody is connected here so I find that if I want to get in touch with somebody I can. They won’t necessarily book me but I find it easier in touch with people rather than going to Toronto who would prefer your agency to book you and you don’t have an agency.

Ashley: What you recommend for people who want to book shows in Winnipeg?

Maxine: It depends what kind of shows you want to book. Once I have new music to market myself, I want to push for playing bigger gigs and festivals. Right now I’m playing smaller patios and such. For that, I just found contacts with managers at different bars, etc. For festivals, I’d say the more musicians you know the better. Even getting booked as an opening act at the park theatre or West End. The more friends you make, the better. Go to Manitoba music events, work your ass off, follow people online and connect with them. Try to write with them and things like that. If you have that rapport and your genres work together, why wouldn’t you want to work together?

I’d say try having someone vouch for you for festivals, unless you know the organizers yourself. Sometimes it just looks better to have someone else; if you have an agent that is awesome or a manager, or if you have somebody who can play that role for you.

Ashley: Who inspires your music when you are writing or performing?

Maxine: There is this girl I’m currently obsessed with lately, everybody knows it, her name is Tori Kelly, she is the love of my life. She is doing something very similar to what I want to be doing. She writes from the heart, which I love. I also love Lauren Hill she’s amazing! I love Top 40 too. People knock on pop music all the time, but I love pop song structure. Styles like Katy Perry and Taylor swift; I love taking that and infusing it with jazz and soul.

Ashley: What is your songwriting process?

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger Maxine Peters

Maxine: I’m not going to lie I need to do more co-writing; I don’t do a lot of it. I usually write by myself. I like to start by writing before I go to bed if I have some thoughts in my head. I have to feel like I have something to say. I’ll usually write the lyrics separately and a lot of the time I’ll just let go of whatever is inside me. When you are writing you have to turn off your editor at first. You can turn it on later to make the song the best it can be but at the beginning during the creative process you just need to let yourself be as free as possible. I like to just write and write and never let myself think something is too wrong to write. I’ll usually take a section or a line or two lines and later when I’m playing guitar I’ll come up with a riff and whatever that riff is I’ll find some sort of melody to go with it. I’ll try to infuse the two together and build other lyrics around that. I’d say my music is very rhythmic based. 

Ashley: What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Maxine: In 2013 I won a songwriting contest for a single of mine called Shame On Me with the Manitoba Songfest. It was really nice as a writer because I’m primarily a singer and it was great to be acknowledged that way.

What’s really cool and recent is that I opened Nick Carter and the Pyramid. That was a lot of fun! The demographic was exactly what I want to be playing for.

Also, I was with a bunch of artists about a year and half ago playing a fundraising show at the Burton Cummings Theatre. It was with all these other local artists. On that stage I did a song solo and did two songs with a beat boxing friend of mine. Being alone on that giant stage, it’s such an iconic stage, it was such a big moment for me.

Ashley: What advice would you give to beginners who are nervous about starting out?

Maxine: I would say when it comes to being on stage and getting over nerves you have to throw yourself into it and know that it’s going to get better. I find with nerves that often half way through the first song you’ll find that you’re going to be okay. It’s going to be all right and you are going to get less nervous as you do it.

Also when songwriting, don’t be afraid to suck and know that you’re going to write a lot of shit. Most people write a lot and take what’s good and you edit that to make it the best version of itself. Not everything you’re going to write is going to be gold and you have to be okay with that. I know people that have told me that they have tried to write and they say, “everything I write is just so cheesy.” You don’t need to worry about that right now and just keep writing. The greatest songwriters are not writing hits every single moment. They are writing a lot and they take from that lot and edit it down.

[You also need] to network. The better your know yourself as an artist and a band the easier it is to stay true to yourself, to market yourself and sell yourself when you are in the world.

Ashley: What is your favorite song to perform live?

Maxine: I have two songs, one that I open every show with and one that I close every show with. One is called Better that’s the one I’m recording it right now and I’ll close every show with it. I open with I just want to love you. They are both really upbeat jams with pop chorus. I feel like they optimize what I do so those are my favorite. You have to have your opening and closing songs down pat for sure, they have to be killer.

Ashley: What is the process to get started to record a single? Did you have to apply for funding?

Maxine: I’ve applied for grants in the past and did not get accepted for them. The current producer I work with, he is fantastic, has been helping me out. I got connected through a DJ friend of mine, so we sat down and I played him a bunch of songs and he was really into what I do and he wanted to help me out.

Ashley: How did you decide which song to pick for your single? How did you know the song was ready to be set in stone through recording?

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger Maxine Peters

Maxine: I’d say the latest song you’ve written is always your favorite one but that doesn’t always mean it’s the best one. Sometimes you have to let them sit for a month and play it for people that you trust too. Have them tell you if you need to tweak some things. For a single it has to be a very specific type of song and I just had that feeling for this one song of mine. I feel like it could have a good mainstream feel and I love what I’m saying in it. As long as it’s got the marketability along with heart connection, I think that’s a good balance.

Ashley: What’s the best advice since you’ve started working in the music business that has just stuck with you?

Maxine: One of my Profs in Nashville said ‘the audience isn’t always right but they never lie.’ The audience is going to react the way they are going to react, they may not be right but they are always telling you their truth. I think that’s something to keep in mind. Think about that when you are out online or at shows, you don’t have to take everybody’s advice but they are going to tell you what they think is true. 

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Autumn Still
Canada Day 2015 in front of Music Trader on Osborne. Photo Credit: Kelly Hughes

Canada Day 2015 in front of Music Trader on Osborne. Photo Credit: Kelly Hughes

Beth's Instruments: Bass and Lead Vocals

Trevor's Instruments: Guitar and Lead Vocals

Grant's Instruments: Synthesizer, Piano, Guitar and Vocals

Roger's Instruments: Drums and Vocals

Genres: Alternative Pop Rock

I first heard the name Autumn Still when I attended a Music Works workshop through Manitoba Music. Beth and Roger were both attending and the band name stuck in the back of my mind. A few months later when I started the #WinnipegMusicProject and started contacting Winnipeg Bands, I still remembered the name Autumn Still. I was delighted when I got a response from Trevor and we set up a time to meet after a band's jam session. Trevor, Grant, Roger and Beth are such incredible people. Not only are they confident (and rightly so) in their sound and instruments, but they are genuinely the nicest people. They gave me so much wonderful advice that I can't wait to apply to my own musical career. I tried really hard to include the humour in this interview obvious and remain honest with portraying everyone's personalities. These people are so closely knit and a perfect match, I really wanted to express the relationship they all share together.

I'm excited to announce Autumn Still will be releasing their highly anticipated full-length album later this year in early November! They are going to be having their release part at The Good Will Social Club so follow them on social media accounts (links at the end of the interview) to stay tuned to when the exact date with be announced! Afterwards they will have plans for a Ontario and Quebec Tour! Check these guys out! 


Ashley: How long have you been playing your instruments?

Trevor: For me, forever I guess. I have been playing guitar since I was 10 or 11, so a long time.

Beth: I had actually just picked up the bass 4 or 5 years ago. Maybe even less actually, when this project started to become an idea. Actually, probably more like 2 to 3 years ago; before that I played guitar. The bass really connected with me, it feels like comfort food. It’s nice to have this instrument close to your belly with these nice low vibrations [laughs]. It’s the first instrument that felt natural to me.

Grant: I’ve been always been fooling around. I’ve been playing piano since I was 6 but very badly, and I started to playing guitar at 14 but very badly. I played synthesizer for a couple years but only since I started [playing in] bands have I taken it seriously.

Roger: I’ve always been able to kind of played drums for a long time but I never actually played played drums until a year and a half ago.  Beth and Trevor were trying to find a drummer and I just said “Hey, I can kind of play drums for the EP” so music can get pushed out there and I just stuck. My style of new drumming fits really well, I think. I haven’t been playing drums for very long but music I have been playing for a long time.

Ashley: How long have you guys been playing together?

Beth: Well Trevor and I had been tossing ideas back and forth 2 and a half years ago and then eventually we were like “we should start a band.” It was a slow progression and things slowly fell into place. We had been playing live shows since last august and that’s when we started putting ourselves out there.

Trevor: Yeah, I think it was a definite marking point. Our first show was a three piece, Beth, Roger and [myself], at the Fringe festival last year (2014). That was about a year ago now…

Beth: Aw it’s our one-year anniversary!

Ashley: So where does the band name come from?

Beth: That came from an intensive brainstorming session between Trevor and I. We were struggling and thought a band name would just magically come up. We did this stream of consciousness, throwing out different things and ideas that pertained to our music. Autumn and Still just came together that way, I guess. It has several different meaning but for both of us. Autumn is our favorite season; it’s when we feel most creatively alive and we can sit down and write.

Ashley: So how often are you practicing together and being a band?

Beth: Well we get together twice a week typically to jam but now a days we are getting into recording our album (now scheduled to release this November 2015! =D) so things are getting really intensive. I guess we have to see each other so much now [laughs].

Grant: [Rolls eyes] make a note that I rolled my eyes at that!

Trevor: We are essentially recording our first full-length album over the course of the summer. We’re going to be stepping it up.

Ashley: So what is a practice or jam session like? Like what is happening?

Beth: Well usually it depends on the practice. We try to be sort of strategic with selecting two or three things that we want to hone in on per practice and that’s what we do. [Before a show] we play through the set and clean things up a bit and things like that. It’s structured yet loose.

Trevor: It depends what stage a song is in. In our last practice we devoted a lot on our last song.

Beth: Yeah, and that’s all we will do for that night.

Ashley: Do you bring a finished song in? Or do you figure it out together on the spot?

June 18, 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with The Wooden Sky. Photo Credit: KJ Photography

June 18, 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with The Wooden Sky. Photo Credit: KJ Photography

Beth: Typically Trevor and I toss ideas back and forth first. We have done more things where we co-write. Trevor will have this guitar riff with a melody idea and I put some lyrics on it or something like [that]. I might have a song and Trevor creates some beautiful guitar overtop. It’s really different from song to song. Once we feel like an idea has come to then we bring it into the band and ask, “What do you want to do with this?” We try to let everyone put their own personal spin on things. It’s not like we are saying, “This is what we want exactly like this” we don’t prewrite the parts for people or something like that.

Ashley: So then are you saying your music is more lyrically or melodically driven?

Trevor: I can’t say that as a band we have discussed this a whole lot, but I feel my personal point of view is that the lyrics and the melody are just intertwined and you can’t really avoid that connection. I think that when it comes to songwriting we spend a lot of time on lyrics and we worry about lyrics a lot and try to make sure it sounds just right. I guess in that sense you could say you we have a strong lyrical focus but we spend a lot of time on melodies and vocal arrangement as well. As far as a concert answer, I don’t know.

Beth: Yeah I don’t know [either], I agree that lyrics often drive melody or melody drives lyrics. It’s hard to say which one comes before the other. When I write a song often, for me anyways, it is a set of lyrics. I write whatever dribbles out of my head and I’ll hear a melody in that or I’ll see something that can become a song. You could do a little tweaking to help it fit a melody.

Trevor: It’s cool that everyone involved, because of our own experiences, that we have a really good sense of melody and how the arrangement can support that. It’s definitely that the whole vocal thing is a primary consideration.

Grant: Beth and Trevor write the Autumn Still songs but all four of us are songwriters.

Ashley: Have you two ever brought something to work with?

Grant: We have not yet but sometimes a song from another project will make it’s way into the band. We were thinking about that for the album.

Beth: I don’t think we are thinking about that anymore though.

[Group Laughter]

Grant: Well okay. It was thought of.

Roger: I think my writing would be very different then what you guys are doing, what we are doing with Autumn Still.  Not by a lot but a little bit. To be honest, I really like that I’m playing drums and I don’t have to worry too much. I think that it’s the instrument that I’m focusing on and every time they bring a song I can go “Okay what can sound good with this song and with how can I play it” and it’s neat like that.

Beth: Yeah, and we never set it out to make it a dictator ship or something-

Roger: and it doesn’t feel like [that]

Beth: it has always been [Trevor and I’s] project and vision. Some people have had experiences where they are in this situation when there are too many cooks in the kitchen, the vision gets lost or gets crazy.

Grant: I think we are very fortunate to have a really good sense of what our roles are in the band and our hands are all full with what our roles are.

Roger: Exactly.

Ashley: So what is the most stressful part about being in a band?

[Group Laughter]

Trevor: You’re asking a band that just got back from tour not too long ago!

Roger: Honestly, the most stressful part is the business side of things, the logistics parts of things. Right now we are setting up to record and we need to figure out the funding-

Beth: the bureaucratic process.

Roger: Yeah. Rehearsing, that’s amazing. Playing shows is awesome. Going on tour is awesome because a lot of that [business] stuff just fades away into the background. You just go and play and it’s awesome. I don’t even do that much of it, I know these guys do it a lot more. I do more on the recording side of things but I find it stressful. It’s the part when I was fifteen I didn’t know about. I just loved playing music.

Trevor: It’s kind of funny. From my point of view this band is the band I’ve dreamed of being in for a long time. I’ve been in other projects in the past and you know the most stressful aspect is sometimes just getting into the same room together. We don’t have that problem. I agree the most stressful aspect isn’t the creative end, or the interpersonal end, it’s just hoping that this music that we are so proud of gets out there enough and people are hearing it. There are things you have to do to make that happen and it’s a lot of work.

Grant: As an introvert, it’s always a struggle to put yourself out there. Being on stage is one thing, but any other interpersonal stuff is a big drain. Finding that balance between doing what I need to and doing what I need to restore my selfhood is my biggest struggle.

June 18, 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with The Wooden Sky. Photo Credit: KJ Photography

June 18, 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with The Wooden Sky. Photo Credit: KJ Photography

Beth: I’m with you on that. I find that performing is not something that comes naturally to me. Depending on the day, I’d rather just curl up in a hole and hide under the covers. I feel like I’m growing as a performing and proud of that. I enjoy finding the enjoyment in it! With all the fear that leads up to it, it’s nice to get that “okay this is why people do this” [feeling]. It’s not totally frightening.

Grant: Once the worse thing that can possibly happen to you happens when you are on stage, you feel liberated.

Beth: I don’t know, I still haven’t been pantsed.

Grant: Well, all you had to do was ask, Bethany. 

[Group Laughter]

Ashley:  Who inspires your music? Who do you listen to that really listens your songwriting process?

Grant: Leonard Conan, right?

[Group Laughter]

Beth: Well I’m a big Leonard fan but I think this is always a tough question because we have so many diverse influences that are sort of all over the map. It’s always tough to say. We don’t really have this muse that we filter or emulate or something like that. I’m sure influences sneak into it, I’m always curious to hear what other people hear in our music or what they would compare it to.

Ashley: So far with Autumn Still, what accomplishments are you most proud of?

Beth: For me, [I always have wanted to tour] with a musical project of mine, so getting the first tour done felt like a great accomplishment to me.

Grant: [Touring has] been a dream of mine since I was 18.

Trevor: For me, it’s been awhile since this point, but putting out or first EP because there was this big process behind that when we worked [on it] for so long. We worked for quite awhile on those three songs, we got to a point that you’re [almost] terrified to put it out there [because] it’s so important and special to you. At that point, we finished recording it that summer and then started performing. It was great when it came out too; we got a lot of positives responses. You only thought about making it as good as possible and people were responding to it and that was really great.

Beth: It all feels likes baby steps leading up to this album. It’s going to feel so good I just can’t even conceive it right because there is so much to do.  Roger is a very talented recording technician so he works for us a lot of the time.

Trevor: He recorded our Ep.

Beth: Yeah and he’ll be a huge part in recording our album along with Jay Reilly who will be mixing it and stuff like that. That will feel really good to have that in our hands.

Ashley: About going on tour, who made that decision? Who planned it?

Roger: I think the decision was already made when we were doing the EP. Because honestly way earlier on there was talk of touring, it was really really early.

Trevor: We knew for sure that it was going to happen. I guess you could say I planned most of it and booked the shows. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t too difficult, because we had the amazing luck and got such a good response from the EP. Especially Ottawa and Toronto and Windsor. We had people actually playing the EP and giving us a lot of promo.

Ashley: And how did you start with that? Did you approach venues first? What was the process?

Trevor: I reached out to venues and to local bands in those cities [at the same time]. We had our general idea planned early on and it was just filling in the blanks. Essentially we are a band that was fairly new that put out our new EP fairly recently so we didn’t have that cache we can just walk into the city and get a great show. It was a bit of a mismatch; we got help from some bands and venues locally too. We actually got a lot of support from people on that tour.

Beth: Grant went on Reddit.com and found people in different cities to put up posters.

Ashley: What advice would you give to beginners who are starting to record an EP who want to get their music out there?

Trevor: I would say personally that anybody that is trying to start out should just focus on the music first and foremost. It’s the most important thing and then worry about the whole business side that we talked about being so stressful. Make sure you are actually making music you actually love.

Grant: Another part is the recording of it, which is a super important element that allowed us to propel ourselves without a lot of resources besides with that we had. If we couldn’t have recorded it ourselves we would pretty much have been dead in the water.

June 18, 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with The Wooden Sky. Photo Credit: KJ Photography

June 18, 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with The Wooden Sky. Photo Credit: KJ Photography

Roger: Well there are other ways, right? If people don’t have somebody that can record them, basically you start playing shows before you start recording.

Beth: Set little tiny goals for yourself. If you’re starting from scratch and you have your songs together, take the time to find the right people to work with. Once you have that together, which can take some juggling and thought, then actually lay out a little timeline. This is when we want to play our first show. Be kind to people and humble. Be willing to stretch yourself a little bit, and be curious and talk to different musicians in the city. You’ll find your way if you reach out to that community. I mean there are also assholes and you [just need to talk to someone else].

Ashley: What do you do to deal with nerves before a performance?

Beth: We have little band rituals that help like deep breathing sessions in the bathroom. We also do a little vocal warm up too which always feel good because it shakes out the weird tension and it sounds okay. It’s kind of like a band bonding experience.

Grant: It must look super hokey because we stand in a circle and our eyes are probably shut and, if anyone is like me, we are swaying gently back and forth. But it’s a good way to remind yourself that we all have something in common which is the ability to make beautiful music together. That’s what the vocal warm-up means to me.

Roger: I keep myself busy.

Grant: By hurting yourself?

[Group Laughter]

Ashley: What does that mean?

Roger: I’ve have the worst luck this past month. On tour I almost broke my toe. I got back and I split thumb open, four stitches.

Beth: It was right before a big show.

Roger: I had to drum with this thumb and the worse flu I had had in years. [Also] on my birthday I sprained my ankle. It’s just ridiculous. But actually before a show I literally keep myself busy and I normally don’t get nervous. Or I’ll nap.

Ashley: What is your favorite song to perform live?

Beth: I feel like if there was any song that I wasn’t excited to play, it wouldn’t be in our set.

Roger: Yeah, I like playing all of them.

Grant: I joined the band after these guys had recorded the debut EP and there is a song on the EP called Bartholomew and if I’m totally honest that’s the main reason I joined the band. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard and there are these beautiful harmonies at the end of it and I feel really privileged to be able to sing those parts. We just recorded a video for it a couple months ago and it’s the single off the EP. (CHECK OUT BARTHOLOMEW HERE)

Ashley: What was the inspiration for Bartholomew?

Beth: I guess it’s about my own struggles with communication and social anxiety and all of those things. At the time I wrote it, I was also going through a creative rut. The lyrics are a little stream of consciousness and dealing with my frustrations always having to speak within these binaries and blah blah blah and I felt like I couldn’t communicate the way I wanted to and wanting to connect with people in a meaningful way and how it’s always combative. It’s about vulnerability, being exposed and feeling vulnerable.

Grant: You mean it’s not about Bart Simpson?!

[Group Laughter]

Ashley: How are you balancing your music and the band with other obligation with working and paying bills?

Grant: Sleep less!

Beth: I really wanted to make music a center part of my life so I pursued a career that would help me do that. I’m a massage therapist and my schedule at work is pretty flexible. I tried to set up my life that it would be accommodating to making music and that I’m not working a soul killing 9-5 kind of deal. That was not working, I felt the least creative when I was doing stuff like that.

June 18, 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with The Wooden Sky. Photo Credit: KJ Photography

June 18, 2015 @ The West End Cultural Centre with The Wooden Sky. Photo Credit: KJ Photography

Roger: I’m kind of like Bethany in a way; I fix musical instruments so my hours are somewhat flexible as long as I put the hours in. You know, it’s a big struggle. You just do it. It comes down doing it and lots and lots of scheduling. Sticking to the schedule and actually having a plan ahead of time and making sacrifices.

Ashley: What is the best advice you have heard since you started working in the music business, something that has just stuck with you? 

Trevor: For me, it’s the advice that I earlier regurgitated that you have to play what you love. I think its super important. That’s where it starts and ends.

Roger: I don’t remember who, but I just remember someone at some point was like “Don’t be a dick.” Go to shows and don’t be an ass. I think that with the four of us, it’s kind of nice being in a band that you walk in and you know that none of your band members are going to be an asshole to everyone around you. It sucks [when that happens] and that’s one of the biggest things. People won’t want to deal with you, it doesn’t matter if your music is great, but if you are an asshole they aren’t going to invite you back.

Grant:  I heard it from James Mercy, if you are afraid of something that you have done or something you’re going to do; it’s something that you should follow or at least pay special attention to it. That fear means you’ve touched into something that is sensitive and that works in a couple ways. You’re either going to step outside your boundaries a bit which is going to lead you to a new wealth of experience or it’s something to share with others which is going to lead you to find some commonalities with the rest of the world. It’s liberating to smash through that boundary and to follow that sort of trepidation and turn it into a positive.

Beth: If you feel there isn’t a place for you then carve your own path, whatever way possible. Things don’t always have to look a certain way for you to have space in the world. By being your own awkward self, just keep being your own awkward self and deal with the crap that comes with it, you’ll have to anyway. If you want to be a performer, you just have to do it in a [louder] way. If you’re doing something you love to do, you’ll be doing it anyway so embrace the awkwardness.

If you want to hear the advice from Autumn Still on how to record your music or get funding, like this post! There was just so much to fit into this interview that I couldn't fit it all in; but if you want to hear some really great information about making the decision or record and apply for funding, show this post some love!

Click the like button down below!

Flo
www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

Instruments: Voice and piano

Genres: Soul, Urban and Pop

Flo and I met back in December 2014 when we were both performing at a Holiday Party. It was one of the first times I ever performed solo and was really nervous. Flo did an excellent job calming me down and encouraging me. (Her performance was also absolutely stunning, by the way.) I knew she would be a great choice to ask to interview because she would have great advice and feedback about the music industry. Her bright and energetic personality was amazing to watch and listen to as she passionately talked about her musical experiences. You can tell this girl absolutely adores music. 


Ashley: What made you decide to do music?

Flo: For me, it was the one thing that felt right. I felt this fullness, this connection. It not only felt right, it felt good. Everything else I tried and looked into, when I was looking into different careers and fields, nothing felt like really and truly me. [Music] felt like a great fit for me because it was effortless. I loved it.

A: How long have you been professionally singing?

F: This sounds hilarious but I always joke around when I “came out of the closet” with music; because I was definitely more of a closet singer. Growing up, myself and my sisters and my cousins all loved to sing. I always believed because of the way I grew up that the arts like dance, drawing, writing stories anything artistic was a hobby. It’s not something viable.

Now that I look back on it, I was naturally always artistically driven. My sisters and I sang since when were like who knows. I have a memory of the three of us being buckled up in the back of my dad’s car and the radio would be on and we would be singing and I remember him turning around and being like “How?! Who taught you guys that?” We just sang, we just imitated what we heard on the radio and we still sing all the time.

I used to love dancing. I watched those shows like ‘So you think you can dance?’, I love it. Singing, dancing and I still have my old sketchbook. I love writing stories. All the stuff came so naturally to me. Nonetheless, it was something I tried to repress or throw in the closet or under the bed and not open it up. I thought if I would sing it would be in a choir or in the shower or in the car. But it wasn’t until 2003 or 2004 where I got to the point where I said “enough!” Be you. Be real. You cannot live the life other people want you to lead because at the end of the day if you’re miserable it’s you that you have to account for. So in 2003 or 2004 I promised myself that I was going to take steps and cross paths with people, figuring out what I can do to actually take it seriously and pursue it. Since then it’s been a journey.

A: Whom do you listen to? Who inspires you musically?

F: Okay, if I have to narrow it down my favorite are the American R&B songstresses or soul divas. Everybody from Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Brandy, Monica and who am I missing? There are so many. John Legend, I was just setting off all these females but also Stevie wonder. My favorite are definitely the rhythm and blues and soul. That’s my language. That’s what makes my heart beat. There are many more, but those are the main ones.

A: What accomplishments are you most proud of?

F: If I’m going to be real and sum it all up. I’m happy that I decided to take that leap and pursue music. It was a scary thing for me. But it’s changed my life and I’m happy I did it.

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

At one point I’ve wrote a list of venues that I’ve dreamt of performing on. Stages that I dreamed of gracing, and would you believe it, about a year ago I looked at that list again, and I got goose bumps. I’ve done it! Things like that, it’s just crazy. I don’t want to sound like I’m tooting my own horn or bragging. I view myself as a regular girl-next-door, a regular person. But some crazy things have happened to me on this journey that wouldn’t have happened if I had not pursued this. I love Lauryn Hill, and getting the opportunity to open for her at the concert hall or getting the opportunity to perform at the Burton Cummings theatre. There was a benefit concert at the MTS Centre and singing on that stage was insane.

If I told Flo from the past that these things will happen I would have laughed at Flo from the future and said “Come on, let’s be real.”

Those things have given me the faith and the boldness to be like “okay if these things can happen, the sky’s the limit. All things are possible.” Sometimes when I have those down days or down moments. I think to myself, “don’t forget what has happened before. Hold on to your faith, keep on looking forward because the best is yet to come.”

Don’t get into those pity party moments because we all go through those up and downs when we have our vision in mind and we know [it’s] going to be our Mount Everest or our large goal. Sometimes when we look that big goal and it’s so much greater than you, so larger than life and you wonder how you’re going to get there. Baby steps. Which is why when I look at myself and where I’m at, I think “Oh my gosh, this is going to take forever” I need to remind myself that it’s step by step and bit by bit. From where I started to where I am now, things have happened and more is to come.

A: How do you deal with nerves before a performance?

F: Well, I actually heard something that I will never forget that I tell other performers too. I think I as watching an interview on E talk or something. They were saying the greatest performers like Cher, Adele, Madonna get nervous before shows.

Adele, actually, when she had just released her album 21 she was saying how she got so nervous that before a few shows she would projectile vomit. She had a story where she was in Germany on her balcony and she was so nervous that she ended up puking on a fan. From her perspective she’s thinking, “What if I’m not good enough? What if I disappoint all these people who have come to see me?” I was shocked, I couldn’t believe Adele felt the same way.

What really got me was that other than these legends still feeling nervous; I think it was either Cher or Madonna, one of them said that it’s good to feel nervous, like an Olympic athlete before their big feat because that nervousness gets converted into adrenaline. A lot of times, when you have the best killer performance, it’s that adrenaline surging through your veins and arteries.

On top of that, what I got from the show that I’ll never forget, when you stop getting nervous get worried. It means you don’t care anymore, right? And sometimes maybe for smaller performances, where my heart might not be in it, I do okay. From my perspective and from what I know I can do, if I lack lustre and feel that’s it’s a mediocre performance I know I can do better. I find the performances where I’m nervous, and I HATE that nervous feeling, I HATE that feeling where, forget butterflies, BATS are in your stomach and you feel like you are going to puke and you are overthinking. I find those performances that I care so much that I want to do well. That nervousness, as soon as you hit the stage becomes adrenaline and you just kill it.

I don’t like those pre-jitters. But from what I hear everyone; actors, comedians, dancers, professional athletes, they all go through it. It probably won’t go away but that’s okay because it’s normal.

A: How do you balance music with any other obligations you might have?

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

F: I think it’s a constant juggle. I think there are few people who have mastered the art of balance. They need to teach the rest of us. Some months or some days I’m better than others. It’s definitely a struggle. I’ve heard so many stories and I know there are artists where their careers are so successful but their family lives are just brutal; that really get’s my heart because I want to learn from their mistakes. There are some people who have won Grammies, American music awards, Junos and are constantly touring but they’ve had two or three divorces. Or they will feel like crap because they look in their sons or daughters eyes and they are never there for their soccer games or tucking them in at night. Or even their friends who only get to see them on TV but never in person.

Garth Brooks took a hiatus from his career because he wanted to raise his daughters and wanted to be a dad. He ‘s not just a recording artist; he’s a dad too. I really respect that because I feel that’s important. At the end of the day when you are celebrating your accomplishments with your music, you don’t want to be celebrating them alone.

Success in life isn’t about having a successful career but having a successful family and friends. One thing that I have been hearing lately that really resounds in my spirit is that family and relationships are the most important thing in life. Again, I’ve heard so many stories of successful people who are rich but they are so miserable and so lonely. At the end of the day let’s say, not to be morbid but at your funeral you don’t want one or five people there, not that it’s a popularity contest but you want to know that you’ve impacted and touched the lives of many people through relationships.

For me, I want to try my best to balance. Sometimes, if that means that certain aspects of my music career are going to be sacrificed, at the end of the day I want to sleep well at night knowing that I didn’t mess up when the time comes [something like] marriage or kids because I was so 100% focused on my music career. So to be honest, it’s something I want to master. Balance is so healthy and important. But it’s something that I’m continuing to learn more of and try to be very conscious about. 

A: What is your songwriting process?

F:  I learned that there are so many different types of artists but I find that artists fall into different pools. There are some people who are constantly multi-tasking. When they are on touring a specific album, they are writing their next album. They are finding bits and pieces of time while they are performing to record.

Some artists do things specifically in seasons. That’s me, I’m one of those people. I’m all or nothing. I have a season where I just focus on songwriting and after that, it’s the season of taking the songs and start recording them. After that I focus on marketing and pushing that album, then touring and so on and so forth.

For me, I have learned that I’m a melodically driven person by far. Melodies come to me like out of the blue. I can be in the shower, where it predominantly happens which is the most annoying thing in the world because you’re sopping wet.

I’ve tested it where I’ll finish my shower before getting out and recording the idea as soon and I’ve either forgotten it or it’s changed. I can be driving or at the mall and ideas will just come to me. Thank goodness for our cell phones with voice memos.

It’s great for me to collaborate. Knowing my strengths and weaknesses, it’s great to collaborate with people who are lyrically driven. I’ve met people; it’s funny how things connect naturally, who are opposite of me where lyrics come naturally to them but not melodies. I find that it works best to work people [who are like that.]

Not to say that lyrics don’t come to be, because they do, but I find melodies come to me so much easier. I used to start with chords, melodies and then a couple words will come to my minds or a concept or idea then plug it in and then morph the chords around the melody.

Yeah, melodies are out of my wazoo. It’s at the point where I’ve got tons of melodic ideas and I need to start putting some words to some of them.

As the Beatles did with Paul McCartney and John Lennon, I think it was Let It Be. They started by just saying “Green Eggs and Ham” and they had the melody. Also John Legend said he does [that for] the songs he writes. For All Of Me, maybe the first thing in his mind was the word ‘roses’. He would just sing with the chords he had “roses and roses” until sentences or more concepts came to him.

I’ve found that helps sometimes, I’ll be at the piano and I’ll have a chord progression, then all of a sudden some words will come and I’ll put other words together with other stupid words. Something eventually comes out. For me always start with the melody or chord progression.

A: What advice do you have for beginner singers?

F: Follow your heart. Never sell out and be true to who you are. I love what Sam Smith said at the Grammys. He was trying to form himself to what he felt what the world’s view of the male pop artist. He was trying to lose weight, sing a certain way and he got to a certain point where he was like “screw this.” He was exhausted because he would sing a certain way, create a certain image and would go knocking on the doors of labels and people and everyone was ignoring him and not paying attention. He got to the point where he was so tired of it and just started being himself. If people like it great and if not, they don’t. He was who he was and the rest is history.

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

Be true to who you are. Soak in as much as you can. Learn from those who want to teach you or go to workshops. Forget just music. Some of the most brilliant minds. have all said that the foolish one is a person who feels that they know it all, but we are all still learning. Learning is so important.

Keep the vision in sight, never stop keeping it clear. Don’t let other people pop it or break it down. Be careful who you share it will because some people who want to tear it down. It’s ridiculous but some people do. Work hard and keep really good people around you. Keep your eyes on the prize and your nose to the grindstone. That’s one of my favorite sayings. Surround yourself with people who are good and people who are stronger in certain areas than you. That’s how you grow. You become more like the people you surround yourself in. There is just so much to say, but that’s the closest I can get to summarizing it all.

A: So you sing and perform, how do you approach people to join your band for performances?

F: The same way as making Facebook or twitter contacts. Initially, when I started off with putting the band together I was a little nervous because what if they didn’t want to join. When I see a musician that inspires me or who is freaking amazing, I’m like “What the heck do I have to lose?” I’ll go up to them and give them my email or maybe if they are into social media I’ll Facebook or tweet them. Telling them “I would love to work with you, let me know if you are interested. Give me a call.”

Of course, it happens where people are busy with a ton of other bands. Or some people, and I’ve told them “Much respect, thank you for your honesty” they will be like “Look Flo, we aren’t really into the R&B soul thing, I’m definitely more country or folk or rock musician.”

I’d rather someone tell me they aren’t feeling it because I’ve worked with musicians who are so good for certain genres or styles of music but it doesn’t blend well with the genres I’m doing. Or someone is playing with me but there heart is not in it. You can totally tell the difference between someone who is passionate and who loves what they are doing with you and someone who doesn’t. I love working with musicians who have their heart in it and will be like “heck yeah, let’s do this.”  Just test it out and just don’t take it personally if it doesn’t work out.

A: What is the most stressful part of being a professional musician?

F: I’d have to say unlike people we know who have the 9-5 or 8-4 job; it’s instability. As people say, it is one in a million who get to that real spot of success. But then again, success is what we define as success. [For] Some people success is being able book coffee shops across the country or continent. [For] Some people success is being able to book venues the like the West End Cultural Centre. Other people, success is selling out arenas or stadium or concert galls and getting nominated for Junos or Grammys.

I guess there are some dry spells. There are periods where it’s quieter with gigs and you have bills and stuff. I’d have to say for me, the instability and for somebody who is a little Type A who likes to have things planned out. The spontaneity can be cool but other times it can be like “crap” how do you plan your life when there are surprises that pop out.

For myself and my goals, as I mentioned, my definition of success is big and out there and so keeping my eyes on the prize is sometimes hard. Meaning I do know what I want but perseverance and persistence and staying on this road [can be challenging] because I know some people who are so talented but got tired and exhausted and sick of [it]. Continuing to have faith in what I believe and to make it and get to the end of the road is the end goal.

The instability with the little surprises that come along and holding onto that dream and knowing it may seem invisible to a lot of other people but understanding it will come. Those two things are the most stressful.

Support Winnipeg musician Flo!

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Sandy Taronno from Indicator Indicator
www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

Genre(s): Indie Alternative Pop

Instrument(s): Bass Guitar, Guitar, Keyboard, Voice

Sandy from Indicator Indicator, originally from the band Quinzy, talks about the struggles of leaving one band and feeling the need to keep making music. He talks about the stresses of starting out and touring and talks about his decision to join the label Pipe and Hat. His was really interesting to listen to and I really enjoyed the way he understood each experience meant to him and what he took away from it all.

With me still not really used to meeting and interviewing band members, I was really nervous about meeting Sandy. I had heard great things about Indicator Indicator from a couple of my co-workers but hadn’t met them before the interview. I had volunteered at Sc Mira’s Album release on June 11 (which was an amazing show by the way) and got to see Indicator Indicator perform as one of the opening bands. They all had an excellent stage presence that really pumped the audience in a great way and the music was vivacious. You could really tell the crowd adored them. 


Ashley: What started Indicator Indicator?

Sandy: Well, Quinzy was just starting to wind down a little bit. We spent a long time with Quinzy, doing the four-piece pop rock band thing, a little more mainstream. We spent a lot of years trucking away, swinging for the fences with labels, things like that, and it started to weigh us down a little bit. But we’re best friends - we didn’t want to stop, and so we just put it away for a little bit.

But I’ve got the sickness worse than anyone else, I think, so I just couldn’t stop. I write, and songs just kept coming. My first love, since I was 15 or 16, has been home recording. So I kind of wanted to get back to where I started, which was these home recording projects. Not even thinking about how you would play them live, or what the point of it was. Just to make music for the sake of making music. That’s what the first Indicator Indicator EP was. [It was] me playing at home on my computer, recording all of the instruments myself. A little labor of love.

Then it was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award and things were going really well with it, and I wanted to take things further. But I wanted to do something different from a 4-piece rock band because I had just done that, and was a little bored with it.

So, I recruited a friend of mine, Matthew Harder, and we did it as a duet, striving to make as much noise as possible. We couldn’t quite play these rich pop tunes with just the two of us so we did a lot of digital vocal harmonies and looping and a bit of electronic sequencing. And things like that that were totally out of our comfort zone because we were just musicians, not necessarily technology-oriented people.

In fact, Matt is a folk player - blue grass, primarily - so we really pushed ourselves outside of our comfort zone. We spent a couple years doing the two piece thing, and did a little touring - it was really cool and fun. Then as the next recording started to happen, it was getting bigger with more live drums and real bass guitar, and I was starting to inch back to making it a band. I took this long circular route back to a 4-piece band!  But this time we’re using a lot less traditional electric guitar, more synth, more fake instruments and other stuff like that. Just blending organic with inorganic.

What I love about pop is that it’s like a mockingbird.  These birds are known to grab all the other bird songs they hear and blend them into their own collage. It doesn’t care about genres, it will just take what it wants out of everything. So, if you like a hi-hat tone from this hip-hop song, grab it. If you like heavy synth, use that. It doesn’t have a lot of parameters, and I like that. 

Ashley: Where does the name come from?

Sandy: It was a song title for about 10 years. I like song titles; I have notebooks full of them. For some reason its kind of where I start a lot of the time. So I had this song title that I really liked - I had read about a bird called the greater African honeyguide, the genus is “indicator” and the species is “indicator”. It somehow knows where honeycombs are trapped in trees, but can’t get to them, so it co-evolved with nearby tribes of humans, and would lead them to where the trees were and where the combs were trapped. The humans would crack them open and they would all get to share the honey.

I though it was the coolest nature story, plus I loved it as a name, but I could never find a song that was really good enough for [it]. Then when I was starting this new project I was like “oh good, I’ve got the perfect name waiting in the wing.”

Ashley: What is a practice session like with the whole band?

Sandy: I get to play with a lot of guys who have a lot of band experience, so we don’t have much patience for watching each other practice anymore. There are high expectations that everyone knows what they are doing, and so more we’re just tweaking and selecting who is playing what part, and making more “production” decisions than actually “can you play this guitar line”.

I tend to think with production in mind as I write, and maybe 1 in 10 songs I could just play on an acoustic guitar and have it make sense. I guess I could write more of those types of songs, but that’s not really where I lean. I like parts; I like having a bass line that’s distinctive to the song. When there are all these moving parts in a song and there are only four of you to play them, it’s more about who is doing what at what time, and making sure we’re representing the song correctly. If someone were coming in [and listening to this] cold, would they be able to understand it?

So it’s more about a “producer” mindset than “instrumentalist”.  I don’t want just a guitar player, or just a drummer. I want people who can do whatever. And so we’re just four producers trying to make something cool.

Ashley: So when you are writing music, do you think of every part? How do you bring that to the band?

Sandy: Usually I record it all and then say, “here’s what we’re playing.” Although this is the first recording that the other guys are really deeply involved. We’re getting ready to release a mini-LP, (it’s a little bigger than an EP, so I’m calling it a mini-LP), and one of the songs is called No Anthem, which is the first single, and I had it fully produced [to sound] kind of cool. But when I brought it to the band it just wasn’t working. So it got deconstructed and became something totally different and now it’s very much a band arrangement.

But for the most part they come fully fleshed, though. I did that a lot with Quinzy too. As soon as I get into a song, I can’t really let it rest until it’s finished in my head.

Ashley: I can’t produce music.

Sandy: You should try, it’s easy.

Ashley: I have tried, it’s too hard for me.

Sandy: The world we live in, every low-entry Macbook has Garage Band; which is an amazing recording tool and let’s you multi-track as much as you want. You can dick around, and no one needs to hear it. You just chisel away at it. Sometimes you can be recording something, a full song even and the only thing you like about it is this little guitar part, so then take that and build around it.

I think it’s a great tool and it’s obviously revolutionized music. People are making laptop rock. People are making full music all on their own and they don’t know how to play a single instrument. It’s lusher and more innovative than any 4-piece folk rock band you’ll ever here, again because they’ve got no parameters.

Ashley: I guess I can give it a shot. So who inspires your music?

Sandy: Bands that mess around a lot in the studio.  And people who can write songs. But that’s almost beside the point. Too me, it’s how can they make it interesting, different, cool. Subvert what may be a great melody. I find that stuff inspiring, and I’m often scared that I’m maybe not pushing myself enough to do that.

But also, modern pop. I love modern pop. With Tegan and Sara, when they just jumped straight into top 40 synth-pop recently… I thought that was a really cool move. And I know they took a lot of slack for it; but I think their songs are just so beautiful and air-tight, so unnatural-sounding, but so moving. It cannot be recreated. It’s an art onto itself. It’s unnatural. It’s an impressionistic painting or something. All kinds of pop nowadays, the amount of creativity involved is just staggering, the amount of love these engineers and producers are putting into it. Put headphones on and it’s a magical world, it’s great. And pop never gets credit for it. It’s seen as disposable, and maybe it is. The songs don’t actually “mean” anything, but they are staggeringly beautiful. Like that new Selena Gomez song; I mean, who likes Selena Gomez? But that song is so good when it comes on the radio.

We can’t do that modern pop thing, quite. I don’t have the skills, but maybe I would if I could.

Ashley: You mentioned a little earlier that you start with songwriting titles, but what exactly is your songwriting process?

Sandy: Sometimes titles. More often than not I’m sitting at the piano. It’s almost always at a piano. Once in awhile I’ll try to come from a more production-based place. I’ll get a really nice feel or beat or something like that and just improvise over it. I usually have email drafts of lyrics all over the place and when one melody comes out I’ll sort through the lyrics and see if anything goes with that; in terms of feel, or if it actually fits with the melody.

So it’s pretty rare that I just sit at the piano and pop something out all at once. Maybe a verse melody comes along, then I think about other chorus melodies I have laying around, and see if they fit. Look around at the lyrics I have, or see if there is a title I want to start with, and it slowly comes together.

But it can happen suddenly once in awhile. Our new record starts with a waltz called Instant to Instant, and that feels like the last time I just sat down at piano and was like, “Oh, here’s a song. Oh, and the lyrics came too, how nice!”.  I walked away that afternoon feeling all good about myself. But it’s usually a more painful process than that.

I try to be really ruthless with songs. My personal belief is that everyone can write melodies. Everyone can. When we’re whistling in the street, when we’re singing in the shower. People are creative. Every single person. I think the craft of it, or the hard part, is in he editing. Knowing what’s good and what is not, and being able to cobble it into something that both makes sense on first listen, and yet is not quite what people would expect.

Ashley: With Indicator Indicator, what accomplishments are you most proud of?

Sandy: Little moments. Like back when it was just Matthew and I doing a two-piece, when we were in Toronto for a little festival - it was our first time on the road, and we were still working out a lot of kinks. (Actually we never really got through all the kinks, we kind of just moved on). But it was particularly tricky in that first little go, to the point where two thirds of the shows were miserable. This piece of gear broke, I didn’t do this right, this looped sucked.

We had one of those shows, and it was a showcase where we were supposed to be judged, and it was a terrible show. I was like “Oh my god, I’m too old to have terrible shows like this.” We went home, had a beer and kind of licked our wounds because we actually had another show that night. We did eight or nine shows in six days, I think. So we had to pack everything up again and go do another show and THAT one we crushed. The idea that we just got right back up and put the first one in the rear view mirror, and then got a win. It’s those tiny moments that I love and will never get tired of. Because it should always be hard, it should always be SO hard so when you get those little victories it feels so good.

It’s a double edged sword, I’m always kind of proud of the product, but I’m never satisfied with it, I’m never really happy with it. I like the records that I’ve made, I like the recordings, I like the recordings Quinzy made. But I don’t listen to them, I would never listen to them, I would only hear the things I would want to change now. Similarly, I look back at shows and see the banter that I didn’t like, or the missed notes. So, the details are almost always painful, but there is a more general pride simply in that I get to be in a band. It’s the coolest thing in the world and I still love it.

I love it as a concept, but every actual moment of it seems frustrating and hard and soul-sucking [laughs]. But it’s who I am and I have to do it.

Ashley: What is you favorite song to perform?

Sandy: I think it’s the song called Back into the fire. It’s the last song on the first EP, and in retrospect it touches on the time that Quinzy was going for major label deals, and we got kind of close, but all around us we could just see that this model we were chasing was dying. That it doesn’t work anymore. It’s all going to be totally different soon so when it ended, it felt like I was escaping a burning building. But then I realized “Nope, I’m going back in. Here we go.”

It’s a simple song that just felt kind of pure coming out, and the feel of it works with the lyrical vibe. And I feel it every time we play it, almost every single time. It’s a slow, boring ballad and maybe we shouldn’t be doing it all the time, but I love it and it’s important to me. It’s one of those rare victories that I don’t always feel in songs.

Ashley: How do you deal with nerves before performing?

Sandy: [Points to beer] For the record, I just pointed to my beer. [laughs] No, I generally don’t get too nervous. What’s funny is that I’ll usually have nerves the day before. Or even the day of, but as soon as I’m setting up, that’s where the experience comes in. “Oh I’ve done this before, I’ve done this a million times. I know this.” This process of getting ready, strapping on your guitar, checking on your gear, tapping on your mic, it just puts you in this zone like, “I know how to do this”.

I used to have worse nerves, and you just have to barge through it. There is no easy way around it. Really, you should always have some nerves. If it’s just dead to you, that’s not a good thing. You have to feel some kind of apprehension that it’s not going to work, that you’re always on the knife’s edge, and you have to accept it for what it is. Yet, you need to realize that the stakes are not that high. I mean, you cannot play the worst rock and rock show ever played. You can’t. And what’s so important to you won’t be that important to the audience. That’s sort of sad and sort of cynical, but it’s the truth. All you can do it make them feel that this is as important as it is to you. The worse case scenario is not that they’re going to hate it, it’s that they’re not going to care. If you can kind of realize that without letting it take away your steam, you can put it in a proper context. I mean, this isn’t Doctors without Borders. It’s standing there trying to entertain people, and it’s been done a million times before you and will be done a million times after you. So just do you’re best.

That’s no answer for you at all, I’m sorry.

Or, I guess the answer is doing it again and again and again because you have to. That’s the only way.

Ashley: What is the most stressful thing about touring?

...it should always be hard, it should always be SO hard so when you get those little victories it feels so good.
— Sandy Taronno

Sandy: Money. It’s expensive, and being away from home is hard. I have a two-year-old son and it’s not easy to be away and realize he’s growing up without you, and that life just goes on. I know a few musicians for who [touring is] their primary source of income, but it’s very rare. For the most part, even the most creatively successful musicians have another job somewhere. They have to. Which means you need to leave that behind when you tour, and if you have a family you need to leave them behind too. There’s just so much selfishness that it can feel pretty bad. So, when you come to a place and play for no one, you wonder “why am I leaving everyone for this?” Yet, if you want to be in a band you have to do it. It’s a sacrifice, but really it’s a selfish sacrifice. And if you think too much about it, that’s what makes it hard. So, you just need to not think so hard about it at the time, and be very careful in the touring that you choose to do, and make sure each trip is the right move. That it’s appropriate, and it’s worth the investments. You have to do it for a very good reason.

Ashley: How did you get signed to your label?

Sandy: When Indicator Indicator started, I knew I wanted to release as much as I could on my own. I’ve always liked the do-it-yourself approach. I’m a very hands-on kind of guy. I even ran our own promotion campaign for the first record because I wanted to see what it was like. And I just like learning and seeing all the different sides of the industry.

Anyway, I was really happy doing it all myself and seeing how far I could get, but cracks were starting to show and I was hitting some walls. I wasn’t doing a very good job over here, or the music was suffering over there. And there were just these walls you hit – some things you just can’t do on your own. It’s not a matter of will, it’s that you just can’t do it. I came to the realization that I should probably team up with someone to relieve some stress and get opportunities that I can’t get on my own.

So I reached out to Pipe & Hat just because I wanted someone local that I could talk with in person everyday if I wanted to, and I felt like they’re hungry. Like, they have these large ambitions so in a way I can unload that feeling a little bit. Let them feel the fire and hunger so I can focus a bit more on perfecting my own little world.

These guys seemed to fit the bill, so I reached out to them and we right away got along beautifully and formed a fast friendship. I’ve been really impressed with what they’ve done so far and the level of professionalism that they’ve brought. They’re challenging us to raise our game, and that pressure feels damn good.

If you like this post, please hit the like and share button below! Please reach out to me via Twitter or my contact page! I would love to hear anything you have to say! Really, anything. I'm lonely. Also I now have a new Facebook page that will let you know when each post is posted! I would really appreciate if you could like it! Thank you!

Ty Vega from SC Mira
www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

Genre(s): Alternative, Folk, Indie, Pop

Instruments: Drums, Piano, Alto Sax, Guitar

I had never met Ty before this interview so I was really nervous meeting him. I realized right away that he is actually really cool and super easy to talk to! It didn't really feel like I was interviewing him, it was more like we were having a nice and friendly conversation. We actually lost a chunk of the recording, so I missed some really cool stories Ty shared with me; but I still learned so much from him. Check it out!


Ashley: How often and how long do you practice as a band?

Ty: Practicing in a band is much different from practicing on your own. If we have a show coming up and we feel really comfortable with the set, we will just play through start to finish. If we notice there is something off, that’s a little funny. We stop and work at that part. We’ll try to break it down if it’s a rhythmic thing, make sure out harmonies are correct, that we can hear each other, or see some parts are overbearing. If we find a particular line that we keeping flubbing up, we will work on it. If we do have something coming up, the main thing is we practice out set and transitions to make sure there is no dead weight.  We practice for the stage.

A: Who inspires you musically?

T: Everybody. Mostly. My dad was a big influence because he was always playing when I was little. He was in a funk/R&B/blues band so I grew up on a lot of MotownMarvin Gaye and Wilson Pickett. They played a lot of 80s and 90s so a lot of funk and rhythm sensibilities that I picked up early on translated well into soloing and grooves. Later on when I was learning piano, I got into classical and rock piano like Elton John. Also lots of classical rock, alt. pop, blues for soloing, and jazz because I was in jazz band in middle school. 

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

A: What kind of music did you learn for each instrument you played?

T: In terms of piano, when I was taking lessons at my neighbors, it would have been a lot of pop stuff from all over the place while using early technique books and stuff like that. The first time I focused on classical music was my grade 5 Royal Conservatory of Music exam for the high school credit. I also wanted to make sure I had something in my back pocket for teaching, and grade 5 seemed like a good benchmark. I ‘ve always had classical training but started jazz band in school. I also did a little jazz on the guitar for a little bit on the drums. In band class I was playing tenor and alto sax also upright.

A: What got the band Sc Mira together?

T: Well it started with the singer Sadie and I. I was a producer for a couple of her first acoustic folk songs and then we started writing together. A year and a half ago we were started as a duo, but decided we wanted it to be a full band. 

A: So then, what accomplishments are you most proud of?

T: Teaching little kids. I teach at a unique place, where at the end of the year instead of a concert or recital; we put all the kids into small bands. We then have five weeks of them rehearsing together on the same song. When you have these 6 year old on stage completely on their own, playing a rock or blues song, I guess it’s not my own accomplishment, but when I see them on the stage the feeling is so neat.

A: What do you like most about being a musician?

T: The biggest reason I like being a musician is because I’m good at it.  I mean that sounds arrogant but I feel that’s fair to say. For a lot of things that people do, if you’re good at something you generally follow that path. I’m good at it and I like it. It’s an artistic challenge. It’s logical challenge with pattern forming; mathematics, science and art components. It makes people happy and you get to share that with them. You go on stage and let go, play characters if you want. Open up and tell stories. As lame as it sounds, you reach for the stars. You get to travel or tour and play with other people. I love how you get to connect with others that are not a necessarily normal [way to communication with others], like talking. It’s kind of like an extra level of interacting with people. No one really knows why he or she makes music. I think I’m just making excuses as to why I make music [laughs].

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

A: What advice would you give to beginners who are just starting out?

T: Suck it up, [laughs] in the nicest way possible! For me, I still get extremely nervous. Not as much in the last year or so, but I would be terrified about doing any kind of performing with other people. I still get nervous. I don’t know how I got through it all those years or what kept me going; but there is always going to be some kind of nerves with showing something so personal to other people.  It takes guts to get out there. It’s not something everyone deals with on a daily basis. It’s not like your forced to go and play songs with everyone from the day you are born - like talking and walking. It’s still interesting that we don’t really understand why we connect to others with music so much.

To come out and say “ Hey I play music” and sharing such an intimate part of your like can be daunting. So to get over it, just close your eyes and jump off the cliff. Baptism by fire is the absolute best option for me. Some of the biggest things I’ve have to overcome, like when I played at the MTS Centre, that was the absolutely terrifying. If I had sat back and thought about it like “oh no I can’t do this, I’m going to mess up” I would have started doubting myself and throwing all of these things in the air that hadn’t been there before. I just closed my eyes, closed my ears, shut up and went out and did it. When I finished, the adrenaline and the feeling of accomplishment were amazing and there are very few things that match that feeling. On the flip side and you do go and make a mistake or embarrass yourself, which I have don’t countless of times, it will freak you out for a bit but it gives you really good incentive to never to that again.

Trust your gut. Trust your talent. Don’t listen to the voices in your head, just listen to the feelings; because that’s what music is. It’s feeling not thinking.

A: How do you balance music with your other obligations?

T: I’ve managed to turn music into my obligation. For example, being able to teach music as a job. I also do composing and songwriting or I produce and mix for bands, TV shows and movies; so that fits in really well. It’s difficult. But, the more I focus, the more it’s easier to become apart of my work and school life. It’s definitely a juggling act. You’ll find yourself  saying “I really want to work on this right now but I have an exam tomorrow” and it’s unfortunate. I could be 100% invested in music but it would make life very difficult at the moment. 

A: What is your common and successful songwriting process?

T: I would say there are three main ways I personally go about it:

1.     Someone needs a song. You sit down and say. “Okay I need to come up with something.“ It’s not very inspirational; but the music will be good! The music sensibility will still be there, but you’re being told to write something. The producer will tell me  “I need this, I need that” and I work on something and send it to them. They’ll tell me what they like and what they don’t and I’ll keeping working on it until it’s completed. That’s the least creative way. It’s still fun, it’s just a different kind of challenge. You’re trying to work to someone else’s schedule.

2.     The second way to compose is in a group, where I might start with some kind of melody or structure and sit down at the rest of the group saying “here I have this, I don’t know where it’s going. “ I’ll play something, they’ll play something; they’ll sing something, I’ll sing something.” We’ll sit together and work on a tune or two. It might take a day or a week; but the entire band works together. It’s really interesting because you get everyone’s different ideas. It’s like sculpting a weird sculpture with everyone brining his or her own chisel. It’s a very interesting process. A good team-building project.

3.     The last way to compose is the most personal way. It’s 100% just myself. I’ll hear a tidbit of a song and immediately have cogs turning in my head and out of nowhere I’ll coming up with a melody. Sometimes it can be quick, other times it will take forever. Many items it just clicks: BOOM, there it is. You’ll get an idea and sit down with it. Just keeping at it and building on it. Lots of times that will be without any instruments in front of me.  When I have something I like, I’ll run to an instrument to try it out. I’ll even try to record it to make sure I don’t forget it. I usually don’t but it’s a good safety net. The third option is the way I write most of my own personal stuff. 

A: Anything you are currently working on that you would like to share? Upcoming performances?

T: Nothing until the EP or Album release. We are releasing it at the West End Cultural Centre in June. Once we finish that show, we are going on the road for three weeks. We have a big tour across Canada and the United States planned. 

www.ashleybieniarz.com - Pianist | Singer-Songwriter | Winnipeg Music Blogger

If you like this post, please hit the like and share button below! Please reach out to me via Twitter or my contact page! I would love to hear anything you have to say! Really, anything. I'm lonely. Also I now have a new Facebook page that will let you know when each post is posted! I would really appreciate if you could like it! Thank you!