Fri., Jul. 5
The Loop - Windsor
w/ Beaches
“Extremes are for a
reason.”--Ryan Guldemond
Imagine that you’ve had the revelation that you love
Canadian indie music. You’ve recently discovered CBC Radio 3, but before that,
your exposure was pretty much limited to what was played on U.S. commercial
radio. Sloan. Stars. Spirit of the West. Hayden. The Tragically Hip. And some
guy named Sam Roberts.
So when The Sam Roberts Band plays St. Andrews Hall in
Detroit in February 2009, you excitedly buy tickets. It’s your first live
Canadian indie show. The opening band takes the stage. And this is the first song you hear: http://music.cbc.ca/play/artist/Mother-Mother/Hayloft
Four years and nearly 350 blog
posts later, we’re finally getting our chance to see Vancouver's (by way of Quadra Island)
unforgettable Mother Mother again. They’re touring in support of their fourth
album, The Sticks, the follow-up to
2011’s Eureka. The Sticks earned the band their first Juno Award nomination, as
well as two Sirius XM Indie Award nominations. From
their bio:
“Mother Mother’s rapid ascent from an acoustic folk trio
touring the open mics of their hometown to a… alternative pop/rock five-piece
touring the clubs, theaters and event centers of North America and Europe… Featuring
the multi-talented line up of Ryan Guldemond (vocals/guitar), Molly Guldemond
(vocals/synth), Jasmin Parkin (vocals/keys), Jeremy Page (bass/horns) and Ali
Siadat (percussion/electronics), Mother Mother’s (blends) clever lyrics,
stunning vocals, quirky arrangements and a multi-dimensional sound…”
The sticks is where we phoned lead singer and songwriter Ryan
Guldemond. On a “purgatorial” drive to Milwaukee to perform at Summerfest (“The
World’s Largest Music Festival”), we chatted with Guldemond about extremes, art
and ruining a perfectly good pop song.
N2DS2W: Your tour schedule this month looks challenging, to
say the least. It’s all over the place.
Guldemond: Yeah, there’s some interesting routing.
N2DS2W: How’s the tour going?
Guldemond: Good. We’re in the thick of a purgatorial drive
to Milwaukee for Summerfest. It’s our first time in Milwaukee, where we’ll be
in front of 10,000 people.
N2DS2W: That sounds like a great gig for Mother Mother.
Guldemond: Yeah, it’s kind of extreme to be in a van for
40-plus hours then jump onto stage. But extremes are for a reason. It’s good
once you get in the groove.
N2DS2W: That shouldn’t be a problem for Mother Mother, since
you won the Best Reason To Buy A Concert Ticket category in CBC Radio 3’s 2012Bucky Awards.
Guldemond: We’ll have to live up to the Bucky, summon the
Bucky.
N2DS2W: Mother Mother just completed a four-album contract
with Last Gang Records. What’s next?
Guldemond: We’re just all up in the air about things. No
forecasts. That’s a boring topic anyway, all business, corporate stuff.
N2DS2W: Okay. What inspires your songwriting? What sets you
off?
Guldemond: The strange and the beautiful, being worried with
everyday things, giving an injection of magic into them. In music, it’s taking simple
and tried forms and turning them on their ear. A class of nostalgia combined
with complete originality. The dark and horrifying traits of people, the morally askew, the awkwardness of it all. The
flat, sad tragedy of the everyday life.
N2DS2W: That’s a great definition of art.
Guldemond: I don’t know much about art. I don’t even know if
I’m an artist. I think it’s a word that average people use and abuse.
N2DS2W: So what is an artist?
Guldemond: You don’t compromise. It’s recognizing what you
like and what you want and being centered around that. There are aspects of
comfort to that. Musically, I compromise very little. When I look at our
catalog, I think there’s maybe 20-30 pop song we totally screwed up. If only we’d
compromised more, if we’d been what we’re conditioned to be, we would have
created something much more digestible.
N2DS2W: Glad you didn’t.
Guldemond: I was being sarcastic, but yeah.
N2DS2W: I got that. So how are the audiences for you in the
U.S.? Are you getting recognition?
Guldemond: Very marginally. We don’t have a lot of luck with
radio. You can tour until you’re blue in the face, but you just keep trying.
Trying is fun even if you don’t succeed.
Mother Mother Summer Tour 2013 schedule:
July 6 – St Catharines, ON – Barracuda Pretty
July 7 –
Montreal, QC – Festival International de Jazz de Montreal @ Club Soda
July 8 – Ottawa,
ON – Ottawa Bluesfest @ LeBreton Flats, River Stage (9:30pm)
July 10 – Chicago,
IL – Reggies Rock Club
July 14 – Victoria, BC – Rock The Shores @ Juan de Fuca
Recreation Centre (Lower Fields)
July 31 –
Toronto, ON – EdgeFest @ Downsview Park
August 31 –
Calgary, AB – X Fest @ Fort Calgary
September 1 –
Edmonton, AB – Sonic Boom @ Northlands Park
