The Sharp Tonques
WL 352 - Sunday, March 4 - 10pm
Purveyors of: double-duty rock duo

If the names Julia Muth and Marcus Quin sound familiar, it's because you have encountered them before on stages throughout Toronto. Julia plugged away on the git-box for a then-nascent Creeping Nobodies, while also winning hearts with Celestino and The Piney Wolves. Marcus continues to win hearts as bass/drum player extraordinaire with the beautiful dreamers in The Silt. Julia and Marcus conveyed to Pras Rajagopalan their thoughts on why jamming is a dirty word and their recollections of the scary-sounding experience of being brought up by Irish people.

Julia, your MySpace site tells us that you were "raised by gypsies in the ozarks of Ontario." What does a gypsy upbringing entail and how has that influenced you musically? Conversely, Marcus, what is like to be raised by the Irish?

Julia: Have you ever driven that lonely stretch of Hwy 7 between Peterborough and Perth? Swamps and trees and rocky ridges. I'm not from there but I lived there.

Marcus: I was born in Northern Ireland, but moved to Canada at age 4. The upbringing continued however, with ample doses of I.R.A., rebel music, blood pudding and high grade craic.

You guys do a bitchin' cover of Beat Happening's "Bewitched". Are there any rules that should be followed in the choosing of a cover song to play?

J: I think the same rule applies to all music making; if you like the way it sounds, keep doing it.

M: In a supportive role (rhythm section), I think it is best to have never heard the original. I only heard it for the first time last week. I really like how Beat Happening plays it as well.

How much is Marcus's decision to simultaneously play bass and drums governed by choice vs. necessity? What is the set-up that is involved in making this happen?

M: I started playing this way with The Silt. I use two drumsticks in my right hand to work over the hi-hats and snare, and keep my bass in my lap so that I can hammer-on the tones with my left hand. Nothing special with the feet. When I play bass or drums separately, it doesn't sit well with me. Simultaneous bass and drums feel like one instrument.

Considering how active you both were in the Toronto scene, and the fact that you were living in the same house, why did it take almost a year for you to start jamming together?

J: I think it was likely due to the fact that Marcus is so active. Also, I was taking a little break from playing, piecing myself back together and trying to figure out what sort of music I really wanted to make.

Also, this jamming process, how does it happen? How do you two come up with the songs that define you as Sharp Tongues?

J: “Jamming” is a dirty word in my books. People think I'm crazy, but I just don't think that's where my best ideas come from. I need a lot of time doing nothing to get the creativity going, then I need a lot of time alone to form my ideas into songs I feel confident about, then I present them to Marcus and we shape them further. That's how most of our songs are written. There have been a few that were more collaborative and "Let It Go" was written by Marcus and brought to me in a similar fashion.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you're currently recording with Jeff McMurrich, fabled Toronto producer who has guided the recorded efforts of many a promising young Toronto outfit (Constantines, Hidden Cameras, Les Mouches, amongst notable others). What has that been like? Are you guys picking up any cool new tricks/ideas?

J: Jeff is amazing! We spent a weekend with him at Halla and recorded 10 songs. My philosophy for recording is to be as prepared as possible, get the best sounds you can and do as little fussing with it afterwards as possible. So far, so good. We will start mixing very soon. I can't wait!

By Pras Rajagopalan