Genres: Everything (Grungy, Folky, Funky, Rock stuff)

Eli’s Instruments: Voice, Guitar

Evan’s Instruments: Bass, Voice

I met with Eli and Evan in their jam session this summer and we had an awesome chat about None The Wiser and their experience performing and song-writing. I can honestly say I learned a lot from these guys and am super thankful for them letting me interview them! Read it now~!

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Ashley: So you play everything, how do you decide what to play at a show?

Eli: For shows we have been keeping it to out up-tempo dance-y songs. It depends on the venue. I was even reading in this David Burn book that people write songs for venues.  They have a venue in mind as a musician and you write a song that’s geared toward that. It’s a different given or take with the audience. It’s more intimate when you are playing those quieter show but when you see people dancing and having fun, that’s what really does it for me. I guess that’s how we decide on what we play at shows, it’ where we are playing.

Evan: We often also don’t know ahead of time. We’ll have a general idea of what we’re doing and depending on what the crowd likes and we’ll change what we are playing. We play the crowd.

Ashley: So you have brass instruments in the band, how do you incorporate that when you’re playing rock music?

Eli: It’s just another layer or texture that you can add. Like I said, we don’t like to pigeonhole ourselves. We like to put together a good song with a catchy hook on the horns; they can do things [others can’t]. They can do melodies and add so many different things. It’s just nice to have them there.

Evan: I think it’s a great throwback to some of the funkier Motown that we are all kind of into. We are a band that for all intensive purposes rock band but a big brass section behind it adds this entire new layer of music.

Ashley: Where does the band name come from?

Eli: I’ll give my brother Zach credit for that one [back in 1999 or 2000], we just hadn’t come up with anything new since. It’s been so long that I haven’t really thought about changing it. I tried once, I did a solo op and just ended up being another None the Wiser [project].

Evan: I think too few bands are honest about how arbitrary their name is. Some bands have really cool or awesome history about their name but I think most bands are just “we need a band name and this sounds cool.” 

Ashley: So how often are you guys practicing together?

Eli: We practice at least once a week. We do Wednesdays at the jam space, leading up to bigger shows we will squeeze in a couple more. We also break it down into sectionals so I’ll go jam with the horn players so they can work out their harmonies to not waster everyone else’s time. Sometimes we’ll have practices where we just work out vocal harmonies, break it down into sections.

Ashley: What do you listen to for inspiration for music?

Eli: Oh lots of fun stuff! I like everything from the Spice girls to the Beatles.

Evan: We actually do a couple covers of Spice girls at shows.

Eli: I want to say the Beatles, Dave Matthews band, Sublime, KT Tunstall. I’ve been really into Max Martens’ writing lately, he wrote all pop songs on the 2000s. I’m into pretty much everything. I’m wearing a Fela Kuti shirt right now. I love afro beats stuff. That really helps bringing in the horns actually.

Evan: I think one of the nice things about sitting down and jam is that we come from different backgrounds with some overlap. I come from a really big metal background. I listen to metal bands and played in a lot of Winnipeg death metal bands and stuff that is very different from what we play; it also a slightly different perspective. It brings things that only once person would necessarily think of. Josh plays a lot of country, Jordan is really into weird art rock kind of stuff.

Eli: Cary is really into blues and funk and soul, so it’s a really cool mash up . Really the inspirations are infinite.

Ashley: How do you think death metal helped none the wiser?

Evan: I think if anything, I might occasionally play things a bit more aggressively than maybe other people might have thought of. I think we have a few songs where things have dropped a bit lower and a bit heavier.

Eli: I love a good solo with a gritty bass that probably comes from some metal stuff.

Evan: Cool things happen when you put a different perspective on something that’s relatively normal.

Ashley: So what is the overall songwriting process?

Eli: Up to now, we are starting to write more because we are jamming more often, but usually it always starts with a guitar and the sounds come before the words. We fill in the words to the sounds. To be perfectly honest, I don’t really know where it comes from, it’s kind of that I just lucked out and something cool popped into my head. I think that’s really common with all songwriters. They don’t really know where it comes from; every now and then they tap into the cloud of songs and just get lucky every now and then. For the most part, up until now that we are starting to write stuff together, I would come up with a song and more often than not we would have a solid first verse and chorus and whoever didn’t come up with that would help finish the words and the story and the idea and concept.

Evan: I feel with this these fairly frequent lineup changes, like any good musician would listen to the songs and learn the notes and once they start jamming without really thinking about it, they starting playing things a little differently with different inflections. The arrangements are just different.

Ashley: How do you go deciding your set list for a show?

Eli: Again it’s really venue dependent. If we’re playing at a restaurant we usually start quieter and gradually get louder and more energetic. If it’s a theatre thing even like the Pyramid where everyone is paying attention, you really want to hit them hard with your two favorite songs then pull back and draw people back in by building it back up. I feel that’s what set lists are usually like, two really high energy songs off the bat, and then a chill song to draw people in, not lull them but bring them down so it has more effect when you bring the high energy songs back.

Evan: You aren’t going to throw in the songs you’ve only jammed a couple times and don’t sound the greatest.

Ashley: With None the Wiser, what accomplishments are you most proud of?

Eli: For me the albums are some good accomplishments because they are just a lot of our songs out there in the world for people to hear. Some of our festival shows like Shine On, the first year we played we did a John Lennon song and everyone sang alone; just the little things.

Evan: The whole reason we’re doing this is for us to have fun and express that fun and have the other people who are watching have fun. Everyone’s excited; everyone’s having a moment together. That’s more important.

Eli: That’s kind of the goal. Just to do that with as many people as possible.

Ashley: What advice would you give to beginners who might be nervous about starting their bands?

Evan: Don’t be nervous. Just go out and play. You’re probably going to suck the first few times you play so just go out and suck and you’ll get better. Even if you suck you’re going to have fun.

Eli: You’re only going to get better the more you play.

Evan: Don’t be scared and don’t care about what other people thing about you. If you really believe that the music you are playing is good or you like it or you have fun and people can see that you are having fun and you believe it, then there is going to be a crowd for it. Maybe you aren’t playing the right places, don’t get discouraged if you have a bad show, or people hate you, or no one shows up or anything of those things. I wouldn’t worry about it because you can just play another show and maybe next time people are super into it. Play for free, play for fun; eventually you’ll start making money and that’s not what it’s about anyways. IT’s about having fun; ideally you want to be making money so you can work less and play more.

Ashley: So if people have gathered this courage but they are missing a band member?

Evan: Go to jam nights?

Ashley: Where do you find jam nights?

Eli: Wee Jonny’s and the cavern had one fore awhile.

Evan: Go to open mics

Eli: It’s also easy to just post ads online. I have friends who have found two hardcore band members that took their band to the next level by posting an ad online. They were in their 30s and they got this kid who was 18 who was ready to go.

Evan: I lived in Ottawa for a few years and I wanted to make sure I played music so I found any music forums online and posted “ I play bass and I want to play anything you want me to play.” And I found something in less that a month. It helps if you’ve had past experience that you can cite to people but even without that it’s not going to take that long. People are always looks for people to play with.

Eli: Another thing is just asking you best friend. Maybe they don’t play the bass or the drums together, but if you start together you’ll get better together. You don’t need to be the best musicians; you just need to be good as a group. If you’re already friends to begin with you’re going to be tight as a group.

Ashley: What is your favorite song to perform live?

Eli: My favorite song right now is probably Magic All the Time or Back Behind the Blue. Back Behind the Blue is kind song sexy song, pretty psychedelic and Cary does kickass guitar solos. It’s a like a jam. The live performance is many minutes longer than the recorded one. It’s really energetic and fun and it’s new.

Evan: Probably Beale Street Beer it’s just a very straightforward easygoing vibe that’s easy to play. It’s not hard to play at all and it just feels good.

A photo posted by Ashley Bieniarz (@ashleybieniarz) on Nov 9, 2015 at 6:58am PST

Support Winnipeg Band None The Wiser!

Photo Credit: Megan Steen

Genres: Acoustic, Classical, Folk, Roots, Singer-Songwriter

Instruments: Instrumentals, Classical violin, Guitar and Voice 

Raine and I met outside the cozy Thom Bargen coffee shop. It felt like we were having more of a hear-felt conversation rather than myself simply interviewing her. Raine was super friendly and easy to talk and listen to about the music industry and her journey so far. Congrats to her and all her achievements so far! I can't wait to see what more wonderful opportunities come her way~!

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Ashley: How long have you been playing?

Raine: I started playing violin as a young child, it’s been twenty something years.

Ashley: And why did you decide to perform?

Raine: It’s really hard not to perform. It’s just something in the blueprint of my life that this is something that I do. It’s so hard to not perform.

Ashley: What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Photo Credit: Hillarie Tasche

Raine: The thing I’m the most proud of is how hard I have worked. I am proud of how I’ve prioritized art and music making in my life because that was the thing that was hard. It was a challenging, scary thing to do, to make it my main focus in life. To put my time where my mouth is. That is what I’m most proud of and that has lead to opportunities that I am so happy to have like going with Manitoba Music to perform music in the Ontario Conference last fall; and all of the work and the opportunities leading to the album release [which was] a really joyful, successful experience. This summer I’m touring all over the place and playing in a lot of festival, which is my absolute favorite.

Ashley: What advice do you have for beginners who are nervous to start sharing their own music?

Raine: I think it’s important to be clear about what you want and then to make a plan. I think the best thing to do is seek the advice and seek the counsel of people who have done this before you. I’ve had a ton of meetings with artists over the last few years and have learned so much and have benefited also from the community. I would say find people that you admire, ask them about [anything]. This community [we have] is really helpful.

Ashley: And how do you approach them, these people?

Raine: I always offer to buy them lunch and always write down everything they say and they take it seriously.

Ashley: But how do you find them?

Raine: Just ask [around]! All they can say is yes and no.

Ashley: How do you balance your music with your other obligations like work?

Raine: A lot of my work is music based so that is good and complimentary to my music. I have achieved balance by reducing my other work’s hours so I can spend more time in the music business. That is one thing, to work less.

Ashley: Does it make it harder?

Raine: Well, financially it makes it harder to work with but there is more time which is much more valuable.  Time is the most valuable thing. I also used to always make lists. I have a bed time so won’t just work constantly around the clock [laughs].

Ashley: So how do you handle the nerves before performances?

Raine: Preparation before a performance. I make sure I’m really prepared. I’ll practice a lot and I practice all the aspects of the show especially for a really important show. All the on/offs, all the things I’m going to say and when I’m going to say it. I craft that and that helps with the nerves. I also think the more I perform the less nervous I am, [the process becomes more fluid]. Just practicing performing is it’s own treatment for nerves.

Ashley: What are you practicing? Are you playing through the songs? Technique?

Raine: I’m practicing anything that needs work. So on any given day it could be any of those things.

Ashley: And what is your songwriting process?

Raine: Sometimes different ways but usually it’s a first line that comes. Melody is often apart of that early process, too. I guess it happens it’s own ways. I sometimes feel a song is it’s own thing already and it depends on what I pick it up by first or what end is poking through the sand first.

Ashley: Are you one of those people that can write an entire song at once, or are you one of those people that takes pieces from a year ago and piece them together?

Raine: I feel that I’m more a collector of bits and they find their way together. In my experience it kind of feels like that.  An accurate description of my process is that I gather pieces together and I feel like a responsibility as an artist to do that when I see those pieces. It often is a process until I find a match together with the bits and I can feel it and often it takes a long time. Sometimes it’s quick and sometimes it’s possible to usher that process along. I was at the Manitoba Songwriting retreat in March 2015 and we wrote a song a day; it’s possible. It’s a different process though.

Photo Credit: Megan Steen

Ashley: Is it harder? I don’t know it if I could do that.

Raine: It’s not that it was harder the process was very different. It was fun. It’s good practice to just make choices faster.

Ashley: How do you choose the feeling to come across in your song? How do you choose your emotion?

Raine: That part happens by itself. That is a pre-existing bit and it usually makes itself obvious in the beginning.

Ashley: Is it like a self-conscious thing or are you naturally picking that mood or feeling?

Raine: You know, I don’t think I can actually describe it. I think that is the crux of the thing. It’s the feeling that it is. It’s the place that where the song lives so I don’t think I decide that, it just happens. I think that just is the thing.

Ashley: So this album you just released, why did you decide to make this album?

Raine: Why did I decide to make this album? Because it’s a step on the way that to the life that I want to lead and it felt right and good to do it.

Ashley: What’s the best advice you’ve received as artist or as a musician that you just take with you?

Raine: The best advice I’ve received is [something] someone said to me very matter-of-fact ‘do not be strayed from you course.’ To me it means do not be swayed from what you love, it is important. I think it speaks to me [because we live in a culture where] art is valued a lot less that [how much I value it] in my heart and it can be hard to live like that. But do not be swayed because it is important.​

A photo posted by Ashley Bieniarz (@ashleybieniarz) on Jul 30, 2015 at 12:30pm PDT

Support Winnipeg Musician Raine Hamilton!

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Instruments: Guitar, Voice, Piano, Bass

Genres: Folk, Roots, Singer/Songwriter

Slow Leaves is Winnipeg's Grant Davidson. His songs, genuine and honest, spare nothing in creating vivid images and heartfelt connections. His voice, warm and effortless, has been compared to the likes of Doug Paisley, Gene Clark and Brian Ferry. His latest release, 2014's Beauty is so Common, like a California country-folk record newly discovered in your parent's attic, blurs the line between new and old. With producer Rusty Matyas’ (Imaginary Cities) keen sense of pop harmony and arrangement supplying a modern vitality, the result is an album deceptive in its simplicity, rich in melody, and immediately classic. (--ManitobaMusic)

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet Grant. He talked about such really problems that every musician faces. I adore his music and getting to hear his music making process and his views on making music was a real treat; it taught me to appreciate it even more. I had such a great time even though we were both freezing together in the chilly wind while talking outside.

Before the interview, I just want you to watch a this video just to see how charming Grant is. I stumbled upon it while doing a little research before meeting him. (I can't help but chuckle every time he does something in the shots where he is wearing a turtleneck and drinking from his wine glass.)

Okay enough about me [ha, at least I think I'm clever] and how I felt talking with Grant and read the interview! I hope you enjoy! Please also check out Grant's social media pages! All listed at the end of the article! 

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Ashley: What’s your musical background and training?

Grant: I don’t really have much of one. When I was 15 I told my mom I wanted to learn guitar so she bought me a guitar and I took lessons for 2 years for classical guitar. I never really had any interest in theory; I just wanted to play like Jimmy Page. So I kind of quit and took it from there on my own; but it was pretty valuable because it taught me how to fingerpick which is something I do a lot of.

Ashley: Do you do any kind of practicing? How often do you push yourself?

Grant: I don’t do a lot of practicing. I just sit and grab an instrument and play around.  Sometimes a certain idea comes along or some sort of interesting melody on the guitar and if I can’t quite to do it, but I hear it, I’ll practice to be able to figure out how I want to play it. I’ll keep practicing it until it’s second nature so I can sing over it. But no, I don’t really practice. But that being said when I started guitar I practiced all time. Well, I wouldn’t use the word practice because I would play any minute I had at home. I would fall asleep playing it. Sounds cheesy, but I really just loved the guitar. I had always wanted to play it, so once I started it never felt like practicing. And I wouldn’t say I would work on specific things I just played.

Ashley: When writing your own music, what is your process?

Grant: There are a couple ways but primarily it comes from sitting around with the guitar and strumming or finger picking, singing melodies or random things. That’s how I’ve written almost every song. Sometimes nothing comes from it but once in awhile there is a certain melody or a hook or a line or some little thing that kind of sparks my interests and I’ll start building around it. Sometimes it becomes a song, sometimes it doesn’t. The inspiration could come from something I’ll hear from another song or another band. If it’s framed a certain way I hadn’t thought of before or just gets me excited, I’ll want to do something like that. It always starts the same way with my guitar, playing around with different ideas. For me, the music always comes first. Music with some kind of vocal melody and then I’ll write the lyrics.

Ashley: I’ve never been able to do that. I think of a melody I like then write a lyrical line that’s doesn’t quite fit and the only way to fix it is by changing the melody so I’ll get stuck. I’ve never done it successfully.

Grant: You don’t want to change the melody?

Ashley: Yeah

Grant: Then you just have to pick words that fit the melody. I run into that too, I’ve had big headaches that never actually turned into anything because I couldn’t get past a two-syllable line to finish a phrase. For example if the cadence of the song needs a word with the emphasis on the second syllable but I could only find words that emphasize the first syllable that rhymed. I couldn’t finish the song just based on that because I didn’t have the right cadence.

Ashley: Who inspires you musically? You mentioned you sometimes listened to other bands for songwriting ideas.

Grant: There are lots bands that I’ve loved over the years. I got into collecting music years ago when a friend of mine with a record player and a great record collection got me excited about records. This was 10 or 15 years ago, but it was a musical awakening because suddenly I would go digging through records and pick something that looked interesting. The scope of music that I was exposed to grew exponentially because I would find anything that sounded interesting to me like: 70s music, early German electronic, ambient records, all sorts of different jazz and everything else. Stuff I had never really explored too much before that. In high school my tastes were limited compared to what they are now. I could name all sorts of stuff, but often it comes from a certain record I fall in love with. It could be the songwriting, the production quality, the instrumentation, or the overall feel of it. I’ll have it in my head while I’m writing my own songs. I’m always consciously or subconsciously wanted [my music] to fit in the context of the accumulated records I love.

For me music is about the feeling. I mean that’s how it is for everyone, but I put much more emphasis on the feel than the technical prowess or dazzling people with my skill. I’m not a virtuoso. Music that feels the best to me could be two notes just repeated sparsely as long as there is a certain feel. I like music that makes me feel like I’m getting into a warm bath. That’s what I try to create generally with my music.

Ashley: What accomplishments are you most proud of, musically?

“My wife and I have had this philosophy of trying to do what we feel is most important and separating it as much as we can from money and making decisions not based on financial reasons.”

— Grant Davidson

Grant: I hope that the best things are yet to come for me. I kind of started looking at music more seriously and make it a primary occupation in the last couple of years so I’m not a spring chicken, but I’m not old. I have a 5-year-old son and a wife and it’s become more complicated. It’s hard to go on the road and right now there isn’t very much money in it so it’s been challenging. I’m coming to it late so in that respect I feel like I’m still doing a lot of the ground work of building before I can really hopefully reap some kind of benefits. I don’t meant financially, that would be nice too but you know what I mean.

For sure there are definitely some high water marks for me. This year I’ll be playing at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. I grew up going to that festival and most people or musicians who go daydream of some day of being up on that stage. That’s a pretty big [deal] for me. I also started touring, which was another big thing. I went from playing around town to going on the road, which is a whole other experience.

What I’m most proud of is taking that leap and quitting my job. It was with support and suggestion from my wife. We’ve been together for a long time and we go through these cycles of doing different jobs but always feeling like I’m rotting on the inside. Like I’m wasting some potential I would regret if I didn’t give it a proper chance to fulfill it and explore that part of me. It was a big decision: quitting my job and I’m really proud of doing it. It felt like a really big risk. It’s something I still struggle with, I have friends who have nice cars and who go on trips; but my wife and I have had this philosophy of trying to do what we feel is most important and separating it as much as we can from money and making decisions not based on financial reasons. Hopefully the opportunities get better and better.

Ashley: I think that’s the hardest thing, making the big leaps. I have the hardest time putting my music out there. I just can’t get past that fear of people hearing it.

 Grant:  There is no way of getting around that. Some people spend a lot of time building their craft and working on it before they put out anything. I guess there are kind of two ways.

Like with the YouTube thing, some people just throw it all out there from the beginning. Some people just have the personality that others catch on to. That’s not for me. In fact when I made my first record, I recorded it with my brother-in-law. It was a very low budget thing, solo singer-songwriter stuff. I was pretty proud of it at the time. We were making them one at a time just burning CD-Rs. It sounds bad so I don’t want anyone to hear it now. It’s no where to be found other than a few people who have it. I don’t like putting something out unless it really represents what I want it to. I think there is a risk if something’s not quite ready or if the ideas are only half-baked or if it’s just not there. I don’t know if there is a right answer for that but that’s how I’ve always felt. 

Back then there was no YouTube. 15 years ago, I was just playing songs for my friends late at night. I don’t know if I would have put stuff on YouTube then either, it’s hard to imagine. It’s the idea of releasing, like I’ve said, I’ve hidden that record from when I first started. 

Actually going back to your last question with what I’m most proud of, my last record I feel like I finally made a record I am really proud of. I put out something I could 100% back up because it felt like it was fully realized. All the other albums I made prior, I felt there were compromises in different ways and in varying degrees. That was my fourth record, and the first one has disappeared, a lost classic maybe [laughs]. That was pretty important to me to finally have something and it also goes to show how hard it is. You can’t stop there; you always need to move forward. It takes a long time to realize those things. At least, for me and for a lot of people it does. You have to start putting stuff out there. You want to be proud of it but who knows if you’ll be proud of it 5 or 10 years later. All that matters is that you are proud of it at the beginning and even that’s hard.

Ashley: You mentioned you had gone on tour, had you had your son at the time? What’s the challenge of having family and going on tour for a long period of time?

 Grant: Where there is are few. Number one, I’m basically a stay-at-home dad. I quit my job so I can stay home and take care of our son while my wife works full-time. It frees me up to work on music in the evenings. Going away means having to find some kind of childcare. That’s the tough part. I have our family chip in and it’s hard leaving feeling like you’re leaving a burden behind. Not my son, but putting that responsibility on other people. I can’t go on tour for a long time for that reason. It’s hard because some bands, especially if you get involved with labels, they want you to be touring a lot so it’s hard to get involved with that. 

The other real challenge would be financially. I wouldn’t say the money is pouring in on my end and especially the way music works for the first little while you are investing more that you are getting back. Everything is expensive like making records and applying for showcases. It’s a real financial hit when you have many moments where you’re like “Why am I doing this? Why don’t I get a reliable job?” 

Ashley: Once your son gets older will you try to go on longer tours?

 Grant: Yes for sure. He’s in kindergarten now and next year he’ll be in grade one.  He’ll be in school until three which helps alleviate the logistics of whose going to take care of him. Hopefully it will get easier that way, I don’t know. We will see.

Ashley: What advice would you give to beginners who are starting to perform or who want to get their music out there?

 Grant: I don’t know much advice other than you just have to perform. Performing in front of people is it’s own topic, an art in itself. Just like learning how to be good at piano or guitar or singing, you have to just start and practice. You have to do it a lot before things start getting easier and more polished. There really is no way around just starting out. You just have to keep doing it. Getting comfortable in front of a mic and knowing how to present yourself on a stage, there is really no short cut. Some people are naturally more comfortable but I think for most people it’s just a nerves thing. People get really nervous. You’ve got to start out in comfortable environments, in front of friends and family. People who won’t boo you off the stage, you just have to keep doing it.

Ashley: That’s what everyone keeps telling me, but I’ll need to hear it 100 more times before I start to believe it.

 Grant: Yeah when I first started playing guitar and I had all these songs. I was terrified of playing in front of people. I remember my sister and I would have these house parties, back with I was 15 or 16 and my friends would want to hear my music. I would take a select group of 5 or 6 people down into my room in the basement, and it’s funny thinking back to this, but I would have to have the lights off. I just didn’t want to see anyone’s faces. It’s so nerve wracking. That’s how I first started.

Ashley: Do you still do that?

Grant: No [laughs] I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable.

A photo posted by Ashley Bieniarz (@ashleybieniarz) on Jun 4, 2015 at 11:50am PDT

Support Winnipeg Musician Grant Davidson!

If you like this post, please hit the like and share button below! Please reach out to me via Twitter or my contact page! I would love to hear anything you have to say! Really, anything. I'm lonely. Also I now have a new Facebook page that will let you know when each post is posted! I would really appreciate if you could like it! Thank you!

Name: Lucas Roger

Instruments: Acoustic and Electric guitar, voice, a little bit of everything

Favorite genres/Music to play: Rock and roll, singer-songwriter, story-lead music, folk roots

Name: Madeleine Roger

Instruments: Guitar, piano, Mandolin, voice

Favorite Genres/Music to play: Rhythm instrumentation, singer-songwriter, folk roots

Roger Roger is a sibling folk/roots duo from Winnipeg, Canada. Twins Lucas and Madeleine Roger are both singer-songwriters who have joined forces, each playing guitar and shamelessly harmonizing all over each others' songs. The offspring of producer/engineer/musician Lloyd Peterson, the twins have a knack for songwriting that must have something to do with growing up in a recording studio. 

Before we started the interview, I had the great opportunity to hang out with Madeleine and Lucas over some tea as they shared stories of growing up together and how they got their adorable but temperamental cat "Turtle". I was able to hear the story of the unexpected birth of this charming duo and how their fun and enjoyable music came to be. This adorable and quirky pair are definitely some of the coolest performers in town.

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Ashley: You [Lucas] like rock and roll and you [Madeleine] like folk music?

Madeleine:  Oh I love rock too! In terms of playing, I’d love to be able to do something like thrash around, but that’s just not where I am right now. We grew up listening to a lot of rock music.

Lucas: The Who, Tom Petty (that’s a big one), the Hold Steady. It sounds nothing like our music, but we like it a lot. Deep purple, country-rock, Jayhawks, Canadian rock like Matt Mays and Joel Plaskett.

Madeleine: People who kind of walk the line between folk and rock. Ron Sexsmith is one of my favorites. I’m typically drawn to is singer-songwriter style music or people who are singing about stories. I ‘m really drawn to the lyrics and melodies.

Lucas: Even if it’s not a unique story; but the performer sings a normal topic in a really interesting, unique way. It’s always fun to hear a songwriter write like that. I think that’s what Ron Sexsmith does so well. He has really cool and interesting stories, like “Strawberry Blonde” and “Pretty Little Cemetery”; and then he has songs like “Clown in broad daylight” which is a song about a clown in broad daylight. You wouldn’t normally think of things like that but he just does it so well. That’s what I like in songwriters.

Madeleine: I think a lot of the art that I like, in many genres and aspects, has some kind of connection to human truth and there are many ways to access that kind of inspiration. I like it when someone puts their finger on something and an audience can listen to it or view it and think “I know exactly what that feels like” or things can just be amazing to listen to. If it’s something that sounds so incredible and imaginative that it’s a new way of hearing something.

Ashley: So you told me earlier you have been playing instruments since you were little, why did you decide to play together?

Lucas: At the time, we were both writing songs on the acoustic guitar. I had been playing in a rock-and-roll band that dissolved in a very healthy way. I took some time to enjoy writing songs on the acoustic guitar and singing them in the kitchen, waiting for the pasta to boil, and Madeleine would walk by and she would add a harmony line to the chorus. Then Madeline went away to the cottage by herself and wrote a bunch or really great songs and started playing them when she was waiting for her pasta to boil and I would hear her.

Madeleine: I would say it was almost accidental. When Lucas was in his rock back, I would hear them rehearsing in the basement and would be sitting at the top of the stairs singing along the entire time. They didn’t know and I probably actually didn’t want them to know that I was making up harmonizing tunes and blasting from my little haven in the kitchen. Then at some point, like Lucas said, I went out of town and started to write more. I had written a couple songs and I knew that I liked songwriting; but I didn’t really like the songs yet. So I thought maybe if I go somewhere and just focus on it for a while so I could figure out how to do it.

Lucas: Did some woodshedding.

Madeleine: Exactly. So when I came back, I remember being a little sneakier that Lucas said. I remember quietly playing the songs I had written in my bedroom. When I thought no one was home I would come down and play them in the living room. Lucas would come in and say “Hey whose song is that?” I would bashfully say, “Oh, it’s my song” and he would ask me to teach him. 

Lucas: In the winter, Madeleine works out at this ski hill and pretty much everyone who works there are musicians. They all like to get together and hang out.

Madeleine: The family that owns the resort is so wonderful and generous. They really have gathered this incredible community of artists around this resort and around that area. It brought together a lot of like-minded people.

Lucas: We had a chance to play some tunes out there. It was a lot of fun and then we started thinking we should see if we could play for the Young Performer’s Program at Folk Fest. I think that was the first things we tried to do together as a duo. We were going to need some demos, so we went on the computer and recorded some basic songs. It got to the point were we needed a name. It wasn’t a one day decision.

Madeleine: We maybe wouldn’t have realized it could work if we weren’t living together. We wanted to sing songs with other people and we were both here, so it just kind of made sense.

Ashley: So, how often do you guys practice your instruments, alone and together?

Lucas: Uh.. [laughs] Easy answer: not enough. I don’t spend a lot of time practicing to get better at the guitar. I probably should, I work all day on guitars and then go home and work on some guitars some more in my shop.

Madeleine: I think the nature of the work you do though has you noodling away on the guitar all day.

Lucas: Yeah, I guess so.

Madeleine: There you go, so you practice.

Lucas:  Yeah, you could say I practice 12 hours a day [laughs].

Madeleine: I also don’t spend much time sitting downtown to practice the instrument specifically. I try to play each instrument everyday, but most times, what seems to happen is when I sit down to try to learn a new song; I just deviate into songwriting. I can’t find myself actually focused on just the instruments for too long because I start to hear tidbits or lyrics and melodies in my head and I end up wanting to catch that. So I stop practicing and start songwriting. I’m starting to see songwriting as a practice in itself. I can happily spend four hours of an evening, just working on a song. And with the practice of songwriting, sometimes it resolves in nothing and sometimes it resolves in bad verses.

Lucas: That’s such a good thing though!

Madeleine: It’s so great! There’s a song you didn’t have to write.

Lucas: I find it so helpful to get past a song. Not to discard it completely or saying that’s awful. 

Madeleine: Just to be able to have the exercise. I’ve written a chorus and I don’t think a verse will come up and that’s okay. I can walk away from this and maybe something will come to me two months later. That’s been happening to me a lot lately. I have this book that collects all the lint and static and madness from my mind. I go through it periodically and see what’s in there from months ago. I might see something I’ll want to work on more. It’s amazing what can happen. I finished a song the other week that had been a couple chords and a couple lines that resurfaced from a year ago. 

Ashley: I’m glad I’m not the only one who has a crazy little book of music.

Madeleine: I would go absolutely mental if they were on just little scraps of paper or worse that I’d try to have my mind remember them. My phone is filled with little pieces too and I will often put them on paper. I always feel I have to catch that stuff. If I don’t it’s gone; which is okay too. 

Ashley: What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Lucas: Getting along?

Madeleine: Not killing each other. It’s amazing how we live together, we shared a womb, share an Instagram account, a bank account a house and a refrigerator and we don’t hate each other.

Lucas: Or we are really good at pretending! I think our greatest accomplishment is that we are setting a goal for something. Madeleine has been doing a lot of work in terms of preparing for the future and what we are working on. It was so much fun to play together in the Young Performer’s Program because we had been going to see performances there our whole lives and it was important for me to be on the other side of the microphone.

Madeleine: Even the other week, we had opened for Carly Dow’s CD release and played with the Crooked Brothers at the West End Cultural Centre. We had been going there since we were born. Our parents used to pack us up in snowsuits and blankets to haul us there two or three nights a week because our dad was often working or playing there. We would always be going there to see shows. We spent so much of our childhood falling asleep in that building. It was so exciting to play on the same stage where we watched so many of our favorite performers play. A whole bunch of our family and other Canadians musicians I’ve watched on that stage. It was pretty special to play that show with performers and artists that we really respect and love as human beings. It was so amazing.

Ashley: What advice do you have for beginners who are starting out who are nervous about getting out there?

Madeleine: The biggest thing I believe in is to go for it. There is nothing to gain from not trying. You have to just jump in.

Lucas: I would say the same thing. I wish I could tell myself that. I don’t open myself up much to playing with other people. I’m very reserved with how I play and write. I like to do it on my own. But, whenever I play with someone else I learn so much. Just have fun with it.

Madeline: Be nice to people!

Lucas: Write bad songs!

Madeleine: and get over it. Writing a song is an incredible thing. You took something that had nothing there and you turned it into something. That’s amazing! I also really believe it’s important to find other people who are your comrades; we can all help each other. People want to be touring, doing shows in town, recording, they want to be experience new instruments. They are all around us, we just need to find them and drink tea with them!

Ashley: How do you balance work and paying bills with your music.

Lucas: I don’t balance very well.

Ashley: How so?

Lucas: I put work at the top of the list and put everything else at an equal last place priority list. Lately I work eight hours a day and fix guitars then I come home and I work in the shop in our garage until 11:30pm. I’ll give myself time to eat and I can pay the bills; but I just shut everything off.

Madeleine: He’s also been doing fantastic things. Like he’s making me a new acoustic guitar. The guitar he plays is the first one he’s ever built. So we will both have instruments that’s he’s made. They will sound really great because they will have similar qualities.

Lucas: I’m working on making them complement each other well. I think it’s cool that madeleine and I just like making things. She draws, sews, makes kayak paddles, and whatever else she’s making.

Madeleine: And the moccasins I’m wearing!

Lucas: Yeah, it’s apart of who we are, so why not play on guitars I have made.

Madeleine: In terms of balancing, we are both trying to do a lot at once, sometimes it can be hard to focus, or figure out what we want to focus on. I’ve been having an easier time with it because I’m not working full-time. I’ve been able to put a lot of my efforts on navigating learning more about the music industry. I’m learning how to make grant applications, and what’s the best order or operations for releasing an album. That’s what I was talking about before with knowing other people in the industry.  Those people are so helpful. Every time I have a question, I feel like I have a couple people I can call up and ask about pieces of advice. Like booking a show or whatever the case may be.

Lucas: Madeleine is able to just tell me when something needs to be done. I’ll be doing something in the shop and she’ll come up to me and tell me that on Thursday we are going to the studio. If there isn’t a second party making that call, I won’t even be able to do it.

Madeleine: I’m making a lot of my work the administrative side of the music making process. I’ve actually found I quite enjoy it because it’s a lot of logistics and a puzzle needed to be put together. I’ve never really been okay planning two years in the future, Lucas can attest to this, I’m more of a traveler and a wanderer. I usually don’t stick around too often. It’s nice to have found something that I feel really solid and safe in planning two years in advance. This strange feeling of peace comes up when doing all this paperwork for planning, recording, releasing and marketing an album. I need to figure out audiences and what kind of playing we want to be doing for the next couple of years.

Ashley: What is your writing process?

Lucas: I hide away where no one can hear me and I don’t come out until it’s done. That’s probably a very basic answer. I often come up with the entire structure of the song on the guitar and then piece in words. I’ve only ever done the opposite once. I wrote the words down and then the music. It actually went really well so I maybe I should do that more often but; most of the time I hum along to a few chord progressions until something comes up.  I don’t co-write. Again, I’m very reserved. I don’t really do that.

Madeline: I love this question because it perfectly highlights the difference between Lucas and I. Lucas will write a song all at once or the same way every time, and always alone. Where as for more, it’s a choose your own adventure. I honestly have no set steadfast way of writing. Sometimes I write the lyrics first; sometimes I’ll write a melody and plug in the words later. Or I’ll be thinking about a topic a lot and I’ll decide to write a song about that story. One time I decided that I wanted to write a two-chord song and I sat down for a day. It really depends, I don think there are two songs that I’ve written that have been approached the same way. Maybe the first couple songs I wrote, but they were really directionless. I think I decided that I want to write a song and sat down at a guitar and plugged some meaningless words; but I quickly moved away from that to a completely scattered but intentional writing process. A couple times, I’ve had dreams where I’ll hear a song so I keep a journal beside my bed. There have been a couple times where I’ve gotten tidbits of songs from dreams and that’s really cool.  When that happens it feels like magic.

Ashley: What made you decide to make this upcoming album?

Madeleine: It’s time.

Lucas: It just came from looking forward to what we want; what we want to do. Like when we were talking earlier about the accomplishment of thinking of the future.

Madeleine: We have so many songs collectively. We have probably 50 finished songs between the two of us. That doesn’t include the bits and pieces that could turn into songs and those that are still brewing. When we play live we only play originals and we can play several sets of exclusively original songs. After most shows we have people coming up to us asking if we have an album for sale and we have to keep telling them no. We really want to start going on tour and see that it would be best to go with an album.

Lucas: Also venues want to see what kind of product you have. In terms of needing some kind of representation of what we are, we could have thrown up a couple microphones and done a demo but what we agreed upon was to make an album as best as it can possibly be. We realized this is the first one, and it we will be all over the place with ideas of what we want to do with it with how it should sound; but we want it to be done properly, in terms of how its produced and engineered and who else plays on it. We wanted all those aspects to be done professionally, not DIY. 

Madeleine: Even thought so much of what we do in the rest of our lives is DIY, we decided to take the opposite approach.

Lucas: we wanted to start with something we are proud of rather than worry that we don’t have representation online. We hear it all the time, people can’t find our music online. 

Madeleine: We made the conscious decision to not put music online until we have something we feel is really good quality, so the first time people hear our music, it’s something we are proud of and a true representation of our work.

Lucas: And until then, you can see us play live! 

Madeleine: Something else is, I want to make this first album so we can hurrying up and start making the second one. We have only been working on demos right now and it’s the most fun we have ever had. It’s so awesome.

Lucas: Recording is so great. We decided to, with our album, that we are going to have other people play with us. When we perform, we usually just have the two of us: two guitars and two voices. 

Madeleine: Believing that the art of recording is different than the art of performing live or song writing is a whole other entity. You have so many options available to you in a recording studio. It’s more opportunity to play with the songs you have created. Our songs have been growing and developing through the recording process, we have been changing things.

Lucas: When you hear it so many times, and you hear something you don’t like that you’re forced to fix it. It’s good to sit back and hear what you do. Although I’m very critical of myself when I record.

Madeleine: But who isn’t though?

Lucas: I just find doing vocal recordings to be so stressful because someone’s voice sounds slightly different then it does in their head. Or you’ll sing a take and you’ll think it sounds great but when you listen to it you’ll hear it wasn’t actually very good and you have so many things you need to fix and where to breathe and what to stress. 

Madeleine: We love that human quality of recordings though. We decided that we don’t want to make an immaculate album.

Lucas: That was another mutual decision.

Madeleine: We want to make an album that’s us: the real people. With all the flaws and all the moderate mis-chords that may occur.

Lucas: Maybe not so much mis-chords, but making a decision on vocal harmonies.  Some people want them to be bang on that it sounds great and match each other perfectly. There is a song we did the other night that with the feel of the song, even though the vocals didn’t line up it sounds kind of cool. It sounded like we were singing together than rounding off every corner and make it really comfortable. 

Madeleine: A lot of our favorite recordings, the older stuff, when the recording style was more analogue, you weren’t able to take as many takes as the digital world is able to offer. Those albums are filled with all kinds of things that now you wouldn’t often find. 

Those moments, where you hear something unintentional can turn into your favorite part of the song.  That’s the part you remember and you can picture the human in the room recording that part.

Ashley: Do you guys have any upcoming performances?

Lucas: We are playing at the Real Love Summer Festival, this summer in Gimli. It’s a good time.

Madeleine: We’ll be hosting some morning singer-songwriter workshops.

Lucas: some good friends of ours put on the festival and they do a really good job of making that happen; it’s a really cool thing. It’s good to be around people like that too, they said they were going to do something, and they did it. We are also performing at Folk Fest. We are doing the Young Performers again. 

Support Winnipeg Musicians Madeleine and Lucas Roger!

A photo posted by Ashley Bieniarz (@ashleybieniarz) on Jun 6, 2015 at 8:59am PDT

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