AWmusic

Delaware House welcomes me with a warmly lit living room and a glass of water that I, being a humble pilgrim in search of great music, requested. I land myself in a chair, opposite Provincial Parks, that make themselves comfortable on a couch. We sit down for a chat that you, beloved reader, are about to be a part of… given that you’ll actually read and not just scroll through.

The answers are much more brilliant than the questions. See for yourself.

Photo by Ainsley Wing

How long have you been playing together for?

Will: Pretty much the duration of two years and a series of months.

How long have you guys been musicians?

Will: I started piano at 7, and I’m 27 now, so I guess I could say 20 years.

Scott: Yeah, I’m about the same. Well… yeah. I started playing trumpet in grade six.

Pete: I started playing drums when I was 11 so… I’m not very good at math but I think it’s about 15 years.

When was the first time you realized that you wanted to play music and what were your other options?

Pete: Ahm… I know it sounds corny but I kind of always wanted to do it. Since I was a kid really. So as long as I remember having any career aspirations it’s always been music. So I always played a lot… I come from a small town so I had a lot of free time, ’cause there’s nothing going on, so I just played a lot of drums and played some shows in high school. I was always looking for a band.

Scott: Because I was a trumpet player… and… pretty good trumpet player, I found myself in concert bands, playing in orchestras and wind ensembles. Honestly, in high school I realized that girls like guitar players way better than they like trumpet players.

Will: After piano I think the next thing I did was french horn, in grade seven, and then I played drums in grade eight and then in grade nine – a band. And I already started guitar in grade seven. I think listening to Hendrix and then later on – The Grateful Dead, and a lot of jam rock bands, and after that I started pursuing music in that jam-rock-fashion way and then, you know, I was also raised on folk music. I guess I always knew I wanted to do music, but I didn’t know in what capacity.
(more…)

“Can you write a negative review?”
“I can write whatever the hell I want. The problem is that these f*cking musicians are too f*cking good”

This was a conversation that I had earlier this morning with one of my friends. One thing I’m definitely good at is negating everything. The funny thing is that as of late I couldn’t find even one album that I would dislike enough to write a negative review, dipping the whole thing into shit.

With that thought in my mind I sat down with my laptop, put my headphones on and pressed play in iTunes. The sun was setting and “Open Grave” hit my eardrums with a pleasant guitar that I instantly put into my mental list of “sounds I bloody like” (along with Taylor Hawkins’ drums and Kurt Cobain’s fancy 5-string). The song left me wondering what exactly did I mean when I left a note to myself that said that the “first track is confusing”, so I crossed that out and wrote “I feel that” instead. Once equilibrium was regained – the second track began with a seamless transition that left me sitting dumbfounded, going “holy shit!!!”.

While “Open Grave”, being a perfect opening track for this album, didn’t impress me that much, it’s “Love/Confidence” that I immediately fell in love with… That track, for whatever reason, made me think of California. California at it’s best. Setting sun, sandy beach, beautiful women and nothing but the sound of the ocean to be heard in the evening.
I don’t know why. Don’t ask me. So all in all, I was tapping along with the song and wishing for summer…

With the third track I was once again impressed with the way the songs end and begin, but then realized that I’m trying to make out what’s being sang. And even though that didn’t bother me one bit because I was enjoying the overall flow of this record, it does get a little tricky on some songs. Vocals are a little low in the mix, but hey, I’m not complaining.

The A Side of this double-sided EP ended with an instrumental track which gave the name to the whole album. “Iron Ponies” must’ve been controlled-substance-inspired because… well I’m not gonna tell you why. What I am gonna tell you is that the whole album feels very thought-through, very chill, very laid-back and very, VERY good.

There is no way for me to describe what I actually think about this release because right now I’m playing “The Wasp and the Dragonfly”, which I know will be stuck in my head and will keep playing over and over again, making it impossible to think or write.

On that happy note…. well no, screw this. I have absolutely no idea how to segue into this, so I’ll just put it on the table.

If every record will be just as mood-setting, as melodic, as good as “Iron Ponies” than there’s definitely something to look forward to this year.

And goddamn I can’t help but think of California and everything incredible that life can offer… I wish the sun was setting. I wish there was nothing but the sound of the ocean….

Provincial Parks – listen to them.

iTunes: Iron Ponies – EP – buy them.

Facebook – add them.

January 31st 20:00
Whippersnapper Gallery with Boys Who Say No (EP release), Woolly leaves, People Of Canada – go see them live.

Provincial Parks – The Wasp and the Dragonfly

Provincial Parks – Open Grave