LUCIDMEDIA

Over 10 Years and Still Going: An interview with Shane Smith of The Perms

Written by Lisa M. Knapp Thursday, 11 June 2009 16:01

With three line ups in 10 years, Winnipeg’s progressive rock and roll group, The Perms, have finally found bandmates that they can call family. The Perms consists of three members including the brothers Smith with Shane on bass and vocals and Chad on guitars and vocals. Jamie Carrasco rounds out the trio on drums.

With Shane and Chad taking turns being the lead man, this band has a blast mixing things up and giving their all in the music. Now they have four albums under their belt (and more to come), these guys love writing songs that stick with you. Each album outdoes the next, with the most recent one, Keeps You Up When You’re Down, making you want to dance while each song has a catchy mix that you’ll find yourself humming later in the day.

This Lucid Writer recently had the opportunity to chat with bass player and vocalist, Shane Smith.

Lucid Forge: How long have you been together as the Perms?

Shane Smith: We started the Perms in 1998 and during that time there was a two year hiatus when we were searching for a drummer because there are no drummers in Winnipeg. I guess it’s been over 10 years but there was 2 years when we were deciding things. Chad wanted to switch his position to guitars because when you are a drummer you can’t really write the music. I think we were touring so much and it’s really difficult for someone to commit because who has the time!?

LF: Has it always been the same members?

SS: We have had a few members throughout the years, probably about three line-ups throughout the years that were mostly drummers though. The current drummer we have has been with the band for two years, and he is working out.

LF: How did you guys all meet?

SS: Chad and I are brothers and have always played in the same band. Jamie was sort of a friend that played in other bands. Here it’s a close knit community and when the drummer spot came vacant he was finishing a project and thus able to go on board with our project.

We were a five piece for our third album: drum, guitar, bass and a full horn section. It was like a rock band with horns. That line-up lasted for about two and half three years and we toured with that line-up and organizing just became difficult and we decided to go back the three piece, which is how it was originally.

LF: What do you like about life as a musician?

SS: For me it’s the music. I love playing live and I love travelling too. We have done close to 15 tours across Canada tours and different showcases. Creating music, recording music and recording music live… that’s always been close to my heart!

LF: What is a memorable band moment?

SS: Throughout the years we have had different, minor conceptions; being approached by labels and opening for Dallas Green from City and Colour was a highlight! While on the road sometimes weird things happen; Stuff like picking up homeless people, hitchhikers… some of the crazy hotels we have stayed at. One time in Toronto we thought we stayed in a crack house. It was… interesting.

Recording our last album was amazing because there was no stress involved. There was a really intense creative environment and I found it was so easy to work with as opposed to the other albums we did that were a long drawn out process. We worked with a producer this time around too and he was sort of a stabilizer, making things easy for us. You’re going in and you have a lot of money riding on this project and you want to put out the best stuff you can that you can be happy with.

LF: What is your most embarrassing moment as a band?

SS: Probably when we first started the band! We were young and into partying. I remember one of the first gigs we did and we went out for quite a few drinks and you were not real sure of how much you could drink or what would happen. We were at a restaurant or a bar and had quite a bit of alcohol. I remember looking down at my bass when we got on stage and I literally didn’t know what I was doing up there. I didn’t know how to play my bass. We were really drunk! Now we have a drink maximum that we abide by.

LF: Are you proud of what you have achieved as musicians?

SS: Yeah I defiantly am. We were at a meeting the other day with a few folks in Winnipeg that have helped us along the way. We were talking about all the bands in Winnipeg who have historically achieved success. But being able to play music and share it - that’s a huge success. I think it’s great!

LF: Is there anything you would change?

SS: I don’t think so… No, because we had to experience everything to get to where we are now. Bumpy patches happen, shows being cancelled, things being disorganized; we had to experience that so we know how those things work. You have to go through that stuff in order to grow as a band.

LF: What should fans look forward to in the near future?

SS: The album was released at the beginning of April and this summer we are going through rehearsals playing in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and Alberta and we hope to make it out east. We have not been there for awhile so we want to go back. In a lot of ways we are going to be starting from scratch there and get new fans. We are going to concentrating more on the States and right now we are working on that. It depends on this campaign, which so far has been going okay, but we still have to see how it plays out.

The Perms can be found online at www.theperms.com and www.myspace.com/theperms.