Date: March 7, 2008
Venue: The Horseshoe
After catching the first half of the Weewerk showcase last Friday night (as described in yesterday’s post) my friends and I trudged through the slush filled downtown streets to the good ol’ Horseshoe Tavern for a late-night performance by Hey Rosetta!
We arrived to find the venue absolutely packed. In fact, it looked as though those without passes or wristbands weren’t getting in anytime soon. Danko Jones was on just prior to Hey Rosetta! and, while I didn’t even know they still existed, it seemed that a lot of people had built their evening around the Toronto cock-rock outfit (who spent a decent portion of their set complaining about not being able to get signed, and proceeding to blame everyone and everything but their own un-evolving sound). Personally, if I’m in the mood for something loud and fist-pumping I’ll stick with C’mon…but I digress.
Thankfully, smokers are a predictable lot and their collective need for a cigarette between sets allowed my friends and I to get closer to the stage prior to Hey Rosetta! starting up. Being a fan of Plan Your Escape, the Newfoundland band’s debut, I was looking forward to seeing how it translated live. Of course, judging by the youthful and boisterous crowd blocking my camera’s view I wasn’t the only one excited about the show.
Bridging the gap between pop and indie (both of which being fairly arbitrary terms these days anyway), Hey Rosetta! present themselves as a band who could achieve top 40 success without so much as breaking a sweat. That said, their song structures are often more complex than your average radio fair. Think the pop sensibilities of Two Hours Traffic with the malleable compositions of a band like the Rheostatics. This translated perfectly live, as the band delivered the sort of energetic set that bolsters the listeners overall perception of their recorded output.
With a new full-length on the way, Hey Rosetta! are definitely poised for big things this year.
In conjunction with catching the band live last week I was also given the opportunity to ask lead-singer, Tim Baker, a few questions. I’ve pretty much copied and pasted his responses below:
First off, let’s get the elephant out of the room: at the Horseshoe you mentioned a new album coming out in the Spring. Can you share any more details on it yet?
“Sure…I’m sitting in the mixing studio in north Montreal with Matt DeMatteo mixing it right now…he’s working on the drumsound for a tune called ‘Blackheart’…the mixes are coming along. It kicks when it needs to and it languishes when it needs to. There are 12 songs. It should be all done May/June.”
It’s also been reported that Hawksley Workman is producing the upcoming record. Is this true?
“That is true. I just spoke with him earlier to update him on the mixing process…right now he’s in my hometown St. John’s playing to a crowd at Holy Heart of Mary high school auditorium. Lucky.
PS, he’s great.”
I enjoy EPs. In fact, I’ve said it a million times on this blog that I always prefer a band who puts out a strong and focused release, no matter how short, over a bloated album that seems to meander in order to hit a double digit track listing. That said, what was the decision process behind cutting Plan Your Escape down from a full-length (as it was initially released) to an EP?
“I guess it was our label, Sonic Records, that really wanted us to cut it down (though it still runs at about 40 minutes or something) ’cause they wanted something well, like you say, strong and focused, but also something we could sell for cheap and get across Canada so people might be excited about this next release. We agonized only a little over chopping some songs…and the ones that didn’t make the cut are available on our b-sides page on our website (www.heyrosetta.com/besides). Only you need a secret code from the package of the new ep to access them. Tricky ol’ management smartypantses. I really like the idea of a b-sides page though…I’m gonna upload some new stuff when I get home.”
Coming from such strong success in your home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, how have you been received by the rest of Canada? Is there any place that you feel has been particularly welcoming?
“We are received always warmly and well…it used to be that the closer we were to home the more people tended to show up…although now we’ve been touring around for a bit and its not really the case anymore…I cant wait to get back out west…cant wait cant wait.”
Seeing as I’ve never been to Newfoundland and am unfamiliar with the music scene there, can you suggest any other bands that I might want to check out?
“Yeah…Mark Bragg is a maniac genius……our old drummer’s band The Human Soundtrack are pretty sweet too. I’m sure there are others…but I haven’t been out and about at home for awhile…in fact, I haven’t been home in a while.”
I’ve got to geek-out for a second: at the Horseshoe I saw you playing a Fender Squier guitar. As someone who salivates at the thought of owning a Telecaster or a Gibson Les Paul, can you please tell me that something like the comparatively inexpensive Squier will do just fine?
“Well, I love my Squier, (though mostly cause its got a nice Seymour Duncan pickup on the bridge) but i don’t know much about guitars…I’d actually get another if I had any cash. Sorry to burst your bubble. It’s the perfect sound for certain tunes though, absolutely. I play it through a blues junior on bust and it sings and wails beautifully. Pretty cheap setup. Pretty cheap guy. Ha.”
Tough one, but what’s your favourite album of all time?
“Tough is right. Of all time…Paul Simon’s Shining Like a National Guitar (cheap, as its a greatest hits…), Wilco’s A Ghost is Born (a little forlorn though…not for every mood), maybe Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown’s Christmas (what could possibly be wrong with that?).”
Finally, what are you guys listening to these days?
“Unfortunately a lot of my own music…in the mixing room here…ugggg…let’s see…well I can’t answer for ‘us’ really…that would be really really eclectic. Sufjan Stevens, Wintersleep, Band of Horses, Miles Davis, Chad Vangaalen, The Dears, George Gershwin…bah…lots.”
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There you have it, folks—expect a new album in the spring. In the meantime, here’s my favourite track from Plan Your Escape:
Check out the band’s Myspace page to hear more or grab a digital copy of Plan Your Escape here (it also comes with the code to access the aforementioned b-sides area).
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