Since we last featured The Latency on our blog, their debut album was released this past September to impressive first week sales. The album has stemmed three singles, with the latest being ‘Fork In The Road’, which has garnered heavy rotation on MuchMusic and Canadian radio stations alike.
Although their tour plans at the end of last year were postponed, 2010 has proven to be been a busy year on the road for The Latency, who not only toured in support of the SASS this past Spring but they recently finished touring across Western Canada with Faber Drive.
We had the chance to chat with Brandon Lehti and Mathew Gendron just before the last show of the Faber Drive tour in Vancouver, and they talked about their summer plans, favourite songs, and which Canadian artists they admire.
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→ asapmusicblog.ca: Tonight’s the second BC show that you guys are playing on this tour. How does it feel traveling on the road versus coming back playing shows at home, because you guys also have the two shows coming up in Maple Ridge – which is where you guys are from. So, what’s the difference?
Brandon Lehti: Oh, it’s awesome. I just love being in BC, more than anything. I mean, the shows are really good everywhere, but it’s always nice to come home, you know? Just because you know you’re home, and you know that night after the show you can sleep in your own bed. The fans here too, they’re pretty awesome.
Mathew Gendron: The fans here have been around with us since we’ve been playing just hometown shows, before we started touring. So it’s a different kind of fan base, it’s more of a die-hard, loyal, stick with you through thick and thin sort of thing.
BL: It’s more one of those things where you go through the crowd and you’re like, “I know you, I know you, I know you, I know you…”
A: And you guys kind of got your start because a fan was requesting ‘Tonight, I Love You’ for Virgin Radio to keep playing it. That’s kind of how you guys started on the radio.
BL: Yeah, so we owe it all to our British Columbia fans.
MG: It’s always nice to come back and put on a show for them.
A: Aside from cities in BC, what’s your favourite road city?
MG:: Aside from cities in BC? That’s a hard question. We spend a lot of time in Toronto, and have grown quite accustomed to it. I like the downtown vibes of Toronto, but every city has its own sort of thing.
BL: Every city has something special. I really like Calgary. Yeah, I’m down with Calgary. Toronto too, I like Toronto.
A: One of the things that stands out about The Latency is the level of honesty that’s in your lyrics and songs.
BL: Oh, thank you.
A: Is that common in the feedback that you get? From fans?
BL: Yeah, we hear that a lot, and the reason for that is my rule as a writer is [that] I don’t write about anything unless it happens to me, or to someone I know. It’s all about experiences, and I think that’s what creates honesty in songs. [What] I like to hear when I listen to music is honesty, like when you can really feel, ‘Oh, this person went through that’ – and that’s where the song came from right? So that’s what I want to give everyone else, I think that’s hopefully why it comes across as honest, and I’m really glad it does.
A: That’s kind of what your latest single ‘Fork In The Road’ – you’ve talked about it in other interviews about how it was something that you experienced, it’s something that you witnessed. Is that something that you obviously like to portray in your songwriting?
BL: Yeah, songs should be stories. They should be stories about you, and about people around you, about things that happen around you. Everyone loves a good story, right? Songs should paint a picture from start to finish, and I think that’s exactly what that song is for me. ‘Fork In The Road’ is a story about something I witnessed to someone that I was acquainted with go through.
A: Brandon, you were involved with Young Artists For Haiti, tell us a little bit about how you got involved and what the experience was like.
BL: Actually, funny story, I got involved ‘cause I got a call from Dave Faber of Faber Drive, and he was like, ‘Hey, I’m doing this thing next weekend, Young Artists For Haiti’ – and at this point I had never heard of it, and I was like, ‘Oh, cool, what’s going on?’ He’s like, ‘Everyone’s getting together to sing K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag”, do you want to come down and be a part of it?’ So I was like, ‘Absolutely, yeah.’ I went down, showed up at the studio, met Randy Lennox from Universal, met everyone, and they signed me up. It was the most unbelievable experience of my life to date, for sure. There [were] just so many huge, huge names in one room, and every bit of anyone’s ego was completely thrown out the window. Everyone was talking everyone; everyone was really stoked to be there. I remember when we were singing the part, recording the part, the hair on my arm was just standing up because it was just so amazing. The energy in that room was just something I’ve never felt before.
A: Did you guys realize what a success the song was going to be?
BL: No, like I said, I heard about it a week before it was happening, and I was like, ‘Oh cool! That will be fun.’ The next thing you know, it’s on the radio every two seconds.
MG: If you tie names like Drake and Bieber to the same song, you’re gonna get a smash.
BL: Yeah, something’s going to come of it, for sure.
A: So what are your summer plans?
BL: We are beginning to write and record a new album right now, so this summer we’re going to be playing festivals and doing a couple of one-off shows here and there. But, for the most part, we’re going to be writing and recording our new record and hopefully getting that out pretty soon.
A: Do you know where you’re going to record the new album at all? Or not yet?
MG: No idea.
BL: We’re still… I have eleven songs done for it, but we’re going to try and get a whole whack of songs done, and once we pick the songs we want to go on the record, then [we’ll] get it planned out and [figure] where we’re going to go with it.
A: And you guys are kind of aiming for a year-end release, right?
BL: Ideally.
MG: I’m really hesitant to ever say release dates, because it’s always so much farther past it.
BL: You never want to say anything, but optimistically…
MG: We’re starting in the summer, let’s say that.
BL: Optimistically, we’d like to have it out by the end of the year, but it could be five years from now. So I think that gives us enough time.
MG: Yeah, I think we can finish it in five years.
A: I hope so! So our blog primarily focuses on Canadian talent such as yourselves. Which Canadian artists inspire you?
BL: Well, first off, Rush.
MG: Rush— that’s a good one.
BL: Yeah, I’m a big Rush fan. Current Canadian artists?
A: Current, past… anything!
BL: Well, obviously Celine.
MG: Celine.
BL: Celine’s huge. Who else is Canadian?
MG: It’s weird, I have to really think about who is Canadian and who’s not.
BL: Yeah, I’m really impressed with Justin Bieber and Drake, as current artists. What they’ve managed to do, those two guys in the last little while and explode internationally all over the world is unbelievable. Those guys have the majority of my respect.
MG: And Nickelback, actually. It was the first concert I ever went to when I was thirteen years old, and I just idolized them. They’ve been doing so well, they were named the biggest rock band of the decade. And it’s wild that they’re from Canada.
A: Are you guys going to go see them next week [in Vancouver]?
B/MG: (in unison) We saw them in Toronto.
BL: It was an amazing show, same show that’s going to be here next week.
A: So it’s endorsed by The Latency?
MG: (laughs) Yeah, we approve! Not that it means anything, but two thumbs up.
BL: Stamp of approval. It’s there.
A: One last question, not really a question, but more of a contribution. Every Thursday we do a playlist, just because we like to get whatever we’re listening out there. We make our friends follow our blog. So could you guys give us a playlist of what songs you’re listening to?
MG: (to Brandon) Do you want to do a collective one?
BL: We’ll do five for the both of us.
MG: Currently right now, probably one of my favourite songs is a song called ‘Tigerlily’ by La Roux. She has a song out right now called ‘Bulletproof’. That’s probably going to be my first.
BL: Ok, I’ll follow that up with a song called ‘Never Say Never’, by a band called The Fray. That’s huge on my playlist right now.
MG: I think I’m going to throw in a little ‘3AM’ by Matchbox Twenty. It’s timeless.
BL: 3AM, Matchbox Twenty. Can’t go wrong. What else is big for me right now… a song called ‘Good Life’ by a band called OneRepublic. That’s huge.
MG: I don’t know about this last one. I feel…
BL: I think it needs to be the big ‘T.S.’.
MG: ‘T.S.’ I don’t know.
BL: ‘Tom Sawyer’?
MG: Let’s go with that. That was the song of the tour. ‘Tom Sawyer’ by Rush. Just throw it on there.
BL: It’s the best song ever. You gotta catch the mystery… gotta catch the spirit.
MG: That’s kind of what we would listen to on our iPods on tour, and eventually overplayed. But those are probably five of the songs that endured the whole tour, and we could still listen to without going a little crazy.
A: Do you guys usually have the same kind of playlists going on?
MG: Like as each other’s? No, not at all.
BL: Me and Mathew are kind of similar.
A: Yeah, I saw the flow going on there.
BL: Ryan and Jon are into a lot heavier music that I don’t really listen to, but they listen to a lot of it.
MG: It’s kind of cool though, each person has their own style that they’re into and then mesh it all together and kind of create something that’s out of the norm.
A: And that totally inspires the music that you guys end up making anyways.
MG: Yeah, exactly. Music inspires music.
BL: There you go, that’s a good quote.
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A huge thank you to Brandon and Mathew, The Latency, and Bobby at MapleMusic!
