Singing Lamb: So how was 2008 for you guys?

Nicolas: It was our only year!
Julia: It was wild!
Daniel: It was good; we did a lot of things; released an EP and did a ton of shows…
Lorna: I think we figured out we play, like 32 shows or something like that. It was a ton of shows which was funny because were counting out how many shows and it would’ve been a show a week for an entire year. Sometimes it would be four shows in one week and then we wouldn’t play for a long time. But it’s a lot of shows for a band that just started out!

Yeah, you guys were all over Toronto!

Julia: Yeah, it helped us get tighter as a band and get over our stage fright, which we kind of still have sometimes so the more we play the more comfortable we get with the crowd.
April: Still not comfortable moving gear though; don’t like it!
Daniel: We’re getting stronger though!

Any plans for 2009 so far? Maybe an LP in the works?

Julia: Hopefully…
April: We’re going to have an album; it’s going to be wicked! It’s going to be two, no, ten times better than our EP!!
Daniel: Yeah, we’re going to release an album, it’s going to be good!

Have you started working on it yet?

April: Oh yeah, we’re always working on it!
Nicholas: Daniel wrote a bunch of great songs and I think we’ve been looking for places to record it, but nothing concrete yet.
April: Think about the EP and then think about listening to it while you’re the only person on the planet and you have an explosion of stars in front of you!!
Nicolas: It sounds like a video game.
April: Yeah, like Mario Galaxy! Flying, wooooo, through space! That’s what we have for in store for 2009 and our album.

You could do a video game with your album!

Daniel: It’s going to be a video game album!

So in the past year, you guys have played a lot of shows and made a lot of friends with bands here.

Lorna: Yeah, we’ve met a lot of friends and made a lot of connections with bands that we didn’t really know before. Everyone’s been really kind and nice here!
Nicholas: People are very friendly; it looks like a very friendly scene.
Julia: It’s very welcoming and fun to meet lots of new people.
April: There are only one or two snobs in the scene; that’s great!
Julia: No need to mention names though; they know who they are!
April: Yeah no, all bands in Toronto are really great!
Lorna: You all know who you are, you know!

Haha! How do you think Toronto and the people have specifically helped with the band though?

Nicholas: I think we all take it for granted because we’re from here. So when you actually look at other music scenes, Toronto actually has so many more shows, and as a starting band it’s easier to play shows because there are so many venues here!
April: Everyone’s hungry to have bands play. The audience has also been very welcoming.
Lorna: And plus, we’re all from Toronto. We’ve had a lot of our friends here to support us!

Yeah, like, Montreal is a really good scene but I’ve been told that there are a lot of good venues.

Nicholas: Montreal is a really great place, we’ve all lived there and there are really, really great bands in Montreal.
Julia: I think what’s cool is that a lot of bands from Montreal stay in Montreal for a while and same with Toronto, but it’s good that we’ve been jumping back and forth so we’ve played a couple of shows in Montreal and we have friends there and a good community there because we used to live there for a while. So it’s nice!
Lorna: So we have people we know from Montreal and Julia and our guitar player, Lane are from the east coast so I think we’ve got to tap into the west coast, which is good because Daniel’s brother lives out there and my little sister lives there too and we’ve already given them CDs to give out there to radio stations and stuff like that!
Daniel: …and I’ve got family in South America too!
Julia: And England!
April: Australia may be a bit of a problem…
Lorna: No, what are you talking about!

Haha, you’re loved all over the world!

Julia: Yeah, because our goal is obviously world conquest!
Lorna: Yeah, world tour starting in the Philippines!
April: Yeah!
Lorna: And ending in Australia!
April: Oh, and one of our roommates is from Africa!

Hahaha! So it’s pretty darn cold outside right now – any tips for surviving the winter in Canada?

Lorna: You need long underwear! They’re really soft and they’re so warm! You constantly need to be wearing a pair of long underwear. And gloves, I think that’s key.
April: You need snow pants! And you have to just not care that you’re wearing them.
Lorna: Do you mean the music scene or just the weather?

Both!

April: You need to listen to music with really big headphones outside because they cover your ears!
Nicholas: Don’t go outside! But before the winter starts, you have to have the emotional strength to go…
Lorna: No, that’s bullshit! I feel that people have this need to hibernate during the winter, but if you embrace winter and you do all the winter activities it’s just so much more fulfilling and you’ll understand what it means to be Canadian and why you live here and why you choose to live in such a horrific environment!
April: I think that this weather is for polar bears but wear snow pants, wear some fashionable snow pants.

Yeah, no one wears snow pants anymore which is such a shame!

April: Yeah, that’s my tip wear fashionable snow pants! It’s not fashionable but in terms of walking around
Daniel: I was going to your show at the Tranzac the other day and it was snowing and I felt so proud and Canadian going out in the nice and snowy weather to go see a concert! It was good!

Okay, last question: If you were a singing animal, what would you be?

April: A lamb, of course!

Haha, besides a lamb!

Julia: I would be a wombat! And I would hum gently!
Lorna: No you would not! You would be a whistler! A bird that whistles!
Julia: I hate birds! Okay, I’d be a penguin.
April: Oh, that’s a good one!
Lorna: I’d be a tiger! Just because I want to be a cool animal.
Nicholas: I really like the baboon in The Lion King!
Daniel: Or the cricket from Pinocchio!
April: I’m going to say a rhino beetle.
Nicholas:What?
April: A rhino beetle! They’re so cool! A working, singing rhino beetle!

For more Hooded Fang, make sure to check their MySpace and/or catch them at the Steam Whistle Unsigned Series this Friday and Wavelength’s Anniversary Show on February 14th. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day! (more info under the Shows Section)