Some bands change your life forever: they can inspire you to find and become the brilliant artist hiding inside you; they can inspire you to climb on to the roof of a 7-Eleven with firearm and begin picking off anybody who resembles Billy Corgan. Some bands, however just make you grin vacantly, because their sound produces unmistakable hallucinations of a bygone age of rock'n'roll glory: a big-ass Chevy convertible roaring down a desert highway leaving empty beer cans and prescription pill containers in its wake while cute go-go dancers in turtlenecks and mini-skirts shimmy standing up in the backseat and everyone's wearing wicked sunglasses and shit. Dave [vocals and bass], Peter [organ], Chris [drums] and Johnny [guitar] are The Midways; they have no last names and are precisely the latter sort of band. Organs swirl, backups are shouted, the guitar is drenched in 15 different kinds of old-school reverb. They have a full-length CD, Pay More And Get A Good Seat, and recently issued a proper vinyl split 7'? on Music For Cats with their Ottawa counterparts The Glads.
Andrew Lloyd Moseby attempted to discover that which makes The Midways tick, but frankly failed to learn anything other than how easy it is to make any question sound dirty. Thank heaven I didn't use the word 'œorgan'? where I could have. They also seem to answer questions as a band, making it impossible to blame anyone. Such is life.

FIRST OFF, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN RIPPING UP STAGES, DANCEHALLS AND JUKE JOINTS UP AND DOWN JUMP DOWN SPINAROUND THIS TOWN?
We would never commit such barbarous acts of vandalism. We were taught to 'œrock on, but with manners'? by our elders.

NOW, I DID AS MUCH RESEARCH THROUGHOUT THE WAVELENGTH WEBSITE'S HISTORY AS I COULD, AND IT SEEMS FROM ALL THAT IS THEREIN RECORDED, YOU HAVE NEVER PLAYED WAVELENGTH BEFORE [THERE IS A GAPING HOLE IN THE WAVELENGTH SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM 'œTHAT SUMMER'? WHEN THE ZINE WAS PUT ON HOLD FOR A VIGOROUS '“ SOME WOULD SAY INVASIVE, BUT NOT ME '“ RETOOLING, SO I MIGHT BE HORRIBLY WRONG]. UNLESS I'M VERY MUCH MISTAKEN AND YOU HAVE, WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO BRING TO THE SUNDAY NIGHT KIDS THEY AIN'T SEEN BEFORE?
If you bent Wavelength over, then you would in fact find The Midways in that gaping hole. October 26, 2003: Wavelength and The Midways get drunk at the office Hallowe'en party and one thing led to another; the Midways sort of went home with Wavelength, and things got a smidge 'œjiggy.'? It's been tense around the water cooler since then, but Wavelength apparently wants to 'œtalk it over like adults'? on April 24th. So the Sunday night kids will probably see us both fired for being unprofessional. Or maybe they'll get to reach for that gaping hole and grab the brass ring.

YOU GENTLEMEN HAVE A DISTINCT SONICS VIBE, AMONG OTHER CLASSIC VIBES '“ LINK WRAY, TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD'¦ EVEN SPEEDY WEST, HAD HE PLAYED A HAMMOND '“ IS YOUR OEUVRE A TRIBUTE? A THROWBACK? A CELEBRATION? OR ARE ALL THESE IRRELEVANT, EVEN VAGUELY IRRITATING CONCERNS AND I SHOULD JUST SHUDDUP AND RATTLE MY ASS-HIPS?
Ouevre? More like a whore's d'oeuvre. It's a tribute to throwbacks that celebrate irrelevant, vaguely irritating concerns that people should shut up about while they shake their ass-hips to the sound of four guys trying and failing to ape their already simian influences. We've nothing original to add musically and our lyrics have balls-all to do with this century's relevant concerns. That said, we're interested in movements of the hip, bowel, and your car out of our parking space.

By Andrew Lloyd Moseby