THE MUSIC ZINE - ISSUE NO.2

THE MUSIC ZINE - ISSUE NO.2

WE’REBACK BABY! SPECIAL GUEST INTERVIEW WITH:

ISSUE NO. 2

BONUS INTERVIEW INSIDE

PHOTOCREDIT: NEAL GANGULI

WE’RE BACK BABY A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

DISCLAIMER It’s a running theme in the ZINE HQ, that everything’s finsihed last- second. Please reach out to any of the bands through their provided social media handles for confirmation on their respective shows listed here within. Everything is subject to change! Our community is growing and TO venues are hopping aboard providing their show dates and info. Collectives are jumping aboard also such as: Little Depth Recors, A-Minor presents, Fuzzed and Buzzed, Smoking Room Only presents, and Save Toronto Music Venues. If a hard copy of this issue finds its way into your hands and you are involved in any way in the Southern Ontario Music Community REACH OUT TO US!!! DON’T BE SHY! @themusiczine [email protected] Our shows our now listed on our BRAND SPANKING NEW WEBSITE! THEMUSICZINE.CA Thank you so much to everyone who collaborated on Issue No.2. Big ups to the relentless photographer and all- round media genius, Neal Ganguli; our very own Tech Muff-diver Ben; and all the hard-wording folks over at LDR. MUCH LOVE AMIGOS! A HUGE thank you to HARM & EASE, and Jorge from The Piston Bar, who both were an absolute pleasure to interview; and all the two-piece bands who responded so aptly to our survey. It was so much fun collaborating together to produce something that, we at The Zine, are very proud of. Get your reading glasses on because this Issue is BEEFY! NAMASTE BITCHES!

The Summer is in full swing and shows are happening left, right, and center. Let us be the first to say that you guys are kicking some serious ass and taking names; that goes for the bands that are playing their hearts out and all the awesome people going to shows and committing to new music. WE SALUTE YOU! The bands in Onterrible are really starting to band together and shine through the shadow that was cast over the last few years. Bigger and better shows are being organized and everyone is raising each other’s game. In this issue of the Zine we will be chatting with the mighty ‘Harm & Ease’, one of the hardest working, velvetty-sounding bands, to hail from ‘predictable We will also be conversing with Jorge, the co-owner of The Piston Bar, and diving into what has changed over the years in Toronto regarding live music. He has worked, played, and DJ’d some of the coolest venues to have existed in Toronto, since the 80’s. He also toured extensively with his band Roach Motel. Let us gain some insights from his experience. … And in celebration of it being the 2 nd issue of The Music Zine, we are going to pick the brains of some of the two-piece bands that are playing all over Southern Ontario. We’ll be asking them the all-important questions like, “Do all loop pedal belong in the trash?!” Burlington’. We saw these guys absolutely smash the stage to pieces at the ‘Rock The Coliseum’ festival in Mississauga. They’ve rocked out all over Argentina and have lived to tell the tale!

2

LET’S GET GIGGIDY WHO’S PLAYING WHERE?

TORONTO

"Maddisun Local Pressure Juvenile Jury" "Cotelé Propter Hawk Animal Boy Baybe" "SWEATER PUPPIES ETHAN FLYNN MELLOWSHIP" "Rival Town Clevland Avenue Arcane Ghosts Latchkey" "BABY LABOUR STAR BRIDES MERC THE MONTCLAIRS" "La Armada Ship of Fools Torque Down" "The Lookout Service The Howlin' Gales The Lamaas Nila Moon & Biss" Weekend Goodbye "MNTCLR Velvet Beach chew beach" "Captain WildChild Waste Youth Weekend Goodbye"

"maddisunmusic localpressure juvenilejury" "Cotelemusic

8/2/2022

HORSESHOE TAVERN

HORSESHOE TAVERN

propterhawkband animalboymusic baybetheband" "wearesweaterpuppies ethanflynnmusic mellowship_music"

8/3/2022

THE PISTON

8/3/2022

"rivaltownband clevelandaveil arcaneghosts latchkeyband" "babylabour starbridesband mntclrtheband"

SNEAKY DEE'S

8/4/2022

a-minor presents

THE PISTON

8/4/2022

"laarmada.music shipoffoolsofficial Torque Down" "thelookoutservice thehowlingales thelamaasband (Nilamoonxx) & (biss11111)"

BOVINE SEX CLUB

8/4/2022

LEE’S PALACE

8/4/2022

weekendgoodbye "mntclrtheband velvetbeachto chewbearband" "captainwildchild wasteyouthband weekendgoodbye"

SUPERMARKET

8/4/2022

8/5/2022

a-minor presents

SNEAKY DEE'S

HANDLEBAR

8/5/2022

"Waxlimbs Animatist Sunshine Express" "Pro Wrestling the band Stuck Out Here Big School" "Pushing Daisies Album Release Party James Wyatt Crosby" Silverpath Hot Apollo" "Rust D Bloc Plead Just Right Temper Tantrum" J & The Delicious Hounds "Generation Zero The Human Drive

"waxlimbs animatist.music sunshinesexpress" "prowrestlingtheband stuck_out_here big.school" "pushingdaisies_ jameswyattcrosby" "generationzerorocks thehumandrive silverpathband hotapollo" "rusthxc dbloc_hardcore pleadhc justright519 tempertantrumbaby" delicioushounds "nerimaofficial kicksie thedrifts" "oltimemoonshine overcrookband" ethannchapmann "wearestandards glacierveinspdx growingfins" —————— broadwayremains" "fuzzedandbuzzed sasquatchrock "coatiepop pishapost hippiedeathcultband loworbitspacerock" miastegner "adinavmusic paintedoverrust twentytosevenband"

8/5/2022

a-minor presents

VASHE ZDORO’VYE

BOVINE SEX CLUB

8/5/2022

SUPERMARKET

8/5/2022

a-minor presents

RIVOLI

8/6/2022

8/6/2022

a-minor presents

SNEAKY DEE'S

8/6/2022

SUPERMARKET

"Nerima Kicksie The Drifts" "Ol' Time Moonshine overcrook" Ethan Chapman "Standards

8/6/2022

HORSESHOE TAVERN

BOVINE SEX CLUB SUPERMARKET SNEAKY DEE'S

8/6/2022 8/7/2022

a-minor presents

8/8/2022

Glacier Veins Growing Fins" baby "COATIE POP PISHA GIVE MY REMAINS TO BROADWAY" "Sasquatch Hippie Death Cult Low Orbit"

BOVINE SEX CLUB

8/10/2022

THE PISTON

8/10/2022

FUZZED AND BUZZED PRESENTS

HARD LUCK BAR

8/10/2022

Mia Stegnar "Adina V Painted Over Rust Twenty To Seven

SUPERMARKET

8/10/2022

a-minor presents

8/11/2022

SUPERMARKET

Nairolf" Ido Libre

ido_libre "dazeofahmed hollyclausius

8/11/2022

SUPERMARKET

"Daze of Ahmed Holly Clausius Krystal Jessup Edward Sayers"

8/11/2022

THE PISTON

a-minor presents

krystaljessup_music edwardsayersmusic"

3

HARM&EASE “Chats with ” ***This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity

Danny through Alex. They were going to school together. Then we all started playing music together, […] and we started Harm & Ease. […] The music scene was definitely different. It was more of a pop-punky, metal scene

Ryan Whalen (Vocals) Danny Lopez (Guitar) John Goodblood (Bass/Guitar) Alex Hamnett (Drums) & NEAL GANGULI

at the time. […] That was only like a couple years of the band … and then

N: So how are you guys doing this morning? H&E: Great! D: Starting the week off, getting ready to work. N: Awesome. And you're just going to be writing new stuff, recording new stuff, jamming out, rehearsing? D: Every week, we write a couple new songs. So Monday is the day we get together and start throwing ideas around, brainstorming, and seeing what the song of the week will be. But, yeah, we're trying to stay as productive as possible all the time. N: Cool. And I remember you mentioned at the show (Rock The Coliseum) that you guys all live together? H&E: Yeah, we do. N: And how is that for your creative process, lifestyle, career? D: Well everything has its ups and downs. But living together makes it easier for us to create, because we're constantly coming up with ideas. And if someone has an idea, we just lay it down in the studio whenever. {…} Living with four people in any situation ends up being complicated at points, you know. But we've been doing it for a while, and we’re like a big family so we figure it out. J: Yeah, it's kind of like a factory too! {…} You can get work done, because like, […] nowadays, bands, artists, {…} you can't just write songs; you need to produce them, you need to post content online, to be active in so many ways, that you need to be disciplined. N: And being able to just bang on someone's door and be like, “Yo! Let's go do something”, instead of having to deal with travel time, logistics and all that kind of stuff. D: Yeah, like lots of other friend bands, they're always like, “Man, you guys are doing the whole thing where you live together, that whole old school way of being in a band”. Lots of people don't do that anymore. Right? For whatever reason; they have a day job, or they're living with their partners, or whatever. We dove into this bowl, fully into the deep end. We were like, we're gonna figure this band shit out whatever way it is. R: In Argentina, it wasn't always like that. We lived there. We had other guys who lived in different houses, and we'd have to rent out a place to go practice and record and meet up. So now {…} we can do it any time we want. N: You guys started in Burlington. What was the scene like in Burlington?

Danny ended up moving down to South America. Then we drifted down there. But, yeah, we're from Burlington. We'll always love Burlington. It's always home. D: {…} There was this really cool scene happening when we were growing up. Everyone I knew would go to shows every weekend. I would go to like two shows a weekend. And it was just part of what was happening in high school. A: Back then there were a lot more places to play too. It's a little bit different nowadays. Back when we were growing up, there were shows all the time. That's what our lives were, just going to see bands. R: A lot of great bands and musicians have come out of Burlington; […] Walk Off The Earth, Finger Eleven, is Valley from Burlington? They're like getting really big right now too. A lot of bands have come out of Burlington. They've been pretty successful! N: Yeah! And you guys now too. So Rylan, you mentioned Danny, and then you, went to Argentina. Then the rest of you guys followed. You guys were there for quite a while, right? J: Yeah, a while. D: Basically, I had to move there with my family. And we already had the band. We were taking it seriously. {…} We promised each other we were gonna continue making music however we can, […] we'll figure it out. […] We started Skyping, constantly, Rylan and I, showing each other things and guitar parts, and he showed me songs. We were doing that so much that finally his family were like, “You need to go visit!”. So he came to Argentina for a month or so. And in that month we started recording, and we got a lot of attention in Argentina. We did radio interviews, and we had some shows. Then we realized there was something we could do here while I was waiting to go back to Canada. […] So Ry was like, “Alright, I'll go to Argentina until you're able to come back”. That ended up becoming a longer process, […] and then we were kind of fitting in the scene and making our career happen there. We've met all these awesome people like John, for example, we met him busking in Argentina, and he joined the band. N: No way! D: He's from Argentina! When I moved to Argentina, he was one of the first people I met who spoke English and Spanish and played rock-blues music. So yeah, we were in the scene in Buenos Aires for like five, six years touring and playing J: Those were some wild ass years! {…} We played late at night at smoky clubs, 3/4am sets … They love rock and roll so much down there, they have such a culture for it. People show up and go

4

R: Yeah, we started the band in 2011, I think. We were just high schoolers, like grade nine. I met

TORONTO

8/11/2022

"Tijuana Taxi Fires of Cheektowaga Party" "Sadistic Ritual Teleportoise Chainfall" Gravely James "The Howlin' Gales Looking For Heather The Hedge Hoppers Ellis in Transit" Julia D'Angelo "Tommy Riot

"tijuanataxiband firesofcheektowaga partyisaband" "sadisticritual teleportoise chainfallparty" gravelyjamesmusic

a-minor presents

SNEAKY DEE'S

8/11/2022

BOVINE SEX CLUB THE JUNCTION UNDERGROUND

8/11/2022

Smoking Room Only Presents

thehowlingales

TAIL OF THE JUNCTION

8/11/2022

—————— "tommy_riot_tv therealmayablue freddie_isfree" @sunnydeeband

SUPERMARKET

8/12/2022

The Frown Maya Blue Freddie Freeloader" Sunny Dee & The Flower Pedals "The Pinketons newfoundland Glory Lime Ricky" "The High Loves The vaniers The Lemon Pistols" "By Octopi Miss Conduct Man Crush Scarlet Wives" "Coming Clean Bad Words Fortune Cove The Moore Ave underground" "Hidden Iris The Sunset Drip Ransom Child Death Wears Tie Dye"

a-minor presents

SNEAKY DEE'S

8/12/2022

HANDLE BAR

8/12/2022

lime.ricky

BOVINE SEX CLUB

8/12/2022

LEE’S PALACE

Thehighloves

8/12/2022

"byoctopi missconduct scarletwives

HARD LUCK

8/13/2022

wearemancrush" "comingclean_to wesaybadwords fortunecovemusic mooreaveunderground" "hidden_iris thesunsetdrip ransom_child deathwearstiedye" weekendgoodbye "catchupkidsmusic kingfisher_rocks coldbloodedhero" "Napoleon gurthagram junkodaydream cruel_hope" "johnscottageband mattmacneil heavy.sweater madfolkofficial" "samlouismusic kvne_official" "ryleypat jackwalkermusic carbonmartyr" vacantspaceband zorebmalick strawberrycoughband

BOVINE SEX CLUB

8/13/2022

SNEAKY DEE'S

a-minor presents

8/13/2022

BAR ORWELL

Weekend Goodbye "Catch Up Kids Kingfisher Cold Blooded Hero" "Napoleon Gurth Junko Daydream Cruel Hope" "John's Cottage

8/13/2022

a-minor presents

SUPERMARKET

8/18/2022

a-minor presents

SNEAKY DEE'S

8/18/2022

Matt MacNeil Heavy.Sweater MadFolk" "Sam Louis KVNE" "Ryley Patrick & The Roundabouts Jack Walker Carbon Martyr"

8/18/2022

HORSESHOE TAVERN

Smoking Room Only Presents

THE PISTON

8/18/2022

SNEAKY DEE'S

a-minor presents

8/19/2022

Vacant Space Zoreb Malick Strawberry Cough "Grumpy Truck Chlorine H0ckey Academy" "Pushin Daisies Kingdom of Birds Piss For Pumpkin Dream Crabs" "AURAS Parliament Owls Maitreya Ocean of Stars" "Single Wound Pale Ache Judgement Adam in the Bayou Falstaff" "The Beach Bats Heavenly Blue The Beans" Propter Hawk Fuera "Cold Tea Misty Blue Stone Beach Hungry Lake" "Race Against Fate Mavis The Spheres Sandpaper Meadows"

SUPERMARKET SUPERMARKET BAR ORWELL

8/19/2022 8/19/2022 8/19/2022

"grumpytruckk chlorineband_ h0ckeyacademy"

TACO TACO

8/19/2022

kingdomofbirds

8/20/2022

THE MONARCH TAVERN

"auras_official parliamentowls maitreyametal " "singlewound Pale Ache judgementca adaminthebayou

a-minor presents

8/20/2022

SNEAKY DEE'S

8/20/2022

a-minor presents

VASHE ZDORO’VYE

falstaffcore" "thebeachbats heavenlyblueofficial thebeansssssssssssssss" propterhawkband feura.mp3 "valeabbott mistyblueband stonebeached hungrylakemusic"

THE PAINTED LADY

8/20/2022

8/24/2022 8/25/2022

THE BLACK SWAN BOVINE SEX CLUB

a-minor presents

SUPERMARKET

8/25/2022

"mavistheband thespheresband sandpaper_meadows"

8/25/2022

5

THE PISTON

crazy. They sing the guitar solos! […] South Americans have that like soccer-passion, so they bring that to the rock shows. Those are some like, crazy formative years for us, at least as performers. D: … 100% for performing. That definitely shows in our shows nowadays! In South America, it's like you're a few years in the past, in a sense. […] Rock'n'roll is super alive still. People are smoking inside clubs, and there's this whole rock and roll scene, like if you were there in the 70s or something. So you needed to be the most rock'n'roll band you could be; […] like how hard you play your guitar, how you move on stage. We definitely learned a lot there and brought it here. I always consider our ‘Argentina days’, like we were basically athletes in training. I felt like it was like our training grounds. And then when we got here, it was like, “Alright, time to hit the big leagues. Yeah, let's take it to the next stage”. N: Are there any specific stories or shows in Argentina that come to mind as particularly formative that you'd want to share? D: Yeah, man, there's a lot! I used to work at this club called the Roxy, which is like a franchise of the Roxy in LA. We had our own party there. We used to do these 2/3am shows that were epic. That was like, our formative years of performing on a big stage and getting that energy going. Personally, for me, all those late Roxy shows were my favorite. J: … That were packed to the brim. D: One of our last shows in Argentina, for example, the venue was completely sold out. And the line was wrapped around the building. We had done soundcheck. So we left, came back, and we got out of a cab, and everyone on the street started clapping for us, because it was our last show. It was such a powerful moment, looking at what we'd done in [Argentina]. I'm backstage, and I get a call from some of my friends being like, “Bro, it's sold out and we're in the back of the line, we can't get into the show. This is crazy, this is your last show”. So we ended up sneaking like 20-30 people through the back of the show. J: And they had to get in through the stage. D: Yeah, when the curtains opened, like 20 people jumped off stage to the front of the crowd. And it was like the most rock and roll shit ever. That was pretty magical. R: It was emotional. It was sad. It was a great show. We were so stoked to do it. But it was our last show for who knows how long? You know, we haven't been back there since, so that was a memorable one. N: And so when did you exactly move back to Toronto? D: It was January of 2020. Right before the pandemic… N: Now that you're getting back into the scene, how has the reception been on your end? J: It's been really great, actually, because we've done all these shows. […] Stuff's opening up again, right? So there's a lot of stuff happening like events and festivals. In

jumping all over the place. Then we did this one in Waterloo, opening for Monster Truck. […] And then the one we did the other day, in Mississauga, I feel like the shows keep getting better and better, you know… D: The fact that the pandemic kind of slowed us down, honestly helped us grow in so many other places, that helped our show grow in a different way. It's almost like it was a blessing in disguise, that we had these two years to focus on creating music, that we felt could represent us here in North America. We just caught up and sped up and kept writing and writing and listening and learning from being here. And now we have everything we learned in Argentina – plus these last two years of growing in Canada – we created this other monster you know… N: Have there been any aspects of being in the Toronto scene that you've had to adapt to? D: If anything, it's easier now. You see in Argentina, bands are playing with really bad instruments and they still sound really good, right? Even in all aspects, like you'll see a kid skateboarding and their board is like destroyed, but they’re still skating, right? Here, that same person would not even ride that board. So imagine that kid comes here and they give them new shoes and a new board. They’re like, ready to go shred right? So it feels like, we're here, we have all the equipment we need, we have good venues to play in and like, everything's kind of at a higher level. So it's easier for us. N: Cool! Camino Loco just came out recently. What was the production and atmosphere like around that, and how has the release treated you? A: A lot of the songs that are on the album are songs that we developed throughout the pandemic, and more focused toward the North American style of production. Before we had released songs that were more focused on a nostalgic vibe. Today, it has more of a modern feel to it. J: The name Camino Loco, it means ‘crazy path’, a crazy road, right? It represents where we are as a band, like, the crazy road from Argentina to here to through the pandemic. And now out of that, this is who we are. A: The songs on the album have a lot of themes of overcoming adversity, and getting through tough times and stuff like that. D: We had these two years to really focus on growing in other ways, not just performing live. This was like, showing ourselves that we could push the production to a higher level, make the most modern sounding rock songs we could. That was the goal. It was to create some fresh sounding rock music of 2022 that still stays true to the roots of rock. J: …and we're still developing it. N: One of the things that I've heard from different bands all over, sometimes in nice terms and sometimes in not-so-nice terms, is that there's a consensus; for people in Toronto to care about your music, you have to leave the country, go somewhere else, play a lot, and then come back. And then people start to care about you, for whatever reason. You guys care to comment on how true that is? D: That happens in every city in the world. Argentine bands won't get attention until they go

6

Canadian Music Week, we had a showcase at the Rivoli. That show was off the hook, people just

LET’S GET GIGGIDY WHO’S PLAYING WHERE?

TORONTO

"Waste Youth Deepsix Koroshi Bloodwraith"

wasteyouthband

THE ROCKPILE

8/25/2022

"Techno Westerns Feura Downtalkers Grumpy Truck" "GRALE Dragged in Hellhammer" "Proper Hawk Rumble Sons Koncepts of Light" "Midnight Madness Sister Swire Beverly Sound BEX"

"technowesterns feura.mp3 downtalkers grumpytruckk"

BOVINE SEX CLUB

8/25/2022

"graleband dragged_in " "propterhawkband rumblesons thekonceptsoflight" "midnightmadnessband sisterswire beverlysound thebexmusic" "heychrisnine rumblesons official13fridays" metaandthecornerstones thebankshots "lucidsmogdisorder heavypetter_music strangelimbs" "soulishbandofficial technowesterns paulo_sinski side_launch" "thegetalongss recklessandbanded blackpaintofficial tree.museum" "northbynorthmusic thedetours weekendgoodbye joingrouptherapy"

BOVINE SEX CLUB

8/26/2022

8/26/2022

SUPERMARKET

SNEAKY DEE'S

a-minor presents

8/26/2022

"Chris Nine Rumble Sons 13 Friday’s" Meta & The Corner Stones The Bankshots "Shiv and the Carvers Lucid Smog Disorder Heavy Petter Strange Limbs" "Soulish Techno Westerns

8/27/2022

THE BABY G

8/27/2022 8/27/2022

SUPERMARKET BOVINE SEX CLUB

8/27/2022

a-minor presents

SNEAKY DEE'S

8/27/2022

THE RIVOLI

Paulo Sinski Side Launch" "The Get Alongs Reckless & Banded Black Paint Tree Museum" "North BY North The Detours Weekend Goodbye Group Therapy" "Pound Loose Teeth Sea Noto"

a-minor presents

8/27/2022

HORSESHOE TAVERN

8/28/2022

HORSESHOE TAVERN

"pound.band looseteethhc seanotoband"

8/30/2022

SNEAKY DEE'S

a-minor presents

"Low Life Lolas Willem James Kicksie"

"lowlifelolas willemjamescowan Kicksie"

8/30/2022

Smoking Room Only Presents

THE BABY G

BARRIE 8/25/2022

Torque To Yield System Of A Down Cover Night

THE QUEENS HOTEL

torquetoyieldofficial

BRAMPTON 8/26/2022

"The Gens Lamaas Cityzen Baybe"

SPOT ONE

"thegensmusic thelamaasband cityzen_band baybetheband"

BRANTFORD

8/13/2022

"Twice Bleached Madfolk The Lonely Bunch"

TWO DOORS DOWN

"twicebleached madfolkofficial _thelonelybunch_"

COLLINGWOOD

8/31/2022

MOONDOGGY

CONTACT BAND

moondoggymusic

7

to Spain or Mexico or whatever. Then they come back, and everyone's like, “Oh, my God, we love you”. And I feel like most cities have that. N: You had built up quite a big fan base in Argentina. Were you worried at all about how much that would translate back to Toronto? D: 100%! I remember before moving we even did some of those Instagram polls. And we were asking our fans; “What do you guys think we should do? Like, we have an opportunity to move to Canada, do we stay here?”. And I swear like 90% of our fans were like, “Go! go and take off your career! We're here for you. We're gonna back you guys up, do it for us”. So everyone was supportive of the fact that we were coming here, because a lot of people they would always be like, “You guys gotta go to the States and Canada and make it there!”. J: Yeah. And honestly, it's only been, what, two and a half years, and to land like a top 10 rock song in Canada… {…} There are people here who are down to consume our music, and listen to it. D: It was scary{…}. We had already done the whole ‘bar/club/get-to-festival stage’ in Argentina. Our first tour, like three years ago, was bars all across Ontario, playing to bartenders, and like five people. And it was like, “Woah, we just took a huge step back”. But at the same time, we were in Canada and things were getting easier in other parts of our lives. So it was worth it. And we had already built a whole fan base in Argentina, so we knew how to start building it here and what to do. And I feel like we've built a pretty big community in the last few years of Harm & Ease fans N: So your top 10 rock song, Cut Me Loose? Tell us more about that song specifically, like the lyrical content or the production of it or what it means to you? J: {…} When I first came up with the riff, it was way slower. It was like a super heavy blues thing, half time. Right? And then we sat on it for like a month and a half, and then we're like, let's do it, but faster, like far faster. D: It was never like, “that song”. […] It was that week's song, right? We were at the park and we had been recording it, so we started playing it that day. Our friend filmed a snippet of it and then posted it on Tik Tok. Not expecting anything, wasn't even a single, it was just another new song. Then it just blew up overnight. We woke up to millions of views and comments and shit. And we were like, “Oh my God!”. Our manager, was like, “You guys have got to release this!”. After a year, every week writing a new song, we would send it to our manager to, "Yeah, it's cool. It's good, it's good…" And then finally he calls us the morning and was like, "Boys you did it, we’ve got a hit!". It was such a big moment for us. And we were like, “Alright, let's get to it”, and started recording it and trying to get it out as fast as possible. N: You guys were super active on the socials and I noticed you have your phone number in your Instagram bio. What kind of things has that led to, if at all? D: Yeah, we started a text line recently, just to start building our Harm & Ease community; if we

to social media, during these last two years while we were living together, and during the pandemic, it was easy for us to start getting good at that. We opened our Tik Tok page, and it just started growing. The first couple months, we posted a lot, and things were slow. Then finally once things started picking up, there was this huge community of people that really care about us. Like we go live, and we'll get 15,000 viewers, and people are commenting from all over the world, like, “John, I love your outfit today”. They know our names, they follow us, they care about us. If one of us is missing, like “Where's Alex?”, they all care you know. A: A woman made us lasagna once… D: She brought a massive lasagna for us… A: and it was really good lasagna D: (…) There's times where you're like, “Oh my God, this is crazy”. But once you get in the habit of it, you can make some fun content. It's cool to get close with your fans and be able to share moments that aren't just on stage or creating music. You get closer with the people who are supporting you, because the most important thing is them. Like without people supporting us, we have no career. So it's really important to take care of your fans and build a relationship with them. That's probably one of the best ways to stay close with them, is by posting a lot on social media and updating them with what's happening. N: Cool. So I think that's really close to wrapping up. You guys are phenomenal on talking about what you do. Again, Zac and I are super appreciative of you guys doing this interview. Are there any things you'd like to plug, or parting words you'd like to say. One of the things I always like to ask is, “If you could give advice to your younger selves, or when you were starting out, what would that be?” D: We just released the new music video called ‘Steady Roll’. And we put a lot of work into it. We'd love for you guys to check it out. And we have a lot of music coming out. We're ready to start touring soon so stay tuned – we’ll be coming to a city near you. A: Also make sure to go stream our album and add it to your favorite playlists! D: … to the second thing, if I could talk to a younger version of myself… Practice as much as you can. Be open minded. Learn from as many people as you can and as many genres of music. Go out, watch bands and learn. Absorb what's happening around you. (…) The biggest mistake you can make is thinking you're already at another level, when you're still just starting. So just be teachable and enjoy the process. (…) If you're not enjoying the process you will never enjoy it. If you have a small show, play like it's a stadium. […] R: I'd just say, don't treat yourself so shitty. Don't worry as much, things work out usually. That's probably it. Enjoy your time. Don't waste your time. A: Work really hard. Hard work pays off. N: Thank you so much again, it was wonderful meeting you guys. H&E: Thank you! Appreciate it!

do a private event and have some people come out, or like giveaways, just to keep our fans close to us. And it's been great. When it comes

8

(***NB*** THE FULL INTERVIEW WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLINE SOON)

LET’S GET GIGGIDY WHO’S PLAYING WHERE?

GUELPH

Strawberry Cough Mvllcrimes Alex Southey "Friday Night Alchemy Kev Morse Split Layer Working Girl" "Sun Below Pale Mare The Death Wheelers Hazehound Jaodae" "Welland Wasteland Dammit Goldie" "Captain Wildchild Strawberry Cough Sun Junkies" "The Boneheads No Service Courtyard" "The Pacifiers AntiSocial Surf Club Bodice" tHE sICKnEEDS "Teleportoise Old Ceremonies Quiet Earth"

"boneheadsthe noserviceofficial courtyard_theband" "thepacifiersband antisocial_surf_club

JIMMY JAZZ

8/5/2022

JIMMY JAZZ

8/19/2022

bodice.band" thesickneeds "teleportoise oldceremonies quietearthtorono"

JIMMY JAZZ

8/20/2022

SILENCE (46 Essex St)

8/27/2022

HAMILTON 8/3/2022 8/6/2022 8/19/2022

DOORS PUB

strawberrycoughband mvllcrimes alexsouthey

THE KILL ROOM THE CASBAH

friday_night_alchemy

THE KILLROOM

8/19/2022

"sunbelowband palemare_official thedeathwheelers " "wellandwastedofficia l dammitgoldie" "captainwildchild strawberrycoughband sun_junkies"

THE CASBAH

8/20/2022

THE KILLROOM

8/20/2022

TBA

8/26/2022

KINGSTON

"The Astros Willy Nilly Hallowood" "Melted Media Fern Sully Sun Junkies"

"_the_astros_ willynillyband hallowoodband" "meltedmedia.wav fernsully sun_junkies"

THE MANSION

8/6/2022

THE MANSION

8/19/2022

LONDON

8/6/2022

Strawberry Cough "Sun Junkies Sweater Puppies Sorry Snowman"

HOLY DIVER

strawberrycoughband "sun_junkies wearesweaterpuppies sorrysnowman"

8/25/2022

THE DOAM

9

PHOTOC NEALGA

CREDIT: ANGULI

TWO’S COMPANY… THREE’S A CROWD! IN CELEBRATION OF ISSUE NO.2, LET’S TALK WITH SOME OF ONTARIO’S OWN TWO-PIECE DYNAMIC DUOS SONS OF SHANLEY WHAT TWO-PIECE BANDS DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM?

THE HOWLIN’ GALES WHAT TWO-PIECE BANDS DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM? It’s hard not to draw from The White Stripes or The Black Keys, but what locally kind of inspires us is Mellohoney or The Flamingos Pink. They’re both very kick-ass duos that give me hope, at least, that we can fill up our live sound sonically. HOW DO YOU MAKE AS MUCH NOISE, IF NOT MORE THAN LARGER BANDS? (BE IT SONICALLY OR IN YOUR SONGWRITING) Songwriting-wise, I think it’s about picking your spots to be loud or to throw in cuts/shots. You have to think more about how you compose sonically, but there are a few compositional tricks we can use, like Marcelo filling up on the drums, by incorporating the bass line and vocal melodies to add to the instrumentation as much as possible. We also use octave pedals, fuzz, anything that adds thickness. We use a very phat-sounding amp, which helps with the low end and the range of sound a lot. But at the end of the day it still needs to sound GOOD as a duo, for it sound INSANE as a duo. WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU GUYS FACE MORESO THAN BIGGER BANDS? Some challenges are that we have to

One of our favourite bands to draw inspiration from is the band Her’s. The way they’ve incorporated their backing tracks into their live performances, as well as their on-stage presence, is something truly unique and informing to the way we play and present our own tunes. HOW DO YOU MAKE AS MUCH NOISE, IF NOT MORE THAN LARGER BANDS? (BE IT SONICALLY OR IN YOUR SONGWRITING) First of all through the whims of Shanley we can achieve anything, anything a band with more members could, but we do find that the louder a song is the more fun it is to play. Couple that with a cheap overdrive pedal on Andrew’s board and a childhood where Jacob was never told to be quieter when he’s singing; and you’ve got Shanley’s secret sauce. WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU GUYS FACE MORESO THAN BIGGER BANDS? Keeping an organic feel on stage is definitely a hurdle when playing with a backing track, although it is mitigated with Shanley on our side. We are also lacking in inter-band conflicts which hinders a major source of writing inspiration for bands with more members. ARE LOOP PEDALS A WASTE OF TIME? We use a loop pedal when we’re writing to workout riffs and drum patterns but, alas, we lack the foot-eye-coordination to properly take advantage of them on stage.

overcompensate for the missing instruments, and the inability to solo which I feel has been the biggest speed bump so far. ARE LOOP PEDALS A WASTE OF TIME? 100%, too much work if you’re not a solo artist.

MELLOHONEY WHAT TWO-PIECE BANDS DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM?

It is interesting to see how other two-piece bands go about filling out the sound. Seeing other local two-piece bands blow up like Crown Lands, Cleopatrick, and The Standstills, has been a huge motivator to us but overall, we draw inspiration from different genres moreso that band member counts. HOW DO YOU MAKE AS MUCH NOISE, IF NOT MORE THAN LARGER BANDS? (BE IT SONICALLY OR IN YOUR SONGWRITING) We rigorously focus on dynamic shifts throughout our songs. Contrast can really put an exclamation point on louder sections. In terms of sheer volume, the guitar signal is split into three channels, all going to their own dedicated amp. Two amps are for guitar and are sonically differentiated, one being delayed and mixed with chorus to give the effect of a second guitarist, and also at times can be shut off for quieter sections. In addition, a freeze pedal and organ pedal are often utilized for underlaying chords and drones to be riffed overtop. The third signal is sent through an octave pedal to a bass amp to help fill in the low end. As far as drums go, being a two-piece band means there are more pockets to fill and more headroom for loud, in-your-face drumming. We try to keep the drums simple in some sections as to not take away from the song, and then let them explode when necessary. WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU GUYS FACE MORESO THAN BIGGER BANDS? When you play in a two-piece band, inevitably, you have to wear more hats. Also, instead of having five members to fund a project, you only have two. So being financially responsible and strategic is key. However, being in a two-piece also has its advantages. Logistically it’s very efficient. All our equipment can fit into one small vehicle, band members included! It’s also much easier to rehearse for shows and to be on time in general when there is only two of us. Overall, we believe we have an equal opportunity just like bigger bands. It’s just a matter of grinding live shows to get enough people behind our message and passion. ARE LOOP PEDALS A WASTE OF TIME? We don’t currently use loop pedals. We aren’t against them, we’re just broke…

12

LET’S GET GIGGIDY WHO’S PLAYING WHERE?

LONDON

"AAWKS Incognito Baby Looping Pot Is Drugs Swearcrow" "Stuck In Nostalgia Ascrem" Strawberry Cough

"aawksband l00pingband potisdrugsband swearcrow

RICHMOND TAVERN

8/26/2022

richmondtavernlive" "stuck.in.nostalgia ascremofficial" strawberrycoughband

FORKED RIVER BREWING

8/27/2022

8/27/2022

STOMP BOX

MARKHAM

8/5/2022

"Rikashay Lydia Stephen"

Eight on main

officialrikashay

NIAGARA FALLS AREA

"Ethereal Tomb Duskwalker Mind Swell Us Alike Against All Odds Stuck In Neutral Cannabus"

etherealtomb duskwalkermeta mindswellofficial usalikemusic againstalloddsniagar a stuckinneutral_ cannabusband

"BLOORFEST 432 Pearson Rd, Welland"

8/27/2022

ODESSA

"Queens and Kings We The Crooked Atoms to Ashes Tripper and the Wild Things Luscious Rude Mood The House Call Fool's Union Maybe May Chair Warriors

AUG 5TH & 6TH

VOODOO ROCKFEST

Lost in Japan Harm and Ease"

OSHAWA

"Nermia BUSM The Boneheads Capsized"

"nerimaofficial busmband boneheadsthe"

8/27/2022

BILTMORE THEATRE

PETERBOROGH

"Propter Hawk The Maximum Chill Burning Bridges"

"propterhawkband themaximumchill officialburningbridges"

8/13/2022

RED DOG

WINDSOR

"Twice Bleached Holly Acres Cons Of Jupiter"

"twicebleached hollyacresmusic consofjupiterband"

8/26/2022

PHOG LOUNGE

13

TWO’S COMPANY… THREE’S A CROWD!

WASTE YOUTH WHAT TWO-PIECE BANDS DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM? We are both huge fans of Death From Above, so that’s definitely a big one. We definitely take a lot of inspiration from our boys in Cleopatrick, as well as Lightning Bolt. Basically we like to be loud. Which I guess takes us into the next question haha! HOW DO YOU MAKE AS MUCH NOISE, IF NOT MORE THAN LARGER BANDS? (BE IT SONICALLY OR IN YOUR SONGWRITING) We’re both Italian so you know we have to be the loudest guys in the room. We pull it off by rocking 3 amps and pushing a ton of distortion through ‘em. Oh, and we also play as hard as humanly possible, so that helps! WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU GUYS FACE MORESO THAN BIGGER BANDS? MONEY. ARE LOOP PEDALS A WASTE OF TIME? Not at all! They’re a great way to write songs when you’re on your own and feeling creative. We use one live, mainly to make some noise between songs while we catch our breath.

STRAWBERRY COUGH (Formerly a two-piece) WHAT TWO-PIECE BANDS DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM? My favourite two-piece that comes to mind is Solids! The fact that they’re a two piece isn’t what I would say inspires us though! HOW DO YOU MAKE AS MUCH NOISE, IF NOT MORE THAN LARGER BANDS? (BE IT SONICALLY OR IN YOUR SONGWRITING) Just ripping as hard as we physically can when we play! We’re two caveman up there! Lotta feedback! Lotta distortion! WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU GUYS FACE MORESO THAN BIGGER BANDS? Having no low end is the biggest challenge! Being bare-bones, it’s hard to fill out the room! And I think just being tighter because you can hear the mistakes a lot more. ARE LOOP PEDALS A WASTE OF TIME? I don’t think so! We don’t use one, but I think if your song calls for it and you can execute it right, it can be sick!

QUEENS AND KINGS WHAT TWO-PIECE BANDS DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM? We aren't necessarily influenced particularly by two-piece bands. We wanted a project that was for us and we wanted to keep it as small as possible as we find ways to make as much noise as any bigger band haha! But some two-piece bands we like are The Kills (at least they started out as a two-piece), Royal Blood, Death From Above and Deap Vally. HOW DO YOU MAKE AS MUCH NOISE, IF NOT MORE THAN LARGER BANDS? (BE IT SONICALLY OR IN YOUR SONGWRITING) We find ways to fill out a broader range of the audio spectrum and use dynamics to make as much noise as larger bands. Brendan uses effects and both bass and guitar amps to really fill out the low end, in addition to a standard guitar range, and we also make use of skills to play more than one instrument at once in certain songs. Brendan plays both guitar and drums on some, and we have a lot more in the works! My other project is as a solo-looper, so we are both used to multitasking and seeing how much we can do with limited people. WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU GUYS FACE MORESO THAN BIGGER BANDS? There are both advantages and disadvantages to being a band of any size, so I guess it all balances out. Like, there are less people to split expenses with, but also less people to split income. There are less people to have to worry about organizing rehearsals and balancing schedules or tour dates with, or come to agreements about song writing or recording with. Generally I think for us we find the advantages of being a small band outweighs the disadvantages, and just makes certain things easier. But also, being a two-piece, it can be hard when we don't agree on something and there is no tie-breaker, when all the decisions just fall on us. Our dynamic is a complex one, and our band feeds off that, so I think we needed to be a two-piece to be who we are. ARE LOOP PEDALS A WASTE OF TIME? Absolutely not! And in fact, my other project is a looping project that I have been doing since looping was pretty rare, a lot longer than this project. Loop pedals are just like any other instrument. They are a tool you can use in a multitude of ways to express the sound you want to make. In fact, I think it is one of the most versatile instruments of creation that exists, because you can loop virtually any sound there is so it’s not confined by just the inherent sounds an instrument makes. We don't use any loop pedals in this project. Who knows...maybe we will at some point. 14 THE LOOKOUT SERVICE WHAT TWO-PIECE BANDS DO YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM? We draw inspiration from bands like The White Stripes, Royal Blood, The Black Keys, Death From Above 1979, Black Pistol Fire, Cleopatrick, Tenacious D, Daft Punk and many more! HOW DO YOU MAKE AS MUCH NOISE, IF NOT MORE THAN LARGER BANDS? (BE IT SONICALLY OR IN YOUR SONGWRITING) We use a variety of different effects and amp combinations to fill out our sound! Some of our songs are crafted using lots of effects, whist others might be just a clean signal going through to the amp. The best way to make yourself louder is to smack your strings harder! A Big Muff also always helps !! :P WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU GUYS FACE MORESO THAN BIGGER BANDS? We have to carry around a lot of gear and it can be pretty physically draining for just two people. Having no bass player is also difficult because it limits the amount of songs that we can cover, particularly if there’s a repeating bassline that contrasts the melody of the guitar part! ARE LOOP PEDALS A WASTE OF TIME? Burn all the loop pedals … In all seriousness they can be cool, especially if you have the multi-loop and use it to accompany yourself during live performances! Marc Rebelliet is one of my favourite artists that uses a looper live. Definitely a cool tool that can be used to help fill out the sound of a solo or duo act!!

CHATS WITH JORGE FROM THE PISTON BAR

Z: All right. How's it going? Jorge from the Piston. J: Good, how are you? Zac from ... Z: Rumble Sons, from Dublin, Ireland. J: Oh, Jesus, I'm in trouble. Z: Okay, so introduce yourself. Tell us about the bar and yourself. J: Well, I'm Jorge DaCosta from The Piston Bar. We opened up in 2010 … Yeah. I’ve got to commend you for trying to do some print, by the way, that's, that's no easy task, man. Z: Thanks! It’s humble beginnings. J: I hear you, man. Z: So, you started the business with your business partner? And it's mainly yourself now? J: Well, no, he's still involved, but Tarik does more of the administration stuff. I do … whatever, I send him the sales and stuff like that. He helps with the ordering. I do the physical ordering. And I manage the staff, and I book all the events here. I take care of my DJs and, you know, it's like family here. We're small, right? Z: Tell me, the name, The Piston. Where did that come from? J: The Piston came from, well, a motor piston. Because we, my partner and I, we thought {…} because of the times, people were getting more into bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles … getting away from big cars and stuff, and we thought we're big motorcycle fans, {…} “Hey, maybe we should open up a shop”; and buy used motorcycles, and refurbish them, and have a showroom to sell them, buy some old school stuff and flip some bikes, and stuff like that. Which is kind of what he's doing out there, my partner. Yeah, he got lucky. He found a nice country home in the middle of nowhere, kind of a farm area. He got really lucky. He got a good price and he did a lot of work. So he went out there, put his head down, and basically built a home for his family. And left me here. That fucker *chuckles* … let me flip the record … … And so while looking for buildings to rent (Tarik) came upon this place through someone, a friend of a friend kind of thing. They were like, “Hey, apparently this place called the Concord Cafe is up for sale”. And we came and looked at it. And we were both like, “Well, I don't know about the motorcycle thing, but you could sure have a nice little room back there for live music and some dance parties”. And I'm like, “Yeah, okay, why the fuck not”. We went very green into it. Although we both worked in bars for a long time. Z: How did you guys meet?

J: Yeah. So we met through music actually. So I met him, and our kitchen manager Shane, I met them through a jam {…} at the upstairs pool hall at the Rivoli. There used to be a bi-monthly jam hosted by a few music-friends there.{…} I filled in as a drummer when they needed one. Somehow they saw me play somewhere. So, flash forward year or two and Tarik and I formed this band called The Pinch with our friend Steve, who is one of the hosts of Free Fall Sundays at Supermarket. He's been

a

doing that for years. And so I became friends with Tarik. Pinch broke up after a few years. And I was still, you know, working in the bars. I was DJing. I was drumming. I was a bartender. I was a busboy. I was a barback. And Tarik at the time was working at Lava Lounge, which was the same owner as Supermarket. Yeah. Greg Botrell. And then this thing started. Oh, yeah, I worked at a little bar called Tiger Bar, which was like a dance, kind of DJ and live band place. Very small, maybe like 40 capacity. Z: Where was this? J: That was at College and Lippincott. It was underneath the KOS restaurant. Then it became a pub, Crown and Tiger. I think it's still there. And so back then, I was DJing up the street at a place called Cobalt, and one of the owners Tyler brought me over to his basement. He was like, “I think we can do something with this place”. And I'm like, “Definitely!”. So I named it Tiger Bar. For some reason, it had an African mural painted, but there were no tigers, but there was empty Tiger beer cases. And {…} I was like, “We should call it Tiger Bar”. And we stuck with that. So I did sound there. And I DJ’d there for a bit. We had a really good booker, who now works for, I think, Paquin agency. And we had some really killer bands play at that place. Like, KILLER! Z: Are you gonna name a few? J: Yeah. And it's kind of sad, but that to me, was kind of like, the tip of the small live scene. I think after that era, we're talking about ‘07/’08/ ’09, something like that … It kind of peaked then. Z: That's when you think .... J: … think that's when things started changing. Some of the bands, Born Ruffians, the gals that are now in the band Ice Cream, and I can't even remember half these people. I did sound for Grimes, and she was probably 18 or 19 back then.

Crystal Castles played there. That was a really busy show. We had over 100 people in the bar. The Rural Alberta

15