Hannah Georgas

The Singing Lamb: So you haven’t had to time catch anyone so far at NXNE?

Hannah Georgas: No!

Are you planning to?

I want to. But basically, I have to leave at 6:00 am this morning to catch a flight tomorrow morning so it’s kind of iffy. I’ll get to see Said the Whale though!*

You recently worked with Said the Whale on the new album, correct?

Yes, I did! Well I just went in and sang some stuff with them, like harmonies and a few of their songs.

How was it to work with them?

Cool! They’re great, I love that band to death as people and they’re just great musicians and I like their music a lot. It was nice.

I also hear a rumour that part of your backing band tonight will be members of Mother Mother? How did that happen?

Yeah! Well Ryan, the lead singer from Mother Mother is producing my record, so I randomly just asked him one day – because I’m in a transition, looking for a drummer and guitar player – and randomly went ‘So if you want to play with me, you should!’ and he was like, ‘sure’ and I was like, ‘What!? Done!’ So he said, ‘If I’m not busy for the time that you need me then I’ll do it with you’ and it worked out in my favour so it’s pretty exciting because I think he’s amazing. It’s him and then Jasmin the keyboard player and Ali the drummer will be playing with me. And then my bass player. It’s cool!

Describe the vibe of the Vancouver music scene.

Vancouver’s got the west coasty vibe and you definitely feel like a little bit of that surfy, mellow vibe. The climate out in Vancouver has a lot of that kind of music going on and it’s great. I think there’s a lot of great music in Vancouver like Mother Mother; they’re one of them that I love – which is not what I just described at all but still!! Yeah, I think it’s very supportive group of people/musicians out there.

You were originally born and raised here in Ontario though, right?

Yep, in Newmarket. So just a little bit outside of Toronto.

Do you ever miss it here?

To be honest, no! But its always nice to come back and visit for sure and there’s a great scene for music in Toronto; I’ve been back here quite a few times this year. I almost feel like I should stay out here sometimes but I do love Vancouver.

I read on your MySpace profile that you want to marry Jack Black?

Yeah, he’s a funny guy! He’s probably the most hilarious person on this planet. If you know me well, you know that I just love to laugh and I find humour is just a necessity in life. I admire him and think he’s amazing.

What’s your favourite Jack Black movie?

Nacho Libre! And today, Year One comes out and I really, really want to see it so I think when I head back tomorrow I will see it tomorrow night.

So this is your first time playing NXNE?

Yep! I also got to do CMW which was fun but yes, first time at NXNE!

How do you feel about festivals vs. regular shows?

It’s such an exciting time to be playing festivals. There are tons of musicians you get to check out and other interesting things going on so it’s awesome. In a way, the benefits of playing an actual show is having your soundcheck and not being so strict on your 40-minute set and then swipe your stage and move onto the next.

What about small venues vs. big venues? You played the Air Canada Centre before?

I did; back in the day! An intimate show is a really special thing and to play to a really small audience, it’s a better vibe then playing in front of tons of people. But a huge audience is a huge rush and a lot of fun. It totally depends; they’re both a cool things to do.

Any plans on a full-length soon?

Well I’ve just finished tracking for the full length record a couple of weekends ago and we’re going to release some singles off that coming up at the end of this summer/fall…wait, actually that’s a lie. It’s going to be mixed at the end of the summer so definitely fall. And then I’m releasing my record next year. Super, super excited about it!

How will it be compared to your EP?

I think the EP was amazing but there’s definitely a bigger sound to it – really edgy, some really great and cool things we worked on that I’m so stoked for.

Cool, and finally – if you were a singing animal, what would you be?

A singing racoon! My friend and I were just trying to figure out designs for t-shirts and she said, ‘If you were any animal, you’d be a racoon,’ and I was like, ‘Fuck you!’

* After the interview, Hannah Georgas walked down the street to Criminal Records and joined Said the Whale for a couple of songs during the band’s in-store performance.

For more Hannah Georgas,
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/hannahgeorgas