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| Go For The Eyes |
T-Mak World has extensive coverage of Canadian Music Week here
March 9 2013 – Canadian Music Week 2013 is almost here and we can’t wait for hundreds of bands to invade the bars and clubs of our fair city as part of the festival’s Canadian Music Fest program. Admittedly the names are slightly confusing but Canadian Music Week is the master name of the festival that is composed of a film program (Canadian Music Week Film Fest), a comedy program (Canadian International Comedy Fest), a conference, awards shows, a trade show and a kick ass music festival called Canadian Music Fest that runs between March 19-24 2013.
March 9 2013 – Canadian Music Week 2013 is almost here and we can’t wait for hundreds of bands to invade the bars and clubs of our fair city as part of the festival’s Canadian Music Fest program. Admittedly the names are slightly confusing but Canadian Music Week is the master name of the festival that is composed of a film program (Canadian Music Week Film Fest), a comedy program (Canadian International Comedy Fest), a conference, awards shows, a trade show and a kick ass music festival called Canadian Music Fest that runs between March 19-24 2013.
In 2012, T-Mak World initiated extensive coverage of Canadian Music Fest and we saw a total of 34 bands/artists and interviewed the following 10 bands as part of ourEmerging Artist Spotlight series:
Beta from Puebla, Mexico (Alternative,Grunge,Rock)
Breaching Vista from Kitchener, Ontario (Alternative,Pop,Rock)
Floor Thirteen from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Alternative,Rock)
Grain from Edmonton, Alberta (Blues,Classic Rock,Rock)
In My Coma from Toronto, Ontario (Alternative,Progressive,Rock )
Last Bullet from Toronto, Ontario (Classic Rock,Rock)
Matt Groopie and The Bandits from Thornhill, Ontario (Blues, Classic Rock, Psychedelic Rock )
One Bad Son from Vancouver, B.C. (Rock)
Louder Than Love from Vancouver, B.C. (Rock)
TimeGiant from Toronto, Ontario (Rock)
Our wrap up article from 2012 ishere and we are excited to be back in 2013 and to add even more bands to ourEmerging Artist Spotlight Series. Today we focus on Go For The Eyes from Calgary, Alberta and their CMF profile reads:
Go For The Eyes exploded onto the Alberta music scene in 2008. Blessed with a DIY work ethic, infectious stage energy and an ever-increasing fan base, the band’s unique brand of hybrid rock makes any listener want to “dub it to cassette and glue it in their tape deck.”
Here is what they had to say to us:
Hey Go For The Eyes, 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?
Go For The Eyes:
Jeff Turner – lead vocals & guitar
Elise Roller – lead vocals & keyboard
Scott Perrin – bass guitar
Nathan Raboud – drums
How about the history of the band, when did you get started and how did it happen?
Go For The Eyes: Jeff started the band back in 2008 with three other members. He met Elise when she was busy touring with an electronica solo act and the two of them really connected creatively. It seemed like the right fit to add her to the team. Shortly, after she joined, Jeff’s current drummer moved on to focus on his own solo project, and that’s when Nate came into the picture as the drummer. They didn’t even audition anyone else as it was clear after about 2 minutes of him playing that he was exactly what the band needed. After the departure of their bassist in November 2011, they added Scott Perrin after he approached them at a show. Since then the four have been a solid musical team.
Who are some of your musical influences?
Go For The Eyes: Arctic Moneys, Queens of the Stoneage, Band of Skulls, Jack White, The Sheepdogs, Natesment
Congratulations on being selected to play at Canadian Music Festival, what does the opportunity mean to you?
Go For The Eyes: We’re really excited about the opportunity to play in another city, especially Toronto, and to meet new people, make new friends, and learn more about how to get our music out there. We’re thrilled to take in all the other great bands the festival has to offer and learn a bit about how we can continually improve our music and stage show.
When and where is your CMF gig? And more importantly, why should a music fan come and see your show instead of all the other choices available to them at that time?
Go For The Eyes: Our showcase is on Saturday, March 23rd at 10pm at Rancho Relaxo. We’ve played CMF and been on several tours before which has taught us a great deal about how to engage our audience. We are always striving to create a high-energy, unforgettable live show and are known in Calgary as one of the top live entertainers in the music scene. Plus we’re really good-looking.
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| Go For The Eyes |
What’s it like being on stage? Do you get nervous or are you thriving on the adrenaline (or somewhere in between)?
Go For The Eyes: Being on stage is like going on a date with someone you’ve been in love with for a really long time. You’re definitely going on adrenaline, you’re slightly nervous, but good nervous, and most of all you’re euphoric because you know you have a shot at making someone fall in love with what you have to offer. It’s the feeling that makes you forget about the bills you have to pay, the crap you’re going through at work, and all the other chaos in your life. No matter where we are in the world, being on stage feels like home.
What does 2013 hold for you?
Go For The Eyes: We just finished recording our third album, Six Through Twelve, a six song EP which will be released worldwide March 31, 2013. We will, of course, have copies of this available at our showcase as a pre-release sale.
Our next step is really to build regionally throughout Western and Central Canada and to continue taking the steps necessary to a part of more festivals such as CMF. Of course, we are always, always working to create bigger and better songs so we’ll be back in the basement challenging ourselves musically and working towards our next release.
We are also in pursuit of winning our third Stanley Cup in franchise history.
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.
Go For The Eyes: Jack White. Hands down, anything Jack White touches. Also The Wiggles would be pretty cool.
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| Go For The Eyes |
How important is the performer/audience connection? Can you rock a show as hard for 10 people as if you could playing an 80,000 person festival?
Go For The Eyes: Of course! That’s what we do. That’s why we exist. We have played for ten people before, and although it can be a lot harder to feel the energy upfront, we feel a good performance should be able to create the energy necessary to make those ten people feel like their money was well spent that night. There are so many other options for entertainment these days, even straight from home, that live bands need to play for small audiences the same way they would for a stadium. It’s how live shows will thrive. Connecting with our audience is at the top of our list for any show. We remember those few times we’ve paid to see a band not knowing what to expect and being wowed and inspired. That’s what we want to do – whether it’s for one or one-thousand.
Where can people get your music/CD, is it being sold anywhere?
Go For The Eyes: Our music can be found on iTunes and at our merch table (including the one at CMF!)
At the end of 2012 we published our picks fortop 10 albums of 2012. Lists like those are always a reflection of personal tastes so if you were making the list what are some albums you would you have had on it?
Go For The Eyes:
Odd Soul – Mutemath
Baby, Darling, Dollface, Honey – Band of Skulls
The Darcys – The Darcys
Lovers – The Royalty
Blunderbuss – Jack White
The Sheepdogs – The Sheepdogs
Humbug – Arctic Monkeys
We have no idea if we were supposed to pick from 2012, but these are definite band favourites that we go back to time and time again.
Any closing remarks for our readers?
Go For The Eyes: How did we do?
Ha, you did great! Thanks so much to Go For The Eyes. We hope that you can see them live at Canada Music Festival.
