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René : Ian,
because Eye Rhyme is maybe a little bit unknown to
most of our reader's, please tell us a something about the
history of the band?
 Ian
: "Eye
Rhyme is a Toronto area-based rock trio. The band is
composed of educated, experienced musicians who put a strong
emphasis on professionalism in their playing, writing,
recording, and live performances. Our original material is
intelligent and challenging, yet very listenable and
current. Though it is classified as rock, the band's
material carries influence from music of many genres and
eras.
Having
opened for groups such as Big Sugar, King's X and Rusty, Eye
Rhyme has had much acclaim for their accomplishments. These
include being the FIRST and ONLY independent band in Canada
to promote and organize their own 'Live-to-Internet'
concerts. The last 'Live-to-Internet' concert boasted an
online viewing audience of over 400 people.
 Eye
Rhyme has played many shows and was part of the Canada Rocks
festival in Mexico. They were the top selling group for this
tour and had medium rotation on RadioActivo in Mexico City.
As a result, Eye Rhyme was able to reach many new fans.
Two
albums ('Life Control', 'Soul') and a video for "Stab
'Em All" are currently in the Eye Rhyme catalog. 'Life
Control' is a concept album based on a street youth
mindfully controlled by a drug lord. The album features
guest performances by Ian Chrichton of Saga and Steve
Shelski of Coney Hatch. 'Soul' , boasts a multimedia track
which presents the video for "Stab 'Em All" and
samples from 'Life Control.'
 Eye
Rhyme takes a great deal of pride in their work. All three
members (read more info about the individual members on our
homepage) are well-educated musicians and graduates of major
music institutions. With a wide variety of influences, a
strong songwriting partnership, a high-energy live show, and
a shared love for music, Eye Rhyme is a talented recording
act, ready for today's music industry and audience."
René : As
you already said Eye Rhyme have released 2 albums so
far, 'Life Control' and 'Soul'.
What are the reactions on these albums so far?
Ian : "...
Excellent to average...different tastes of course, but we
are happy with the response. We recently got described as a
band who's sound can only be described as Eyerhymish.
Another article will say that the sound of EYE RHYME is hard
to pigeon hole. I find that diversity for a band is great.
It also makes for a great live show. If an album has only
one good song on it than they didn't work on the album to
appeal to the listener. Just a quick buck. Nothing
worse than hearing all the songs run in to each other
because they all sound alike."
René : At
the moment you are writing new material for the upcoming 3rd
album, can you tell us already a little bit of what we can
expect?
Ian : "We're
getting away from the keyboards being used too much. I
wanna have more fun with just bass and guitar and explore
the textures of the bass abit more. Using a six string bass
there's lots to choose from. Although because it's fretless
and I'm singing I have to be careful as well. We are also
developing the album with more radio potential tunes. Not to
say that we're gonna forget about the techincal stuff but we
would like to see an accesible album with cool riffs and
tricky parts that lots of people can listen to. I think prog
rock sometimes gets too technical and forgot about the song!"
 René
: Will this album again be released on your own label Small
Dog Records, or are you looking for a more
known record label to release the album?
Ian : "In
the works. Small Dog Records has helped develop a
professional image for the band. We are looking but not
holding our breath on anything. We have come along way on
our own and would hate to lose control and see the group get
messed up because of false promises by another label. In
come the lawyers!"
René : At
the moment you are not a well known name in Europe, do you
guys have some plans to chance that in future? And do you
have plans to explore the market even further, for example
Japan?
Ian : "Definitly.
Internet promotion, magazine ads, etc. But I think the
biggest promotion we could do would be to tour Europe, Japan
etc. That word of mouth travels very fast. We need to get
the contacts. I think that is the biggest setback of any
group. Again, word of mouth helps alot."
René : You
guys are touring a lot lately especially in Canada , can you
guys make your living with the music or do you all, or some
of the bandmembers have a regular job besides EyeRhyme?
Ian : "Of
course! But you gotta compromise abit. Original gigs pay
next to nothing except the door and are one night. But if
you're willing to do some covers, you get paid well, fed,
and usually play from 2-6 nights. Some bands have this
attitude about never 'lowering' themselves to playing
covers. But covers make you a better musician.
Different songwriting styles, playing feels...and I would
much rather play cover tunes to pay the bills than any
factory job. We also teach. I run a recording studio, record
piano or karoke accompiament tracks for singers, and
play for a church on Sunday. Gotta repent for my sins on the
weekend! HA!"
 René
: You are
from Canada, just like bands such as Saga and Rush.
What do you think of the progscene in Canada, is it really
that good as a lot of people think? And can you see any
difference with the scene in the USA?
Ian : "Prog
scene...what prog scene? It's terrible. I sometimes question
if there is any scene of music at all. Pop Media frenzies is
what the scene is and are just that. Frenzies. It's hard
enough to get people to listen to an unknown band at all.
People who know us come out and are spreading the word. But
there is so much dance and rap. I never should put down
another style of music...it all has it's place...but how
people can listen to the same beat over and over and some
rapper 'rhyme' about nothing is beyond me. The media makes
them big and people eat it up. I sometimes think people
don't know how to make wise decisions. All peer
pressure...what's in and cool...not smart! I know that Ricky
Martin is a big sensation and alot of people love and hate
him. I'm not a big fan but at least he uses real musicians.
Pop music from any time period is fluff... but at least it
had real musicians! You would think with all of todays
technology that we would doing some really cool stuff. The
media definitly does not help but it's the sheep...I mean
people...who support it. As for the US, I'm not sure.
Probably abit better."
René : Well,
we are at the end of the interview, at last i want to know
what you think of the internet. A lot of bands tell us that
internet is a great promotion media, do you agree? And what
do you think of websites like DPRP?
Ian :
"DPRP is an amazing vehicle for bands everywhere.
You're an exposure machine. As you said in one question,
people in Europe may not know of EYE RHYME but through you
more people are hearing of us. They can now go to our
website <http://www.eyerhyme.com>, read about us,
download audio clips, see the video etc...and if they want
they can now order the CD or t-shirts online with out having
to worry that it isn't in their favorite record store. It's
great! And we can keep in touch with them over email through
our newsletters."
René : Ian,
thanks for your time, it was a pleasent conversation. Is
there anything I haven't asked you, but you will tell all
our readers?
Ian : "We
are currently working on the third album and might be having
the possibility of using a big name engineer who's done some
huge bands. We'll be doing our best to get to Europe to tour
and get known!"
René :
Thanks and good luck in future, hope to see you live once in
Europe.
http://www.eyerhyme.com/
band@eyerhyme.com
Small
Dog Records
P.O. Box 40099
75 King St. South
Waterloo, Ontario
N2J 4V1 Canada
Friday 17 September
1999
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