BRINGING THE ‘CHAOS TO TOWN’
July Talk loves surprising audiences
Things have changed quite a bit for Toronto’s July Talk since the last time they appeared in the Queen City.
Although the last time the Juno award-winning rock act came through Regina they played The Exchange, Regina’s iconic 250-person arts club, the quintet headline Thursday’s entertainment on the Great Western Stage at Queen City Ex.
Leah Fay, one of the group’s two lead vocalists, fondly recalls an inauspicious debut in Saskatchewan’s capital city.
“I’ve always really liked playing in Regina, and it’s been so long since we’ve been there," said Fay. "It was one of the stops we made on our very first tour with the Arkells. Our slot was at noon and because there were some technical issues, we had to cut our set to three songs. Pete (Dreimanis) and I went out and enjoyed Regina for the rest of the day, while the rest of the guys met up with a local performer, Danny Olliver, and spent the day hanging out and drinking in his basement.”
Fortunately, for attendees Thursday, the band will definitely be performing more than three tunes.
It’s an opportunity that July Talk’s other lead vocalist, Peter Dreimanis, is looking forward to.
“I think the nice thing about playing the (Queen City) Ex is that you get exposed to a lot more of the community than you would with only the club-going music fans," said Dreimanis. "Our favourite shows to play are the ones that are free because you get to play for a community as it is, or as close to it as it is, as possible. We just enjoy bringing the July Talk chaos to town.
“We’re kind of used to playing a variety of shapes and sizes of venues. Every one of them comes along with different challenges and obstacles, but the biggest thing that is always exciting is surprising and shocking people and sort of introducing ourselves with a shaky hand. We really hope to introduce them to something they haven’t seen before, like all artists really want to deliver something unique and new to an audience."
Although the success of July Talk seems relatively sudden considering their 2012 formation, and catalogue of two studio albums, the band has been touring endlessly for the past few years.
“We have such an immense amount of gratitude for Canada,” stated Dreimanis. “We play internationally all year, playing in the United States and Europe where we’re still developing and making headway, and then we come home to Canada and we get to play these giant shows. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it felt a little too good to be true but we appreciate every moment of it.
“The novelty isn’t gone yet. Here were we are living in a country that values art enough to have funding bodies to help us make our records and tour internationally. Generally, the Canadian population thinks it’s important for Canadian art to be seen and heard around the world, and I feel fortunate because of that. The only other struggle I feel is how do we use our platform to spotlight the things that are wrong with our country, the things we’d like to see changed, and that’s more of a moral question.
“Anytime I catch myself missing home or missing loved ones, I just try to catch myself and realize that they understand. They’re just happy for us to be able to be on the road.
Laughing, he joked, “Ask me again when we’re four months deep into a tour.”
“When we are four months deep,” Leah continued, “I think it really becomes about us just conversing with each other and being honest about needs and boundaries. The machine of it all will demand what it demands and not necessarily consider that there are five human beings in this project. There’s health issues, mental health, and five bodies that have been working at this for a long time.
“I think we’ve gotten better communicating and listening to each other, and I find that the better we’ve gotten at that, the easier it is to focus on the positive and the gift we’ve been given.”
Dreimanis, who grew up in Edmonton and experienced larger rock acts skipping the prairie cities for the larger metropolitan communities, is excited to be back out west and playing for “people who deserve a lot more rock and roll then they get.”
Fay agreed.
“We’ve just always had a great time in Regina, and we haven’t been there in such a long time that I feel bad that we haven’t been there more recently. I think we’re going to be really excited and ready to blow by the time we hit the stage. Expect a big lovefest for Regina.”
I think we’ve gotten better communicating and listening to each other.