Hinterland's blog: 06/01/2004

Is it just me, or is everyone else sick of "screamo"?

Some photos from our last show (on May 14) have been posted to CordMag.com, along with a short review. Incidentally, we do not use a computer on-stage.

HINTERLAND SEEKS NEW MEMBER

Yes, you read that right: Hinterland is looking for someone to play guitar and keyboards(and possibly a bit of bass and other instruments).

We are signed to a small U.S. indie label, have one album out, and plan to do some touring in support of our next CD. We have appeared on national TV and radio, and our album has appeared on playlists all over the world. This isn't the big time (we sure don't make any money), but we do take it seriously.

Since we are going to start recording our second full-length CD in the fall, our new member won't be expected to be on full active duty for quite a while. But we're starting our search now, because (as past experience has taught us) there are a lot of flakes out there, and it might take some time to find the right individual.

Who is the right individual? You have some experience and are a good player (but not necessarily a virtuoso). We are more interested in cool sounds and intriguing ideas than in chops, but some theory would be beneficial. You have decent gear and know how to use it. You can write your own parts and can also learn our back catalogue. (We write as a unit, generally jamming things out rather than having one person come in with a fully written song and having others add parts to it.) You can commit to rehearsing twice a week and playing at least one local gig per month. You are not a creep or a drug addict.

Interested? Contact us.

In Hinterland news, things are a bit crazy with people's schedules at the moment, and we haven't been able to get together as a five-piece in about a month. This is likely to continue through much of the summer, but we are still plugging away at writing songs for an upcoming album. We have a lot of new material on the go, and much of it is quite different from what you heard on Under the Waterline.

Regarding tonight's show at the Media Club: Guitaro has cancelled due to health reasons. But A Northern Chorus, Windows '78, and Mohawk Lodge will go on as scheduled. The doors open at 9 p.m., and the cover charge is $10.

Well, I still can't get my scanner to work (help me, somebody!), but now that I can post photos, I'm determined to do it. So here's an old photo I took back in November. Do you know what it is?

Wow, yet another new review, this one on some highly dubious Web site called Evil Sponge. This one is much less positive, and shows a great deal of ignorance about our chosen genre and our musical aims. What it comes down to is that the reviewer hates Michaela's singing and wants the world to know about it. However, he contradicts himself. In one sentence, he describes how her voice "quivers and quavers", but in the next he notes that she "hits as many long sustained notes for as long as possible". Which indicates to me that he doesn't really what the hell he's talking about. In one paragraph, he talks about Michaela's "virtuosity", while in another he describes her as "caterwauling". Make up your mind! My dictionary defines virtuosity as "great technical skill in the practice of a fine art" and caterwaul as "to make a harsh cry" or "the shrill noise of a cat". You can't have it both ways!

Although I'm probably more qualified than most to recognize when a critic knows what he's talking about and when he's full of hot air, I generally feel that it's not a good policy to respond to reviews. However, this anonymous jackass (Bill E. Joel indeed) also makes some incorrect assumptions. The connection we have to the Vancouver Opera is that Gregg works for them, and we have used their van to haul gear on a number of occasions. That's why they were thanked, so I'm not sure what sort of "dead giveaway" that's supposed to be with regards to Michaela's vocals.

But I can't complain too much. Actually, I'm quite proud of the fact that our music has the power to elicit such an extreme reaction. After all, the greatest rock bands in history (think of the Smiths, the Velvet Underground, the Cocteau Twins) are love-it-or-hate-it propositions. A bunch of positive reviews and a couple of negative ones are far better than a batch of reviews that are uniformly middling, wouldn't you agree?

A review of Under the Waterline has been posted to the Exclaim! Web site. It's a positive review, noting that "Hinterland will effortlessly go from sombre to upbeat within the same song and intermittently move into ethereal territory...Although they can captivate you when they let it loose, their quieter moments give an aura of concord."

Now I'm going to have to go look up the word concord. All I know is that it's a type of grape, and also a jet.

In other news, we are being interviewed for MuchMusic's Going Coastal on Thursday.

I have noticed that many other blogsters like to post what they're listening to currently. I have a five-disc CD player, and here's what's in it (some of these have been in there for a while):

Stina Nordenstam, This Is
The Album Leaf, In a Safe Place (top 10!)
Mum, Summer Make Good
Longwave, The Strangest Things
Sigur Ros ()

For some reason, I'm in an Icelandic/Swedish headspace. Go figure.

(Incidentally, I also listened to Spirit Flags by A Northern Chorus earlier today.)

This is A Northern Chorus. They are from Hamilton, Ontario. They are awesome, and when they play with Windows '78, Guitaro, and Mohawk Lodge at the Media Club on June 18, you will be there.

I just noticed that our song "Red-Light Camera" is currently featured on the CBC Radio 3 site. The airing of our interview was delayed due to technical difficulties, but hopefully it will happen soon.

The results of the 2004 Georgia Straight Readers Choice Music Awards were released today. Hinterland was voted "most underrated" and Michaela was voted "best lead singer". In the critics' picks section, Under the Waterline was chosen as the best local album.

Why not sign up to Rate Your Music and, um, rate Hinterland's music?

You might have noticed that Canada has a federal election on June 28. Find out more about it here and here.

FREE MUSIC
If you send an e-mail to Absolutely Kosher Records, they will send you a free sampler of their artists. The one I got contains songs by the Wrens, the Dead Science, the Court & Spark, Frog Eyes, Thingy, and the Hidden Cameras. Some of the songs are really good.

Hey, check it out: we can now post photos on our blog. I decided to test this out by posting a randomly chosen photo that I had on my hard drive. This is from a photo shoot we did a loooong time ago, with psychedelic Photoshopping courtesy of Gregg. I might post some other pics soon... if I can get my scanner working again. It refuses to cooperate at the moment.

Windows '78 will be playing at the Pic on Saturday night, along with Kids These Days. Don't miss it.

Hinterland's blog

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