Matias is a man. Matias is a band. What is Matias? It is a maker of music that can make you feel very 'œwheee!'? and often quite 'œaaaah!'? Besides Matias, matias is also Kelci Archibald, Chris A. Cummings (aka 'œMantler'?), Ernest Agbuya, and James Vanbolhuis. Evan Dickson can already tell that he and matias are going to be best friends.

Matias is your name and it's also the band name. Why?

Matias: The solo project of mine that I conveniently referred to as '˜matias' began to collect band members. All of a sudden, we're a band and we're stuck with the name. It's kind of an odd thing, but there you have it.

Matias (the person), how do you write songs for matias (the band)? Are you a tyrant, who orders his players around like zombie-Napoleon, or do you let your friends' creative suggestions pollute your vision until you ultimately take a back seat in your own project, like zombie-John Travolta?

Ernest: The songs are created via metaphor, role-playing, analogy, improvisation, and then a long arduous process of interpreting precise yet abstract notions of feel.

M: The part about role-playing is made up, I think. Also, sometimes, I convey my ideas by waving my arms about in an expressive fashion. No lie.

You have a series of mood EP's. How do your shows correlate with the mood of the latest CD?

M: The first CD was moods by matias vol I: sleepy. We mostly played shows in comfortable spaces and, whenever possible, handed out blankets and pillows. For vol II: summer, we didn't want to play the summer tunes in dark bars, so we set out on a Parks and Backyards Tour. It is what it sounds like '“ we played a bunch of parks and backyards, mostly in Toronto, but also including the Living Room Fest in Guelph. We played the first show on summer solstice '“ the first day of summer - and the last show on the autumn Equinox '“ the last day of summer. Good times!

What will be the mood for the Wavelength show?

M: The mood will be 'œwe're not a concept band'?. Basically, summer's over and sleepy was last year, so we're just a band digging through our tunes. Maybe we'll set up a cardboard-instrument-building station near the stage.

What is Consumption Records and what do you do for it?

M: This is how Consumption Records works: recordings that people made exclusively for their own listening pleasure ( i.e.; not originally intended for an audience and usually recorded at home), are unearthed, dubbed onto donated cassettes and decorated with handcrafted packaging, often utilizing recycled materials.

The cassettes are not sold for money, but traded in exchange for art-challenges. Each art-challenge is appropriate to the release in question. For instance, A Pterodactyl's cassette will cost you one original idea for a musical, Peter Harry Hill's album will cost you a seed, (or a drawing of a seed), which he will then plant in his farm, and so on. Consumption Records releases are not available in stores. They are only available in person - on the street, at craft fairs, shows, parties etc. - and over the internet.

Consumption Records was started before I had a computer and cassettes were the most viable means of copying and distributing music. It is important to point out that Consumption Records has absolutely nothing to do with this '˜Matias' project. I've been a really lazy Runner-of-Things the last few years Consumption-wise, but that might change, who knows. Everyone in the '˜matias band' has contributed to C.S. in some way: Kelci found me a tape of her great-great grandmother in the 80s singing old church hymns into her home cassette deck. Ernest is in the Perfects. James made some drawings for some tapes. Chris '“ much to his surprise '” will be featured on an upcoming release. It's basically him in high-school talking in funny voices for half an hour. This is some seriously choice material. He's a former child actor, so he's got the chops. Chris and friends were presumably working on a movie, but I defy anyone to tell me what that movie is about.

It's like insanity in a happy shitbag.

By Evan Dickson