Our Rodeo Rocker’s drunken interview with local hit, The Commandeers.

So I was sitting at Ronnie’s in Kensington, basking in the sun and getting ready to meet up-and-coming rock group: the Commandeers, when two giant Vikings (in town filming the prequel to John Carpenter’s “The Thing”) sat down and started feeding me beer. I couldn’t exactly get away from them because I abide by the moral maxim that one should never leave a beer unfinished. So needless to say, they got me wasted and told me to find the band’s balls when I interview them. Once I reluctantly agreed, they let me go without any raping or pillaging, and I made my way towards the interview for some much deserved shotgunning.

*The following responses by the Commandeers are grouped in order to protect the identities of those involved in hilariously wild stories.*

Pony: You guys are the real deal. I was wondering how you think you’re going to fare fitting in. Do you see yourselves on the periphery or having the potential to penetrate the scene?

Commandeers: Well it depends on what penetrate and periphery mean. Penetrate can mean… well.. haha.  Na, I know what you’re saying, there’s a scene and we’re kind of outside it. The rock that we play has come back I guess, in a way, but it’s not in any way like the indie thing that’s going on right now.

Pony: Do you really think that it’s coming back? I certainly hope so.

Commandeers: Well, it’s not that hipster shit, you know, like Garrison style: drums and guitar. I write a song and one genre will be country, another will be rock n’ roll and we combine it together. It is whatever we play. We’re not thinking about what people like, we’re thinking about what we like. We end up with our own sound, but grab from all sorts of areas.

Pony: So that being said, and with this sort of emphasis on doing what you like rather than catering to the popular crowd, have you been successful in getting any media attention prior to this in Toronto? And do you think that the media’s doing a fair job of documenting the diverse talents in Toronto’s music genres?

Commandeers: Well we’re young, we’re a new band. But they’re not really doing a great job. Certain magazines, they have a particular pocket that they go to, to see a specific style of music. We’re not going to fit in to that pocket just to get press – we’re not too worried about it.

Pony: How long have you guys known each other collectively? Obviously you have two brothers in the band, Ezra and Nate.

Commandeers: Man, we were forced to bathe together. He used to shit in the tub haha.

Pony: The brown shark!

Commandeers: Full log – you could stick a flag in it. Well, I know Cale cause my girlfriend’s his older sister. We went to high school together and we just starting jamming every day. Funnily enough, we met Hannigan at fuckin’ Ronnie’s one night and we were like, ‘hey we should jam sometime” and Hannigan’s like, “ah fuck these guys, we’ll never play together”. And then here we are. It was bad ‘cause I made a comment about Nate’s tooth the first time I met him. I was like ‘can you crack a beer with that?’ haha.

Pony: So how does having two brothers in the band affect the dynamic?

Commandeers: Oh it’s great, cause you can say things like “you’re an idiot, don’t ever play that again”. Cale and I fight all the time, we might as well be brothers. It’s healthy though, Cale fuckin’ knocked me out one practice – just pushed me over. But we’ll always get over it and be best buddies the next day. Ezra’s quit like four times! He always comes crawlin’ back. I bought him knee pads just for that.

Pony: So with respect to the creative process, how do you go about writing songs?

Commandeers: He just pulls lyrics out of his ass haha. I’ll sit down later and write, but usually I write the melody, and make up words until we have a show. Then later I realize I should’ve probably written proper lyrics.

Pony: So rumours are circulating that some of you have bold onstage personalities, but are more reserved offstage.

Commandeers: Nate’s a personality; both on and off stage. Look, he’s taking photos of himself right now. He doesn’t hold back, even when he should. Yeah, I do put on a show, I make that shit A+ baby haha. I feel more comfortable on stage than here in front of the camera. The way I see it is that even if a band isn’t that good, if they can put on a good show, then at least it’s entertaining.

Pony: Do you guys use any substances as a part of your performances or your writing?

Commandeers: We drink on stage, but we don’t usually get drunk before we go on. We used to get really fucked up but we realized that we’re not going to go as far. If we didn’t play our music we’d be nothing but drunks haha.

Pony: Well there’s an intimate relationship between the music and the lifestyle. I mean, the lifestyle has produced what you guys have produced right?

Commandeers: Sure, yeah. Fuck yeah.

Pony: So what’s the most debaucherous band story you guys have?

Commandeers: I had anal sex in an alley once after a show. And off the record, this guy here used a shrimp fork…for oysters. Keep that off the record though – no wait – on the record! And this other time, off record of course, or on record… we’re at this strip club, and there’s this woman grinding on him. So he cums in his pants…Off the record. No on the record! She then leans in and says, “I’m gonna jerk you off” and he’s like “I already came.”

With that, our interview came as well. With the evidence from that strip club story, it was safe to say I succeeded in what the Vikings told me to do. Logic allowed me to deduce that their balls were clearly, most definitely, in their pants.

– Ross Gower of Poisonous Glass.

Calling All Commandeers., 4.0 out of 5 based on 4 ratings

Category: Bandwagon, Prized Pony, Sensational Steeds · Posted by: Mushy Pony Tagged: Comandeers, Kensington, Rock Toronto, Ronnie's, The Commandeers on Monday, May 3, 2010 · No Comments »