Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine is not just a ridiculously talented singer, she is a performer. Last night I had the immense privilege of seeing her live at the Sound Academy. Although she came on pretty late (the doors opened at 8, she didn't grace the stage until 10:50), it was well worth the wait. There was incredible energy that possessed the crowd once she came out, but none of it compared with the energy of Florence herself.
While her music is hardly something you'd hear at a club, she somehow made every song danceable. She seemed to be singing to every member in the audience, daring them to dance with her. And oh, did she dance. She was everywhere on the stage; her long red hair flying out behind her. She kept time with the beats of the song by drumming her heart. Between the third and fourth song, she changed into a flowing cape. But disguised as she was, by strobe lights and a dark dress, it seemed almost as if she donned wings. There were definitely some doubts as to whether or not she was human; she was infinitely graceful and yet somehow extremely provocative. Her shows are a theatrical production, and she knows it: after she finished every song she sank into a deep bow, her long arms outstretched, her eyes closed.
As for the skeptics, who think her voice may have some help when you hear her songs on the radio, you are dead wrong. The Sound Academy is built to hold about 2,000 people, and there were times when she didn't even need the microphone. What a voice! Her voice is deep, flowing, and rich. When singing "Drumming Song", she held notes for so long, we in the audience started holding our breath. If anything, her voice is better in person, unencumbered by the walls of a studio, soaring out above all other instruments. And her speaking voice, which she used sparsely (when not singing, she seemed almost shy of the audience, which was incredibly endearing), is sweet and softly accented. She sings her songs with such passion that "Heavy In Your Arms" made me want to cry. I had to leave halfway through the encore, but I will definitely be seeing her again. I cannot say enough good things about this artist. If you haven't heard of her, look her up right this second. If you have, try as hard as you can to see her in concert. I promise you will not be disappointed.
So today I had the delightful experience of interviewing a Mr. Joey Levesque, keyboardist for Vancouver-based band Joyride. Although you might not have heard of them yet, you should most definitely look them up right now. I suggest listening to "Whatever It Takes" first, as it is my personal favorite. Comprised of Trent Otter, Kyle Shields, Colin Grieve, Paul Kinman and Joey Levesque, Joyride is a refreshing take on pop-rock. With clever and catchy lyrics, danceable tunes, and a creative energy that could easily fill up Madison Square Garden, I have no doubt that Joyride is going places. Although right now they only perform locally, I highly suggest you see them in concert (if you live in Vancouver) or check out their website here.
Tell us a bit about your band: Origins, inspirations, interesting tidbits? Well, we all went to the same high school in a middle-of-nowhere town near Vancouver, with the exception of Colin who we actually found over Craigslist. We all played music together as kids and everything just kinda came together.
Where did the name originate? Joyride was one of a HUGE list of names that we just narrowed down... I probably still have it in my email inbox somewhere. It’s interesting, because it seems to fit us a lot more now than I would’ve said it had in the past. I wonder whether it adapted to fit us, or we adapted to fit it?
Can you describe your band’s music without using a genre? Yeah, but the technical terms wouldn’t make any sense so I’ll try to put it into more accessible words. The music has a lot of influences and we all write our own parts, but it’s pretty fresh, young, exciting. There’s a lot of synth stuff going on, a lot of rock beats and you’ll hear influences from all over the place... A strong guitar presence and Colin’s vocal are backed by Kyle’s bass which interacts a lot with the drums. I dunno. I’m gonna cheat and call it pop-rock.
What is the best thing about being a band? The worst? The best thing, for me at least, has always been seeing the smiles on people’s faces at shows or while listening to the CD and knowing that this art, these sounds we’re creating are capable of affecting others’ emotions to that point... We love what we do and if other people love it too, hell, welcome on board. The worst part is probably the work, time and money it takes up... The problem is that for an unsigned band in Canada, it can be almost impossible to get your name out there, get on good shows, and get radio/video play, etc. Joyride’s advantage in this respect is our age, I think. We’re all really young and we’re gonna give Canada a run for its money.
Do you write music as a band or separately? Both. We all write our own parts and Colin handles lyrics as well as his vocal duties. We’ll go to his place and record ideas, work with them and decide whether they’re worth keeping.
The artist you dream of being compared to is: I would say we dream more of touring with artists than being compared to them, hahah. Always wanted to tour with the other big Canadian bands – Hedley, Mariana;s Trench, Stereos, et cetera. We’re good friends with These Kids Wear Crowns and Tom from Hedley actually produced our debut EP, and from those experiences I can definitely tell you that touring with either act would be something to remember.
Who is your dream collaborator, living or dead? I personally have always wanted to work with Jared Leto on something. Another one (slightly more plausible) is Josh Ramsay.
Do you have a process for writing music? Somewhat. It’s a secret though. :D
Top five favorite songs, off the top of you head? Oh jeez, that’s a question I’m hard put to answer. I guess at this very moment; 5. Four Year Strong – Bada Bing! Wit’ A Pipe!, 4. Marianas Trench – Masterpiece Theatre Pt.3, 3. Skrillex – My Name Is Skrillex, 2. The Summer Set – Chelsea, 1. Periphery – Icarus Lives!. These change all the time though.
Any parting remarks? You’ll never take me alive!! Seriously though, check the band out at thejoyride.ca, grab the stuff on iTunes, PARTY HARD.
