With his previous project THE GENTLEMEN THIEVES, Toronto based musician David Huzyk is always a welcomed guest to IDIOTEQ. His new utterly melodic and energetic punk rock band THE WET BANDITS have recently put out a 3-song EP called Sound Waves, played a bunch of shows in November and December, and I’m thrilled to give you our new interview, serving a quick introduction to the band and their plans for 2017. Enjoy!
THE WET BANDITS will be performing February 10th at Sneaky Dee’s as part of Homesick’s event! Go here to see more details and RSVP.
Aye aye bandits! How are you? How’s Toronto? Is it finally freezing up there?
Hey! We’re all doing well. It is freezing in Toronto, but it’s been fun. I was able to go out skating in Nathan Phillips Square today!
Cool! Ok, so what’s up with the new band? What happened to THE GENTLEMEN THIEVES? “Don’t Worry” was one of the first punk rock tunes my daughter ever heard, about 4 months after she was born in December 2013, haha!
Oh wow, haha! That’s awesome! “Don’t Worry” is one of my favourite songs from that album, she has good taste!
THE GENTLEMEN THIEVES went on hiatus last year, as we discovered our lives were all about to take different paths. Dylan and I were going to be living in downtown Toronto, and we wanted a band we could work on daily, that would give us a chance to express ourselves. It made sense to just start a new band, as Dylan wanted to move off of bass and back onto guitar.
Cool! Who are the rest of the guys? How did you team up for this band?
Derek, our drummer, was the first to join us. We basically met him through an online ad, but when we met up and jammed, we could tell the chemistry was there. Later on, he ended up telling us about his friend Trent, who could play bass. He met us at a house party Dylan and I were throwing, which in hindsight wasn’t the best idea, because his first impression of me was when I was really drunk and loud haha! Despite that, we talked about bands we grew up listening to, and we knew we had some common ground. That’s been the band since last May.
You have already performed a bunch of times with THE WET BANDITS, right? How were these recent shows?
Yeah. They’ve been great! We had a lot of bookings from October through December that really kept us busy and visiting different parts of our province, Ontario. We even got to play live on radio, live on television, and perform at one of our favourite music festivals.
Judging by dozens of interviews with Canadian bands your local scene expanded in recent years, you’ve no doubt attended numerous shows and met a lot of amazing artists. Which of these was the most memorable over the last few years? Can you share your ‘best of’ artists and moments of Toronto DIY music scene in 2016?
Oh, easily. Toronto has a lot of great music going on right now. There was just a show with PUP, THE DIRTY NIL, and PKEW PKEW PKEW. That was such a stacked bill. Dylan and I had a chance to catch TOKYO POLICE CLUB as well. Their show just keeps getting better every time I see them, and they had some good words of wisdom for us. We also got to play a show with TALK SHOW HOST this year, who are our favourite new band. They’re definitely making a move in 2017.
Cool, thanks! Is that a plan to make more moves with THE WET BANDITS as well and hit the road big time in 2017?
Nothing big time, but we are looking to make some movement out east this year. There’s some friends on the east coast we haven’t seen in a few years, so it’ll be good to catch up. They also have some crazy good parties! Can’t wait.
Recording-wise, can we expect some new tunes from you guys?
Definitely. Sooner than later. We already have a new 4 song EP tracked, just need one more day to finish up some vocals. Then Cameron Kennedy over at Spintered Wood works his magic with the mixing & mastering, and it should be ready for a spring or early summer release.
Do you have any other firm plans with THE WET BANDITS for 2017?
We’re going to start running some acoustic shows in Toronto. It’s an opportunity for us to perform more often in a way that won’t burn us out. We had some success with it late last year, and we want to extend further into that. We’re also hoping to get two music videos out. We’ve been brainstorming ideas and talking with some friends, so expect to see that pan out.
Alright, thanks so much for your time. Good luck with the band and have a great year! Cheers from Warsaw!
Thanks!
