 |
| Photo by Andrea Wrobel |
– a literal dance party that had everyone jumping, dancing, or at least tapping their toes for the entirety
of their set.
They’re donned “bubble-gum pop” but, with a little more rock this time, the original lineup is back and
in the full swing of things with a new album, their third, called Stop Thinking So Much, released on Fuzzy
Logic Records on April 2, 2013. I sat down with drummer Dana Snell to talk about where The Bicycles
came from, how they conceived their new rock-pop harmonies, and whether or not they actually play
baseball.
Toronto is amorous over the return of The Bicycles, but why’d they disband in the first place? “We’d
already been a band for 10 years,” Snell said. “We just needed a break and bands are crazy and we were
just not getting along and there was all kinds of pressure so we wanted to take a break to see what
happens.”
Unsure of whether or not they’d ever get back together, Snell said they began hanging out as friends
which struck a musical cord for all of them to start writing together again. “Without all the pressure, it
was a lot easier to relate to each other. Time went by and I was listening to the stuff they were doing
alone and playing with Drew on his solo project and we were hanging out all the time and listening to
each other’s stuff and we thought it might be time to try it again.”
A completely organic regrouping, Snell agreed, and it’s this prescription that has definitely attributed to
the sense of camaraderie and delight that is present in their new album and during their live shows.
A year of sending songs back and forth with all five members writing and contributing, time recording at
Nassau 6 in Kensington with producer James Anderson, and doing the overdubs in their own homes
(“That part takes forever, ever, ever,” Snell said) shaped Stop Thinking So Much, an album ready to be
eagerly pressed and partied to. But it wasn’t that easy…
In 2012, the re-release of the Beatles albums on vinyl backed up the vinyl plants and The Bicycles had to
push their record release to 2013. “It’s pretty crazy to think that the Beatles are still running things,”
Snell laughed. “It’s hard to have the iron in the fire and then have to wait.”
In the mean time the band made a music video for “Nap Trap” directed by Winston Hacking and Andrew
Zukerman (watch it below!) with a small team of about 12 crew and Maria Bui, the one woman wonder
at Fuzzy Logic Records, who did Snell’s makeup. Working with Hacking, “he was a practical guy and
super nice. It was funny for me because I had to act and even the slight amount of acting I had to do was
pretty weird for me,” Snell said. “I’m not an actor but it was fun to try it out. I just had to act pretty
sleepy.”
“I hit my head on that table so many times,” she added.
All (playful) work aside, these guys are friends and their recent branding as a baseball team truly
represents where they stand. “It’s the Bui Jays, like Maria Bui [of Fuzzy Logic]. It’s not official but it’s just
people who get together to play baseball,” Snell said. “We’re all coming back and working together as a
team. Someone the other day said something really interesting to me after a show. They said, ‘You guys
are like a real band. There’s not a lot of real bands anymore.’”
“There are and there aren’t,” she added, “but because everyone sings and we have different song
writers it’s more like a band… a team.”
On their new album, The Bicycles (namely Matt Beckett, Andrew Scott , Drew Smith, Dana Snell, and
Randy Lee) collaborated with local artists like Matthew Sweeney (The Elwins), Laura Barett, and Andy
Lloyd (Born Ruffians) who wrote the piano in Appalachian Mountain Station (Andrew has a new side
project that Snell recommends: Fresh Snow). You can check out Stop Thinking So Much (and grab your
copy) on bandcamp, follow the team on twitter @The Bicycles, and become their fan on Facebook.
Article by Andrea Wrobel
“Nap Trap” by The Bicycles