The True Leisure Code
Before I introduce this interview, let me just give you full disclosure that the two guys in The True Leisure Code are good friends of mine. Yet, before you judge me as a shamelessly promoter, I want you to listen to the tracks on the band’s MySpace Pretty good, right? Even more impressive when you consider that the duo of Mitchell Mullen and Dave Connors are still in high school, these tracks are self-recorded, and, oh – one lives in Newfoundland and the other lives in Labrador. You think a long-distance relationship is tough, try being in a long-distance band. Recently I got a chance to talk to the duo about recording their EP Volvo Graveyard, the potential benefits of touring with a chimpanzee, the state of the Newfoundland music scene today and more. Given our situations and current locations (one in Labrador City, one in Corner Brook, myself in Toronto), this interview was conducted via a three-way MSN chat. Got to love technology…
So first off, can I get you guys to tell me a little bit about yourselves. Names, age, where you’re from, what you do in The True Leisure Codes, etc.
Mitch: Alrighty, I’m Mitchell Mullen. I’m from Nova Scotia but currently reside in Labrador City. I’m the singer and keyboardist for The True Leisure Code, I’m into all sorts of music, and try to incorporate that into my own tunes.
Dave: I’m Dave Connors, I’ve spent most of my life living in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, excluding the one year I lived in Labrador City. That is where I my met my good friend and bandmate Mitch Mullen. I play drums, guitar bass, harmonium and various percussion in The True Leisure Code. I’m 17, the stunning blond boy to my cyber-left is 16.
Mitch: Haha
I’ll be sure to gratuitously mention how sexy the both of you are in person. Alright, so about the name of the band. Where did it come from and why did you guys go with it?
Dave: Mitch came up with the name a long time ago in Labrador – it was originally intended for a solo project he was working on. During the time we spent together this summer we discovered that we shared a love of mid-day naps and everyday leisure activities. So we as a duo took up the name The True Leisure Code eventually, we plan to actually write a “code” out but for now it’s just a catchy name.
Now you guys are writing and performing songs, three of which can be found on your MySpace page, which are due to appear on an EP if I am not mistaken. Are there more songs currently in progress?
Mitch: There are more songs on the way. Both of us have been writing things on our own, because of the distance getting writing done can be sort of difficult, but we’re planning to get together and finish writing a new batch of songs sometime in December.
Dave: I’ve recently purchase some equipment and built a little home studio in my bedroom so that I can record song ideas and send them north to Mitch. But yes, as he said, the distance thing is a big issue. I’m thankful that writing with Mitch is generally a quick and easy process, otherwise the small amount of time we get to see each other every few months would be a very stressful time. I’m constantly coming up with new Ideas and them am forced to choose which of the two projects im a part of would best suit the riff or lyric I just wrote.
Let’s talk about the distance thing for a second. Mitch, you’re in Labrador and of course, Dave, you’re in Newfoundland. When were the first songs recorded and have you guys been able to get together to play gigs since than?
Dave: Not at all, which really sucks. A lot of friend and fans have been insisting that we get a show together but it’s really hard to plan and put together for many reasons. The distance being the biggest, flying Mitch here or me there with all the equipment needed in a huge expense and by doing so we risk loosing a lot of money on a show that may not sell as well as we would need. We are going to try and organize a small tour this summer God-allowing. Another big issue is that fact that we both do multiple tracks on recordings, meaning we would either need to train chimps or hire other musicians to play the parts we can’t. I’m personally more for the chimp idea.
Mitch: Yeah same, but then there is also the problem of attaining said chimps.
You have to admit having chimps would make for a great live experience.
Dave: Exactly, I’m sure you see out predicament.
Mitch: What a gimmick that would be.
Dave: Tell you what, if the EP sells more then 3000 copies, I’ll get a chimp.
Mitch: Deal.
Okay there you go folks, you heard it here first, if The True Leisure Code sells more than 3000 EPs, they will get a monkey. It’s up to you. Dave, you said that you recently purchased some equipment and built a home studio. What sort of process did you both go through actually recording the tracks and did you guys have anybody else helping you?
Dave: Nathan Day, a good friend of mine produced and engineered the EP. He’s great, if I had to pick one person who I know will be huge one day its Nathan, he’s only a youngin (18 years of age) but he’s a genius engineer. Thanks Nathan. In Pasadena, Newfoundland there’s a really awesome free-to-use student studio at the high school there. Nathan, a past student of the school “acquired” some of the equipment this summer and trucked it, along with his and our musical equipment to a small, shady cabin (we glorify it by using the word cabin, its a “shack”) deep in the wooded area just on the highway just outside Pasadena. In this wonderful cabin we recorded the EP Volvo Graveyard. It was a really fun experience, no running water, living off Doritos and Nestea. It was a lot of fun. But back to the equipment thing, the gear this school had was truly top of the line and a thousand thanks to the owners of it.
How would you guys describe your sound?
Dave: I’m a big believer in the philosophy that a band sound is a sum of what each member brings to the table. My guttering usually consists of minor-sappy chordy acoustic lines under some very delayed picking. ambient, there’s a word I could use. We’re both really influenced by Canada’s indie scene today. On the other side we’ve got a lot of synth-electronic to us.
Mitch: A lot of the sound is very ambient, a lot of atmospheric guitar and synth. We’re going to try to incorporate some more orchestrated sort of sounds like trumpet, sax, strings that sort of stuff, like Dave said we’re really influenced by the Canadian indie rock scene. That and I’m an addict when it comes to nicely arranged electronic intros…mmmm.
Dave: The word folk could be thrown in lightly, very lightly, as well.
I was just going to mention the fact that “Caroline” certainly seems folk-based, at least in the sense that it is based on a traditional story. What is the story behind that song?
Mitch: Haha that’s a song that sort of just came to me while reading one night. I sat down at my piano and worked it for a while and came up with the just of it. The actually story is that of a girl who waited so long for her sailor fiance to come back from sea that she eventually turned to stone.
Dave: The song tells the story of the famous folk tale “Caroline” about a woman who’s husband goes out to sea on a grand voyage never to return. As the story goes she waited on the rocks every day for him, until eventually she turns to stone and becomes part of the cliff she stood upon. We took the metaphor to a slightly less literal sense and wrote about her killing herself. Which was really interesting to write about, I’m so used to having songs about myself, that when Mitch presented this one it allowed me to take a different angle at a song I was writing.
Mitch: I’m much the same way, “Caroline” was sort of a diversion from my normal writing pattern, it was a nice change.
Let’s talk about your influences from the Canadian indie music scene. I met the pair of you at the two day Summersonic concert in Halifax, where I think it was fair to say, that one of the bands you were must excited to see was Stars. What other Canadian and other bands have influenced you?
Dave: Do you have an hour?
Go ahead.
Mitch: Haha, sounds good.
Dave: Being someone who plays a lot of different instruments, I take influence from alot of different places. My biggest role in this group would be as the drummer; on account of that being what I’m best at, and as far as drummers go, Loel Campbell of Wintersleep (go on their site and listen to the drum solo he did in Halifax this summer on the track “Nerves Normal, Breath Normal”) and Joe Russo are big influences on me. As far as song structure and acoustic lines go, bands like The National, early Stars, Wintersleep, and City and Colour’s most recent work really gets me. I’m a big fan of acoustic guitar mixed in with things that acoustic guitar isn’t usually found with. From an electric guitarists’ standpoint, I live for effects, and watching and listening to bands like The Silversun Pickups (Brian Aubert) and Wintersleep (Tim D’eon) really inspire me to make some crazy ass noises with my guitar.
Mitch: For influences, I’m also sort of a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to music. Keyboard-wise I’m very influenced by Chris Sleigmen from Stars, Todor Korbakov from Small Sins, and Adrian Jewett from the Most Serene Republic. Guitar-wise I feel like, I’m swayed toward northwest American indie, stuff like Death Cab and Modest Mouse. My lyrics are inspired by stuff that happens in my own life and books.
What do you make of the Canadian indie music scene these days?
Dave: If I’m not allowed to use the word “perfect”, it’s damn close. Every few years, a new scene or fad emerges that becomes the world power of music. Grunge came from the mid-US in the ’90s and today the experimental indie rock thing is emerging for rural and urban Canada and I love it. We Canadian musicians are long due some credit and in the last few years we’ve been getting it.
Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers, Great Big Sea, Rex Goudie…..the NFLD and Labrador music scene doesn’t exactly have a storied past. Would either of you like to comment on this?
Dave: Two words for you my mainlander friend – Hey Rosetta!
Mitch: Though I’m exiled to Labrador, I’d have to agree. Hey Rosetta! has definitely started something in Newfoundland.
Alright, let’s talk about them. Dave, you have been friends with their drummer [Phil Maloney] for a few years now. How did you guys meet and why do you think they’ve made such a difference for NFLD’s reputation?
Dave: I was in a group last year called The Tutor St. Collective. We played a local battle of the bands and won, our prize was to be the opening act for Hey Rosetta! for two nights when they played here in my home town. I must say, those were two great nights. I spent a lot of time chatting it up with the boys and since then have kept in touch via email. Phil is a ridiculously nice guy who always returns an email the day after. Now that they’ve made it, the other great NFLD artists like Sherman Downey, The Kremlin, Starred Opposite and The Human Soundtrack have a window of opportunity to break through the cod-fishing, accordion-playing stereotype.
Mitch: I think what Dave said summed it up.
How much do you think NFLD and Labrador’s geographical isolation has an impact on bands from there getting the word out and touring? Can you guys see yourselves touring in the future – what would it take other than a lack of moolah to come to say, Nova Scotia or the rest of Atlantic Canada?
Mitch: Actually, a tour through Atlantic Canada wouldn’t be so bad, the only real problem would be money. I’m originally from Nova Scotia and have friends and family in all the good tour spots who would let us crash.
Dave: I think the boat ride [note: he means the NFLD-Nova Scotia ferry] is a real pain in the ass, but it’s something you need to deal with. The fact that we have to spend so much to get the two of us in the same place is a big enough issue. Getting the two of us – with all our gear – to a foreign town and playing a show would be even pricier, so we’re definitely going to let the fan base grow before we embark on our first journey. But yes, a tour is in order sooner or later.
Mitch: Yeah, we certainly need to get the word out to more people and then a tour would be way more cost effective.
Are there enough venues in NFLD/Labrador that a provincial tour could be in order?
Mitch: We’ve been discussing a NFLD tour possibly for this summer.
Dave: Yeah, there are a nice few venues here in NFLD. Corner Brook has the Backlot, a really famous club/venue for a lot of bands, St. Johns has the club Distortion and the campus bar, and I’ve driven by a few nice looking spots on my countless journeys back and forth from the two previously stated cities.
And finally, the trademark Singing Lamb question: If you were a singing animal, what animal would you be?
Dave: A great tit. That’s my answer, the great tit is an actual legit species. [note: a Wikipedia search in fact confirmed that the great tit is a small, non-migratory woodland bird that is common and widespread across Europe and Asia.]
Mitch: I’d totally be a singing jack rabbit.
Well that should do it for the interview for me. Thank you guys very much for your time and best of luck in the future, hopefully we’ll have a whole album out by Christmas.
Dave: I can’t believe I didn’t put my foot in my mouth.
Mitch: Haha
You guys did pro for your first dealings with the media. You haven’t confessed any secret rendezvouses with famous celebrities or had pictures of particular body parts a la Britney or Pete Wentz or the Internet, so I’d say your doing fine.
Dave: I have a good shot of Mitch naked if you want it.
Mitch: Woo.
We’ll save it until you get bigger, then we can fetch a higher price for it.
Dave: Deal
