Every year we do something a little different when it comes to interviewing bands that are playing the Anniversary. It's not really anything intentional, we've just always been low on ideas. This year we decided to ask each of the bands playing the same four questions, mostly related to the same issues that the panel discussion is going to tackle. We asked the bands to be candid and honest, and what follows is their replies in the order that they will play. (As is standard for this little website of ours, we don't have everything quite yet. Check back in a few days and hopefully this list will be... fully populated? You know what I mean.)

Feuermusik

Kickers

Republic of Safety

Castlemusic

Lenin i Shumov

Woodhands

Ohbijou

Picastro

The Hylozoists

The Phonemes

The Secret Handshake

Ninja High School

Photo by Kevin Parnell

FEUERMUSIK (answered by Jeremy Strachan)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically, career-wise?

This is something I try to avoid thinking about. Beyond playing a half-decent show and making a good record, I have no idea what our goals are. I'm sorry if that sounds cliché. Attaching FM to any kind of entrepreneurial enterprise would be a colossal disaster: from the outset Gus and I knew this project would be a hard sell, and we have no aspirations at making a career out of it. It's the ultimate indulgence. I can do whatever I want on the horn, Gus can do whatever he wants on the buckets, and balls to the rest of them. I have found that the longer we play together, the less we need to verbally work out problems in the tunes. We just play and they eventually correct themselves. So I guess my long term goal would be to never actually have to speak to Gus again.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

I've played a lot of them, in many bands. It's always been a pleasure. I've also attended many, but less so these days.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

It seems to be fast heading toward the same fate that "alternative" met 15 years ago. I can't say I place much value on it. It doesn't really mean anything to me. It's attached to so much crap now that that I certainly don't associate "good" or "interesting" with it.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

Becoming less predictable. There is a really silly cult of celebrity in this town, and I go to fewer and fewer shows because of it. I suppose that's the way it is everywhere, to some degree. But it has driven me to seek out new music in other places, where I know the crowds might be smaller, and where I'll see less people I know. Also: perspective. We could use some of that in Toronto. I went to a concert last night at the Glenn Gould Studio; it was a tribute to Harry Freedman, who died in September. An entire evening of his beautiful music. It reminded me how small-minded we can be: here is someone who gave his entire being to the musical life of Toronto, 60 years of writing, playing, and educating. Most people reading this probably have no idea who he is. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but it certainly makes me think twice about how important we might feel at any given time in our lives.

Photo by David Waldman (kidwithcamera.com)

KICKERS (answered by Victoria Morrison)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically, career-wise?

As far as goals go, we aren't really thinking more than a few months ahead for the moment. It would be really nice to be able to make a good record and have a good tour. As for a musical career and making money from playing music? That would be pretty okay. The stars have to be aligned pretty exceptionally for that to happen on your own terms though.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

Picture this: July 2003, Toronto. Victoria Morrison walking down the street, beautiful as always, a little tipsy from that morning's aperitifs, encounters a stranger and a conversation ensues:

Guy on street: Where are you playing tonight?

Victoria: Oh, Sneaky Dee's right next-door.

Guy on street: Oh, Wavelength!

Victoria: Yes, I guess it is a Wavelength show...

Guy on street: Yeah! I've met everyone I know in Toronto at Wavelength; I go every Sunday!

That seems pretty awesome to us.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

Indie means that you are 100 percent free and 100 percent poor.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

E M P A T H Y.

Photo by Kevin Parnell

REPUBLIC OF SAFETY (answered by Jonny Dovercourt and Maggie MacDonald)

As a band, what are your goals, personally/musically/career-wise?

Jonny: Our goals are to function as an autonomous and utilitopian nation that creates national anthems that inspire future generations.

Maggie: We want to make wakey-wakey political music, and to have fun doing it.

Talk about your relationship with Wavelength.

Maggie: Wavelength is a community force that has nurtured many bands that I love. To think that Peaches played Wavelength! I am very happy to live in a city that has something like this, that brings friends and potential collaborators together in an environment that encourages the development of unusual musical acts.

Jonny: Well, this is awkward. I helped conceive and give birth to Wavelength, nurtured and raised it up right for five years, then promptly abandoned it to go "focus on my band." I would feel more guilt about Wavelength having "issues" if it hadn't been adopted by such responsible parents (awwww...).

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

Jonny: Indie is simply shorthand for "independent," which means having control over your own creative and economic decisions as a musical artist. It also implies a degree of independent thinking and analysis of the conditions in which we find ourselves. "Indie" can also be used as shorthand for both a style of guitar rock and a community of young people, and though is problematic and reductive, it's not entirely useless.

Maggie: Indie means a lot of different things to people these days, and when I use the term I'm often just grasping for a way to describe poppy new bands and musicians, who probably enjoy some degree of artistic freedom. It used to mean the extreme independence from the corporate machine in music that Dischord Records and Fugazi embodied. Now bands on Merge or Secretly Canadian might pop up on Letterman, or in mainstream music shops. It's no longer an exclusive subculture. But that's not a terrible thing. I think it's a positive thing if artists can make a living from art, without having to distort their artistic vision.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

Maggie: I would like to see more political engagement in the music community. And more violins used in local bands.

Jonny: Greater infrastructure controlled by the musicians themselves. Artist-run record labels, management and publicity concerns, record labels, websites, publications, and venues. More responsibility and more long-term thinking. More fun... without too much Party.

Photo by David Nemeroff (afikomen.ca)

CASTLEMUSIC (answered by Jennifer Castle)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically, career-wise?

I'm happy to keep playing music, and lately have been finding different ways to do that.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

Wavelength is a nice, strong, good and important idea. Whether one goes to it every Sunday or not, it seems important that it exists. I have enjoyed playing there with the bands I have been in.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

I don't actually place that much value on indie as a concept. I'm not even sure I fully know what it refers to nowadays. It can mean unsigned bands, but also people refer to it as a sound or a certain community. I'm sort of lost in the references.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

I think the music community should really make sure that it keeps making music. But I know so many multi-talented people that even if they stopped making music I think they would make other beautiful things.

Photo by David Waldman (kidwithcamera.com)

LENIN I SHUMOV

Lenin i Shumov chose not to answer the questions, and we respect that decision.

WOODHANDS (answered by Dan Werb)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically and career-wise?

Woodhands' dreams are typical: get signed by an obscure German techno label and play shows in Berlin in bars that still have bullet holes in the walls. Then, out of the blue, to get picked up by a wealthy and socially conscious indie label based out of some cool North American metropolis, get a massive advance for our album (which we will maintain 100% creative control over) and then watch the bucks roll in and the fans salivate.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

When I was living in Europe and trying to book our Canadian tour, Wavelength seemed like the coolest fucking thing a Canadian touring band could be a part of. Needless to say we didn't get a slot when we applied (or a response, actually) but since soon the tour finished and we relocated to the big city of Toronto, Wavelength has shown us a surprising and almost disturbing amount of love. Not that Woodhands has played there yet - but the love is palpable and it makes us feel...wanted. Which is important as we're new here and aren't sure what Toronto is really like yet.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

Indie...that's a funny one. To tell you the truth, I'm not that crazy about rock music. I like it'”don't get me wrong, some of my best friends are rock musicians and I play in two rock bands'”but it's not the baseline for me. I have a feeling that indie means a hell of a lot more to rockers than it does to, say, electronica artists or hip-hop artists. But that's just a guess. It's also hard to separate the word from the connotations: I mean, indie just means independent, right? Which is fine for a while but shit it gets tiring when you are always DIYing. But if by 'indie' you mean a strong, supportive community of like-minded and equally excited music lovers...then I'm all for it and would be nowhere without the indie community.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

Okay, so I'm originally from Vancouver. And when Woodhands played in Vancouver it was...alright. Not great. Just okay. And the reason is that a) there is practically no audience for music, b) no venues, and as a result c) the booking agents are very hard to pin down. In Toronto there is a great thing going on and I'm just reveling in it right now. Shit, I'm just happy to be here, a place where after you play a set with a band they email you and tell you that you're great. I've never experienced that anywhere else (not in Vancouver or in Montreal where I played shows for five years). So quit complaining about the scene here (if that's what you like to do), it's the most supportive in Canada by far.

What should the T.O. scene be working towards?

Keep up the love. Because it really makes people want to settle down and put down roots here. Of course, if there was more cash available, that would be great. That's something I would suggest you look into. Because as fun as being broke is, it also sucks. And money can be fun right? Are we allowed to say that?

OHBIJOU (answered by Casey Mecija)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically and career-wise?

As a band we would like: to keep writing good songs together, to record good albums that exceed our own expectations, to always be evolving in our creative processes, to dabble in new instruments and in new sounds, to travel and play shows in different places we've never been to, to keep a close community of musicians that work to support and challenge one another, to ideally get paid enough to always continue playing and if nothing else to have fun and keep good spirits with performing live and with each other as friends.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

We've played Wavelength once before and it was a great experience for us. Wavelength has always been an awesome opportunity for bands to play shows with a guaranteed audience and is a platform to introduce different styles of music from all around the country, the world even. Wavelength, through its shows, zines, website etc., has always fostered a sense of musicality and community in this city and a lot of people owe a lot for the opportunities this night has provided them. It's also helped Sunday night become so much cooler and is an affordable way to spend an evening.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

Well I guess there are many different interpretations of what "indie" is. It can be looked at as being an entire lifestyle made up of what you wear, where you go, how you style your hair ,what music you listen to etc. or it can be a simple classification of musicians that are not signed to labels and are making their own waves in a DIY process. I think indie for us is just playing music the way we want to and whatever people classify us as is fine.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

To consistenly support one another, to encourage and accept new bands and new types of music, and to not be pretentious in dissing what other people do and to just prop people for playing and loving music. I guess those are kind of all the same things.

Photo by David Nemeroff

PICASTRO (answered by Liz Hysen)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically and career-wise?

I don't think I could continue making music if I thought of it as a career. It would just ruin everything. Personally, I just want to make music for a long time. I don't really see it ever ending. Musically, I would just like to make music that best approximates what I want to hear and what I don't think is being made.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

It seems to parallel our relationship with Toronto. Sometimes it's on, sometimes it's not. Like any old couple.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

Indie seems to be associated with not being on a major record label like Virgin or Sony or something. I don't know if you are making indie music if you are on one of those labels. That being said, the term seems to have lost all meaning as weirder and weirder music is becoming more acceptable in the "indie" community and genre becomes the most important element. You either fit into a genre or you don't. Someone came up with a good one for us like acoustic metal or something, I don't know.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

Supporting each other is very, very important, not to sound too cheesy. I know some people make mix CDs of bands from Toronto and give them to out-of-town bands. I think that's a really nice idea; I send a lot of Toronto music to my friends abroad. Maybe if different kinds of musicians played with each other; that would be good. It always feels like communities are very disparate.

Photo by Paul Goldschmied

THE HYLOZOISTS (answered by Paul Aucoin)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically and career-wise?

The Hylozoists being such a large ensemble hope that everybody stays in the same place. The biggest hurdle for the band is getting together everybody, being free and not on tour somewhere else. I think we have finally found a balance and so far it hasn't been as crazy as I thought it would be keeping everyone together. Our new record is set to come out in June and we are about to go to the west coast and back with band mates Cuff The Duke and the FemBots so I am happy seeing these type of steps being taken and getting it turned into a great touring group, personally and musically. I think that for everyone in the band making quality music and continuing to get great opportunities would be our hopes and dreams career-wise. We all have seen good and bad things come and go and would hope that the good keeps outweighing the bad.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

The Hylozoists have played one Wavelength show with the FemBots last July, which was a real highlight of the year for us. However within the band we all have played countless times in such groups as Cuff The Duke, Ford Peir, FemBots and others so we all love the weekly series. Of course everyone from Ryan to Johnny Dovercourt etc. has made it a lovely place to debut music to the indie set.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

Indie means independent. As a sound, it really means making your own decisions and not really worrying about whether your sound has potential in the mainstream. As a business word, it is the lack of support from the major labels. On that side the majors in Canada have done a much better job integrating themselves with the independent world, as one notices that a lot of Indie labels such as PaperBag, Arts&Crafts, Boompa are all distributed and partly funded by a big brother/sister major such as EMI or Universal. This has never bothered me and I have always tried to be aware as possible to what this means on practical terms in the way you want or can do business. Both come with pros and cons and one would hope that all of us would realize these and pay close attention to our indie peers shortcomings as much as our beloved majors so that one never depends on the labeling of companies (small or big) but the actual work that they do.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

Being that democracy can be ugly in that everybody loves and hates everything, I think that we should stay the course. Help your friends as much as you can and let the community never hinder but always help someone who is working hard and needs these new opportunities. Help and support is the only real option; waves of cool artists and scenes come and go so consistent support is much more valuable than any great community master plan. I think we have a very supportive scene and one sometimes forgets how many communities and things there are to support at any one time in this great city.

THE PHONEMES

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically and career-wise?

Liz: I would like to play some shows north of the tree line.

Magali: One - finish a record. Two - record a 7" for Tomlab. Three - Tour around

Matias: Sscheduling.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

Liz: Wavelength makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Magali: We have played Wavelength once as The Phonemes and more than once as players in other bands. It is a wonderful thing, that Wavelength. It is reliable and exciting.

Matias: Love it.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

Liz: The word makes me cringe somewhat because I hear it being thrown around so much by mainstream media (and mega record labels) that it's lost much of its original meaning for me. I guess you can say it is yet another element of counter-culture that has become a commodity. But, being full of contradictions, it's a word I also use to describe the genre of music that we play to people when I'm feeling too lazy to try and articulate specifically what it is that we do.

Magali: 'œIndie'? is a beautiful place where there are butterflies, chocolate fountains and these tiny little birds that are just so and they eat from your hand and sit on your shoulder and then....peck at your eyes until all you can see is your own red blood!

Matias: Indie means no major labels. So called 'indie' labels made up of former big-label employees that go on and release records in partnership with major labels AND refer to these releases as "indie" are annoying. If that's how they choose to operate, that's fine, but they are not "indie". You can't have that cake and eat it too. I feel more comfortable working with friends and friends of friends who I trust rather than with large, mysterious entertainment companies.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

Liz: I really like Jonny Dovercourt's somewhat playful idea of a green music scene. I have a vision of a music venue that is powered by people riding stationary bicycles getting their exercise alongside a healthy dose of independent music. (Hmmm...maybe we can team up with the West End Y)

Magali: The activity of making music and its auxiliaries (like putting on shows). Also, combining forces with other makers and doers can create a more engaging, interesting and enticing world within which to do this activity, and most importantly do what Matias says....plus Liz's treadmill idea! Winning combination!

Matias: I don't want to speak for other people, but in this case, I'll make an exception: chicken suits! Lots of them. On your heads, everyone! Right now! And now, I want backflips with your chicken suits! Many of them! In a row. And now, jump in the lake and do synchronized chicken-suit swimming! These are the goals the music community should be working towards.

THE SECRET HANDSHAKE (answered by Spencer Butt and Deaglan Kernohan-Wallingford)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically and career-wise?

Spencer: I just want to keep making music that we want to hear. I think The Secret Handshake came together because we just wanted to have a lot of fun and play stuff that we liked, even if it didn't necessarily fit into a distinct genre or even appeal to one certain crowd. I just like it and I hope when people hear us, or more importantly see us (because live shows are always better), people have a lot of fun. I just really wanna get out there so a lot of people can check us out.

Deaglan: As a band, our goal is to push ourselves as far as possible within music with what we have. I hope to reach a state where I can live by playing music.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

Spencer: I love Wavelength a lot. I think it's a great thing to have and a very valuable asset to our music scene. I remember the first time we played a Wavelength show I was freaking out because I was so honoured and excited to be a part of such a positive collective of people. I just really like the idea of people helping each other out with their creative efforts.

Deaglan: Wavelength is a place I have attended for a long time. I have enjoyed a lot of really good music and met some quite interesting people. It has been an excellent place of exposure for The Secret Handshake.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

Spencer: "Indie" is a funny term. I feel like these days, and I've definitely been guilty of this, but the term is just thrown around too loosely. It gets used a lot to describe a particular sound or style and not the fact that a band put that song out, or are doing their own thing INDEPENDANTLY. I mean, isn't that what it's suppose to stand for? That doesn't mean they didn't have help from friends and other bands and stuff, but when those friends are major label record companies, well it just seems funny to me. I value the fact that we made our CDs in our living rooms and that we help put on shows and do our own sound and what not, but I think that's more just for a sense of competition and close knit camaraderie. As far as being classified an indie rock band though, people can call us whatever they want as long as they're having fun at our shows or getting something positive from our music.

Deaglan: The term indie is simply a categorical term. This term is used within genre to describe a style and position within that genre. "Indie rock" for example describes a specific sound but also explains that the music is from an independent source.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

Spencer: As cheesy at it sounds, I think we should all just be friends. I think we should work towards helping each other out and promoting and encouraging diversity and kids to start bands that aren't going to just be carbon copies of their favourite band or whatever is popular at the time. So yeah, that's what I want: a little bit of difference. Not that "I'm trying so hard to be different" forced nonsense, but that pure and honest "I really like playing this stuff, hopefully other people enjoy it too" type of thing. That's what I live for.

Deaglan: Music should first off be taken back by the people and removed from a pre-packaged version of itself that it has fallen into. Music community should attempt to create an enviroment for music to be made in with the purpose of art and entertainment. It should stop the hyper-commercializing of itself.

Photo by Kevin Parnell

NINJA HIGH SCHOOL (answered by Matt Collins)

As a band, what are your goals, personally, musically and career-wise?

Our personal goals and our band goals don't seem to come together much. We seem to agree that a non-communist and non-capitalist state (both of which provide the state with far too much power) is in order, and that we want to make music that supports that half-anarchist socialist viewpoint.

Talk briefly about your relationship with Wavelength.

Wavelength has been very supportive of this band. All of us have contributed to Wavelength by doing things like the door, articles for the zine, and sound.

What does "indie" mean to you, and how much value do you place upon it?

I think it's an exceptional approach that has recently started to look at its relationship with capitalism, and therefore greed, more seriously lately. Part of excusing the recent greed is a group of people publicly browbeating others into believing that indie is a "genre" and historicizing it in this manner, rather than historicizing it as an economic viewpoint. I think it's important that indie not be depoliticized by dudes with guitars who want to make being in a band their day job.

What goals should the music community be working towards?

Defending ourselves from, and eventually ousting, things like the so-called Canadian Music Week and the even more reprehensible North By Northeast.