And So I Watch You From Afar interviewed by Christine Leonard

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR

UNREQUITED OBSESSION

Northern Ireland’s upstart gift to the post-rock era, And So I Watch You From Afar, has been making waves and garnering restraining orders since 2005. Formed in Belfast, the intrepid four-piece surprises and delights by interspersing their angular rock hooks with dissonant bursts of electronic fury. 

With two albums and two EPs to their credit, ASIWYFA has earned a reputation for creating powerful, multi-dimensional, instrumental pieces augmented by the occasional glockenspiel or human voice. Burning the candle at both ends, dual guitarists Rory Friers and Niall Kennedy juxtapose melody and cacophony with incendiary results. Each pulse of noise, every break in the action, provides an abrupt but mutually-adopted jumping-off point for the band’s next musical (mis)adventure. With bassist Johnny Adger and drummer Chris Wee laying down a solid foundation, ASIWYFA’s towering sonic spires threaten to scrape the very heavens. It’s a good thing that these math-rock druids have their feet firmly planted on good old terra firma.

BeatRoute: How would you describe the current musical scene in Ireland at this time and where does ASIWYFA fall into the scheme of things?

Chris Wee: The Irish scene is still really healthy in terms of the quality of music coming out. Unfortunately, gigs are definitely feeling the effects of the recession with less numbers. We were fortunate to be coming up the ranks in Belfast at a time when there was a lot of collectivism and passion in the scene. ASIWYFA curated a mini-festival back in 2008 in Belfast, called “A Little Solidarity,” which showcased a huge variety of local talent and was a real high point for us career-wise, as well as a marker for how good our local scene was. There was a great sense of bands helping each other out and that is still very much alive in the present day. Back then, we were only beginning to do small bits of touring and were very active in Belfast. But, nowadays with our touring schedule we don’t get to spend much time in Belfast as we would like to. It’s nice to come back and get down to local shows when we’re home.

BR: How do you intertwine disparate elements like melody and brute force to make a cohesive whole? You often use explosive bursts of electronic distortion to punctuate and underscore your more straight-forward rock and roll creations. Are your juxtapositions intended as to come across complimentary rather than clashing, or both?



CW: From the outset, we have always strived to make interesting music, not just to entertain an audience but to challenge and entertain ourselves as well. We have also been keen never to cover old ground in terms of our writing and that has continually pushed us into new territory. Our writing process has evolved quite a lot since our first jamming way back in 2005/6. Rory [Friers, guitar] has always been the brains in regards to bringing the initial ideas of melodies, riffs and rough structures. Then, we get into the rehearsal room and thrash around until we start to get an idea of the song. That’s where the dynamics come in and ideas for ridiculous changes in pace or mood come from. We can be quite ruthless with material in that if we’re getting bogged down with an idea it’s better to cut it loose and move on to make sure the momentum and the creativity is maintained.

BR: In what ways is All Hail Bright Futures a reflection of the depth and complexity you’ve continued to build into your songwriting style since the release of your award-winning album, Gangs?

CW: All Hail Bright Futures was written with a lot less of the boundaries and restrictions we had with earlier work. With this album we decided that we would try and make the guitars sound as little like guitars as possible to keep the sound fresh and guitar lines were transposed onto other instruments to create a rich variety of sounds. We went into the studio with a very small percentage of the album written and it allowed us to be more open to different instruments and sounds, less precious over the older conventions of just guitars and drums. We approached it with really open minds and a willingness to try all sorts of different instrumentation. There was also a much more collective contribution from the three of us during the recording, the three of us were in all day every day constantly discussing and contributing ideas of how the song was progressing, which was an immensely satisfying experience.

By Christine Leonard

Originally published October 7, 2013 in BEATROUTE MAGAZINE 

And So I Watch You From Afar - Big Things Do Remarkable Live 07.04.2013 | Strom München

NO RIVER - An interview with Chris Nevile and Stewart Elton

NO RIVER

 

ROCK AND ROLL DEATH MADE COUNTRY by Christine Leonard

 

The best damn saloon-band this side of Wayne, Alberta: No River prefers rawhide to rhinestones. Half-cut and full-loaded, the Calgary-based five-piece makes light work of an honest day’s labour. Picking up somewhere between alt-country somnolence and folk punk bravado, they run down riffs like a barn cat going after a piece of tail.

“This affair started with Trenton and some friends who wanted to start a country band as a way to party during Stampede,” explains singer/songwriter/bassist Stewart Elton. “I’ve been playing together with Trenton for over 10 years and was quickly summoned to play bass. After a good two years or so of performing random covers, we had pretty much mastered the art of making just about anyone sound country. The progression went from doing straight-up versions of early classics, like Merle Haggard, to eventually trying to use that countrified style for other songs. We were having so much fun playing that after Stampede ended just we kept on going and eventually started writing original material.”

Rustling in mainstream fodder from hit-makers ranging from The Replacements to Garth Brooks, the jumped-up cover-project has set a prairie-fire on the lips of the Wild Turkey imbibing masses who swoon for the ensemble’s heady Western revivals. Testing the waters with their 2008 nine-track debut, Don’t Pray, the band won accolades for their deep rootsy tones, stirring refrains and superior instrumentation. Here, drunken laments and bar-stool ballads are elevated to legendary status. Heartfelt lyrical stories, clad in by bold yet worn-through melodies, which leave you moist with anticipation and limp with defeat.

“I think we gravitate towards songs that are deceptively easy, but sound outrageous when we present them live,” Elton surmises. “Sometimes we ask ourselves what we’re getting into, but then we just go for it. Now that there are five people in the band, I think we’re definitely playing rock music in a country style. We’re taking advantage of having banjos, lap steel and honky-tonk piano to get us where we want to go. And, we’re having a great time doing it.”

Though the sky may have been cloudless over their dusty trail, No River opened the floodgates by welcoming vocalist/keyboardist/morning DJ Chris Nevile to the fold in late 2011. Joining bassist Elton, percussionist Trenton Shaw, guitarist/lap steel/banjo player Lawrence Nasen and guitarist/vocalist Cody Swinkels, cougar-bait Nevile brings his own golden timbre (and swelling country organ) to the group’s double-proofed orchestral arrangements. Spurred on by the blessings of an innate yet rugged grace, a Marlborough Man’s laconic humour, and some seriously unironic moustaches, the gang with “Five Open Warrants” promises to return to the studio and begin recording a new album this fall. Until then, it’s a summer of rolling (in) the hay, splendour in the sagebrush and airbrushing Cimarron sunsets onto boogie vans across the nation.

“It’s gonna be a solid gold Canadian beaver summer,” Nevile affirms. “Canada Day and Stampede are going to be awesome and then we have a ten day tour out to Vancouver and back through Saskatchewan and Manitoba in middle of July. This time around, the plan is definitely to try to have some more rock jams to compliment our more introverted, sentimental, soul-digging stuff. We’re always trying out new material and we’re especially looking forward to unleashing this demon – this new crazy style that we’ve developed.”

Originally published on July 16, 2012 · by beatrouteab.

 
By Christine Leonard

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENS - Interview with TJ Blair

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENS

 

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?

 An interview with TJ Blair by Christine Leonard

Drawing their name from director John Sturges’ bandit-besieged Western classic, The Magnificent Sevens (or, Mag 7s for short) are Winnipeg, Manitoba’s answer to the eternal question: “O Brother, where art thou?” Road-hardened and battle-proven thanks to four years spent performing on stages from Gimli to Gastown (cutting a 7” with schlock rocker BA Johnston along the way), the DIY five-piece takes a certain pride in knowing they’re introducing a whole new generation to the earthy wiles of bluegrass music.
The Magnificent Sevens : Red River Beaver Feaver from The Mag 7s on Vimeo.


“It’s not that I’m a big Luddite!” says TJ Blair, guitarist/banjoist for the Mag 7s. “But we live in a disposable world and, for that reason, just being in an acoustic band statement is making a statement against the digital revolution. Let’s just say that when the apocalypse hits and there’s no electricity, we’ll be the most popular band around and will still be ramblin’ right along.”


High plains drifter Dirty Roads, released in 2008, was the Mag 7s’ first attempt at corralling the essence of their alt-country jams. Wanted for covering everyone from anar-punk pundits (and fellow Manitoba-ites) Propagandhi to Kentucky crooner Bill Monroe, TJ Blair and accomplices, including banjo/Dobro player David Nishikawa, vocalist/guitarist Matt Magura, fiddler Andy Bart and requisite high-heeled hottie/second fiddle Ida Sawabe, revel in treating today’s chart toppers like precious heirloom antiques.
“We’re into good art whether it be film, painting, music or some other form of artistic expression,” says Blair. “I could rant about avoiding commercialism and creating music for the right reasons, but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty, our aim is to produce songs that are well thought-out and that is what makes them beautiful.”


As unexpectedly satisfying as a Slurpee in December (Winnipeg sells more of those slushy drinks than any city in the world), the understated sophistication and chilly regard conveyed by the ensemble’s freshly-hatched 2012 release All Kinds of Mean brazenly interposes old school values and modern sensibilities.
“The new album captures our most recent collection of songs,” Blair confirms. “About 90 per cent of it was live off floor in Winnipeg. It’s about giving the recording that sense of a live thrill. We know what works for us by now and that method seems to be the ideal way to maintain the energy that you’d experience if you saw us at a festival.


“I’ve gotta admit it’s nice to play festivals with all that fresh air and those appreciative audiences,” he continues. “We get a lot out of performing alongside other folk acts, but the reality is that those types of festivals are literally dying out. And, as much as the bluegrass purists may protest, they don’t get a lot of younger musicians. So, they need bands like us — whether they agree with the direction we’re taking things in or not!”


Even with a generous dash of punk rock gusto throw into their rootsy brew, the Mag 7s display a remarkable degree of respect for the history behind their time-honoured, albeit ever-so-humble, genre. Able to attract and hold the attention of a wide range of music lovers including those Blair describes as “Suburban baby boomers and college crust punks,” the hollow-bodied quintet has found plenty of room to roam within the confines of their unplugged Appalachian asylum.


“Come September we’ll be heading down to a big bluegrass fest in Nashville,” Blair enthuses. “Canadians don’t pay much attention to bluegrass music but, in America, there’s a real musical snobbery to preserving the art form. Down there, we might not even be considered part of the movement at all.”
Shying away from laser light shows and pyrotechnic embellishments (apparently the vapour exuded by smoke machines wreaks havoc on the string slingers’ instruments), the Mag 7s hold true to the precept that just because you’re an acoustic outfit doesn’t mean you’re incapable of playing hard and fast with the Baptist big boys.


“We can definitely pull that stuff off, but at the same time I’m a little worried that they might think we’re bastardizing bluegrass by presenting our own take on the traditional. Fortunately, in my experience, the fans don’t discriminate. They just appreciate good music and that has kept us going. We’re still writing new songs and exploring new territory. At this point, it’s safe to say that we use country/bluegrass as a foundation but that we’re always searching, as artists on front lines, for possible new directions to take that music in and shine some new light.”

Originally published July 3, 2012 · by beatrouteab ·


Interview & Article by Christine Leonard

BLACK EARTH - An Interview with AJ Skull

BLACK EARTH

 

NIGHTMARES LAID DOWN TO WAX 

 

Article and interview by Christine Leonard

Breaking up (with the dead) is hard to do, but for Anthony Janicki (a.k.a. AJ Skull) a parting of ways with his Calgary-based horror punk band, Conniving Cadavers, was just the motivational shot in the arm he needed. Primed to match his mettle against that of bassist Glen Murdock (Sanity in Numbers) and, shortly thereafter, drummer Steve Richter, lead singer/guitar player Janicki launched a new outfit under the ominous moniker, Black Earth.

“If you look at my CD collection you’ll see over 600 selections running the gambit from Meat Loaf to Tegan & Sara,” Janicki reports. “When we started Black Earth, back in October of 2009, I just wanted to make rock and roll badass and cool again. When Steve came on board, his style allowed us to open up and experiment with that dirty rock sound. We all liked ‘80s hard rock so we thought we’d try our hands at mixing that genre with punk to see what happened.”

What happened was that Janicki realized he’d be better off devoting himself to his musicianship and letting someone else sit in the band’s hot seat. Moving away from his initial role of lead vocalist and all-around frontman, Janicki began to ease Black Earth’s hard-driving ethos towards something a little sweeter. Enter singer Erika Leah. Marrying her feminine vocals to Black Earth’s fecund rhythms, Leah has set the band ablaze with her idealism and creativity.

“Erika and I both appreciate that the paradox of rock and roll. The simplicity of the thing is what allows you to do so much within its architecture,” he explains. “We all have our own vision for the band. For example: if I had it my way, we’d look exactly like Judas Priest!”

He continues. “At first our stuff was all coming out of the extra material I had written when I was in other bands. Gradually, Erika started taking over on the writing, which is what I’ve always wanted. She’s a much better singer than I am. It’s awesome having her on the mic so I can focus on my riffs. I’ve always preferred the idea of being a mysterious, badass sideman, like Boba Fett!”

Regulars at local cantinas such as The Distillery, Broken City, Vern’s, Dickens and Mos Eisley, Black Earth garnered enough support to release their debut EP, Fingers Crossed, recorded with Casey Lewis at Echo Base Recording Studios, in June of 2010. This was followed by a critically-acclaimed, self-titled, full-length album in August of 2011. Refitted with rock-steady percussion, a femme fatale and a songbook full of freshly-penned nightmares, Black Earth has spent the past year diligently constructing an opus that accurately reflects the depth and breadth of their metamorphosis into a multifaceted, heavy-hearted, punk-rock entity.

“I think our new album, Dreameater, shows just how far we’ve come as a band,” observes Janicki. “It’s a more cohesive production. You can hear that we’ve kind of figured ourselves out, which is all the more impressive because haven’t been together for too long. Erika is a very talented and knowledgeable singer and pianist; she brings her own personal sound our concept. Her lyrics tend to be more personal while mine are more straight-forward rock tunes, but we bring the same passion, energy and execution to every song. We actually tried to get her to sing like Brody Dalle from The Distillers, with that sexy smoker’s rasp, but her voice was just too pretty to be punk rock.”

Like flies to honey, fans of Black Earth’s edgy, yet completely relatable, aesthetic have embraced Leah’s onstage presence as a welcome alternative to the usual four-guys-from-a-garage formula. Strutting their collective stuff alongside performers like Buck Knife, Caught Off Guard and The Vibrators, the feisty quartet has come out of the shadows into its own. Poised to celebrate the release of Dreameater, Janicki has plans to visit his neighbourhood pawn shop in search of a Saturday night special to put the perfect exclamation point on the end of Black Earth’s life sentence.

“It’s super exciting to be releasing this new album,” Janicki confirms. “We just completed a very successful mini-tour of B.C. and Alberta and had a chance to try out different stage shows. Erika likes to dress up fancy and the rest of us will wear all red and black, or dress up like post-apocalyptic Mad Max warriors or something like that. I always enjoy throwing some visual appeal into our performances; I guess it’s a vestige of my horror rock past. I worked at Dairy Queen in my youth and spent a lot of money on collecting sub-par guitars, so now I’ve got a bit of a reputation for smashing instruments on stage. I’m running low on guitars these days, but I love buying old televisions for $30 and putting them behind us while we play. The flickering static-light they cast is the perfect hypnotic, atmospheric lighting for our shows. Plus, they’re a helluva lot of fun to destroy afterwards.”

Originally published August 20, 2012 · by beatrouteab
 

By Christine Leonard
Photo: Sara Mohan

BOMBINO'S AGADEZ, THE MUSIC AND THE REBELLION : Ron Wyman Interview

BOMBINO'S AGADEZ, 

THE MUSIC AND THE REBELLION

: an interview with filmmaker Ron Wyman

-- Interview & Article by Christine Leonard-Cripps

 

SUB-SAHARAN HOMESICK BLUES

It’s a one of those universal truths: whether you’re cruising the cactus-studded Pearblossom Highway, snapping your fingers to the dulcet rockabilly-laments of Heavy Trash’s latest, or camper-waltzing through the majestic Rockies while the score to Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange blares from the rear speakers, no road trip is complete without the appropriate musical accompaniment and it’s all the better when that soundtrack chooses you. The highway of human consciousness certainly had an auditory detour in mind for documentary filmmaker Ron Wyman when he visited Africa back in 2007. Introduced to Wyman via his Berber guides, five wobbly, homespun guitar jams would become the accidental score to his next storytelling saga.

“I was working on a film about Tuareg nomads and wound up going over to Africa with an NGO that a good friend had been involved with,” explains Wyman. “I spent a month driving around this spectacular desert, 100 miles from the nearest road, building a narrative about them. They had one homemade cassette with a handful of recordings on it by a guitarist called Bombino. That tape was all that we listened to for two weeks straight and I never got tired of it. It was the perfect soundtrack to that incredibly magnificent region.”

A longtime fan of rock and blues music, Wyman was hooked. He knew he had to find a way to contact Bombino, who is also known as Omara Moctar or Goumar Almoctar, and to capture the enigmatic guitar maestro’s exotic artistry on film. Unfortunately, this was during a period of terrible social and political upheaval for Bombino’s homeland of Niger. Known as The Guitarists to the government of then-President Mamadou Tandja, Bombino and his fellow Berber bards were condemned as cultural propagandists for the rebelling Tuaregs. Following the murders of two of his bandmates, Bombino fled to Burkina Faso in order to escape the growing threat of violence. For Bombino, this episode was tragically reminiscent of his family’s flight to Algeria during the first Tamasheq rebellion seventeen years earlier.

“It took me the course of a year to track him down,” Wyman recounts. “By the time I got to Niger, he had left the country because he was being harassed by the military. When I finally caught up to him, he was at a home that belonged to some of his fellow Tuareg ex-pats. We hit it off immediately. He was sweet and shy. He had been driving a taxi between gigs and didn’t have a lot of confidence about his abilities. He started playing some music at the house and I saw him transform into this amazing, confident, beautiful entertainer. When I heard that music got a chill, and by the time I was done filming that song I realized, ‘Wow! He is more extraordinary than I thought!’ ”

Casanova of the Sahel

Bombino’s hypnotic manipulation of the high-and-airy West African guitar style parlays hardship into harmony. Multi-textured forays into the Afro-rock genre, which call upon progressive references to Clapton, Hendrix and Page, challenge any notion of geographic or spiritual isolation. Like Malian world music sensations Tinariwen, Bombino’s timeless voice echoes the ongoing struggles of his people (who call themselves as the Kel Tamasheq) whilst celebrating an inner strength and a heritage that is as boundless as the dunes.

“Omara (Bombino) brings in whole new elements to the tribal songs of these traditional stewards of the Sahara. There’s 100 years of history behind his music, but it was the way in incorporates modern guitar licks that blew me away,” Wyman explains. “Up in the Northern regions of Niger, the people are very poor, but everybody has clamshell cell phones with a couple of megabytes of stored music. They walk up and down the street playing these tinny reproductions and the music spreads by way of phone, cassette and word-of-mouth. They love to hear their own stories as reflected by their own musicians, so guys like Bombino and the other Tuareg musicians have a cult-like following. You could see people’s eyes light up when you mentioned Bombino. He represents something to the youth: a new breed, a new generation. That’s how he got the name. They called him, ‘the bambino, the young one.’ ”

Founder of ZeroGravity Films, Wyman has produced and directed numerous documentaries about global issues and the performing arts. 16 years of experience with CNN’s political division tempered by freelance work with media rogues like Michael Moore and Bill Maher has given Wyman a powerful directorial skill set that balances intellect with romanticism. Focusing his camera obscura upon Bombino’s provocative yet utterly appealing creations, he has successfully revealed the nomadic troubadour to a global audiences with the release of his film, Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion, in 2011. Sensible enough to capitalize on an all-too-rare opportunity, Wyman and Bombino also crafted a complimentary soundtrack CD by the same name, filled with the vivid biopic’s mystical, psychedelic, desert-rock.

“Every now then, you find yourself in the presence of someone and you know you’ve got something special. Bombino is like this. His guitars aren’t the best, but he’s got these long, adept fingers and a voice that really strikes you every time you hear it!”

Wyman continues. “I was convinced that in addition to a film we’d have to make a CD. That’s how Agadez came about. Agadez was my first CD production, although I have done several docs on musicians, including Tunde Jegede and Babatunde Olatunji. I am a musician myself, so music plays a big role in all of my work.”
Calmer conditions in Niger have facilitated this Prince-in-Exile’s return, but Bombino’s work is never done. An ambassador for change, the now 32-year-old desert bluesman continues to encourage his Tuareg tribesmen to push back against a rising tide of pro-extremist sentiment spilling over from neighbouring nations. Embracing his role as an influential figure on the international stage, Bombino (a boy who grew up admiring Western guitar gods) looks forward to touring the world and, one day, his own country.

“Even with an enthusiastic new government in place, dealing with the bureaucracy of Niger is a real headache,” Wyman acknowledges. “So, one night we rented generator and construction lights and headed 15 miles out into bush to film a live Bombino concert. We were totally amazed that so many people came out to see him perform in the middle of nowhere. That night he showed us his true soul. He played that acoustic guitar like Jimi Hendrix and John Lee Hooker, but in his own incomparable style.”

Tapped for distribution by international music label Cumbancha Records, Agadez (so named for Bombino’s birthplace) received widespread critical acclaim. The soundtrack-album debuted at the top of the iTunes World Chart in April of 2011 and the website subsequently dubbed him “Breakthrough World Music Artist of 2011.”

“Touring with Bombino, I’ve seen him accepting his celebrity status in a subconscious way. Not in an ego sense, but taking responsibility and becoming tremendously more confident. It’s in his Tuareg nature to want to run against the grain. They don’t want to be told how to worship or that their women should cover faces. Mainstream Tuareg don’t want anything to do with that, they completely reject the horrible things that have been happening in Chad and Mali. The Tuareg are trying to separate themselves from al-Qaeda’s influence and Bombino has been paying attention to their desire to secure Niger’s borders. His words have a tremendous impact, he dreams of touring to promote unity within Niger. Bombino definitely has his head screwed on right. As a Tuareg, he is very centred and self-dependant. The world could learn a lot from them.”

Relocated to exotic Nashville to embark on the recording of a new CD, Wyman confirms that Bombino plans to release his second full-length album in the spring of 2013.

“I believe that Agadez will be Bombino’s signature CD, having a certain authenticity from being recorded in Agadez,” Wyman observes. “The new CD is an evolution: it will really put him on the map. He’s really stepped up to the plate with this new material, still maintaining Tuareg themes, but exploring his own sound and taking it to the next level. He is a rare talent: you can identify his unique and beautiful style by hearing a few seconds. It is hard to know the literal themes he is working on, as all his songs are sung in Tamashaq, but if the rough mixes are any indication of what’s to come, I can’t wait to hear the rest. He’s really going for it and doing lot more with his technique. For me, it reaffirms what an incredible talent he is.”


By Christine Leonard

Originally published via Beat Route Magazine July 2012

HOT SNAKES GET ON THE PLANE : Rick Froberg interview -

  Q&A Interview with 

Rick Froberg of Hot Snakes 

EMERGING FROM THEIR 

HARDCORE HIBERNATION

Your quintessential, all-American post-hardcore band, Hot Snakes is the herpetological dream-child of San Diego rockers Rick Froberg and John “The Swami” Reis, both formerly of Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu. A tightly-fit group with a free-wheelin’ spirit and punk-fed sound, Hot Snakes tore a gaping hole in grunge’s plaid-flannel mosquito-netting.

Obsessed fans and startled peers couldn’t get enough of the brooding self-immolation heard on early works, Automatic Midnight (2000) and Suicide Invoice (2002), the nonchalant melodrama of 2005’s Peel Session EP and ensuing insanity of their band’s sole live recording, Thunder Down Under (2006). Throughout, Hot Snakes never shied away from exercising their musical might, standing pat in the centre of a celluloid cyclone. Then, just like that, Froberg and company suddenly called it quits: after half-a-decade of laying it all on the line, Hot Snakes had reached a dead end.


Then, after a prolong period that saw the outfit’s various members join the ranks of acts including The Night Marchers, Beehive and the Barracudas, Earthless, Rocket From the Crypt, Obits, and The Sultans, guitarist/vocalist John Reis, bassist Gar Wood and percussionist tag-team Jason Kourkounis and Mario Rubalcaba put to things all right between them and emerged with a fresh (and perhaps even thicker) skin, ready to perform again. For lead vocalist/guitarist Rick Froberg, who fills his days in New York labouring as a visual artist and illustrator, the chance to reunite and tour with Hot Snakes once more is just another walk in Central Park.


BeatRoute: Looking back at 2005, what do you now think were the major contributing factors that lead to the dissolution of both Hot Snakes?

Rick Froberg: Snoring was a real problem.

BR: What interesting projects, musical or otherwise, have you pursued during your auditing hiatus from Hot Snakes?

RF: I just found other things to do. I don’t think the breakup of the Hot Snakes had much effect creatively apart from making everybody available to do other things. Hot Snakes doesn’t write songs at the moment, we just play. That is our sole purpose.

BR: In 2011, Hot Snakes reunited. How did that come about?

RF: We were asked by Les Savvy Fav to play at ATP in the U.K. We were offered decent money and everybody seemed to think it would be fun. We figured that since we were going to the trouble, we might as well play a few others.

BR: Were there any aspects of the band that you were determined to preserve?

RF: They’re preserved anyway. It’s all the same people and everybody knows the deal. It’s pretty much the same thing it was in 2005 and prior.


BR: Likewise, what changes did you want to see emerge in the reincarnation of Hot Snakes?

RF: The snoring has to stop.

BR: How has the fan response been to your “comeback”?

RF: Good! I haven’t heard many criticisms, and the shows have been packed. Maybe you have to break up to be appreciated. It’s worth a try.

BR: How has the scene developed (or deteriorated) during your absence from touring and recording as Hot Snakes?

RF: As far as we’re concerned, it hasn’t. There is our eerie new popularity, but that’s about it. We’re older. Many of our friends are still out there slugging away on a shoestring. We’ve played a few festivals and we’ve had a cursory look or two at some of the new bands out there. They seem to have some sort of scene, but it doesn’t really include us and why should it? Their thing is for them, not us. Makes you feel a little lonely…we’re just going to try and finish the run and have a good time doing so.

BR: When I first interviewed you in June of 2009, we talked about your other group, Obits, being a post-Helvetica band. If you had to characterize Hot Snakes circa 2012, how would you describe your situation in the ‘post-hardcore’ zeitgeist?

RF: Comic Sans.

BR: Any regrets or sage advice for the newbies?

RF: No regrets. Get back in 20 years when I’m eating dog food and ask again.



by Christine Leonard
Photo: Chris Woo

Originally published via Beat Route Magazine June 2012 

LEONARD COHEN vs. TICKETMONSTER -- an article by Christine Leonard-Cripps

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded

The unquiet case of Leonard Cohen vs. Ticketmonster

 

This past November, performers with the city’s famous One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre regaled Calgarians with their spirited performance of Doing Leonard Cohen – an evening of poetry and music that traversed the Canadian artist’s dynamic oeuvre using equal doses of passion and humour.

While this dynamic homage to one of our nation’s most noteworthy authors temporarily satisfied fans with tributes to Leonard’s lyrics and prose, it only whet their appetites for more of the real deal. When it was announced that the elder statesman would be performing a series of concert dates across Canada, many leapt at the chance to take in a rare live show.

Unfortunately, for dedicated Cohenites, their anticipation turned immediately to disappointment as Leonard’s upcoming shows appeared to sell out within minutes of going on sale to the public on March 2, leaving many fans empty handed and disillusioned. Worse yet, second-hand tickets appeared for sale at outrageously inflated prices on other websites within mere hours. The same story unfolded across the country at GM Place in Vancouver, Rexall Place in Edmonton and at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, where 4,600 tickets for Cohen’s two May concerts were snapped up through Ticketmaster and the house’s box office in a half hour. Shortly thereafter, the same tickets began popping up on TicketsNow.ca, Ticketmaster’s own resale website, the asking price inflated from the original $60-$250 range to a whopping $300 to $1,600 for a single seat.

Those looking to see Leonard at Calgary’s prestigious Jack Singer Concert Hall show (the Killers had already booked the Saddledome for that night) met a similar fate. Terry Rahbek-Nielson, a long-time admirer of Mr. Cohen, went so far as to express her displeasure directly to the tour’s manager Robert Kory.

“When it came to booking a spot in Calgary, the LC camp ran into a challenge,” explains Rahbek-Nielsen. “The venue they wanted was already booked and they decided that, rather than skipping Calgary altogether, they'd book the Jack Singer. It's a great venue for those who (can afford) the tickets.
“I think the LC camp is handling this with integrity and fairness. They seem to be doing all they can to level the playing field for concert goers. The ‘no comps for the crew and friends’ policy is quite a big deal. I think the no comp policy for the Calgary show is a result both of playing such a (comparatively) small venue and the high demand for tickets. The word is out in roadie land that there are no comps. That's unusual and I like it.”

Even with the possibility of vying one’s way onto the guest list out of the picture, some of those seeking tickets were still able to gain access to Leonard Cohen tickets via a handy side door known as ‘the official fan club.’ This was the route chosen by savvy customer Jeremy Hart who nabbed one of the coveted seats for the show.

“I was fortunate in that my sister is a long time member of the LC fan club. She turned me on to LeonardCohenForum.com and, in addition to some excellent topic discussions, there was to be a fan club presale (one day only on February 25),” says Hart. “The night before the presale, the password was changed, presumably to throw off some of those who were registering with the forum to get the password and post it online for everybody. On presale day, I had decided to purchase one ticket at the lowest price level (for $123), which I managed to do without any trouble. Within an hour, the presale tickets were all gone.”

For those with deeper pockets, VIP tickets to the Jack Singer event were listed on sale at the same time as the presale. Consuming what Hart estimates to be least the first ten rows of each venue, available real estate in these choice spots came in at a base price of $549 each.

“I went online at exactly 10:00 a.m. when the general sale started to see what was available,” continues Hart. “I asked for one ticket at any price level and it couldn't find anything for me. I tried a few more times in the next 20 minutes to no avail. When I asked at the Ticketmaster outlet (at the University of Calgary location) after the fact, they said they managed to get tickets for the first two or three people in line. The others left disappointed and angry.”

Earlier this year, following an outcry from Bruce Springsteen fans who were similarly jilted in New Jersey, Ticketmaster agreed to pay the state $350,000 and significantly modify their methods of operation in the US. Now, Ontario’s Attorney General Chris Bentley is involved and there’s an ongoing investigation of the way in which the company does business in Canada. This comes after at least two class-action lawsuits were filed against Ticketmaster in Canada. Specific issues of contention are the company’s whopping service charges and monopolistic ownership of TicketsNow. The plot thickens as Ticketmaster is poised to absorb yet another piece of the market in the form of a merger with the world’s biggest concert producer Live Nation Inc., who move an estimated 45 million tickets a year. They’re also the guys who just sold out U2’s next tour in 60 seconds.

With this many shows going on, it is apparent that Leonard Cohen's rapid sell-out wasn't all that out of the ordinary for Ticketmaster. Calgarians hoping to catch a glimpse of acts like Iron Maiden and Metallica had to strike like lightening and, even then, scores were left out in the rain. Hardcore music acolyte Chad Naclia was one of the lucky few who managed to get in, but as with many concert-goers, the experience left him somewhat jaded.

“My last few experiences with ‘The Man’ were pretty typical of what many people have been experiencing,” confirms Naclia. “For both shows involving the Sword last December – I think Metallica and Lamb of God played as well – I jumped online at 10:00 a.m. on the button to grab my ridiculously overpriced tickets. I tried to grab two tickets within ten to 20 seconds when the sale opened for the floor and I received a message along the lines of ‘there are no tickets available for your request.’ But I was conveniently directed to a related website that had many tickets available. They even had floor tickets. I know people who purchased tickets that way for about $400 a piece.”

The intricacies of sanctified scalping and dirty double-dealing aside, how does the process of buying and selling tickets reflect upon the artist? Well, according to each of our interviewees, they see the problem as having to do with the system not the musicians it represents. Legal action may eventually resolve some of the issues surrounding Ticketmaster and TicketsNow, but until that time audiences will have to continue to que up in the hope of being given the opportunity to pay through the nose.

“Who doesn't like Leonard Cohen? He's a wonderful talent and a great representative of Canada. Leonard Cohen has gifted the world with so much beauty... he deserves every accolade and every bit of good fortune he receives because of it. My annoyance with the whole business is with Ticketmaster,” reiterates Terry Rahbek-Nielsen. “I tried to get tickets online, and in person. The original tickets were gone before I could blink twice and the overpriced resale ticket are a complete scam. So, we will go to (see him in) Edmonton.”

Jeremy Hart agrees that some shows merit a higher ticket price, but wonders about the lack of restrictions placed on Ticketmaster and their lion’s share of the gig market. He also points to ‘cratering’ record sales as part of the impetuous behind elevated ticket prices.

“The acts and promoters know that most of their album's plays are generating no income for them, so they're looking to recoup that money on the road. For me, it was worth the expense. First, my ticket is probably the best I could get for my price range. Second, there is a very good chance that Mr. Cohen will not be doing this again as he is in his 70s. Third, in terms of Mr. Cohen's western road swing, Calgary is the anomaly,” Hart explains. “The problem is allowing Ticketmaster to own a company that operates in the secondary ticket market. This seems a direct conflict of interest to me and is, at best, legally dubious. If I'm not allowed to sell a ticket for more than its face value, why does Ticketmaster or TicketsNow get to? Hell, bring back BASS Tickets. At the very least, give the venues the ability and reasonable means to sell the shows independently.”

Chad Naclia agrees. His prescribed remedy is a home-grown option.
“Just as smaller venues in the city – Broken City, HiFi, the Distillery, the Stetson – release their own tickets, therefore keeping the money within the venue and the community, all venues, including places like the Saddledome, should be in charge of managing their own ticket distribution.
“It's not rocket science and it's as simple as that.”


Originally published in Beat Route Magazine by Christine Leonard