The Trews
Judging by the boldness of their choices, you’d never guess the Trews are 1… Read Full Bio ↴Judging by the boldness of their choices, you’d never guess the Trews are 10 years, five studio albums and thousands of gigs into their highly celebrated career. Clearly, someone forgot to tell them that bands are supposed to become more predictable as the years go by, not less so.
And yet, evidence of a stubborn refusal to play it safe abounds, most notably in the East Coast-bred, Toronto-based rock squad’s eponymous, electrifying new disc, The Trews. It tallies so many firsts that even band members Colin MacDonald, John-Angus MacDonald, Sean Dalton and Jack Syperek cop to being a smidge flabbergasted by their own achievements, 14 Top 10 Canadian radio singles (including two #1s) notwithstanding.
There is, first and foremost, the assured manner in which it was written (through the lens of real life), underwritten (by fan support) and recorded (super-fast alongside marquee producer Gavin Brown). Guests bring flourish – witness Serena Ryder’s smoky vocals on ‘In the Morning,’ a contemplative almost-ballad with lyrics co-written by singer/guitarist Colin MacDonald and his pal, songwriting dynamo Simon Wilcox and buoyed by cellist Anne Bourne’s melancholic accompaniment.
Add in the fact that of late the Trews have been piling up the accolades touring acoustically despite being certified rock brawlers and the net result is something you just don’t see every day: proverbial old dogs issuing some seriously new tricks.
“I think with every record, you are kind of re-applying for the job,” chuckles guitarist John-Angus MacDonald. “There are so many bands out there, so many good ones, the fact that we get to keep going is a privilege. And as much as you get better and wiser with your craft, you still have to be ear-to-the-ground competitive. There is pressure in that.”
There are also wicked-cool rewards in that, none greater than the Trews’ daring and wildly successful PledgeMusic campaign which offered their loyal fans coveted and highly unique access to the band and its recording process in exchange for financial backing.
Everything from Skype chats to drum lessons, lifetime guest list privileges to adding vocals and hand-claps in-studio to songs like ‘New King,’ ‘The Sentimentalist,’ ‘Age of Miracles,’ and ‘Under The Sun’ was snatched up by supporters during the roughly year-long PledgeMusic drive.
“It was so much fun bringing fans into the studio, putting 20 people around a microphone,” Colin MacDonald enthuses. “This whole campaign was a great way to have an even deeper connection with the people who have been supporting us all these years.”
Adds John-Angus MacDonald, “I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have some trepidation at the onset. But it was all about the fan experience. We got to tailor those pledges to what we thought our fans might like, and at the end of it, we got to make a record for fans while giving them access they couldn’t possibly have had otherwise.”
Of course, the whole PledgeMusic exercise would be academic if the Trews weren’t making freaking phenomenal rock and roll full of the hairpin stylistic turns you’d expect from four guys who’ve been playing together daily pretty much all their adult lives.
Take the new album’s blazing first single, ‘What's Fair Is Fair’ which Colin MacDonald describes as “A song I wrote about a relationship falling apart. Sometimes when you cross a line you can't come back.”
And then there is the quaking, spit-drenched ‘New King,’ a biting indictment of bullies on digital pulpits. “We were pissed off and we wrote a song about it. I mean, if you can’t use your rock and roll to tell somebody to go shove it,” John-Angus MacDonald howls, “what the hell good is it?”
At the other end of the sonic spectrum is ‘65 Roses,’ a song inspired by former Trews booking agent Paul Gourlie, who succumbed to Cystic Fibrosis last May at age 37. It is, says John-Angus MacDonald, an illustration of the band feeling comfortable turning the volume down thanks to their acoustic touring, and an example of the impact producer Gavin Brown (see Metric, the Tragically Hip, Billy Talent) had on the new disc.
“The song ‘65 Roses’ was originally presented as an upbeat and rollicking song but the subject matter is quite sad,” the guitarist confirms. “Gavin was really insistent on that song being played as an acoustic number without drums. He saw us performing at Paul’s memorial and I don’t think he would even consider it being anything else.”
Indeed, Brown brought a whole new way of working to bear when he gathered with the Trews – including long-time keyboardist Jeff Heisholt - last fall in their rehearsal space for pre-production before moving the show to Toronto’s Noble Street Studios for “a concentrated two-and-half week session with some additional recording in November, mixing in December and mastering in January,” Colin MacDonald recalls.
“Gavin takes awesome bands and makes them awesome-r,” the singer cracks playfully. “And I think with our band, self-production would be a one-way ticket to divorce. We all respect each other but it’s always good to have that sounding board. Gavin is a giant personality who works quickly with such precision. So we entered that orbit and it made for a really interesting time. I’d do it again tomorrow.”
“For us, working quickly is a function of having our material together,” John-Angus adds, noting that the group amassed some 30 songs between January and May 2013 despite all members “doing a lot of other things. Life was being lived, we were traveling, but I think that fed the writing.
“From there we went about arranging it and making it sound great in the studio which, in my opinion, is much easier than songwriting. With Hope & Ruin” – the Trews’ chart-topping 2011 release cut with Hip bassist Gord Sinclair – “we were writing and recording at the same time and that record took seven months. Taking a kind of church and state approach to writing and recording this time worked really well.”
“I think we are getting better at pinpointing when a song is good and when it’s not,” Colin MacDonald says. “That’s what happens when you make five albums and tour all the time – you can tell a timeless idea from one that rocks hard but gets old fast. If I have to sing these songs 200 nights a year,” he smiles, doubtless envisioning the Trews’ itinerary for the foreseeable, “I want them to be good.”
And yet, evidence of a stubborn refusal to play it safe abounds, most notably in the East Coast-bred, Toronto-based rock squad’s eponymous, electrifying new disc, The Trews. It tallies so many firsts that even band members Colin MacDonald, John-Angus MacDonald, Sean Dalton and Jack Syperek cop to being a smidge flabbergasted by their own achievements, 14 Top 10 Canadian radio singles (including two #1s) notwithstanding.
There is, first and foremost, the assured manner in which it was written (through the lens of real life), underwritten (by fan support) and recorded (super-fast alongside marquee producer Gavin Brown). Guests bring flourish – witness Serena Ryder’s smoky vocals on ‘In the Morning,’ a contemplative almost-ballad with lyrics co-written by singer/guitarist Colin MacDonald and his pal, songwriting dynamo Simon Wilcox and buoyed by cellist Anne Bourne’s melancholic accompaniment.
Add in the fact that of late the Trews have been piling up the accolades touring acoustically despite being certified rock brawlers and the net result is something you just don’t see every day: proverbial old dogs issuing some seriously new tricks.
“I think with every record, you are kind of re-applying for the job,” chuckles guitarist John-Angus MacDonald. “There are so many bands out there, so many good ones, the fact that we get to keep going is a privilege. And as much as you get better and wiser with your craft, you still have to be ear-to-the-ground competitive. There is pressure in that.”
There are also wicked-cool rewards in that, none greater than the Trews’ daring and wildly successful PledgeMusic campaign which offered their loyal fans coveted and highly unique access to the band and its recording process in exchange for financial backing.
Everything from Skype chats to drum lessons, lifetime guest list privileges to adding vocals and hand-claps in-studio to songs like ‘New King,’ ‘The Sentimentalist,’ ‘Age of Miracles,’ and ‘Under The Sun’ was snatched up by supporters during the roughly year-long PledgeMusic drive.
“It was so much fun bringing fans into the studio, putting 20 people around a microphone,” Colin MacDonald enthuses. “This whole campaign was a great way to have an even deeper connection with the people who have been supporting us all these years.”
Adds John-Angus MacDonald, “I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have some trepidation at the onset. But it was all about the fan experience. We got to tailor those pledges to what we thought our fans might like, and at the end of it, we got to make a record for fans while giving them access they couldn’t possibly have had otherwise.”
Of course, the whole PledgeMusic exercise would be academic if the Trews weren’t making freaking phenomenal rock and roll full of the hairpin stylistic turns you’d expect from four guys who’ve been playing together daily pretty much all their adult lives.
Take the new album’s blazing first single, ‘What's Fair Is Fair’ which Colin MacDonald describes as “A song I wrote about a relationship falling apart. Sometimes when you cross a line you can't come back.”
And then there is the quaking, spit-drenched ‘New King,’ a biting indictment of bullies on digital pulpits. “We were pissed off and we wrote a song about it. I mean, if you can’t use your rock and roll to tell somebody to go shove it,” John-Angus MacDonald howls, “what the hell good is it?”
At the other end of the sonic spectrum is ‘65 Roses,’ a song inspired by former Trews booking agent Paul Gourlie, who succumbed to Cystic Fibrosis last May at age 37. It is, says John-Angus MacDonald, an illustration of the band feeling comfortable turning the volume down thanks to their acoustic touring, and an example of the impact producer Gavin Brown (see Metric, the Tragically Hip, Billy Talent) had on the new disc.
“The song ‘65 Roses’ was originally presented as an upbeat and rollicking song but the subject matter is quite sad,” the guitarist confirms. “Gavin was really insistent on that song being played as an acoustic number without drums. He saw us performing at Paul’s memorial and I don’t think he would even consider it being anything else.”
Indeed, Brown brought a whole new way of working to bear when he gathered with the Trews – including long-time keyboardist Jeff Heisholt - last fall in their rehearsal space for pre-production before moving the show to Toronto’s Noble Street Studios for “a concentrated two-and-half week session with some additional recording in November, mixing in December and mastering in January,” Colin MacDonald recalls.
“Gavin takes awesome bands and makes them awesome-r,” the singer cracks playfully. “And I think with our band, self-production would be a one-way ticket to divorce. We all respect each other but it’s always good to have that sounding board. Gavin is a giant personality who works quickly with such precision. So we entered that orbit and it made for a really interesting time. I’d do it again tomorrow.”
“For us, working quickly is a function of having our material together,” John-Angus adds, noting that the group amassed some 30 songs between January and May 2013 despite all members “doing a lot of other things. Life was being lived, we were traveling, but I think that fed the writing.
“From there we went about arranging it and making it sound great in the studio which, in my opinion, is much easier than songwriting. With Hope & Ruin” – the Trews’ chart-topping 2011 release cut with Hip bassist Gord Sinclair – “we were writing and recording at the same time and that record took seven months. Taking a kind of church and state approach to writing and recording this time worked really well.”
“I think we are getting better at pinpointing when a song is good and when it’s not,” Colin MacDonald says. “That’s what happens when you make five albums and tour all the time – you can tell a timeless idea from one that rocks hard but gets old fast. If I have to sing these songs 200 nights a year,” he smiles, doubtless envisioning the Trews’ itinerary for the foreseeable, “I want them to be good.”
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The Trews Lyrics
65 Roses We were singing And folks were dancing The good times always…
Age of Miracles Wishing my whole life away Waiting for the day Transcendenta…
Amen If you were so sad, why didn't you say so? If…
Ana & Mia You're burning out, you're burning out It's never the same a…
Antigonish Song Hey boy you talk too loud Go out and make your…
Bar Star This old haunt it sets me free When I don't…
Be Love Wasting away, hanging on to a feeling Isn't that the way…
Black Halo Mr. Richard Jones Skull and two crossbones Can't be bought o…
Burned We live our lives on the line Waiting for the perfect…
Burning Wheels I'm traveling through confusion On a hectic highway ride I…
Can't Stop Laughing Here's something funny God is the one I love I've got some…
Cinderella Man A modest man from Mandrake|Travelled rich to the city|He had…
Civilianaires Your heart is in my head And my heart is…
Clunk Clunk says to me let's move forward Just sign the lease…
Coming Home It's Christmastime I'm coming home After a year of living th…
Confessions Ya try to think of a human civilization And everybody's cryi…
Cry You Cry You Cry I am leavin Goodbye love I am waiting for…
Dark Highway Aid out Sunday morning Trapped inside your bed The blues c…
Den Of Thieves I'm lost I feel so lost Lost in a scheme I can't…
Dreaming Man I can fly I can fall In my heart I have it all You…
Effy So first of all are you happy? Drink up maybe we'll…
End Of The Line War in the living room, We swore we weren't like that. Once…
Every Inambition Crawling with cancerous thoughts On my mind There's so many …
Feel The Pain I thought this was Crazy enough to work You leave and prove…
Fire Up Ahead The storm on the street is an eye sore That's leading…
Fleeting Trust You make sense of pain through constant motion Like a soldie…
God Speed Rebel Highway's crowded with dreams of gold Everybody's driving in…
Got Myself To Blame Out on the rails Out on the rails Keep riding further Time…
Gun Control Another bunch of kids in a bloody mess Another maniac killin…
Harder to Love In the dim lit shadows of the after hours Sinking in…
Highway of Heroes The day I shipped out, They numbered a dozen. Upon my return…
Hold Me In Your Arms Wake up to the sounds of the century They got a…
Hollis And Morris Standing on the corner of Hollis and Morris Street Where the…
Hope Hope and ruin Living the dream What we're doing Is not what …
Hopeless Celebrating childhood dreaming Taking in these waterfalls …
I Can't Say F you break that's all you can do My mistake was…
I Can't Stop Laughing Here's something funny God is the one I love I've got some…
I Don't but I Do WHO AM I TRYIN TO KID WHO AM TRYIN…
I Feel The Rain I thought this was Crazy enough to work You leave and prov…
I Wanna Play I wanna get on a train in a global pandemic I…
I'll Find Someone Who Will Give the people what they want They're taken with your char…
In the Morning We have to keep believing It's gonna be okay 'Cause if we…
Is It Too Late You set your sights on another life long You wanted more…
Ishmael & Maggie Hello my name is Ishmael Forget the one about the whale I'll…
Jericho Slipping on the lies you tell Make it famous, Drake hotel Ri…
Leave It Alone I don't wanna leave it alone I don't wanna leave it…
Let the Great World Spin All my life's been a struggle But I'm never giving in In…
Living the Dream Life, in the everyday Is more or less the same When you're…
Locked Doors When the time is right I'll make my way back…
Long Way from Freedom There's a spy in the sky Taking photographs of everyone The…
Lord Keep Me In Mind Yeah my life has been exciting Done some wrong and then…
Makin' Sunshine Tomorrow's always far away When you are stuck in yesterday A…
Man Of Two Minds Tryin' to build a bridge across my hearts divide Caught betw…
Misery Loves Company Baby, I'm below rising above My unrequited love And it's a…
Montebello Park I'm a fighter and I find it hard to let…
Naked Your stubborn skin is wearing thin You bared your soul, I…
New King A bitter hipster hick Can't stop talking shit The f'n idiot …
No More Saying Goodbye We're not together but we're never apart You're in the palm…
No Time For Later There's no time for later my lost and lonely friend You…
Not Ready To Go It's never ending As far as I know But there's a…
Ocean's End Like your feelings and the seasons Everything can change L…
One By One Driving for days through North Ontario Can't find a station…
Paranoid Freak Hey sing a bad song Get it stuck in your head I'm…
People of the Deer People tell me that I gotta go And then they say…
Permanent Love You've got a way with words You get away with murder In…
Poor Ol There's no sight she'd rather see Than poor old broken heart…
Rise in the Wake Rise in the wake Of everyone's fall Rise in the wake Of noth…
Served My Time I served my time I'm free today I served my time…
Shrug Here's to the kid that never gets picked on in…
Sing Your Heart Out Leave the ghosts that are holding you back; Bury them…
So She Better stop pretending That this is never ending It seems …
So She's Leaving Better stop pretending That this is never ending It seems th…
So She’s Leaving Better stop pretending That this is never ending It seems …
Stay With Me I would sleep for days And spend my lonely nights lying…
Stray Love is an awkward rhyme Spoken poorly all the time Needing …
Sweetness Travelin' girl run away Wanderlust to kill the pain You thou…
Takes Me a While I'm the man, the man that wants it all I'm not…
The Evil The enemy of my enemy is my very best friend But…
The New US This is the new us, who do you trust? This is…
The Pearl The search of one true heart deep within you The ocean…
The Power of Positive Drinking I got high and I laid below I cant rely on…
The Sentimentalist We were out of the ordinary, an anomaly Our arrangement was…
The Traveling Kind For the traveling kind it's nice to have some time To…
The World I Know Woe oh oh* Woe oh oh Hey there, fancy meeting you here Next…
Thru Me Cool Shades blue, black or white, I walk in the room. A…
Time's Speeding Up Time's speeding up, I can't explain it Every moment slowly e…
Tired of Waitiing I am wired and fading Looking blind and blaming Following an…
Touch I know you're right baby, I was right once too Remember…
Under the Sun Got back to town tonight, punch drunk A bad flight all…
Up Sweet Baby Lift me up, let me down Everyone gather round Take it in,…
Vintage Love As if we couldn't see more than what we're meant…
Waiting for Time There's no time for later my lost and lonely friend You…
What's Fair Is Fair There's a fire in my heart That's been burning from the…
When You Leave I lost all faith in reason When no reason took a…
Where There's Love You all alone at the bar Staring at your phone Trying to…
Why Bother Apocalypse horizon Dead trees on rough terrain With rocks to…
Will You Wash Away A man can be destroyed but not defeated Even when he's…
Yearning A moment in time Despair and fear Nothings ahead You are rig…
You Gotta Let Me In Under darker skies Weathered, weary eyes I won't let the r…
You're So Sober I'd love to say Do you love me, but I'm as humble…