Interviews
Canadian Music Week Spotlight: Bocce
- by Dan
Digg this interview.
Add to del.ico.us.(2008-03-06)
Dan: I know you've probably been asked this before. And, I might be able to
find the answer if I googled a bit but I want to ask anyhow. Does the name
Bocce in fact come from the epic lawn game? Or, am i just that big a loser
that I want to believe that it does?
Bocce: Actually, Ben gave Mike a list of names and Mike picked the one his
ex-girlfriend hated. We do actually enjoy the game bocce, and we
often play that instead of practicing when it's nice out in the
summer.
There's one other source of inspiration for our name. Try googling
"Bocce Star Wars".
Dan: Alright, let's get a bit more serious here. You guys are lucky enough
to be a part of a really neat showcase at Canadian Music Week, the Pop
Montreal showcase. Tell us a bit about how that came to be, and what you
have in store for first time fans who are coming to see Bocce?
Bocce: I'm not sure how it came together, but we were lucky enough to be
given the choice of a few shows at CMW. We had a great Pop Montreal
experience this past October as part of an all ages art gallery dance
party, and we knew that the folks from the festival were likely to
throw the kind of show that would be right up our alley. The final
lineup turned out be even more amazing than we had hoped!
Dan: I am ot the belief that Bocce, and the type of music that you are
creating is the next type of music that is going to take the music community
by storm. How long have you been at, and have you noticed people warming up
to it lately?
Bocce: It's funny you say that because a close friend of ours just told us
that dance music is getting old and is on the way out...so we better
do something soon! I will say that I am seeing more and more bands
doing similar things to what we're doing, and I expect that this realm
of music will quickly grow well beyond what we're seeing today.
Dan: You've been very busy on the festival circuit this winter with one
more left coming for Pitter Patter at the end of the month, do you find the
festivals to be valuable for your band and why?
Bocce: It goes without saying that festivals are a great opportunity to play
with a diverse lineup of musicians, and to an audience that may not
normally come to see us. We played the first Pitter Patter festival
last year and wanted to come back again this year because we really
support what Keith Hamilton and the rest of the Pitter Patter crew are
doing.
Dan: Read the following statement and share your thoughts: The idea that
guitar and bass need to be included in every band is proving to be false.
Bocce: I think the sounds you make are more important than the instruments
you use. We're not opposed to guitar and bass in any way. In fact,
we've all played in more traditional rock bands in the past. But I do
feel that electronic instruments have more unexplored potential, and
we were really looking to do something different. We certainly do not
miss carrying guitar and bass amps to every show. Even with drums,
keyboard monitors, and more synths than players, our equipment is
easier to haul around than a four-piece rock band's setup. Also, Ben
can't play guitar.
Dan: So what's going on with the new record? The songs on Myspace sound
fantastic and your website tells me that it was being finished up. When
will it be available and released?
Bocce: Actually, the songs on myspace are from our last album, Hi Birdbear.
We're constantly working on new tracks in the studio, and we always
work a healthy dose of new material in to our live show. Since we
produce our music ourselves we have more of a continuous creation
process, as opposed to the traditional way of going in to the studio
for a dedicated period of time and then releasing an album. We have a
vision for what our next album will be and I think when the time is
right we will take what we've done and turn it in to an album.
Dan: Are you guys planning on sticking around for most of CMW, if so what
other bands are you planning to try and catch?
Bocce: We're all involved in the local music community, and things get really
busy in Waterloo during CMW. Bands that come to Toronto for the
festival usually want to play as many shows as possible while they are
in the neighbourhood. I think we will make it in to Toronto on
Friday, and we're hoping to check out Huckleberry Friends that night
at the Drake Hotel.
Dan: Thanks for taking the time, and hopefully we'll run into you at CMW!
Bocce: It's been our pleasure!