Ianspotting

The year 2012 ended badly for Shaun Weima when a cherished guitar was stolen from his car. However, 2013 is starting off on a much better note. Not only was the guitar recovered early in the New Year, but now Weima and his band, Ianspotting, are celebrating the release of their second album, Something Building, with two shows today, at 2 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., at The Mansion.

Ianspotting released their first CD in 2008, but the gestation period for the second one was a lot longer.

“We actually recorded it three times,” says Weima, who, along with his brother, Andrew, plays guitar and sings, while Rob Radford drums and Lee Casement plays bass.

“We started in May of 2010. We re-recorded it because it wasn’t quite right. On a few songs, the tempo wasn’t proper. In the process, however, we did end up writing three more songs.

“It was finally finished a year ago.”

There was another issue, too. For some reason, the band couldn’t hang on to a bass player. “We’ve been through three bass players before we got Lee Casement,” says Weima. “But I’ve had that problem in all the bands I’ve been in over the years.”

For Ianspotting, the role of the bass player is particularly crucial since much of the music is reggae-influenced and that genre is rhythm-based and relies heavily on the bass to provide that rhythm.

“Reggae is something I’ve been listening to for years, especially old Bob Marley tunes,” says Weima. “It just puts me in a good mood when I do. On this record there are a lot of influences, there’s even a little bit of ska.”

Ironically, the title track is not a reggae-influenced track, but is a moody piece. Its accompanying video is downright sinister, and if you watch it you might be wary of eating boxed cereal from now on.

“Yes there are a couple of songs there that are out in left field,” says Weima. “I liked the idea of calling the album after the song that didn’t fit.

“As for the video, it was the idea of a friend of mine, Cameron Townsett. It was his idea to use the fake cereal boxes in it.”

The lyrics for the song came from Weima.

“A few years ago, I was going through a breakup,” he says. “This song was about that situation and how the tension was building.”

One of Weima’s previous bands, Mystic Caravan, was known for creating atmospheric music, but he says in this case the music inspiration came from another source.

“I was listening to a lot of Sigur Ros, who are from Iceland and play ambient music with a unique voice,” he says. “I think we’ll be doing more music like this in the future.”

The song turned out to be special when it came to recording it as well.

“Usually when you go to record a song, you have an idea of what it’s going to sound like and you’re sorry if it doesn’t get there,” says Weima. “But in this case, it exceeded my expectations.”

Another key song on the CD is called Life Is Indeed A Song.

“In this case, when I say that life is indeed a song, it’s about writing,” says Weima. “But there’s a positive spin to it. The meaning behind it all is that the way I communicate is through songwriting.

“I give private lessons at Harrowsmith Public School and one day a parent came up to me and said that phrase and I thought that would be a great title for a song.”

Ianspotting is planning on having further release parties in Ottawa and Toronto and touring a little to support the CD.

greg.burliuk@sunmedia.ca

twitter.com/GregBurliuk

Essentials

Who: Local quartet Ianspotting is having a CD release party for their second album, Something Building.

- The Kingston Whig Standard

"... at long last, Ianspotting has released Something Building,
a magical journey through en eclectic landscape of music genres,
with masterful rhythmic and vocal performances. definitely the
most exciting recording to come out of Kingston so far this year"

- Greg Tilson, Artistic Director, Skeleton Park Music Festival
- Greg Tilson

1. Ianspotting earned the local spotlight after winning the Bandslam competition in 2007. How did this success affect the band’s initial trajectory?
Andrew Weima (AW): We made it through the Kingston portion of the Bandslam competition and traveled to Toronto to compete against eight other bands for the grand prize package. Although we didn’t advance far during the Toronto portion of the competition, winning locally and making the trip to Toronto [as a band] was an amazing experience that energized us and got us really motivated about putting time in at the studio. Winning kind of signaled that we were onto something, getting us all on the same track and putting in more time as a band.
Shaun Weima (SW): The Toronto portion of the Bandslam competition was also our first gig with our drummer Rob Radford. Rob’s involvement in Ianspotting came by chance, as our original drummer, Tony Overveld, couldn’t make the trip to the Toronto portion of Bandslam due to work commitments. In the end, Rob turned out to be a really good fit for the band, and he’s been committed to playing with us ever since. One of our prizes as a result of winning Bandslam enabled us to start recording our first album at a studio in Trenton. We also won a drum kit, which we sold to a local church to help us pay for more studio time as well as the CD pressing.
2. After Bandslam, your debut album, Good Question, went on to receive positive reviews from critics and fans alike, which led to a tour across Canada and opportunities to perform at various festivals. What are your fondest memories from life on the road?
SW: I would have to say playing the Mariposa Folk Festival was one of the biggest highlights. We played their 50th anniversary, so it was a great year to be part of the festival. Ianspotting created a buzz throughout the weekend, as we played 5 times, which allowed us to perform in front of an assortment of eclectic musicians and people. Aside from playing the festival, it’s the little things that go along with it, which make a lasting impression.
AW: Mariposa is also my best memory from the road, as it really made us gel as a band. We all have full time jobs and personal lives here in Kingston, so getting away from it all, traveling to, rehearsing for and hanging out together at Mariposa made us tighter. I guess one of the problems was that we didn’t push ourselves further after the festival was over. I remember when we came home from that festival, we were all very stoked, and ready to get back into the studio to start working on our second album.
SW: It was just an awesome time for us musically. Away from the actual festival we had an opportunity to jam with people like Dan Mangan, Elliot Brood and others at the hotel. We really got to meet so many interesting people, and again, share the experience as a band away from whatever distractions we had back home.
AW: We met a lot of musicians and cool people during that experience, like Sheila Rogers from CBC. I also remember a wedding taking place in the hotel we were staying at; they must have been occupying half of the hotel. There were all these jams taking place outside wherever people felt like it. We initially thought that the wedding party might not appreciate the noise, but they came out and asked to listen in and join us. I remember sitting in a huge circle outside for hours, jamming with these people, with Sheila Rogers quietly sitting on her balcony overlooking the group, enjoying every minute of it. She actually came up to us the next day and told us how much she’d loved it.
3. Your newest album, Something Building, has been nearly 2.5 years in the making. During the process, you’ve had to overcome a number of discouraging events and challenges. What was the most rewarding lesson you learned?
AW: After we completed this album [Something Building] in October 2011, we were really hoping to get back out there, start performing and begin to recover some of the money we invested in studio time. But then our bass player quit, so we hit a wall where we couldn’t play any gigs, which caused us to keep pushing back the release date. We made a video around the same time, which also put us out some money and added to the financial strain. The band remained pretty level headed about the loss of our bass player at such a critical time. And we pressed on, trying out new people in an effort to find someone talented who was, above all else, motivated to being an active member of the band. The search for a bass player ended when we found Lee Casement, which eventually got us to a place where we could confidently set a date for our album release. As a member of other bands, Lee has always been an organizer who isn’t afraid to offer input and put in the effort required to truly make a go of it. I think the most valuable lesson we’ve learned is that you have to find the right people, and that takes time.
SW: I agree that the most challenging obstacle would have to - The Kingstonist

What's Ianspotting? Good Question
Reggae-rock band celebrates release of first album
Posted By GREG BURLIUK WHIG-STANDARD STAFF WRITER


Somewhere out there is a guy named Ian who probably doesn't know he inspired the naming of the latest of Kingston's sterling bands.

Ianspotting is the brainchild of Shaun Weima, who also played in the popular local bands Reno's Hitmen and Mystic Caravan.

Ianspotting is celebrating the release of its debut CDGood Question with a party Friday at the Elixir.

"When I first started recording about eight years ago, it was in a room where the previous guy had rearranged the letters from the film Trainspottingto make it into Ianspotting and put it on the door," Weima says, noting the tenant's name was Ian.

"I liked the look of that name and have used it ever since, so it was a natural when it came to naming the band."

Good Questionis heavily infused with reggae, one of Weima's musical loves.

"It just arrived one day, my love of it," he says.

"I love the sound of it and the groove of it."

And no, he isn't trying to imitate Kingston-born band Bedouin Soundclash, who've had international success with their reggae songs.

"They used to open for us when I was in Mystic Caravan," he says.

"Some of these songs were written before they were even a band."

Weima's love of reggae was kept under wraps in Mystic Caravan. When the broke up, he rejoined the band he'd been in before that, Reno's Hitmen.

When that group started to lose members, its bass player, Paul Butler, suggested Weima try the reggae stuff.

Weima recruited Butler, his younger brother, Andrew Weima, on guitar, and fellow Kingston School of Music teacher Rob Radford on drums.

That was a year and a half ago and judging fromGood Question, the band sounds like it's been playing together for a long time. Joining them on the recording are 10 other musicians, including such local stalwarts as Spencer Evans, Bunny Stewart and Emily Fennell.

Weima gets his inspiration from unconventional places.Resignation Letter,for example, was based on Weima resigning from a downtown store three years ago.

"I was going to give my boss the song rather than the letter," says Weima, who is now much happier teaching at the music school.

I Know What You're Coming Foris a kind of companion song toResignation Letter;it criticizes big business.

"It's an angry angst song about how corporations treat people," he says. "All they see is the bottom line."

Sorry Bobis a reference to Weima's reggae idol, Bob Marley.

"It's about a dream I had about trying to find him," Weima says.

"In it, I want to apologize for being so close to this riff of his that I had to use it in a song."

One of his favourite songs on the CD is calledOutta The Way.

"It was written in the last year, just before we started recording the album," Weima says.

"It was the final piece of the puzzle. The song is catchy and was easy to write. It worked out well and flowed well.

"That doesn't always happen. There's a song I've been working on for a year and there are certain parts that I still am not happy with."

With their CD release, Ianspotting is offering something that no other Kingston band has had to date. It's a USB flash drive that can be plugged into your computer.

"It's a collector's edition," Weima says.

"It's got the cover, old demos, videos and the album itself. It's a little innovative, a way to keep us unique. Groups like Barenaked Ladies and Tokyo Police Club have done it, but no one local."

Weima says the lo-c al scene has changed considerably over the past few years.

"In 2000, electronics were pretty big back then and we had a little bit of that, at least with the keyboards, in Mystic Caravan," he says.

"In 2008, it's hard to see where the trend is going. We don't fit into the pop-rock category. But melody is still important.

"And the live scene is actually better now. We get a lot more people out to our gigs. At the Merchant, there's a band almost every night, and the Toucan is starting to get more bands. CD sales are down and the only way to experience music is live. And we put on a strong live show."
- The Whig Standard

One of Kingston’s latest buzz bands, Ianspotting, celebrates the release of their debut album and perform at the Elixir Nightclub, Friday, July 18, around 9:30 p.m., with special local guests Slaves of Spanky and Stephanie Earp.

Their debut, “Good Question,” blends a happy, fun combination of pop, rock and reggae. Members of the band include Shaun Weima (vocals, guitar), Rob Radford (drums, vocals), Andrew Weima (guitar, vocals) and Paul Butler (bass, vocals).

The band has a fall tour booked for Ontario colleges and universities. Songs from the new album have already been played on local and CBC radio.

Shaun Weima (Reno’s Hitmen and Mystic Caravan) tells how the name Ianspotting was chosen for the band.

“It came from an old friend whose place I was moving into. His name was Ian.”

Weima proceeded to cut out and paste the Trainspotting logo into a sign that read- Ianspotting; it was in the first room Weima started recording in.

“I moved to many places after that and took the sign with me and put it on every studio door I recorded in.”

Eventually, he called his recording studio Ianspotting Studios and then decided to call his new band Ianspotting.

As for the album name, Weima says people asked him how he would describe Ianspotting’s music.

His response was, “Good Question.”

He figured it was a fitting name for their first release.

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“I love the community of Kingston’s music scene,” Weima says. “On this album, we have 10 local musicians who contribute, from a sax player to tabla and didgerido. Everybody supports each other and that’s what makes it special.”

Weima takes the songs he has written to practice where the rest of the band helps arrange and work them out.

Ianspotting has shared the stage with bands like Trooper and Bedouin Sound Clash.

Advance ticket holders have a chance to win door prizes, including gift certificates for Kingston Soundworks, Woodenheads and Le Chien Noir.

Tickets are $15, which includes a copy of new CD, or $8 admission only. Albums can be purchased at Indigo, Chumleighs and CD Exchange.

Details: www.myspace.com/ianspotting. - Kingston This Week

One of Kingston’s latest buzz bands, Ianspotting, celebrates the release of their debut album and perform at the Elixir Nightclub, Friday, July 18, around 9:30 p.m., with special local guests Slaves of Spanky and Stephanie Earp.

Their debut, “Good Question,” blends a happy, fun combination of pop, rock and reggae. Members of the band include Shaun Weima (vocals, guitar), Rob Radford (drums, vocals), Andrew Weima (guitar, vocals) and Paul Butler (bass, vocals).

The band has a fall tour booked for Ontario colleges and universities. Songs from the new album have already been played on local and CBC radio.

Shaun Weima (Reno’s Hitmen and Mystic Caravan) tells how the name Ianspotting was chosen for the band.

“It came from an old friend whose place I was moving into. His name was Ian.”

Weima proceeded to cut out and paste the Trainspotting logo into a sign that read- Ianspotting; it was in the first room Weima started recording in.

“I moved to many places after that and took the sign with me and put it on every studio door I recorded in.”

Eventually, he called his recording studio Ianspotting Studios and then decided to call his new band Ianspotting.

As for the album name, Weima says people asked him how he would describe Ianspotting’s music.

His response was, “Good Question.”

He figured it was a fitting name for their first release.

Advertisement

“I love the community of Kingston’s music scene,” Weima says. “On this album, we have 10 local musicians who contribute, from a sax player to tabla and didgerido. Everybody supports each other and that’s what makes it special.”

Weima takes the songs he has written to practice where the rest of the band helps arrange and work them out.

Ianspotting has shared the stage with bands like Trooper and Bedouin Sound Clash.

Advance ticket holders have a chance to win door prizes, including gift certificates for Kingston Soundworks, Woodenheads and Le Chien Noir.

Tickets are $15, which includes a copy of new CD, or $8 admission only. Albums can be purchased at Indigo, Chumleighs and CD Exchange.

Details: www.myspace.com/ianspotting. - Kingston This Week