Wywiady

[Bee132]

Have you ever been to a concert to see the headlining band and suddenly find yourself asking, "Who the fuck was that awesome opening band?!" Well, that's what happens the first time you see The Trews perform live. This Canadian band has stolen the limelight wherever they play and it seems that they are finally being rewarded with a fan following that is both dedicated and loyal, and media types who are normally bored writing about the "next great band to come along in years" are finally sitting up and taking notice. These four Antigonish, Nova Scotia guys are just what you need to clear your mind of the same old mundane crap that seems to come out of the here today, gone tomorrow music industry. With melody-laced tunes, beautiful lyrics and the voices to sustain them, plus their energy-induced live shows, The Trews are not going to be forgotten anytime soon.

Getting their start wasn't easy however, especially when you live on the forgotten East Coast of Canada. They decided to relocate to Niagara Falls, Ontario, and in 2002 the band won a contest at a local rock radio station that proved to be the break they needed. Realizing this hard rocking band had something different to offer, Sony/BMG liked what they heard and snapped them up quickly, signing them to a record deal. They released their first full-length CD House of Ill Fame in 2003, which garnered them hit singles such as "Every Inambition", "Tired of Waiting", "Fleeting Trust" and "Confessions". The single "Not Ready To Go" hit number one on Canadian rock radio and was the most played song of 2004 in that format. Not surprisingly, it hit Certified Gold in Canada. The band released their follow-up to House of Ill Fame, Den of Thieves in late 2005. Singles off that album include, "So She's Leaving", "Yearning", "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me" and "I Can't Say." The Trews released Den Of Thieves in American stores on April 18, 2006 through Red Ink/Sony/BMG. I had the opportunity to speak with lead guitarist and vocalist, John-Angus MacDonald, the day after they won an Indie Award in Toronto for Favorite Rock Group, as voted by the fans.


TINA PEEK: Hi John

JOHN-ANGUS: Hello

TP: First of all, I wanted to congratulate you on your win last night for Favorite Rock Group Of The Year at the Indie Awards!

JA: Thank you!

TP: How do you feel this morning?

JA: I have a bit of a hangover....but other than that, I feel pretty good.

TP: I'm sure you were celebrating last night. Glad to hear you're feeling okay. I'd like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule and chatting with me today. Speaking of busy schedules, The Trews have been touring pretty much non-stop since the release of their second album in August of 2005, titled Den Of Thieves. You've been on the road playing and touring for almost two years now. Is it time for a break, or is the band already working on, or planning to work on, the next album in the not too distant future?

JA: Yeah, we sort of came to realize that it was time for a break in December. We wrapped up the last leg of the Canadian stuff for Den Of Thieves. We did a few dates with Guns N' Roses, and we'd been on this campus tour, and we were all getting pretty tired. So we consciously decided to cut down from then on. And we haven't been super busy since then, intentionally, just because we kind of feel that in this business, it's all about your next record and your next song and what you can do next. And albums and songs stick around a lot longer than live performances, so it's becoming increasingly important to take some down-time, reflect on what we're doing and writing. So since December, we've only done probably around twenty shows or something like that, which for us, is not very much. We did a couple of weeks in the States in February, at the end of February. We just got back last week actually and that was good. We did a New York show and did a conference down in Nashville and went to Chicago and a few of the major cities and it was good, but right now our main focus is "what's next?"

TP: You've had great success in Canada already, with two gold albums and 6 top ten rock radio singles. How does it make you feel to know that the band is finally being recognized by their peers in the industry, as well as media types, as a hard-rocking, hard-working, melody-laced, rock band, something your devoted fans have already known and appreciated for years?

JA: Hmmm, that's a loaded question...

TP: I know...

JA: I think that's a nice way to describe us, hard-working/hard-rocking. We work as hard as we rock and we rock as hard as we work. It's nice that the industry at large has been acknowledging what we've been doin' all along. You know, we ask ourselves this question a lot, it's like, "Would we be doing this without it?" And I think we would always be playing music, but the avenues that it has afforded us, it's totally changed our lives. We're really grateful for it, you know?

TP: Totally. In your opinion, do you think it's easier or more difficult than in the past, for a Canadian band to make it in Canada?

JA: Easier. I think it's getting easier, because people are finally paying attention to Canada in a big way internationally, and of course the Internet has just blown the whole thing wide open, which is obvious. There are so many ways to get out there now. I was doing a phoner with a Japanese magazine and they were asking about all the Montreal bands and all the underground bands and they were totally hip to that, everything is instantaneous now. So I think in a lot of ways you can get more attention, but I guess by the same token, there's more competition because everybody's got the same avenues available. But I think what's good ultimately floats to the surface, and I think right now is a good time for Canada.

TP: What about a Canadian band trying to make it in the States?

JA: Well that's a tough one. Like an age-old question, who gets to make it in the States? It seems like the luck of the draw to me sometimes. For us it's been a rough ride so far because we got involved in this record deal that wasn't too beneficial to us and they didn't work very hard, so one thing we did do, was tour a lot. We did like fifty or sixty shows down there and the fans we earned from doing that, still come to see us, as we learned a couple of weeks ago from going down there. And they're loyal. The thing about Americans is that they're loyal as hell!! When they get something in their head, it's hard to get it out of there. So when they decide they're into your band, they'll stick by it. The experience for us has been, it's been a long ride, but we don't intend on giving up anytime soon.

TP: Great to hear! So do you feel that Canadian musicians get the recognition and respect that they deserve?

JA: Yeah, I mean, look at Nelly Furtado and Nickelback and these are like the biggest bands in the world and they're Canadian. In one way, Canadian music is totally getting what it deserves...it's not my music, not what I listen to and like and make, but Canada is totally a serious player internationally and everyone knows it. But there are lots of other bands I'd like to see have the same success, ours included! But I can't say Canada is being shunned or anything. Canadians are making enormous headway all over the place.

TP: Yup, I agree...so Den Of Thieves was released in the United States on April 18th of last year. How do you think the band has been received in the States, where most people there have never even heard of Antigonish (pronounced Ann-ee-gon-ish), let alone Nova Scotia?

JA: Well as I mentioned, we toured and we toured with bands that were like us, with like-minded fans--one band, called Will Hoge, have become great friends of ours, and another band called Rose Hill Drive, who are amazing, and these are bands that are doing it the same way we like to do it, which is to get out and show people that you mean business and that you're not some fabrication of machines (laughs)--and we earned fans from that, from those tours, from those dates, that stand by us to this day and that's great! As far as the industry at large in the States, it's like a tough nut to crack, you know, because they tend not to let too many outsiders in, so you have to get in line and hope for your name to be called, I guess.

TP: I've heard that there are at least one or two of you in the band that are the real practical jokers. Who's the worst for pulling pranks and what did they do to deserve that title?

JA: I think we're all sort of equal in this...you know the road can get real boring if you at least don't make it interesting for yourself. So some of the things we like to do is to try and prank other bands, prank each other, it's like a constant evolution, this constant circle of pranks. Everybody gets their turn. I dunno, we're all pretty bad (laughs).

TP: Has any band ever gotten the better of you guys?

JA: Yeah, yeah...

TP: Have they?

JA: Oh yeah, it's sort of a thing you know, bands, their last night of touring and they...well, I remember one case, Big Sugar, on the last day of the tour we were doing with them, had covered our stage in male porn, just so that we could see it, the audience couldn't see it, but everywhere we looked, on our monitors, on top of our amps, on the drum heads of Sean's drums. We couldn't look anywhere without seeing this really graphic porno, so they got us...but, we got 'em back!!

TP: Too funny! So who is the level-headed guy in the band, the guy who keeps things together when they seem to be falling apart?

JA: I think that the other guys might bestow that upon me (laughs). I don't want to say it's me, without sounding, you know...

TP: Well you've got to be honest, right?

JA: Yeah, well that's sort of been my role, just to mediate between the negative and positive influences.

TP: And who would you say is the least organized of the group?

JA: Probably...Colin or Jack.

TP: What is the best part of being on the road?

JA: The best part is...the music.

TP: Just playing the music?

JA: I don't think we'd be sitting in a van or a bus or a plane together, 24 hours a day, just to hang out (laughs). So if there wasn't a show at the end of the tunnel, at the end of the rainbow, then we wouldn't be able to do this. The music is the best part of the road.

TP: And the least favorite thing about being on the road?


JA: Your mind and body tend to get frail, so I think just exhaustion would probably be the worst part for me. We really haven't learned to be responsible about it yet, and I think that's coming up for us if we intend to survive. It's just that we always get a little too excited and stay up too late and all those fun things. We get exhausted pretty quick and that's probably the part that bothers me the most.

TP: Your brother, Colin, is the lead vocalist and keyboard player with The Trews. What's it like having your brother play in the same band and having to spend that much time on the road with each other?

JA: I'll quote Spinal Tap and say we're all sort of brothers in the band, we all bicker and fight and have been through all that. It is what it is, you know, and I wouldn't have it any other way at this point. We just know each other so well, and we know how each other works, and I would much rather have it this way, than a bunch of hired guns on the road, which I find kind of impersonal. And right now it feels like a gang on a mission and that's the way we feel about it.

TP: It helps to have him there to bounce creative ideas off each other...

JA: Yeah, and that goes for the other two guys, for Sean and Jack too, because we spend so much time together. I mean, Sean is a cousin of mine and Colin's, and Jack is a friend since childhood. We just know where the other is coming from, generally and creatively. We know roughly who brings what to the table, so I think that understanding is cool.

TP: Definitely. And your sister Kate sings as well. I believe she sang back-up on one of your songs off your debut album, House Of Ill Fame, titled "You're So Sober". Do you come from a musical family background? Is everyone in your family musically inclined?

JA: Oh yeah, everybody plays something. I have a little brother who plays bass, and my younger sister is great at piano. And Kate is a great singer, and my dad played, and my grandfather on my mom's side was a country player, and so everybody in my immediate family was musical and music was always a part of my life growing up, whether it was the records and tapes and CDs that were on, or just the sing-a-longs and the kitchen party things. So it's always been a part of my life.

TP: And who were the guitarists that you emulated and considered your heroes growing up?

JA: Well, early on it was Slash. He was my first love on guitar, and that was probably what convinced me to pick up the guitar, was hearing Slash play.

TP: Really...

JA: Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, he was great. I still love it. I still listen to those old Guns N' Roses albums and think that he's so fresh and original and unbridled, and I definitely love that. And since then it's been about Jeff Beck and Joe Perry and Mick Ronson. And Gordy Johnson had a big influence, and guys like that.

TP: So besides the great wine, what made the band decide to relocate to Niagara Falls, Ontario and make that city their home base, as opposed to staying out on the East Coast?

JA: And what was the first part? Besides the what?

TP: The great wine...

JA: Great wine (laughs), that was it!! I think it was the heart-shaped jacuzzis and all that stuff...

TP: Oh really?! So you're kind of the kinky guy in the band then, right?

JA: Yeah exactly! I think we felt that we weren't getting any love on the East Coast from the industry because we weren't from Halifax. We were from outside of Halifax, and we just felt like outsiders there, so why would we be outside of Halifax when we could be outside of Toronto? (laughs) And we were aiming on coming here (Toronto), but we couldn't afford it, we didn't have day jobs, and we ended up in the Falls, which I don't regret for a second, because we met some great people. We rented this house, and we ended up writing the whole first record in that house. It was cool; it was a good experience.

TP: So what was it like coming from a small town such as Antigonish, Nova Scotia and trying to make a name for yourselves in the music industry, how difficult was it for you, for the band?

JA: It was a long road. We started playing together--myself and Colin and Jack--and I was like 15 years old and in grade 10, and we did the high school thing and we'd gig on the weekends. Then once we got out of school, we decided we wanted to keep doing it. We didn't let anything...we didn't back down and let anything get us down. A lot of anti-shows, a lot of industry criticisms of what you should be doing and all that shit, so we never backed down from what we thought was cool and we kept it up. It was a long road. It took till--I mean even now, we're still fighting--and every time you get to a new level, you see the next one and you want to start climbing towards it.

TP: Exactly. So what are some of the things you want the band to accomplish in the next year, or say even in the next five years?

JA: Well I'd like to see us get a little more recognition, do what we're doing up here, in America, it's important for us--same with Europe, where we have releases coming up, and in Japan--to develop a rapport with our audiences, like we have in Canada and in other places in the world. And also to keep getting better as a band and getting better as songwriters and making better records every time.

TP: And for yourself, on a personal level, what are some of the things you want to accomplish?

JA: I'd like to have my own house in the country somewhere, at some point. That would be nice. But right now we're still in working mode and I haven't really thought of myself outside of that too much.

TP: Well, you have been kind of busy...

JA: Yeah exactly.

TP: You guys have toured with some pretty awesome bands and artists over the past three years, like the Stones, Sam Roberts, Evanescence, Finger Eleven, Robert Plant, the list just goes on and on. Do you prefer playing large festival-type gigs, or smaller, more intimate venues? Each one has it's good and bad points and both offer something different, but which do you guys prefer playing?

JA: I gotta say the best shows that I ever attended, have been in small clubs. We got to see the Stones in a small club and Toots And The Maytals in a small club...and these are shows I remember because you feel like you're a part of something. And the sound's enveloping you and it takes you away. For the most part you're staring at a screen at a festival or at an arena. It's just a different approach. The short answer is we like playing a club better, because, and I think most bands would tell you, that it's a better exchange of energy, a better exchange of sound, it's a different mentality when you go out and you're playing in a rink or you're playing at an arena or whatever it is, you have to shift your whole thing. You gotta realize that there's people a half a mile away with binoculars and you've got to play to them as much as you've gotta play to the front row. So it's just a different philosophy. It's certainly a lot more glamorous to be playing the arenas, but I think we like the intimacy of a club better.

TP: Well John, I could spend all afternoon talking to you, but I know you're really busy and you have things to do and places to go, so I'll end this interview by asking you if there are any messages for the fans, or anything you'd like to add that I didn't ask you?

JA: As far as the fans go, I've always got to take the chance to tell them they're the best fans in the world. They've done so much for us, from winning that award last night, to being up for Artist Of The Year, they're always on line supporting us, there for us and helping us, which is just something we can't be more grateful for.

TP: Yes, I've been on your Myspace site and I've seen how the fans are extremely supportive of the band and will bash anyone who says anything negative. They're just right on top of everything. Anything they need to vote on, anything like that, if they're needed, they're there...

JA: They're so motivated aren't they?

TP: Yeah, it really is incredible! I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview today.

JA: No problem!

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[foragain]

będe musiał troche wiecej czasu poświecić na rozpracowanie tego wywiadu , ale dokonam tego !!! dam rade