interview: En Tout Cas

the Band of the Week's guitarist Dave Cameron was gracious enough to answer some of my questions on the band's behalf. here they are:

How did you guys meet? Whose idea was it to start the band?
We went to the same school. Skube and I had the idea to start the band in 2005. Jimmy was invited to play with us and we noticed he could sing really well and play guitar. We met Marc this year when we were out looking for a bassist.

On your site, you claim that you are “an immaculate act to follow.” What, if anything, do you think would defile the obvious musical purity which emanates from these early demos?
Most likely recording in a recording studio and over-producing our sounds, which would inevitably cause us to lose the rawness of the demos, which were rushed, one-take recordings, mixed in a really short amount of time on Garage Band. If anything’s “immaculate” it’s the new songs coming up.

You are currently recording a new EP. Are these songs in the same vein as the ones on Elevater or are they in a completely new direction?
The songs we are about to record are all new songs written after we recorded Elevater. They are more intense in their extremities as the darker get darker and lighter get more sunshine.

When you do release a full length album, do you think you will start from scratch or just rework the songs from your EPs? Do you view EPs as test runs or as collections of songs not cohesive enough for a proper album?
I will say it will probably be like 75% new material and 25% reworked old material if not less. It would really depend on how the songs sit with each other on the album as a whole and if we write a whole album worth of material that is better than our old material. I view an EP as a mini album that encapsulates the sound of the band in a smaller package. Albums cost a lot of money to self-fund so early on an EP is a better idea. Were hoping this debut EP will really take production styles and professionalism to the next step hopefully taking the band with it.

How far have you guys traveled to play shows? Is there any hope of a full on tour any time soon?
We have only traveled as far as like an hour and a half to a show and that was early on so we were playing to only a handful of people and it didn’t seem worth it at the time. We plan on taking this new EP on the road but haven’t booked anything and won’t until this EP is finished; then we can shift the focus. We have been meaning to take the band on a Coastal Tour but are waiting for the EP to give us a reason to.

What was your favourite album this year?
I’m going to have to go against the grain and kick myself in the shin while the pot calls the kettle black and say Ragged and Ecstatic by Yves Klein Blue

Have you ever met any of your musical heroes? If so, what happened?
Well we met the Born Ruffians, that was aright; our drummer Stewart kept touching him which was a bit creepy. We have also met Billy Corgan, and I once threw a bottle at either Tegan or Sara while they played at the Falls festival.

The ultimate love mix tape. What’s the first song?
Spandau Ballet - True

Your songs reek of desperation (the good kind, though). Is there any chance for sunnier songs in the future?
The new EP will have a mixture of Sunnier and Stormy songs, BTW that’s a good name for an EP!

Are there any other good Australian bands we should know about, maybe people in your niche?
The Holidays
Yves Klein Blue
Dan Sultan

What has been the biggest influence on the band?
Probably the season of summer, it’s the only time we can get Jim to practice.

What do you like to do best: write, play or listen to music?
As cheesy as this will sounds, all three!

What is the greatest band nobody’s heard of yet?
Ross De Chenes Hurricanes
They all have shit live recordings, but check out the “Can We Dance?” live video on their page.

Are you trying anything special for promos or are you just banking on your music speaking for itself, and to gain recognition via word-of-mouth?
Well when we release this debut EP, we plan to bring out the big guns in terms of promotion techniques. Hopefully a few blogs pick us up and WOM spreads.

How much interaction do you think should occur between a band and their fans? A lot of bands, even small ones, don’t seem to linger after shows. Which route does En Tout Cas take?
I could see how bands could be rather annoyed by answering the same questions by hundreds of people but En Tout Cas usually takes the route of drinking and causing a ruckus with fellow patrons with the end result being pantless and reverse kangaring the local.

En Tout Cas - Quarter Sins [mp3]

visit En Tout Cas on MYSPACE