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| The Boxing Lesson |
Check out our complete NXNE Coverage here
June 4 2012 – For the 18th straight year, North By Northeast (NXNE) is happening in Toronto from June 11th to the 17th 2012. NXNE is a music festival, conference, and even a film festival all rolled into one. NXNE is the most anticipated summer music event in Canada and aims to bring exposure to Canadian music of all genres and in general to support the Canadian music industry. Over 650 bands and 40 films converge for 7 days in Toronto and put us on the map in terms of large artistic and creative gatherings. Modeled after the fabled South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, we are very pleased that Toronto is hosting NXNE and we are certain that NXNE will grow in both number of attendees and stature in the music industry (much like Toronto’s International Film Festival has). SXSW is plagued by over commercialization and unless you’re deeply embedded in the industry you can forget about watching the big names. NXNE will also feature large free performances at Yonge-Dundas Square for four nights with the Flaming Lips being the main attraction on June 16.
After we weeded through all the bands bios found here and listened to their music, we were still left with a long list of bands that we were interested in finding out more about. We approached some of our favourite bands to request interviews for our Emerging Artist Spotlight series. Today we set our focus on a band from Austin, Texas named The Boxing Lesson. All bands we talked to are asked similar questions to each other so we can get to know them better. The description on The Boxing Lesson’s NXNE bio page reads:
Mammoth wall of sound psychedelic, spaced-out Brian Jonestown desert rock and Spirtualized-style freak outs.
Here is what the band had to say to us:
- Hey there The Boxing Lesson, thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. Let’s start off with the obligatory introductions. Who’s in the band and what instrument does everyone rock?
The Boxing Lesson: Paul Waclawsky sings and plays electric guitar, Jaylinn Davidson sings too and plays a tower of synthesizers (bass and lead), and Matt Bongirno beats on the drums.
- How about the history of the band, when did you get started and how did it happen?
The Boxing Lesson: “The Boxing Lesson traces its roots to L.A., where the group formed around front-man Paul Waclawsky in 2002. Despite lineup changes, drug arrests, and a move to Austin, the group has remained largely consistent, with each release offering up a new slab of psych to digest. Last summer’s Muerta EP might be the trio’s best effort yet, relying more on the spaciness of Pink Floyd and a range of synthesizers, but there’s no denying the inherent power of the power trio. “Health Is the New Drug” has already been hailed by Houston Press as the best song of the year, despite only being released in February.” (Austinist 5/9/12: “The Boxing Lesson’s Healthy Drugs”)
- Who are some of your musical influences?
Paul Waclawsky: Hawkwind, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Spiritualized, Ennio Morricone, Radiohead, Failure, T-Rex, Smashing Pumpkins…
- We found you as we were searching through the mountain of artists being featured at the 2012 NXNE. Why should a music fan come and see your show instead of all the other choices available to them?
Matt Bongirno: NXNE fans should see The Boxing Lesson for a space rock journey to the Cassiopeia constellation birthplace of stars, aboard a rocket powered solely on the raw power of cosmic siren synths, bone rattling bass lines, titan drums, and comet-like guitar solos. The show will take you through the universe in under an hour, it’s a real trip.
Jaylinn Davidson: We are not your usual power trio! The synthesizers alone set us apart from your normal 3-piece. One thing is for sure – we LOVE to play and we have a blast doing it. It’s been said more than once, “How do three people make THAT MUCH NOISE?”
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- What is your favorite single line of lyrics the band has written and why?
Jaylinn Davidson: The Boxing Lesson had just released Radiation in Los Angeles back when I was just a fan. I went to all the shows – the music was captivating, and Paul, as you know, has a really unique voice. There was one song, Comfortable, and the lyric that just slayed me was “And I’m breaking my own heart now and I’m not afraid to feel”. It was/is just so poignant. It really spoke to me then and it still holds true… There are times in your life when you just have to do something that kills you in order to break through to something new, better, deeper… whatever it is. It’s a real self-aware lyric – it’s “I know this is going to hurt, but I’m going to do it anyway”. Sometimes you have to just go ahead and take the medicine no matter how bad it tastes
- What does the rest of 2012 and 2013 hold for you?
Paul Waclawsky: The band is finishing up our next full length record entitled BIG HITS with producer Chris Frenchie Smith. He has worked with a lot of exceptional artists recently including …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Answer and The Darkness. Hoping to get that released sometime this fall and do many more tour dates in support of it.
We are also participating in a cultural exchange program with an Austin non-profit called Dart Music International. The Boxing Lesson hosted a band from South Africa called Tidal Waves for a couple of weeks in Austin, TX and the plan is for us to go to South Africa in December to visit their culture and participate in an awesome sounding bus tour called “Avontoer”.
- Imagine that you were asked to be the opener for any band’s world tour (both current and historical). Which band and tour would be your dream opening gig.
Paul Waclawsky: Hawkwind on the 1974 Hall of the Mountain Grill tour.
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- What is the future of the music industry? With the concept of the album and physical CD’s facing extinction, how will we be consuming music in 10 years? Are the economics feasible for emerging artists?
Matt Bongirno: That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? The economics of future music consumption are more feasible than ever for emerging artists. With little cost bands can release albums on Bandcamp and even perform online via a Google hangout to generate revenue.
In the future music business I see bands offering digital downloads, flash drives and even infrared transfers at shows instead of printing CD’s. There will always be the allure of a physical product and currently vintage mediums like vinyl and cassettes are in demand. I’m just waiting for 8 tracks to make a come-back. Give it a year or two. With the advent of technologies that put Tupac on stage at Coachella, bands in the future could perform in a studio and stream their audio and video to the venue for reproduction in front of a live audience. Though, there is no perfect substitute for seeing performers in person.
- Where can people get your music/CD, is it being sold anywhere?
- At the end of 2011 we did our picks for top 10 albums of 2011. What album do you think we should include in our top 10 albums of 2012 article?
Paul Waclawsky: Sweet Heart, Sweet Light by Spiritualized is my favorite album of 2012 so far. Its just as good as Ladies and Gentlemen and I think we will be looking back at this one as a highlight of Jason Pierce’s career. They were amazing when I saw them at Emo’s East in Austin a few weeks back!
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- Any closing remarks for our readers?
Paul Waclawsky: The Boxing Lesson is very excited to get invited to showcase at NXNE. We hear amazing things about Toronto and are eager to experience it firsthand. The festival did a great job paring us up on our showcase with like-minded Toronto bands like Bella Clava, and the Mad Ones. We are looking forward to making some new Canadian friends!
Thanks so much to The Boxing Lesson. We hope that you can see them live. They are playing The Hideout on Friday night, June 15 at Midnight for NXNE. I often visit Austin and can guarantee Toronto fan’s that if a band from Austin is calling themselves “spaced out” then you better get ready for a kick ass trip. The band’s website is here and as you would expect they are on Twitter and Facebook. In the meantime check out their video below from YouTube.
