A band with 20 members?! Well, not really but read on…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from all over the place, really – we’ve had/have members from Europe, the USA – but we’re mostly from Ontario, Canada and we’re based out of Toronto, ON.
How did you meet?
Single Mothers is a collective with around 20 past and present members, mostly met through friends, friends of friends and through touring and music scene etc…
How long have you been playing as a band?
We started way back in 2008 but have had some breaks between then and now.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
I was brought up with a single mother, and the band name was always supposed to be a nod to the struggles and hardships of bringing something new into the world and trying to make it grow while being broke and young and really only ever having half of what you need.
What are your influences?
That’s always changing, I’m influenced by so much all the time – and the way this collective works, with so many members, I often find myself being influenced with what they bring to the table and the constant change and shuffle of the creative table we all sit at. We all listen to different music and have different writing styles and ideas for structure in which I often find myself amazed at all the ideas and options I haven’t come across myself. I’d say my biggest influence right now is Single Mothers.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
That’s a loaded question. Nothing really, we’re just a band – not trying to re-invent rock and roll or anything else like that. There is no mission statement to the world, I don’t give a shit about the world, really. I started this band because no one was doing what I wanted to do at the time, and we still just do what we want, when we want and how we want. Wanting to be set apart from the herd just puts you in another herd. So many bands try so hard to be different – and I dunno, ‘trying’ has never really been my/our thing.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
I tend to write in a satirical and observational tone in this band, somewhat in a ‘pulp’ vein but more exaggerated and sarcastic. Sometimes the sarcasm gets lost in the delivery (I’ve been told).
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
The live show is good, we all love playing live – it’s mostly why we do this, so it’s fun for us, I think that translates over – hard to say tho, I’ve never actually watched us play.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We opened for The Chariot once and the bass player climbed up and was swinging upside-down by his legs on the curtain rod that was above and in front of the stage, still playing bass…and then he threw his bass as hard as he could at the singer’s head – the guy caught it, but almost didn’t.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
I’m a big fan of the JCM 800 – I’ve had numerous ones over the years and my fav SM tone is just straight in to it. Right now for guitar we use a JCM 800 / SG standard but we’ve had plenty of different set ups. For a while we were using Fender amps but it didn’t really work. We’ve been sticking to Gibsons lately – 339s and SGs. For bass we use a Traynor mono block and Fender P-bass. Drums depend on the drummer.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
We just released a new record Through A Wall which is streaming everywhere now and available to order online through Big Scary Monster (UK/EU) and Dine Alone Records (World)
What are your plans for 2018?
We’re kicking off a tour on Nov 1st through North America – dates and tickets at our website.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Already happened last year – Touche Amore and Gouge Away.
Single Mothers: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | soundcloud | youtube | bandcamp
