Despite Wallowstarr's name change and a slew of band mates made victim of spontaneous combustion, four boys residing in Toronto's west side extension (Hamilton), have congregated, made an album and branded themselves 'œField Guide to Words and Music.'? Through a series of rigorous questions via the Internet, Eve Tobolka has exposed details of their debut album, the complexities of a name and most importantly, the members' preferred pastimes.

YOUR NAMES AND WHAT YOU DO.
Drew Smith '“ vocals, guitar and teach E.S.L to adults.
Adam Alfano '“ guitar and a steel salesman, that's the awful truth,
Brad Schumacher '“ bass and currently completing the longest undergrad in Canadian history.
Mike Morris '“ drums, percussion and work long hours for a construction company, specializing in taking bricks from one pile, moving them to a new pile, and then moving them back to the original pile.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM?
Drew: It's a collection of ten songs which have been written over the last couple of years '“ they are our favorites and the songs we feel the most confident about.

Brad: The album is called The Ones You Love and will be released in the late spring/early summer. The musically gifted and airplane-obsessed Andy Magoffin, who is the man behind early records by the Constantines and the Hidden Cameras, produced it. Not in alphabetical order, some of the instruments appearing on the album include: electric and acoustic guitars, tambourines, cowbells, alto horns, drums, euphoniums, keyboards, banjoes, pianos, trumpets, and bass guitars. Everything else is a secret. There are no handclaps on the album.
Adam: It's like losing a street fight to a string quartet.
UPCOMING TOUR?
Adam: Heck yes.
Brad: There's a tentative East Coast tour in the works and we will be playing all over Ontario within the next four months.
Mike: We're touring the East side because traveling all the way to Vancouver seems really scary. There's just so much land to cover!
IT'S JUST SO SIMPLE TO SAY THAT ONE'S BAND NAME "ADDRESSES THE DIVIDE BETWEEN THE CEREBRAL AND THE ESOTERIC'¦BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE COGNITIVE AND THE EMOTIONAL". WHAT DOES 'œFIELD GUIDE TO WORDS AND MUSIC'? REALLY MEAN?
Brad: Actually it's not simple to say that at all. If you're being literal, saying the words esoteric, cerebral, and cognitive in one sentence is kind of difficult and needlessly ostentatious. If you're being figurative, it's somewhat vague and needlessly ostentatious. The part about the "divide between the cerebral..." is supposed to address the two somewhat opposing ways people listen to music. The cognitive would be music that appeals to your brain (clever lyrics, interesting arrangements/instruments), and the emotional would be music that hits you on more of a gut level. It isn't necessarily complicated or trying something new but it still grabs you and makes you want to, as the kids say, rock out. As a band we try to do both, it is important to us to try different song structures or to use interesting sounds without losing the aspects of the song that initially grabbed us.
Adam: I thought we just took the 'œField Guide to North American Birds'? and changed the last three words. I guess I'm out of the loop... esoteric?

A FRIEND HAD MENTIONED THAT SHE THOUGHT OF 'œTHE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY'? WHEN SHE HEARD THE NAME 'œFIELD GUIDE TO WORDS AND MUSIC.'? ANY ANECDOTAL RELATION BETWEEN THE TWO?
Adam: We're a fairly well read lot but I don't think any of us have read those books. I will say this: Mos Def is in the upcoming movie version and I have huge faith in that guy as an actor.
EATING CARAMELS AND SWAYING TO THE AWESOME SOUNDS OF EARLY '˜90S WORKOUT TAPES IS ONE HELL OF A GOOD TIME. WHAT DO YOU GUYS LIKE TO DO ON SATURDAY AFTERNOONS?
Drew: Sleeping or bird watching'¦ or both at the same time '“ it happens sometimes.
Adam: Horizontal all day (as a rule) watching redundant sports like curling and equestrian or embarrassingly cheesy movies (the titles of which I'd rather not mention).
Mike: On Saturday's, I strive to perfect my physique. Twenty-k runs are usually scheduled (rain, snow, shine'¦whatever.)