Primitive Hearts

(photo by Aaron Oxborrow)

     For decades power pop and punk rock have had a history together. However, to successfully execute this merger a band needs to possess a sort of X factor, a certain something that allows a person to open up like a dropped book on a busy street and let passersby to peer into the pages of their lives, their souls. To do this well, there can be nothing artificial, the feelings and emotions that come through those amplifiers must be genuine no matter what instrument is being used as the conduit. Primitive Hearts have raw and sincere reactions to the world around them and they present their findings to you in song form and you’ll soon realize that their hearts are far from “primitive.”

Interview by Jay Castro

First off Paul, I would like to thank you for taking time and doing this interview; I know you are a busy individual, well…. I’m assuming. Let’s start with names of all in Primitive Hearts.

DANIELLE – Bass and Vocals

PAUL – Guitar and Vocals

TAYLOR – Drums

I know the band started as a two-piece (Guitar & Drums) back in 2010 and you Taylor played a show in Portland as a two-piece. Then Danielle came in and magic ensued.  Do you feel 2 piece rock bands lack a bit in fullness or depth in any way?  What led to the decision to add bass?

PAUL: I think there are some two-piece bands that can sound as big or bigger than even three or four-piece bands. In our case, though, we never intended to be a two-piece; we just couldn't find anyone to play bass! I wrote all the songs with bass parts and backing vocals from the beginning, so when Danielle got on board, we could finally start playing the songs as they were intended.

The new LP High and Tight reminds me of one of the three Ron Swanson acceptable haircuts for men (Buzz Cut and Crew Cut being the other two). Does film or TV shows inspire your songs a lot?  

PAUL: Glad you go the haircut reference. The album title is sort of a play on the words “high & tight,” from both the haircut and a high and inside pitch in baseball. In our case, though, it just has to do with feeling good and shit being rad (aka tight). As for TV/film inspiration, maybe not on individual songs so much, but they definitely inspire the band as a whole. We're all big TV and movie fans, Kids in the Hall is the reigning band favorite. Probably about a third of any given Primitive Hearts practice is filled with KITH quotes and references. In fact, in our video for “Falling Apart,” if you look closely in a few shots you can see “Armada” scrawled on Taylor's bass drum head as homage to Rod Torfulson's Armada featuring Herman Menderchuk. It's still on there...

Can you remember the strangest or most unlikely person or event that inspired one of your songs?

PAUL: Actually, going back to your previous question, I guess I was a little off. A TV show did inspire one of our songs: “Lone Wolf.” It was based on Lenny of Lenny & Squiggy/Laverne & Shirley fame. He has the words “Lone Wolf” on the back of his jacket. I always thought that was rad and would make a great song title. I sort of wrote the song from Lenny's perspective; he may be a lone wolf, but he ain't lonely.

The lyrics for the song “Falling Apart” are kind of a bummer but the music makes it one of the catchiest most up-tempo songs on the record. I have heard some say that writing and playing music is like their therapist. Have any of you felt this way ever?

PAUL: Maybe a little bit when it comes to writing, in that you can vent certain feelings or frustrations, but playing music is definitely therapeutic. For two minutes at a time your only focus is the song you're playing, the people in the room, and having a good time. It's pretty hard to beat.

The reviewer from Maximum Rock N Roll said he hears more power pop than pop punk in your music.  I think that’s a huge compliment, do you agree with that description though? 

PAUL: Yeah, that's probably fair to say, although it's nothing intentional or deliberate. I can see how some of the songs have that feel, but we listen to all kinds of stuff, so it's all just a mash up of lots of influences. We've never claimed to be a “power pop” band or “pop punk” band or whatever; we just like to play good times Rock N' Roll.

In my opinion I hear both, which is a good thing! Is there any band or musician in either of those genres you feel is grossly underrated and deserves more recognition?

PAUL: Thanks, yeah, there's definitely a little of everything in there! I'm not sure about any “grossly underrated” power pop/pop punk bands or musicians necessarily, but I think the world could definitely use more of both. All hooks all the time!

In yet another write up, Primitive Hearts is described as having influences like The Kinks, Beach Boys, and The Sonics. I got into older Rock N’ Roll by way of punk rock when I was a wee lad. For example, I started paying closer attention to The Beach Boys and The Ronettes because of the Ramones. Was this the case for any of you?

PAUL: I'd say when we were young; it was the opposite for the most part. We all grew up on oldies and whatever our parents and older brothers and sisters listened to. When we got into punk and more obscure stuff, it was easy to see the connections and influences of those older bands.

I was reading this interview with Nick Cave and he said something to the effect that out of any of the art forms music has the power to change a person’s mood the fastest. Do you agree with this and if so do any of you have any favorite songs you put on to help you out of a bummer mood or to help you get all riled up on the way to a gig? Other than High and Tight of course!

PAUL: Yes, music can totally change your mood! There are so many good go-to jams when we wanna get pumped, but some favorites in the van would be anything from Chuck Berry, The Undertones, Equals, Slade, LAMF, Stones, and pretty much anything else that boogies.

With all these comparisons to Rock N’ Roll of yesteryear, do any current bands or musicians inspire you and if so who?

PAUL: Some current bands that totally kill it are Bad Sports, Midnite Snaxxx, Nobunny, The Steve Adamyk Band, Pookie & The Poodlez, The Shanghais, Mean Jeans, and Needles//Pins. 

Where can people go to hear Primitive Hearts or buy your music?

PAUL: Our Bandcamp page has all our music and merch for sale, so take a peek:

https://primitivehearts.bandcamp.com/ 

You can also follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/primitivehearts) and Instagram (@primitivehearts).

In closing on the behalf of all at Audio Ammunition I want to thank you again and wish you the best of luck. What does the band have in store for the remainder of the year, any tours or albums?

PAUL: We're gonna be doing a month-long tour in June with a couple dates in Canada, too, around the Ottawa Explosion Weekend. We're going out with our buddies Pookie & The Poodlez, which is gonna rule. We actually did a split 7” with Pookie that should be coming out soon on Jonny Cat Records out of Portland, so keep an eye out for that!

Thanks so much for talking with us!

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Needles//Pins

Needles//Pins mix of Teenage Kicks-era Undertones and the underrated Protex has garnered the band a lot of attention and placed them on a few “Best of” 2012 lists. This year the band has two singles being planned for release this summer, one on La-Ti-Da Records. In addition to the two singles, Needles//Pins are writing the follow up to their 12:34 LP, completed a recent tour of the US and are now playing at Ottawa Explosion this year. Not bad for a band that started because two of the members “needed an excuse to get drunk on Wednesday nights.” 

Interview by Ed Stuart

Who’s answering the questions?

Tony.

Where is the band from?

We are from Vancouver, Canada

Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?

Macey plays drums, Adam plays guitar and Tony plays bass

How did the band start?

Adam and me were living next door to each other, and we needed an excuse to get drunk on Wednesday nights, so we started jamming in my basement. The set up was so shitty, but we had beers so, whatever. After not too long we made Macey let us come over and jam at her place and she’s been stuck with us ever since.

What bands did you have in mind when starting this band?

We wanted to sound like Jay Reatard meets The Pointed Sticks. I think that went out the window pretty quick though, that seems like a pretty lofty thing to shoot for.

Five essential LP’s, EP’s or 7”’s that you can’t live without right now.

The Mandates - S/T

Spectres - Nothing To Nowhere

Warm Soda - Someone For You

Wipers - Is This Real

Big Country - The Crossing

In an interview with The 1^st Five, Adam talking about local support for local bands [Vancouver] got to be the best city in the country to be in a band. Three local bands played our record release show [and] 300 people showed up. Is this still the case? That is a crazy number for a shows of only local bands.

It definitely still happens; obviously it doesn’t happen every show. But there’s definitely something to be said for the amount of people that come out to shows in Vancouver, we're really lucky here I think.

In the same interview, it’s mentions that Young Governor in 2012 was drawing 50-60 people, which is a great draw for a local band. What is the reaction for the band if and when drawing a crowd less than that?

I dunno, its hard to say really, I think if you're drawing that many people consistently then you're doing pretty good. Draw is a weird thing I guess, its not always the best bands that draw the most people.

How did Needles//Pins hook up with both La Ti Da Records and Mammoth Cave Records? The band has two releases out on each label.

We met Tim a few years ago when we played in Victoria, then we ran into him at Sled Island and I found a free beer wristband on the ground that Macey used her gum to restick it together around his wrist, so, he owed us. We got together with Mammoth Cave cause we went on tour with The Moby Dicks, and both Paul and Evan were playing in that band, they approached us about doing the LP the second time we ever met them I'm pretty sure, which was pretty cool.

Seems like Canada as a whole is producing a slew of really good power pop bands, Steve Adamyk Band, Sonic Avenues, Needles//Pins. What is going on up there? Is there an abundance of awesome power pop records up there?

Canadians just have great taste probably. Aha, no, um, I’m not sure really, Canada has had a lot of rad punk and power pop bands in the past, so maybe that has something to do with it? It’s either that, or the beer. Probably the beer.

In previous interviews Needles//Pins, the band has a really great attitude regarding the work and band balance. After being on a few “Best of” lists for 2012, does the band still have this attitude especially with more and more people taking notice of the band?

Oh ya, our attitudes are still the same. We're not really a band whos trying to "make it." We wanna do as much as we can with it, touring, records etc. But at the end of the day its what we do to have a good time, we all work so we can go play shows and have a rad time. The best of lists and whatnot are great and its always a trip when people put us in the same regard as some really rad bands, but they don’t pay the rent.

How was the US tour? What were some of the difference between playing the US and playing in Canada?

America was awesome, we had a blast. It was pretty much impossible for us not to have a good time since we were on tour with our good buddies in The Steve Adamyk Band. I think it was a really great first tour in the states; we sold a bunch of merch, met a bunch of new friends, drank a million cheap beers, and even got invited back to San Diego for Awesome Fest. The two main differences touring in the states are the best reasons to tour the states, cheap beer and awesome Mexican food everywhere.

Where can people hear the band?

http://needlesxpins.com/ will show you everything you need to know.

What’s next for Needles//Pins?

We have two 7"s out this summer, one on La-Ti-Da and one on King Fisher Bluez. We're in the process of writing a new LP, which we hope to record in September or so. 

Photo Credit: Tara Dwelsdorf

Needles//Pins- Shaker from Anthem Jackson on Vimeo.

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Sonic Avenues

     Sonic Avenues is the kind of band that writes such good songs they can afford to not release them on their LP’s as evidenced by Sixteen Wires that was released/uploaded on bandcamp in March. They write power pop that has equal importance on both power and pop. A mix of Buzzcocks, Pointed Sticks, Powerpearls and the Cheap Rewards re-issues LP’s blended into a fine music cocktail. Currently, the band is finishing up writing their third LP and looking to play the world. 

Interview by Ed Stuart

Who’s answering the questions?

Max

Where is the band from?

Montréal, La Belle Province, Canada.

Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?

I play guitar and I do lead vocals, Seb plays lead guitar, Chance is the guy on bass and JC beats on the old pots and pans.

How did the band start?

A couple of years ago, I used to live in a house with three roommates. We used to throw EPIC parties in that place. I had a room in the basement, which had drums, and amps set up. It was perfect for not studying while bugging the shit out of my roommates and neighbours. Needless to say that my room quickly became the scene of many late night drunken trashy jams. My buddy Jamie was a regular. He’d come over with a bunch of beers a couple of nights every week and we’d just bash it out for a couple of hours. After a while, we had a couple of (pretty shitty) original songs. That’s when we decided to take the idea of starting an actual band a bit more seriously. But it’s mainly because of him that Sonic Avenues saw the light of day. I was very lazy while he was motivated and insistent about it. So, I figured we might as well give it a shot and see what happens. At that point, drunken jams progressively turned into actual rehearsals. And once we had a few presentable songs, we approached a few people to see if they wanted to be in the band. That’s when JC and Seb joined the group. That was in 2006. 

What bands did you have in mind when starting this band?

We were really going after the garage 60‘s movement initially. Bands like The Kinks, The Zombies, The Who, The Litter, etc, were dominant driving influences. Basically, we were punks trying to do 60‘s; all those punk and powerpop records were never far during that time. I always loved bands like The Real Kids, Barracudas, Adverts, Buzzcocks, Pointed Sticks, etc...  These were always an underlying influence no matter what we were trying to do. And eventually, they became predominant and took over the main direction of our song writing.

How is the recording the third LP coming along? Any schedule release date?

We haven’t started to record it yet. We’re still in the process of writing the last few songs. So far, we have gone through a LOT of songs that we decided not to keep. It sounded too much like the old stuff. We just want to keep things fresh and interesting; not just for the people out there who like our band, but also for us. I’m very happy with the songs we have now. It’s most definitely our strongest material to date. At least it feels that way. Variety - while remaining true to our style - is what we are trying to achieve this time around: dark, bright, long songs, shorter songs, different tempos, etc. I can’t wait to start recording it. Studio time will start this spring and if all goes well, the album should be released later this year.  

Do you think music can still be a vital force in such a disposable age?

Of course! I do realize that there are thousands of records being released every year and that it has become really, really hard to keep track of it all. Lots of good stuff just keeps flying right under our noses all the time… That to me is where the downside of that situation is. These days, people go through a lot of records real fast without looking back because of the rate at which they come out. But every now and then, there’s a record that’ll just stand right out of the bunch. That one will just stick to the turntable and for a while, there will be no other ones! Those are the records that you actually come back to. Luckily, music like this is still being released these days and this is very reassuring. So yeah, most of it is disposable nowadays but there’s still great music out there that will keep coming looking for you. The search of mind-blowing tunes may prove to be harder in this era but the reward of finding them is certainly well worth the effort in the end!

It seems like Sonic Avenues and Steve Adamyk Band have toured a lot in the past and have released a split 7”. Is there any future tours planned with the two bands? How did this band friendship come about?

Initially, we were introduced to the Ottawa scene by local Ian Manhire (Going Gaga Records, Sedatives, White Wires, Voicemail) when he invited us to play a basement show a few years ago. I think it was one of the first White Wires show, too... It was awesome. It was a shock for us to see how great and ‘together’ that scene was (and still is). It was the best thing I’d seen since the Spaceshits reign over Montreal more than 10 years ago. It was the real thing; a bunch of kids hanging out, drinking beers and partying to some bands in a basement. It can’t get any better than that. So, shows after shows in Ottawa, we started to become real good friends with some of the people there. They made us feel like we belonged to their awesome, growing scene. It was a good feeling. Especially after having spent months/years in a city (Montreal) that was experiencing a bit of a lull in terms of punk scene activity, where most bands were operating essentially on their own which sucked. Luckily, that is changing I think. Anyways, Steve and his bandmates were some of the people we felt really connected to and we quickly became solid buds. Both our music goes really well together. We’re all on the same wavelength and that makes life on the road not only easy, but a lot of fun. Steve has also filled in for our bassist on a few occasions and Seb, JC and I were his backing band at SXSW last year. And now we officially share one member: Seb. About future touring plans, Steve and I were very recently talking about it and it looks like the bands are gonna hit the road together once again in the nearish future. We have no official details yet, though.

First of all the song “Sixteen Years” that was just released sounds like a power pop gem. How did this song not make the Television Youth LP? I like Television Youth, but “Sixteen Years” is a cool song. 

Thanks! That’s one of the first feedback I get about that song. To be honest, I kind of regret not putting “Sixteen Years” on Television Youth. I think it would have been a good counter weight to balance the darker side of the album. The only reason why it didn’t make the cut was primarily because we were just sick of it and we collectively started to think that it wasn’t good. We also wanted a 10-song album. So, some of the material had to be cut. Two other songs found their way into the garbage bin... Maybe I’ll throw them all on a 7” one day. One of them was called Bored With Love and it was meant to be the song used for the Steve Adamyk Band/Sonic Aves tour split. That 7” was gonna be called the Bored With Love split. It would’ve been cool. But then that song suffered the same fate as Sixteen Years; we thought it sucked and preferred new material over it. So I picked Fadin’ Love instead for the 7”. I’m probably gonna remix Bored With Love eventually though… it had a pretty cool noisy surf-style part played on a classical guitar. We’ll see...

Exclaim stated when describing Television Youth “distilling old-school punk and garage rock into a joyous racket. The arrangements are more complicated, but the hooks, which are what matter most when we're talking about this kind of music, remain firmly in place.” While writing the second LP was this a conscious decision or maturation or the band’s song writing?

I’d say it was a bit of both. On TV Youth, we consciously wanted to show our darker side, which wasn’t really reflected by our first album. We tried to write songs that would take a few spins in order to fully “get”. To me, this happens when the structure of a song is a bit less familiar or intuitive. But at the same time, you don’t want to become plain weird in the end. It’s a delicate balance. But as far as conscious planning goes, that was it. The rest seems to have happened on its own. So, I guess we did maybe mature a bit as a band.

Dusted Reviews wrote “Sonic Avenues’ really excellent album Television Youth is an anachronism, not just in its musical references – The Jam, The Clash, The Only Ones and certain harder-edged elements of The Kinks – but in its way of looking at the world. It’s just not the same being a punk kid in a dead-end town anymore. No matter where you live, no matter how far away the nearest rock club or comic book store, there are kids just like you at the other end of your Wi-Fi connection.” Do you agree with that; it’s not the same being a punk kid in a dead-end town?  What about that statement from Television Youth about being an anachronism? Do you still think this term is applicable today?

I think that being a punk kid has always been the same wherever, whenever, technology progress or not. It’s essentially always been about music and DIY. Being punk is about the love for an honest, unpretentious style of music. A music that beats to the rhythm of an agitated excited heart: 150-200+ beats per minute. Being a punk musician is about writing, playing, rehearsing and recording songs, organizing tours, supporting the community. All of that on top of an (often shitty) 40-hour/week job. That is what being a punk is all about.

Now, about that statement... First, I have to admit that when I first saw that review I was amazed to find out that some people actually read or thought about our lyrics! I think the subject tackled in TV Youth still absolutely applies today. More so than ever if anything. In fact, smart phones and all those modern gadgets ARE the new TV’s. TV’s on mega steroids. I mean, they’re amazing machines. I love the social and informative aspects of them. But they epitomize what TV’s have always been about to most people: easy access entertainment. I don’t think that the critic who wrote the review knew I was actually going after this very specific thing, that TV’s are just an image used to represent it all. In short, that song was written about the fact that a lot of people born with amazing creative potential seem to let it erode with time to the profit of hours (days or even years) spent in idle mode. Some people let their brains get filled with a constant influx of shitty information instead of activating their own neurones and become what they were meant to be. I know there’s waaaay more to intellectual potential being wasted than just ‘idle mode entertainment’ but that would’ve turned Television Youth into a shitty and lyrically overloaded punk opera. Another the reason why I decided to name the song “Television Youth” was also based on phonetics. It just sounded good to my ear. “Television” was a better, cooler word than many other options I was playing with at the time.

So, yeah anyways, I do love TV and I think I’m gonna go watch Point Break after this. Word.

50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. How do you think this affects music in any way?

Well, I think some people are definitely getting richer but it’s definitely not your average musicians! It’s incredibly hard to live off your art. In fact, it’s nearly impossible, especially with the genre of music we play. I think that never changed. The only difference is that now the artists’ products cover more grounds way more easily. I think artists like us don’t profit financially from it but we do benefit in some ways because of the increased exposure and easy access.

Where can people hear the band?

Online - http://sonicavenues.bandcamp.com/

Live - we don’t have a lot of shows booked for the next few months as we’re going to be busy recording. Go on our facebook page to keep track of show scheduling: https://www.facebook.com/SonicAvenues.

What’s next?

Recording the new album! Also, we wanna play everywhere: US, Europe, Japan, Canada, etc. So LOTS of shows are going to follow the release of the new record. We also want to do a bunch of 7”’s this year. So, as early as this summer we’ll get going with this series of singles project. 

Also, the Ottawa Explosion 2013 weekend is coming in June (19-23) and we’re playing. Best w-e of the year. Spread the werd.

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