SEA SNAKES
TEXT MARISA BRICKMAN
DATE SEPTEMBER 25, 2004
No need to ramble on about all the good music coming out of Canada like it’s some new thing. Toronto’s been the a little hot-spot haven of beautifully orchestrated pop music for a few years now, centering around the city’s heralded indie label, Three Gut and acts like Royal City, Broken Social Scene, Jim Guthrie and the Constantines.
One of the newest additions to the Toronto-based label’s roster is the lush and welcoming sound of Sea Snakes, a quintet made of friends, friends of friends and friends’ bands. Keyboardist Shaw-han Liem, guitarist Kristian Galberg, and lead singer/guitarist Jim McIntyre lived together and began writing songs over two years ago, but it wasn’t until 2002 that they became a full-fledged band when drummer Nathan Lawr moved back to the hood and saxophonist/bassist Jeremy Strachan decided to join after hanging around, jamming and practicing with the Sea Snakes crew. Plans were made to record an EP in 2003, which eventually morphed into this year’s debut release Clear As The Day, The Darkest Tools (recorded by Jeff McMurrich of the Hidden Cameras).
This Summer ‘Sup booked Sea Snakes to play a big BBQ party at a local Brooklyn bar after hearing some tunes posted on a friend’s mp3 server. Three Gut was looking to book some shows for them, as well as Jim Guthrie, and by the time that info made it’s way to Brooklyn, there were already six bands on the bill. So we slotted in Jim Guthrie to play third, and Sea Snakes wound up going on first by default. We didn’t know what to expect, but had an idea what we were in for – and we were right. The performance was enchanting, mesmerizing, and inviting. It was early in the evening and as the sun went down outside and Sea Snakes performed inside. All watching got this shivery chill all over, thinking about how we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the album, spend some time with it and remember the best day of the summer. Ahhhhhh, the Sea Snakes.
Are you guys all from Canada?
Yes, all of us hail from the true north, strong and free.
Do you all live in Toronto now?
Well, technically I’m on a bit of a sabbatical in the suburbs but we’re all within a few kilometers of each other. We definitely consider Toronto our home.
Compare Toronto to the rest of the cities in Canada.
Toronto is the largest city in Canada. It’s actually a bit of a monster, made up of townships and regions that somehow fit together under the umbrella of the Greater Toronto Area. It’s a great place to live. Unfortunately Toronto has a bit of a cultural complex in that it’s constantly trying to assert itself as being a ‘world class city’, whereas most other places in the country seem quite content being plain old Canadian cities, and rightly so. Beyond the identity crises, I think it’s one of the best places to live in Canada.
Seems like there are fewer and fewer cities with real scenes going on. Does Toronto have a scene or does it just seem that way?
The past couple of years have been a good time for people who like music in Toronto. Bands like the Constantines, Royal City, the Hidden Cameras, Broken Social Scene etc. have really done a lot in terms of drawing attention to bands from the city. Lot’s of people are making music, and a lot of it is amazing. It’s strange. I think it’s finally cool in Toronto to think that the band you’re in is good. That alone has improved the state of the scene immeasurably.
I always say that Three Gut is like a mini Saddle Creek in Canada. It seems like there is a lot of cross-pollination of band members and that everyone is pretty tight.
Hmm, that’s an interesting comparison, and I think it’s pretty fair. I don’t mean to sound clich?
