Woodhands
Woodhand's Dan Werb talks Remorsecapade, live shows, robot attacks and illegal activities.
Not often do you see a band still using a keytar, but Canada’s Woodhands embraces our forgotten friend with so much energy that you’d think they invented the thing. Woodhands isn’t just a keytar, though – as the two-piece brings electro-pop at a frantic and catchy pace. Woodhands new album, Remorsecapade, will be out February 23 with a digital release, and March 23 for a hard copy. We sat down with keytarist/keyboardist and frontman Dan Werb to talk about the new album.
HEAVE: First off, the new album is great. Do you ever get tired of hearing that?
Dan Werb: No, not at all. We need to hear that. With our last album we had been playing the songs for a long time to crowds – so we knew people liked them. With this album we were playing nuggets of the songs before the album came out. It’s all sort of being presented to the world all the same time. That’s great to hear, man. Honestly. In about a year I’ll probably still need you to say that stuff.
HEAVE: Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. It still isn’t out – after you are done recording and it’s out of your hands do you get nervous? I mean there isn’t anything you can do anymore.
Dan Werb: It’s pretty funny. During the first album we finished it, we celebrated it and then I woke up at 3 AM and wrote a crazy fucking email to our producer saying we needed to redo everything about the album. I told him we made it a joke and everyone is going to hate us. It was a point-by-point analysis of what was wrong with each song.
He called me in the morning and woke me up and was like, “Dan – it’s okay. Everything is fine.” And I was like, “Ah yes, everything is fine.” I sort of did the same thing for the new album. You always want to tinker it and fine-tune it a little bit more. I think this new one is pretty awesome, though. We got to where we want to be, so no regrets.
HEAVE: The album seems more fleshed out musically – but also lyrically. Seems like you were a little more “open” with what was going through your mind this time around. What was the writing process like for this album?
Dan Werb: You know what? It was really intense. All the lyrics were written right around the same time. The music was written in the span of a few months, but the lyrics were all done within a month of each other. I like that. I’m all about providing a snapshot from a frame of mind or a place. In a way we did. You know, though – it’s hard. I’m singing sort of about girl bullshit, but it’s my girl bullshit. You don’t want part with it, but I’m as open as I possibly can be, and I don’t think about how many people will be listening what I’m saying, because if I think about that then I won’t want to write anything about anything.
HEAVE: But I’m guessing whatever girl bullshit you’ve had would be close to the girl bullshit I’ve had.
Dan Werb: Oh, totally – and that’s why it’s such great fodder for pop music. Everybody knows. Throughout all the insanity in the world, the girl bullshit still resonates. It’s a luxury to worry about girls, and pop music is a luxury, too.
HEAVE: The single on the album is “CP24” – but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s your favorite – so what is your favorite song on Remorsecapade? Am I even saying that right?
Dan Werb: Yep, you got it. It’s like an ice capade of remorse.
HEAVE: Like Disney on Ice, but sad.
Dan Werb: Exactly. It’s a tie between “I Should Have Gone With My Friends” and “Dissembler.” I like “Should Have Gone” because it’s different than all the other songs. It’s slow and somber. The lyrics are coming from a different place. I think we really nailed it. I love “Dissembler” because it’s so deceptive of how it sounds and what it’s about.
HEAVE: Now I have to ask. Where did “Sluts” come from?
Dan Werb: I told myself we’d get a lot of questions about that and that I should have prepared a response, but I didn’t. It’s more of a celebration of freedom of expression and an apology, and by apology I mean a justification for those who have been labeled sluts. Ultimately people can do whatever the fuck they want to do with their bodies. It gets me that we’re still stuck between what you can and can’t do with your body. Being sexual and searching for intimacy with someone on whatever terms you want is somehow a problem. We’ve all been sluts in our lives, or tried or wanted to be sluts. There is really nothing wrong with that at all.
I think people will think it’s a call for sluts, but it’s more that we are all sluts in body or spirit or both.
HEAVE: Where’d you get the idea for the video for CP24?
Dan Werb: Well we are from Toronto and CP is our local 24-hour news channel. I think every town probably has one. It’s the classic “ice falls and damages car” and “traffic is bad.” Toronto is my adopted town and I love it a lot, and I wanted to write something about it but I wanted to do it sideways. So I wrote about CP24. It sort of fit with the notion of putting yourself on the line because so often I feel like I’m putting myself on the line.
HEAVE: Hypothetically, robots do attack like in the video. What is your plan of action?
Dan Werb: Get the fuck out. Immediately. You can’t reason with them. They are too smart. They don’t respect human reason.
HEAVE: I tell people they can like Woodhands from the get-go, but you can’t love Woodhands until you see them live. Your live shows just get rave reviews. How much pride do you guys take in having a live show that has such a high pedigree?
Dan Werb: It’s everything to us, honestly. It’s just so amazing that as musicians that we’ve been able to record in such a liberating way. I think what you do live is really how your defined, though. People can see a Youtube clip way more than your album can be heard. It’s a pretty crazy world in that sense. And for me, it’s just so much fun. I love crowds. I love playing to crowds and I love feeling like I’m apart of a crowd. It’s just so much energy. I’m getting all misty-eyed thinking about it – so I hope that answered your question.
HEAVE: You were guys were involved in City Sonic Toronto and talked about your illegal show at The Don Valley Brickworks in Toronto. You guys ended up breaking like ten laws that one night.
Dan Werb: Well, us and like 1,000 other people.
HEAVE: Assuming that’s your record – what is your second best night in terms of law breaking?
Dan Werb: Like personally, or as a band?
HEAVE: Either or.
Dan Werb: I did get arrested once for watching my friend spray paint on the side of a university library. I was a terrible lookout. I had my BMX and thought I could outrun campus police, but no. This is such a good question. We were in Winnipeg once and this magazine in Canada called Exclaim! was sponsoring us and we had a giant banner of theirs. The club we were playing sort of kicked us out and we weren’t done partying yet. We went back to our minivan, which was full of our shit, and opened all of the doors and hung up the banner. We sort of camped out and had a huge party in their parking lot. Apparently we needed a liquor license for that.
HEAVE: Yeah, probably.
Dan Werb: It felt really illegal.
Posted by Wes Soltis on Feb 22, 2010 @ 9:00 am
