Courtesy Blush was the coming together of Jon Arden (guitar/backup vocals), Stan Simon (vocals/keys), Pedja (guitar/synth), Mat Wronski (bass), and Ben Reinharz (drums) in January of 2002 in southern Ontario.
Courtesy Blush's new album Sweet Modern Fairy tales is out March 12th, in the mean time, you can grab three songs from their site here. Pedja answered some questions for us in late January.
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Tell me about your experience recording sweet modern fairy tales. Recording the ep was an amazing experience. It was our first album, and the first time working with Matt Dematteo, who is a great producer and an even greater person. All the songs on the ep have previously been written before going into the studio, except for La Ber Sae. With that song we realized how good we work under pressure of time restrictions, and finished it off in a few hours. There were quite a few spur of the moment ideas that ended up being on the album… one being the poem at the beginning of A New Comedy, recited by Ben. What are your promo plans for the ep? We're fortunate to have Eric Warner set up a cd release party for us on March 12th at the Rock It Club. We're also starting up a street team so hopefully that will help us get our music out to a lot more people. We will also be going on a European tour in August as a supporting act to an awesome band from London, England, Jairus. That will be our first tour supporting the ep, and the first tour we've ever been on, so we're quite happy that the opportunity came along. |
What obstacles (if any) do you find get in the way of touring? of the band in general?
I don't think there are any obstacles in the way… music is pretty much a #1 priority for all of us, and if an opportunity of traveling, meeting new people and playing shows every night came along, I doubt we'd let it slide.
What is it about this line up that works for you?
We're all best friends in Courtesy Blush… well that's an understatement…. We're pretty much like brothers, and many of us go as way back as kindergarten. We're on the same wavelength, strive for the same goals, always strive to progress, and love the music we play and each other. I think that sums it up.
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Are you looking for label support? Sure we're looking for label support. As of now we're not really "looking". We're kinda letting it come to us, and doing everything independently. The ideal label for us would understand where we're coming from, what we're trying to do, and help us along the way. Obviously they would have to be into our music for the right reasons… not just to make quick cash. We're not into it for the quick buck, or overnight success that will leave us hanging with nothing 2 years later. Sincerity is the key, so we would like to say true to our music and most of all true to ourselves. Being independent, how important do you think it is to be aggressive (in terms of selling cds and merchandise, booking shows, etc)? It's very important to advertise your band, because after all, if you don't do it no one else will (unless they're paid for it). But of course you shouldn't overdo it either. People easily get sick of music if it's constantly thrown in their face, but if they're really into it they will find a way to ask for more. Selling cds and other merch is important because that's the money independent bands use to press more cds or make more t-s. I don't think you'll see us splitting the sales money and pocketing it for personal use. It all goes back into the band. Playing shows is I think the most important, for us at least. There is so much more to our live show than just listening to the cd in your car. It's the best honest way to have your music heard and get people into it. Do you think it is possible to achieve some kind of success and still stay independent? That all depends on your definition of success. To me playing a show with only 5 people in front of us, who are all singing along and feeling the music, is success. However, speaking of material success, I believe that you *can* stay independent and still make a nice living in the world of music. It's a struggle, but many bands have proven that it works. |
At one point or another there could however be an ideal offer of help from a label, that only stubborn "underground" bands would reject, so they could retain the "underground" status and be respected by peers who in 5 years will not even remember the name of the band. We're not one of those stubborn bands (only sometimes), so we have a different perspective on that point; that's sharing our music with as many people possible and making them feel it the same or completely different way we do.
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What kind of priority is given to things like cd covers/posters/photos and other artwork that is used to promote the band? When it comes to flyers it's a breeze, but we're all pretty anal when it comes to cd artwork. It was very, very annoying at times but I'm very glad we've come to our senses and agreed on a layout. Best local venues/bands/zines? I think the Reverb feels like home to us… of course the rock it and all those other venues are just as fun to play. Oh except for the Q-Bar… I think we'd kill each other if we ever played there… such a small place. That's only made for "barf pigeons" (barf pigeons are coming) oh wow, there are so many good local bands, but I think there are a lot more really bad bands. But then again, who am I to decide what's good and bad. I can only do that for myself, so I'll just pass the band part and let you judge for yourself. Kidwithcamrea, Allfalldown, any zines that are helping the local bands be heard are a good time. What are your goals within the band/what do you hope to achieve with the band? We hope to be able to keep making music for many years to come, and ultimately have it be an experience that will make us grow as musicians and as people. Playlist (5 songs you're listening to a lot right now) Pedja : Bjork - Generous Palm Stroke Stan Simon : Blonde Redhead - In Particular Mat : Jaco Pastorius - Portrait of Tracy Ben : I Need Somebody - The Stooges Jon : Baby's First Coffin - The Dillinger Escape Plan |
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