Purveyors of: Surf-rock meets burlesque (surflesque?)
File next to: The Venture, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet,“The Stripper” song
Playing #WL13 Sunday, February 17 @ The Garrison

Guelph-based Legato Vipers are good-timers. Their gritty, retro instrumental surf rock was initially inspired by a reverb pedal, and a girl that bassist Tyler Belluz was trying to impress. He was eventually joined by guitarist Mike Brooks in writing an album, and a band took shape with the addition of Jordan Howard (guitar) and AJ
Johnson (drums) for a recording, with Jay Anderson on drums for live shows.

For their set at Wavelength Festival Thirteen, Legato Vipers will collaborate with long-running Toronto burlesque troupe The Harlettes. Mike and Tyler of Legato Vipers and Rouge La Rouge of The Harlettes sat down for a round table pre-show Q&A.

Rouge: How was your New Year's Party at the Silver Dollar?


Tyler: Since we rarely practice as a band, an hour before the show we got together to make fun of ourselves, drink a few suds to make our own jokes sound funnier, check to see if the instruments work, and head to the Silver Dollar to make an audience not quite grasp if we were being funny or serious. After the set… ask Dan Burke?

Rouge: Was there anything specifically that made you want to explore the ‘60s surf sound? A record, musician, or vintage gear perhaps?

Tyler: I actually do not own any surf albums. Nor do I listen to surf rock. The only guitar pedal I own is a reverb pedal, and that's when the magic began (also, I was trying to show off to a girl).


Rouge: Mike, you mentioned that Legato Vipers is intended to be a “collaborative, playful” project. You already have an ongoing live-video series, and during Wavelength Festival THIRTEEN The Harlettes will join you on stage for a few numbers. What are some other collaborations you have in mind?

Mike: We want to do a split with The Nylons where side A is them on instruments doing us and side B is us on vocals doing them (August 2013 release). We'd also like to bring live bands back to the prom scene and do a June tour of the suburbs.

Rouge: How do you feel about scantily clad ladies dancing on stage with you while you play?


Mike: I feel pretty calm about it, but some of the other guys have never even seen a naked woman before. If The Harlettes could pick their favourite Viper to perform a Burlesque number, and you had to choose without deflecting the question, which Viper, Rouge?

Rouge: I consulted the Harlettes and they picked “the drummer.” Something about rhythm and being half-undressed already. But I'm pretty sure I've never seen Jay play drums without a shirt. Also, I haven't met all of you so I can't pick a favourite yet. Yes, I am absolutely deflecting the question. I'm looking at a huge list of bands that you and your band mates play or have played in: Bry Webb and the Providers, Del Bel, Cuff The Duke, The Acorn, Steamboat…. That's something I love about the music scene here — huge family trees of musicians that creep all over the place. How did Legato Vipers come to be?

Tyler:Legato Vipers was formed after I wrote a couple surf tunes for a girl that never paid attention to me. I brought these tunes to a yearly recording project held up north with players from different bands in the city. Having no abilities playing surf music, we scrapped the demos. I then convinced Mike Brooks to actually start a surf band with me and he decided to write the rest of the upcoming album. From there, we recruited the angriest guitarist in Toronto (Jordan) and found the cockiest drummer in Guelph (AJ) to record the album live off the floor, with absolutely no practice on the tunes or as a band. AJ unfortunately has engagements that he is unable to get out of with Cuff The Duke so we asked the daintiest, most self-loathing drummer in Toronto, Jay, if he could play the same drum pattern for an entire set.

Mike: Is “Wavelength meets Harlettes” a recurring collaboration? Whose idea, and why Legato Vipers out of all the other less fortunate but more talented bands?

Rouge: I performed at a Wavelength a couple of years ago with The Magic. Jonny Dovercourt is a good friend and probably suggested it first. We've been chatting about bringing The Harlettes back to Wavelength for some time, and after deciding that Do Make Say Think was not appropriate for a burlesque act, I picked the Vipers based entirely on your barbershop photo. Then I had a listen to “Spy vs Spy” and it just seemed to really fit with what we do — dance! With a band like Legato Vipers, which I find particularly danceable, is it disappointing when people don't dance and leave that space in front of the stage empty? I usually make Doc Pickles dance with me, but it can be a tough vibe when no one else is moving. What is it like in Guelph?


Mike: In Guelph that's just where the hula-hoopers hang out. The “semi-circle” invariably makes for an awkward set. For a pop band, I suppose it is your means of measuring whether or not your band is doing something inclusive. Most of our decisions and ideas lean toward accessibility. It's really the closest thing we have to some semblance of quality control. Make each other grin — check. Make the audience grin — check. The Vipers aren't making artistic history. Yet.