Long Weekends are only a week old and call Halifax, Nova Scotia their home and play a contagious brand of garage punk like only HFX can do it. I spoke to Noel about the short history of the band.
At Long Last from Warmer Weather
1. Hi fellas. Thanks for chatting with me. You have a pretty interesting four track album you've just released via free download on bandcamp. I'd like to talk to you about it... but first for the obligatory "Long Weekend" question, so let's just get it out of the way right off the bat: What's your idea of an ideal Long Weekend? My idea of a great long weekend would involve driving somewhere new and getting out of the city. I recently bought my first car. That’s a big deal for me. I love driving and I love being able to leave the city when I want. I saw a great Christopher Pratt exhibit once where a lot of his pieces fetishized driving without being corny about “freedom”. We haven’t tried fitting all our gear in the car yet. I’m a little nervous about that, but I think it’s going to work.
2. Now let's talk a little about that city you mentioned... of course the three of you are no strangers to Halifax and the music scene there. I'm wondering how has Halifax --the city and the music community influenced you to where you are now with Long Weekends? Halifax has long been a place for people like ourselves to feel free to do what they like with their music. By and large, the bands who are making music here are making it for themselves. There's a strong concentration of bands who stay true to their own ideas of what's good and stick to it. Music fans in Halifax respond and respect that kind of ethic. There aren't a lot of phony baloney industry types here. That helps bands stay honest, I think. It's a very comfortable place to play in a band.
3. And it appears anyway that this project is really being done with the care and support from the community around you as well. For example, Paul Hammond of Yo Rodeo / Cold Warps did the art for the record, it was recorded at the Echo Chamber in North Halifax, the list goes on and on. The music scene in Halifax certainly appears to be alive and kicking. As a band where do you feel you fit within it? We've had a lot of help from friends and we're about a week old. We haven't played a show yet. Halifax is a very easy place to make friends and meet bands. For the most part, everyone is super friendly and helpful. There's a long list of great bands in Halifax right now. That's nothing new. Bands come and go all the time, but there's always at least ten bands at any given moment that I'm excited about.
4. Well, it's great to talk to you so soon into the project. Looking forward what do you hope to do with the band? Our long term plan is to keep writing and recording music. We write songs pretty fast and seem to be on the same page every time. That makes band practice super enjoyable. We have plans to record and release a 7" soon and then get work on something longer. Ideally, we'll have a 12" record to share before long.
In the short term, we are preparing to play shows. Our first show is on March 26 with Dog Day, Pastoralia and Homo Duplex at the Khyber Club. There are more shows in the works too.
5. Thanks again, any final words? Thanks so much for taking an interest in us. I feel like I used the word long in this interview a hundred times. I swear it's not some kind of subliminal branding experiment!
