In a music world that seems to be again embracing the banality and mediocrity that famed Bill Hicks once so gallantly railed against, Toronto’s July Talk is a beacon of originality and spontaneity in an industry that is in need of it.







July Talk will play the Smiling Moose on Feb. 25.







Peter Dreimanis (vocals/guitar) Leah Fay (vocals), Ian Docherty (guitar), bassist Josh Warburton (bass) and drummer Danny Miles (drums) formed in 2012 based off a chance meeting of soon-to-be music cohorts Dreimanis and Fay.







The band is bringing its anything-can-happen style of blues/rock to America with their self-titled album which drops here in the US on March 3. It is an introduction to the band, but The Swerve Magazine recently talked with Dreimanis and Fay, so let us introduce you to them before the rest of America gets the treat.











Peter Dreimanis: (We played there) about a year ago. It was part of one of our first American runs. It was a great show. It was a good crowd. It was a fun night.



SM: You are hitting town just a couple days into a pretty long American tour.



PD: It is great to come out (on tour) with us having the album coming out.



With the album coming out, we are doing more tours. We are going down to South by Southwest. We played a lot more in the States over the last year. We can’t wait to get back down (to SXSW) and just be back on the road. We have been in the studio this month. We don’t usually do a lot of touring in the winter, so it feels great to start out 2015 and get to some of our first shows of 2015, of which there will be many.



SM: So when is the album coming out?



Leah Fay: It is coming out March 3. I think it is March 3.



PD: It is a little bit overwhelming because it is coming out on different dates all around the world. It is hard to keep track of when everything is coming out, but we believe it is March 3



SM: That is not too far away.



PD: No, it isn’t. It’s exciting.



SM: Does the new album have a title?



DP: It is self-titled. This is going to be, kind of, our first release. It is the Canadian version of the album that came out some time ago and it is just going to be the American release. It will have a lot of the same songs and then it will have four more that we added that we were playing on the road.



We wanted to make sure that this album came out as an introduction to the band before we move to the next level. We are writing our next album right now. It felt so right to really get a good release out. We all feel like this album is a really good introduction to us.



We added songs that allow our lyrics to get people involved and allow the conversation to evolve from where it is today.



We want people to hear the introduction and think it is cool. We don’t want to make the same record the next time. We don’t think that would be the safe step. Our favorite bands have albums that are all completely different. If people don’t understand the context of the first album, and you haven’t given it time to connect with people, then you are not really allowed to make that next step.



We are looking forward to getting to that second record, by doing our final introduction in the States and doing SXSW and a bunch of other dates. And then people when we’re releasing the next record, know they we have given people the chance to commit.



SM: Since I have you both, let’s talk about how the band formed, as it seemed it was almost an ordained meeting of the two of you meeting that led to July Talk.



PD: Yeah, you could say that. It was an awesome night years ago now. I had just got off touring with another band in Europe and just got home. I had written these songs that were kind of for two people. I walked into a bar and Leah was sitting there in the corner with an acoustic guitar, a bike helmet and covered in face paint.



She was singing these songs with a friend. She totally floored me. It was amazing. It was a great night. I player her some of the songs (I had been working on). She told me to fuck off.



LF: I told him to fuck off nicely.



PD: I tracked her down a few nights later, I guess, although not on purpose. It was at a show and she was there. I saw her and I told her I wanted to play music with her and try things out.



You remember that, Leah?



LF: Yeah.



PD: We started playing music together, and a lot of the guys I was playing music with came into the fold and we started this big band. We knew right away it couldn’t be some… We didn’t want it to be some sort of acoustic, folky…

The Swerve Magazine: So this isn't this the band's first time playing Pittsburgh, is it?Peter Dreimanis: (We played there) about a year ago. It was part of one of our first American runs. It was a great show. It was a good crowd. It was a fun night.SM: You are hitting town just a couple days into a pretty long American tour.PD: It is great to come out (on tour) with us having the album coming out.With the album coming out, we are doing more tours. We are going down to South by Southwest. We played a lot more in the States over the last year. We can’t wait to get back down (to SXSW) and just be back on the road. We have been in the studio this month. We don’t usually do a lot of touring in the winter, so it feels great to start out 2015 and get to some of our first shows of 2015, of which there will be many.SM: So when is the album coming out?Leah Fay: It is coming out March 3. I think it is March 3.PD: It is a little bit overwhelming because it is coming out on different dates all around the world. It is hard to keep track of when everything is coming out, but we believe it is March 3SM: That is not too far away.PD: No, it isn’t. It’s exciting.SM: Does the new album have a title?DP: It is self-titled. This is going to be, kind of, our first release. It is the Canadian version of the album that came out some time ago and it is just going to be the American release. It will have a lot of the same songs and then it will have four more that we added that we were playing on the road.We wanted to make sure that this album came out as an introduction to the band before we move to the next level. We are writing our next album right now. It felt so right to really get a good release out. We all feel like this album is a really good introduction to us.We added songs that allow our lyrics to get people involved and allow the conversation to evolve from where it is today.We want people to hear the introduction and think it is cool. We don’t want to make the same record the next time. We don’t think that would be the safe step. Our favorite bands have albums that are all completely different. If people don’t understand the context of the first album, and you haven’t given it time to connect with people, then you are not really allowed to make that next step.We are looking forward to getting to that second record, by doing our final introduction in the States and doing SXSW and a bunch of other dates. And then people when we’re releasing the next record, know they we have given people the chance to commit.SM: Since I have you both, let’s talk about how the band formed, as it seemed it was almost an ordained meeting of the two of you meeting that led to July Talk.PD: Yeah, you could say that. It was an awesome night years ago now. I had just got off touring with another band in Europe and just got home. I had written these songs that were kind of for two people. I walked into a bar and Leah was sitting there in the corner with an acoustic guitar, a bike helmet and covered in face paint.She was singing these songs with a friend. She totally floored me. It was amazing. It was a great night. I player her some of the songs (I had been working on). She told me to fuck off.LF: I told him to fuck off nicely.PD: I tracked her down a few nights later, I guess, although not on purpose. It was at a show and she was there. I saw her and I told her I wanted to play music with her and try things out.You remember that, Leah?LF: Yeah.PD: We started playing music together, and a lot of the guys I was playing music with came into the fold and we started this big band. We knew right away it couldn’t be some… We didn’t want it to be some sort of acoustic, folky…



LF: Two person…



PD: Two-person boring project. Really, either one of us are really not into that. I mean it can work, but it is not really our style. And so we developed this sort of Crazy Horse-style band and wanted to pull from people like Nick Cave and really, really create a band around this conversation between Leah and I.



LF: I think right from the beginning we were able to do that.



SM: In finding each other, you in the band at least seem to compliment each other. Like there is this productive push and pull in the relationship. I



PD: I think right from the beginning we were kind of really hard on each other in the way that we could really… It created this feeling that we could be sure that we were making the right decisions at every step of the way and we can check in with each other on everything. In some ways, I think that two minds are better than one.



We trust each other with absolutely everything. We really are hard on each other to make each decision. We push each other harder than we really want to be pushed.



There are shows when one of us, you can kind of tell, is exhausted or something is not right. The other person will try and push us out of that problem and that can be in any way from Leah duct taping my face to pouring fake blood on each other to pouring liquor on each other. Anything that will wake us.



I think that we take the same certain method when it comes to writing music. We really feel responsible for each other’s happiness and life. We just want to look out for each other.



LF: And that is what we meant to have from the beginning.



I was nervous about my voice and about singing, with playing in another band with another singer. And Pete has really never stepped to the forefront of any band and been a front person. He was always a key playing in doing backups and stuff like that. It was really important for us to have someone take a verse when you need to breathe on stage.



SM: It must be nice to have. It is like it is instinctual on stage. Where you are not really talking about it or anything, you are just doing it.



PD: We try to have as little conversation during our stage show or in our relationship as possible. We try to keep it as organic as possible.



SM: That must make for some interesting nights on the road.



PD: Definitely for sure. The only way that you know where your line is and where not to cross it, is to cross it. The only way you know how much you can take is by taking too much. I think that is how we got it so there are moments when we push each other too hard or something happens that goes a little too far. Sometimes those are the most interesting shows.



We just want to experiment with it and exercise every opportunity to explore what this project has given us.



The project is so much fun. We are talking about a project where every song is a conversation. We are confronting each other with every song. Every time we start a song on stage, we are either against each other or against something together. It is very unique. It is not like other bands, not at all. Every part of you has to have two sides. You can’t just show up and sing a song about some anger that you have. It needs to have those two sides especially the stuff that we are writing now, which we are really, really enjoying that.



LF: The only way to keep control of any of it is to always put playing a good rock and roll show as the priority. I remember when we only played a couple of our shows, people would ask our agents or managers, “Well, what are they going to do tonight?” We can’t be about that. It can’t be people coming to our shows because they want to witness antics and see us beat the shit out of each other. At the end of the day, the most important thing is playing a good rock and roll show and writing good rock and roll songs.



It is the only way to stay afloat. It is not a freak show. It’s not a freak show



DP: Yeah.



SM: Having a good rock show in this day and age, you build that rapport with the crowds that do show up, and they will come back as how the industry in the best way is a direct connection with your audience.



LF: I love that we are a band that are relaying very heavily that anything could happen and things could go wrong. Failure is always poking its head around the corner. Just so you don’t get too confident. We don’t rely on tracks or tones or pedals that are trapanning.



We don’t hide anything. There are just five humans being on stage and anything can happen. Our drummer Danny (Miles) might fall off the stool because he is playing too hard and we will have to deal with that. We want to play as perfectly as possible, but I think at the same time in order to have a human connection with an audience they have to feel like they are watching humans as opposed to a shiny contrived machine.



SM: It is more relatable if there is a chance…



LF: If everything could go to shit.



DP: Or it is cool. Don’t get me wrong, but I think people love watching things fall apart. I genuinely think that. It is not interesting if everything goes to plan. I think that is where we are so obsessed with the spontaneity of it, because if things go wrong and Leah and I are mad at each other on stage and the crowd can tell. It is a strange feeling and we never put that on. When it happens, you can feel the tension in the room. People read into anything.



Even when we are having a great night and having a great time together, I know that there are people in the room that are like, “What is going on with them? There should be something up.” We have always said that it is not interesting to watch someone that is comfortable. We always want to be pushing ourselves to be working in an area that scares us a little.













