In trying to fulfill my responsibilities as a Wavelength interviewer, I do my best to make sure I have researched my potential interviewee as extensively as possible. In the case of the still very nascent What Seas What Shores, though, the sum of my researching efforts uncovered just a sparse MySpace site hosting a solitary offering from their forthcoming self titled debut EP. Unsatisfied with the meager amount of information that I had gleaned from the site (WSWS are from Windsor, have four or five band members and seem to have a curious affinity for Risk: The Game of Global Domination), I pressed the band for more and was rewarded with another track. It seems their penchant for Risk has steadily seeped into their collective music consciousness '“ examples of song titles are "The Road across the Mountains", "Deploy/Attack/Fortify" and "Vast Continents". Indeed, as the latter gradually ascends around a simple progression, with shoegazy-guitar swells and complimenting lines building around it to create a Godspeed-eque squall. I can almost hear the snow gusting in the Nazis' despairing faces as they plough across Eastern Europe, mowing down row upon row of Soviets, aghast at the seemingly inexhaustible supply of soldiers that the Reds have at their disposal. A tad dramatic perhaps? Well, maybe, but this is global domination we're talking about here. I telephoned Kevin, Colin and Caleb of the band just as they had finished dining on Tarka Daal and Saag Aloo at a little Indian eatery in Windsor, and we had a nice, charmingly awkward chat.

HEY, YOU GUYS ARE PRETTY NEW ON THE SCENE, HUH? TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BEGINNINGS.
Kevin: Yeah, we only started up less than a year ago. Kyle and I played in a band together. Colin was in a black metal band and Caleb was in a hardcore band. We had this old jam space that was closed down, after which we found an abandoned empty church and moved in there. We ran an all-ages venue out of there and hosted hardcore and punk shows, and that's where we practice now.

SO WHAT MAKES GUYS FROM HARDCORE AND METAL BANDS COME TOGETHER AND PLAY IN THIS BAND THAT SOUNDS LIKE NEITHER?
Kevin: Well, we all knew each other and we just decided one day to sit down and jam together. We all had a semi-solid idea of what we wanted to sound like.

AND WHAT WAS THAT SOUND? HOW DID IT DEVELOP?
Kevin: Someone comes up with an idea or a progression, and we end up jamming on it for 2 hours, and that's basically how it happens. We just had an amazing musician (Martin) join us on bass, so we're really excited about what we can do.

IS THERE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND COME UP WITH NEW IDEAS OR IS YOUR APPROACH MORE IMPROVISATIONAL '“ THAT IS, TAKING AN IDEA, AND THEN BUILDING AND CREATING VARIATIONS ON IT?
Caleb: I would say it is probably the latter. We don't necessarily try to come up with a certain sound, we just end up jamming and that's what it is.

WHAT'S WITH THE RISK FIXATION? I WAS MORE OF AN AXIS AND ALLIES GUY MYSELF.
Caleb (laughing): Hey, I've played that, it's pretty cool too. But anyway, we had this Risk board, which we took to our house when we moved in together. We ended up playing Risk a lot at night. Then one day someone came up with the idea of making a song based on Risk and'¦

HA! A RISK CONCEPT ALBUM?
Caleb: Well, no, not exactly. It's more loosely connected than that.

SO YOU ARE GETTING READY TO EMBARK ON A MINI-TOUR OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO. HAVE YOU DONE A LOT OF TOURING BEFORE?
Colin: Well, no '“ this is actually our first real tour. We've never even been out of Windsor before.

HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED IN WINDSOR?
Colin: I think there's been a pretty good reception. There are people from a lot of different backgrounds here '“ it's a pretty good scene. It's pretty tight '“ there's a bunch of hardcore bands here, and we all know each other.

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO ANY SHOWS IN PARTICULAR?
Colin: We're all looking forward to the Wavelength show, for sure.

By Prasanna Rajagopalan