Meet the Mrs.

May of 2006. That's when we met. You know, it's almost always one of the first questions I ask a couple when I meet them. When did you meet? Where did you meet? I love hearing the stories. Sounds sappy romantic I know, but I sincerely enjoy hearing the history and the variety of background tales. My first impression of this woman who would later become my wife was that she was a cold and stuck up bat. Romantic hey? I went to introduce myself and she barely looked at me and didn't even want to shake my hand. A fabulous start. As the night progressed at this farewell shindig we attended through mutual invitation by friends on both sides, we were eventually re-introduced at the end of the night by a friend who knew both of us and began talking music. We found that we gelled really well, exchanged numbers and well folks.. the rest is history. 

Since I had taken a break recently from interviews and album reviews, I thought I would take the opportunity to write something totally different, and something a little more personal. That being said, I'm back in the saddle and reviews and interviews are coming. Anyways..

Meet Lorraine. This is my gal. My friend. She's seen me at my worst, and hopefully not yet my best. She's been my rock, and my thorn, my reason to be better. It is my pleasure to introduce her to anyone reading this. 

It is an honor to call this woman my wife. Its something that I do not entirely understand all the time. When we were first together, couples around me that had been together for years, would tell me that the love you start to feel for one another changes and becomes stronger overtime. I never got it until recently.

Not long ago we were talking over a glass of wine after the kids went to bed. As she was talking I found myself staring at her thinking:  If I were ever to screw this up, I would be the stupidest man on the face of this earth. It was an interesting revelation where I realized that our relationship had taken a different shape for me in that on some level, if she weren't in my life, I would be missing a part of myself. I would be fundamentally damaged. And no, I'm not a naive hopeless romantic. It's just how I feel, and the experiences that we have shared together have shaped our relationship to this level. 

As a mother, I could not ask for more. I will level with you, that when it comes to organizing things for my children's daily affairs, I am the worst. Parent fail 101 poster child one hundred percent. I sent Oreo cookies one day in my sons lunch, who attends a school that propagates healthy eating and nourishment. Absolute fail. My wife on the other hand, thinks ahead, packs a healthy lunch, dresses them well, hair is combed. Not my strong-suit, but Lorraine makes it look effortless. That's just one example among many that I can go on, but the point that I will share with you is that she makes the parenting thing a lot smoother than I am sure it could be.

We keep things relatively simple in our life, and I am of the belief that if you don't like the way some things are going, then say something. We are honest with each other even when it sucks, and we make sure to always be vocal about how we are feeling regards the direction our lives may be headed.

Bottom line guys, this is my girl. She's Rad. Thanks for reading.

-Jay Caption

Eternal Husbands. A Q and A with Jay's Topics

Eternal Husbands bring their own brand of rock to the table with this latest release French Exit. You can visit their website here. I recently did an interview with Matt from the band, you can check that out below. Be sure to give these guys a listen!

Jay: thanks for taking the time to answer some of my questions guys! First off, congrats on the new album French Exit. Now, about the name: is there hidden meaning to it? Why did you decide to go with this title?

Matt: According to public myth, a 'French Exit' is when someone leaves a party unannounced.  There is a slight reference to Rick's rapid departure from Montreal September 2013 after our first tour.  It sounds a bit better than 'Ghosting' though, no?

Jay: I've read that Eternal Husbands sound is described as fog pop. Can you comment on what that means? Is this a fair description of your sound? Personally I feel like maybe there is a bit of a 70s rock influence. Not to pigeon hole anybody of course!

 Matt: There are new musical descriptive terms popping up every single day so we thought we would have some fun with it and coin one for ourselves.  It was either that or twangaze.  It's much easier than saying "Diverse, experimental, pop music" and is clearly the reason neither of us are music journalists.   

Jay: You've had a few tour dates in support of this release between Alberta and BC. Do you find a difference in terms of the support for the music scene between the provinces? Where would you rather play?

Matt: We have played in Vancouver 30+ times in various bands and it has always been incredible.  It's a tight nit music community, with everything out-flowing from our friend/producer Jesse Gander.  All jokes aside, scene's are scenes.  Edmonton is a massive sprawling city but the people in the city really come out to support one another.  Half play in each other's bands, make videos for each other, record with each other, etc.  Then again, I'm sure if I spent enough time in Vancouver, I might say the exact same thing.  It's the same everywhere, people help each other out.  Some cities have more venues, some have more DIY spots, some have more house shows, but people are people are generally like to help each other out.

Jay: Any plans for a cross Canada tour? Surely you can't leave the east hanging!

Matt: We will be touring Ontario/Quebec/Maritimes and potentially NYC in October.  We need to debut our song 'Halifax' from the record in the city itself.  Maybe Joel Plaskett can come play guitar on it, the fellows from Kestrels doing some noise on the outro of it, and the Scoop Outs on harmonies.  All in a dream world I suppose...

Jay: Lets talk about the music industry for just a moment. There are so many musicians scrambling to be heard everyday popping up on SoundCloud, Bandcamp and the like. For touring musicians such as yourselves, do you find that the accessibility to music both professional and DIY over the Internet is a disservice or an advantage to bands who work hard and tour in support of their art?

Matt: I noticed that as more people had Macbooks, Garageband or any other free program, a lot more bands started popping up.  I don't know if everyone is recording at home, or what they are doing, but the fact that people are creating a ton of music is sweet.

An issue though is that more bands -or "artists"- can mean more people doing shows which can clog up a touring circuit.  For example, if we tour and always play the same bar in Winnipeg, have a great relationship with the promoter, and there is a newer band that is ultra tech savvy and can get the word out to 100x more people than we can, the promoter may choose to do a show with them.  Even though he/she may like your music better and want to help you out with the show, depending on how the venue is doing, they may choose the latter.  At the end of the day, it forces everyone to work harder to get people out to the shows but at the same time it makes you just another blip.  Maybe it is weeding out the lazy ones who don't want to tour but at the same time it is making it more difficult for those that tour all the time.

The internet gives you a platform to spread your music worldwide instantly, but at the same moment it opens the door for you, you look around and see one million others let into the same field as you.  It's there, we work with it, it isn't going anywhere any time soon so might as well use it. The important thing to remember I suppose is that the numbers and stats mean nothing.  There will be a time when facebook is not the most important thing in the world and likes don't mean anything.  That being said, I still log in every day or so...

Onto the next question!

Jay: Time for a controversial question. Which is better Alberta or BC? And...GO!

Matt: BC is leagues ahead of Alberta environmentally, but their handling of the Mt Polley disaster with the government and their mining interests is sad.  Alberta did itself a huge favor by electing the NDP, which blew my mind.  I truly never thought I would ever see anything but a conservative majority in Alberta.

There is a rational part of my mind that tells me no politician anywhere should be trusted, it is a giant game and there is no such thing as good or bad.  There is another part that says maybe some times you have to be a cog to change the machine and truthfully I don't have an answer. I want to believe that things change but I'm not sure the government is the place to do it.

I would suggest buying our new album 'French Exit' -available now on Clamour Records-, going for a walk to your campus radio station, and volunteering some of your time.  That is a meaningful use of time.

Jay: Back to some music questions. If you were to recommend an album to fans, what would it be? Anything in particular that comes to mind?

Matt: I'm not sure if you are meaning one of our albums or an album of someone else's so I will do one of each:

Eternal Husbands- French Exit: best thing we've made since our last one.

Baptists-Bushcraft: Heaviest stuff around since Propagandhi

Colin Stetson-Any record.  Colin played on our last band The City Streets' record "Winter Lightning" and blew my mind.  Circular breathing, one note held for 15-20 minutes, crazy syncopated stuff via Steve Reich, check him out

Mike McDonald-Live at the Blue Chair Cafe.  Jr Gone Wild frontman, always worth its time.

Jay: Thanks again for taking the time out of a hectic schedule to have a chat. Much appreciated!

Matt: Roger that, over and out.

-Jay Caption

The Mandates: In the Back of Your Heart (Album Review)

The Mandates are back with another killer endeavor in their latest album, In the Back of Your Heart. If you have not had a chance to give the album a listen, you can do so here.

In listening to the album, I found myself feeling reminiscent of times past when I was younger sitting in the back of my fathers Valiant cruising down the highway listening to classic rock tunes. The Mandates have infused their own raw form of punk rock and blended it with an in your face rock and roll sound that is sure to keep you tapping your feet to the rhythm.

An energetic start to the album, "Something Wrong" and "Messing Around" are great songs to introduce In the Back of Your Heart. Here, we have fast, clean and warm tunes to set the stage for the rest of the record. I love the way the vocals sound on this album. The doubling up on these songs makes it feel like you are listening to AM radio with a way more polished feel to it. 

"Saturday Night" is a fantastic song, packed with great lyrical content and excellent instrumental work from the boys. That is something that cannot be overlooked. The Mandates deliver on a tight set together on this album. The guitar, bass and drums are always working together and are consistently complimenting each other as the album plays on. A great example of this is on the track "Lookin' Up" which I highly recommend. 

Nowhere on this album do you feel like you are getting any less than the best from the boys from The Mandates. To close out the record, we have "Not My Problem" and "I Got Eyes" which are nothing short of excellent. Really, if you are looking for an album that you can play over and over and have fun doing so, then In the Back of Your Heart is for you. Steady, catchy tunes, The Mandates are the choice to make if you are looking for true, honest rock music to listen to. 

Check in with Calgary Punk Shows and your local listings for when they might be playing near you.

-Jay Caption