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MUSIC
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The Raw Side of Metric |
 Front woman Emily Haines calls bullshit on the blues
Electro-rock fusion band Metric delivers a sound like no one else. It’s the kind of music that clandestinely infi ltrates your psyche and in no time causes you to nod your head uncontrollably, pump your fist in the air and sing along at high volume. It’s infectious. The band is not only at the forefront of Toronto’s music scene, but its members also regularly collaborate with Canadian collective powerhouse groups like Broken Social Scene, produce other band’s albums and tour with newer talents like The Lovely Feathers.
Comprised of guitarist James Shaw, bassist Josh Winstead, drummer Joules Scott-Key and led by Emily Haines, with her synthesizer and razor-like voice, the band was recently documented in the IFC original series The Rawside Of – an impressionistic fl y-on-the-wall look at the making of their newest studio album. Naked Eye caught up with Haines in hopes of delving a little deeper.
IN THE RAWSIDE OF YOU TALK ABOUT LIVING WITH A BUNCH OF MUSICIANS IN BROOKLYN AND METRIC ACTUALLY FORMING OUT OF THAT. WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THAT PLACE THAT MADE THINGS CLICK?
It was a moment when there were a lot of other people coming in from all kinds of different places who were trying to get by and find a place to play music – ’cause in New York that’s no small feat. It certainly wasn’t like a ’60s communal utopia type of thing. It was very much the ’90s and very much everybody out for themselves. But it’s pretty cool to see the bands that ended up coming out of that time.
METRIC IS PART OF THIS GREAT CREATIVE COMMUNITY – DOES THAT CAMARADERIE CREATE WIND UNDER YOUR WINGS?
The community in Toronto is definitely the support system that keeps us going. For me, rock ’n’ roll is about enjoying your life and playing music with your friends. If it ever gets much more complicated than that, I won’t want to do it anymore. So I hold those friendships very dear and I get a lot of inspiration from my friends who are also musicians.
IS ALL THE HYPE ABOUT THE TORONTO MUSIC SCENE GENUINE OR IS IT JUST A MEDIA MYTH?
I don’t think that it was invented by the media but, unlike the Seattle movement, for example, what makes Toronto unique is that there is no one particular sound. It’s more of an ethic behind the way people want to work and enjoy their lives. A lot of times “big” means international acclaim, but I know that a lot of my favourite musicians in Toronto don’t give a shit about that. It’s more about collaborating than competing.
“The Raw Side of Metric” has been edited for NakedEyeMag.com; the complete story appears in the Spring 09 issue of Naked Eye.
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