We sat down with Graeme of OntheGOinTo, an excellent Toronto entertainment blog, to talk about everything from writing to releasing new songs to the state of the music biz.
Click this link to see Winhara’s chat with excellent entertainment blog, OntheGOinTO.
Along with writing and recording “the beta collection” we’re also drawing up blueprints for a new live show – literally. Dan has already produced at least six different stage plots for us to discuss / try out. We’ve also been discussing lighting setups and other great visual ideas to add to our show. We’ve been away from the live stage for a while now and I can tell the three of us are overly eager to get back at it – but before we do we want to ensure that we are bring out 100% possible best to the stage. And we’re drawing on our long list of past concert experiences for guidance.
After attending the recent Muse concert (which was amazing) Dan and I started a discussion about our favourite concerts of all time – and what made them so. In the end we both were of the understanding that all the smoke and lights and visuals were nice, but it was the showmanship and songs that held our attention long after the concert was over. He spoke vividly of a Pearl Jam concert in a tiny hockey rink in small town Ontario where the band played past curfew and Eddie Vedder “threw his heart on the stage and stomped on it – like here you go, this is rock and roll.” And the Coldplay performance during their Rush of Blood to the Head tour when Chris Martin held so many thousands captive with his every word and movement.
I recalled Silverchair’s Diorama tour, still my favourite concert to date, in which everything, sounds, lights, performers, worked as one to create and amazing sonic and visual spectacle. And of a young upstart band called Say Anything I witnessed play a total of FOUR songs and fell in love. They weren’t even listed on the bill and had just released their debut “say anything…is a real boy”(which if you don’t own it run out and buy it NOW NOW NOW) but were the best band of the night. They had no flashy stage set up or props, but commanded attention, even when falling on patch chords, and had more than enough energy to light the city of Montreal for weeks after that night.
It was the interaction between the crowd and the band on those nights that made them what they were – not the pyrotechnic effects. Sure we’re working on lights and other on stage set ups, but mostly we’re working on our show to ensure that we can create that amazing connection between everyone, every time we hit the stage, with great energy and great music.
Tom Thomson's famous painting The Jack Pine. Oil on canvas. 1916.
It’s the stuff of Canadian legend. Artist and avid outdoorsman, Tom Thomson, paddles out into Canoe Lake just as he has done countless times before. This time he disappears. After days of searching, his body – bloated and bruised – surfaces. It doesn’t make any sense.
More on the extraordinary story after these extras we’ve put together for you.
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Official Version:
Download the full studio version of Tom Thomson at www.winhara.com.
Additional Blog:
Behind the scenes video:
Acoustic version:
Lyrics:
While the official coroner’s report claims that Thomson’s death was accidental there are many conspiracy theories – and for good reason. Tom was a strong swimmer and experienced outdoorsman, he even had a license to guide in Algonquin. It seems quite unlikely that he just fell out of his canoe and drowned on a clear day. In addition he had a bruise on his temple and there was a piece of fishing line wrapped around his ankle no less than seventeen times! There also wasn’t any water in his lungs, an indication that he died before he drowned. These facts, and many others, have raised questions surrounding his death.
Tom was just entering his prime as a painter and was starting to get recognition for his work. He grew up in Owen Sound but had moved to Toronto to pursue his career. He spent his summers in Algonquin park doing small oil sketches that he would transfer into larger works at his studio in the section of Toronto now known as Rosedale.
The best site I found for research is Death On A Painted Lake if you’d like to do some of your own digging. For a more entertaining read you can check out ‘Canoe Lake‘ by Roy MacGregor.
Winhara in mid Hugh-hazing about to hit up Toronto's Resevoir Lounge
Last weekend we took our best friend and bass player of over 5 years out for his exit hazing.
Hugh dropped the bomb on us as soon as we had all regrouped from New Years. He told us that while he loved making music, for many reasons (all of which make complete sense), he is moving on. I can’t say we weren’t shocked. The four of us sat around our kitchen table in complete silence until Steve said “I feel like you guys are listening to me chew.”
It is one of many massive changes that has happened in the last month, and while we’re sad to have Hugh leave, we are extremely excited for what is coming up.
So what is coming up?
Needless to say, Kent, Prevost and I are going to continue fighting the good fight. We won’t be getting a new bass player – the dynamic wouldn’t be right and we don’t have money to hire someone. So how are we going to play live? We’ve done it once already and let’s just say we get pretty creative with samplers and trading instruments!
We’re about to head up to Kent’s cabin, nestled into the woods beside the Muskoka River, for a focused four day writing session. One thing’s for sure… moving forward won’t be the same, but we absolutely wish Hugh all the best with his future endeavors.
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Recently a very traumatic thing happened. I was reading Marvel’s Civil War series and was saddened to see that Spider-Man was convinced by (his now mentor…wtf?) Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) to unmask on national television. I won’t go into details as to why this happened, or why it seemed important to the “cause” at the time (because really, do you care?) but it certainly started my brain in motion. I often relate very closely with the trials and tribulations (okay…so I want to be Peter Parker) of the story line throughout the Spider-Man comics. Not the good versus evil, or the whole super-powers thing, but the life of Peter Parker – the nerdy, scrawny, often maligned by his own good intentions, wallflower kind of guy. I often joke about the fact that no one ever sees me in the back because I am hidden behind the drums / three tall guys, but for the most part I also make myself scarce before and after shows – protecting my secret identity. It’s something I work hard at, much like Peter Parker worked for so long to conceal his identity. The difference is that I intend to continue to play things close to the vest – the fact that this blog is out is almost an unmasking in its own right
For the most part this was just to let people know that if you ever tried to say something or get my attention (pre or post show) and I failed to acknowledge it…it wasn’t a shun or cold shoulder, I was just trying to protect my secret identity
Spring 2007 – we were trying to bang out five more songs before we went into the studio for creative sessions. That winter Hugh’s parents were kind enough to let us take over an amazing apartment above their garage, which they rented out during the summers. I worked early in the morning and Kent worked late at night so we would meet there during the day to write, arrange, (and argue a lot) before Steve and Hugh got there for rehearsal.
One day was going particularly badly and nothing was getting done – just a bunch of false starts and dead ends. It turned into me dejectedly napping on the couch while Kent continued to tinker on an acoustic guitar. An hour later I heard a strange, bouncy, lick through the half sleep. I decided I loved it and ran bleary eyed to the piano. From there, most of the song just fell together. I do remember writing the bridge which turned out to be one of my top 3 favorite moments on the album. It was Hugh’s idea to rotate the melody through the three instruments. He plays a bass note on the first beat, then Kent hits his guitar on the second and I finish the line with my keyboard played through a POG, one of the coolest pedals in the world.
Also, some of you (drummers especially) may have noticed the strange mixed time signature that happens. The whole song is in 4/4 except where that original lick appears. It starts on the third beat of the bar and the chords are evenly spaced, but there are three of them and the last one doesn’t land on the first beat of the next bar (as it would in 4/4). In fact it lands a fraction after where the last sixteenth note would be. If any of you music theory buffs can tell us what we have done here an explanatory comment would be much appreciated.
[Listen to This Year]
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