Geocities

An in depth interview with WEEPING TILE. sort of.

Offbeat: So it’s been about a year, exactly actually, since you’ve been here last. Did you miss me?

Sarah: 365 days of pining endlessly in Kingston for you Adam.

Off: Aw!

Cam: I forgot who you were.

Off: Hey, don’t say that. So, how’s the year been?

S: It’s been pretty busy. We finished the last tour last year and went back to Kingston and jammed for the winter and then recorded an album in the spring, went on a little tour, and the album just came out a couple of months ago (end of August) and have been playing. We went out to Newfoundland. That was our big trip this summer. We went up to Saint John’s and played in the Great Big Picnic. Our album just came out and we’ve just been doing all that shit. We shot a video in August for “South of Me”.

Off: That’s a good video.

S: You saw it? How did you see it? On Muchmusic?

Off: Oh yeah. I’ve seen all your videos.

S: Oh good, because we thought they weren’t playing it. We’re gonna make another one in December.

Off: Which one?

S: “Can’t Get Off” (hums the opening few bars)

Off: Is that heart-shaped record on the cover and in the video a Humpers record?

S: It’s not the Humpers, it’s a Bill Friscal. Some ‘60’s surf guy. I don’t actually know who Bill Friscal is. True enough, it’s a 45 in the shape of a heart.

Off: The Humpers have a record just like that one.

S: Who are the Humpers?

Off: I don’t know. Just like you don’t know who Bill Friscal is. What did you put into making Valentino?

S: All our hearts and souls. No, we put into it a fun time. We all had a good ol’ time. Sticky stayed at the Funhouse (recording studio in Kingston). We put in alot of the experience we had over the last few years and playing as a band. There was two years between the recording of Cold Snap and Valentino. What did we put into the recording of Valentino, Sticky? What did you specifically put in yourself?

Sticky: Lots of noise.

Sarah: Lots of noise is pretty apt.

Off: Did you try and make this record as eclectic as possible?

Sarah: I don’t think we really had a game plan going into it than just recording songs and we didn’t know a song like “Old Perfume”, which is a mellow song, at the time if it was going to be on the album. I think “Judy G.” was the only intentionally mellow number. The song “Going Out” we wrote in the studio, so that was probably the least expected. It was pretty ongoing.

Off: After you finished recording it, did you notice a maturity in the album from Cold Snap?

Sarah: Well, our ears were really tweaked to sonics while we were mixing and listening to Cold Snap, we were listening to what we were working on for Valentino and then we’d run into the van and play a few tapes. Cold Snap sonically was kinda eye opening listening to it. It was sort of a brighter of a record, just sonically it didn’t have as much warmth and tone. We were going for some different things then. It’s totally a learning experience. It’s hard to know how it’s all going to end up while you’re making it. They do have a different sound. There’s a different rhythm section and that makes a huge difference, and everybody’s singing, and Sticky and Cam are one big presence.

Off: Did you write the lyrics differently this time?

Sarah: Well I wrote different lyrics!

Offbeat: I mean did you have stuff and try and put music around it, or did you put words to music?

Sarah: Either usually come at the same time, or the lyrics come later.

Offbeat: Tell me about the hidden track (on Valentino).

Sticky: Well, I wrote this song and then we all switched instruments and we played it. Sarah’s playing drums, Luther played bass, and Cam and I play the geetars and screaming.

Sarah: It’s called “Eight Guitars and a Broken Nose”.

Off: I wasn’t sure if it was Sarah singing. I couldn’t really tell. But I thought wow, she can really rock.

Sarah: I can’t quite rock like that.

Off: You can’t rock like Sticky?

Sarah: Nobody can rock like Sticky.

Sticky: And I can’t rock like Sarah.

Cam: It’s different kinds of rock.

Off: I guess it’s fair. How do you guys feel about success?

Sticky: Wish we had some

Sarah: Bring it on.

Off: You don’t think you have any success right now?

Sarah: It’s been succesful this tour. We just played in Vancouver last night and that felt pretty good, the crowd was up there and had high energy. We felt pretty succesful last night. It seems like that’s how it goes along the way. Success is measured in the small shows and being able to have our album out. I guess we felt productive in the last year.

Off: Are you worried about stuff like airplay and videoplay?

Sarah: It tends to move things along in a good way if you get airplay and videoplay. It seems like it attracts more people to the music. It seems like the whole radio industry is fairly limited, I mean college radio and community radio aside. Commercial radio seems so formulated. Like a narrow trickle.

Off: How come you are having trouble getting airplay with all the women artists currently in the spotlight?

Sarah: I hate to think that’s the only reason we’d get airplay is because we’re women. I don’t think it’s a trend. I would hope that would belittle it somehow if it was only getting played for that reason

Off: Well, alot of Canadian women artists in general lately, have become quite popular.

Sticky: Maybe that’s why we’re having trouble. Maybe the quota’s filled.

Sarah: It isn’t really a trend. People have made it into a trend. Women have been able to access the industry more now and more women songwriters as well as even male songwriters that are able to put out original music. We’ve had some commercial radio airplay for “South of Me”, which is the first single, in Calgary and Toronto and Ottawa alot. It’s kinda beyond our control really so it doesn’t concern us too much.

Off: What does the future hold for Weeping Tile as a collective?

Sarah: It holds us in the palm of it’s greasy hand.

Off: So, when will you come back and visit me?

Sarah: Probably next year this time. 365 days from now. It’ll be two year running.

Off: Great, thanks alot.

Sarah: Thanks, Adam.

So by the time you are reading this Weeping Tile will be done this tour and finished shooting their next video. Watch for them on a video music station near you. Or just wait until next October 25th when they promise to be back again. Hopefully Cam will remember me this time.

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