The Winks are a cute, cabaret folk pop band (akin to something like The Diskettes) from rainy Vancouver, currently in the process of uprooting and moving to chilly Montreal. It's essentially a duo, with cellist Tyr and mandolinist Todd at the forefront, and once this tour is done, their drummer and keyboardist/saxophonist/flutist will be heading back west. In fact, they've got another show in a month in Montreal and they have to fill out the rest of their band in a matter of weeks. Ryan McLaren talked to Todd and Tyr (pronounced 'tier') on a cool autumn night.

I really don't know much about you. Tell me something about yourself. Where'd you go to school? Where'd you grow up?

Tyr: I grew up with two older sisters. We all took music classes in the evenings after school. My parents traded their art for lessons. My mum is from Selkirk, Manitoba, and my dad is from Toronto where my sisters were born. I'm the only one born in Vancouver. After high school all I wanted to do was go to music school and hide out. Music is very comforting to me; it's something I've done since I was seven so it's very familiar.

Todd: I spent zero to nine in Toronto. Went to Beaches Elementary, lived on the Danforth and my best friend was James Harnum. Parents dragged me to Vancouver and I dropped out of school for five years by going to a home schooling type place called Windsor House. In grade nine I couldn't stand the hippie schooling any longer so I went to an enriched program and became a keener. After high school I got a music diploma at Vancouver Community College.

You two are moving to Montreal in a matter of, what is it, days? What made you want to leave Vancouver and head to the east?

Tyr: All the commitments I had in Vancouver like music school and recording the album are all completed. I'm ready for a change and I'm excited to be with my sister and work on our clothing company, Parlour Treats (.com). We have been working separately as a company for a long time which has been good for us, but it seems like the right time to be together. All the things I did in Vancouver I can do in Montreal.

Todd: I miss the east coast. I'm really liking my stay in Toronto right now and Montreal is fun.

Are you ready for the winter?

Tyr: Is the winter ready for us?

Todd: Yes it is.

So, I wanted to ask you about how the Winks came together. You write the songs together don't you? How'd you piece this whole thing together?

Tyr: Todd and I are the "core members" but we look for collaborators for our songs to make them what they are. Together we are a bit too potent and need other people to come in and water things down to create a landscape.

Todd: Our first gigs were playing improv cello and mandolin pieces for mushroom parties at this mob run marijuana bar in downtown Vancouver. This was back in high school. Over the years we've morphed into a pop band.

You guys put so much work into your shows. It's amazing to see. Is this just because you're overflowing with creativity and idle hands, or was this a decision you've made to do this kind of thing for the Winks?

Tyr: I've always been jealous of dancers because playing the cello I have been glued to a chair. I made a friend a few years ago who was obsessed with dance and I talked her into going to dance school. A year later we're taking tap classes together, she's choreographing dances for me and having Tim's (Winks member) baby.

Todd: I always ask myself "would Supertramp do it?" and if it's a yes I go for it.

We were talking a little bit about the Winks side project Tights. You did the Winks/Tights split EP and you said your working on something else, but probably keeping it as a studio project. Is that it? What was the backing band/Mouse on Mars thing you were telling me about?

Todd: I was just saying how Secret Mommy is kind of in the same genre as Mouse on Mars. Secret Mommy is our friend Andy Dixon who also plays in Tights with us and runs Ache Records. There are plans for a big Ache tour with the Winks, Secret Mommy and Winning. I hope Tights will get the time to make a full length sometime. We would need to take a month or something and just do it.

What do you work on outside the band?

Tyr: I'm a cello teacher (and am always looking for more students), make costumes and clothing, have fashion shows, and through the summer worked for Nannies On Call. I also do solo cello performances under the name Gutstrings.

Todd: I have a new project called Prince of Wails. It's my exploration of having songs with just acoustic mandolin and voice. I'm also really into recording and producing other people and bands so I'm planning on setting up a little studio in Montreal.

If everything goes according to your master plan, what's your life going to look like four years down the road?

Tyr: I'd be happy if I was doing everything I do now but up a notch.

Todd: More music, less business and lots of traveling and collaborations.