Wednesday August 22, 2001
The Watchmen: Drumming Towards The Future
By: ChartAttack.com Staff
By Kari D.
Hey, anyone remember The Watchmen?
The Winnipeg quartet gained lukewarm success in their homeland based on the strength of singles such as "Stereo" and "Any Day Now" from their most recent release, 1998's Silent Radar. Granted, 1998 was a while ago. The band has bunkered down for the last three years, staying out of the spotlight and opting to attend to more personal things while reorganizing some inner-band politics.
As the energy builds up to get back in the game and the days count down to the scheduled September release of the band's fourth studio album, bassist Ken Tizzard has a surprisingly relaxed demeanour when it comes to discussing their newest offering, despite that small snag of not having a drummer.
"Sammy leftÑit was a lot of things. We were going in different directions musically. Danny (Greaves, vocals) and Joey (Serlin, guitars/vocals) and I were really going into this new record with broad concepts for everything and Sammy was exploring some different things in his personal life, too. He was doing some managing for different bands, just going in a different direction than us. It was totally fine, but it was a shock when it finally came down. It was weird, but at the same time, it worked out for everyone. We're not necessarily happier, but what we've done as a result of it, we're happy with."
How sickeningly democratic. So what is a band to do when they find themselves on the cusp of a new release date and no skin-beater to show for it? Call in one of The Lovedaddys, of course.
"We didn't know what to do. We had shows coming up and we didn't know what to do. Joey just said he knew this guy James who was a great drummer and he thought he could do it, so we decided to try him for a few shows. James learned the stuff we had in two rehearsals and played a show in Edmonton for like, 5,000 people and it was great. He knew the stuff!" My musings about the musical girth of that local act aside, I became curious as to what would happen with porta-Watchmen. The release of a new album automatically implies impending tour plans and the mental imagery that comes along with the thought of a live rock band without a drummer is almost enough to make you scratch your head.
"I'm not sure what we're going to do [when it comes to touring]. We've just been so focused on the record. We only have a few more shows here and there before we have to sit down and decide how we're going to do this tour, whether we're going to do it with a drummer, or electronically, or half and halfÑI don't know. There's still lots of talking to do there." Judging from that answer, it was probably pointless to assume the band would have any sort of plan for the future in terms of a drummer, but the question had to be asked.
"We don't know what we're going to do in the future, but right now, James is our drummer. I don't think we're going to take another member in, because we have three songwriters and we don't need more of that right now, so James is the hired gun. When we're on stage, though, he's part of the group and that's the way it works."
Speaking of songwriting, the new album saw the trio taking a new perspective to their craft, what with the drummer gone, one member (Joey) still in Winnipeg, another member (Ken) having just moved from the epicentre to the outskirts of Toronto and the third (Danny) sticking it out in the Big Smoke. Good thing the band isn't big on love-ins.
"The only time we really need to be together is when we're writing. We all use the same home studio right now. For me, when I write a song, I'll write everything except the words, then I'll send it to Danny and Joey. One of them will be inspired to write lyrics, Danny sings it, Joey plays guitar on it, sends it back to me, I'll remix the bassÑwe're always sending stuff back and forth. There's been a lot of correspondence going on."
The 10 years of live group rehearsals this band has under its belt are enough to allow them to enjoy the fresh way of writing. Giving one member the opportunity to fully realize their own song without the intrusion of the others' opinions is a welcome change to The Watchmen camp, because we all know Danny can be, like, such a nag.
"Yeah, it actually speeds the process up. Instead of sitting in a room and to every suggestion comes a counter suggestion, you get to do it and have it almost fully realized and then it's just adding things on."
Speeding up the process has left the band with time for other outlets, including Ken and Danny's project, Audio Playground High + Wide. Ken has also dipped his toes into the world of drum 'n' bass with his solo jaunt, Obscene. ("It's me on stage with a computer, a sampler and my bass.") Danny is still into films, some may remember his role a few years back in the production Canadiana, which includes the scene of him getting beaten on Albert Street in Winnipeg. The same scene can also be seen in the band's video for "Brighter Hell."
Wrapping up on conversation on the lighter topic of side-projects and cover bands, one of the hilarious stories Ken came out with was his night in a Latin cover band during an election party.
"I just kinda showed up wearing pants and a t-shirt. They paid me $100 for the night, I was like 'Ohhhhhkay!' I didn't even know what I was playing, they just put the chart in front of me and I played. It was stuff like Girl From Ipanema!"
If you catch a Mr. Hoo-Haw show anytime in the near future (the name under which most Watchmen secret shows are performed), make sure to call out for a request.