How did you come up with the band name Lakes of Canada?
When the three of us first started playing together we went by the name “Who by Fire” (which we got from text in a Rosh Hashanah service) but none of us were super into the name. Conor and I had been playing the song, “Lakes of Canada” originally by a Halifax band called “The Innocence Mission” and made famous by a Blogoteque cover that Sufjan Stevens did. One day we checked to see if anyone had named their band after that song, cause we thought the name was really solid, and once we found out that no one had, that was it.

Tell us about your upcoming début album “Toll the Bell” and the album launch at Il Motore on May 19th.
In October 2010 my mother was murdered in her home in Burlington, VT. Obviously words cannot accurately describe my level of devastation. I spent the next six months traveling around the US and Canada with my guitar and writing as much as could manage. When I got back to Montreal in the spring of 2011 we released an EP and went on tour down the east coast from Toronto to NYC. During that time we work shopped and tried out a lot of the songs that I had written while traveling. When we got back we acquired a 5th member and went into pre-production for “Toll the Bell”. We also raised over $10,000 to pay for the album through a crowd funding site called IndieGoGo.com. We worked with our producer Christopher Fox (of Folly & The Hunter) for two months before going into his studio. We came at the album with more than 20 songs, but by the time we got to tracking we had 12. Because of the amount of pre-production we had before recording we were able to do most of the album live and usually in the first 3 takes. As we had become well known for our vocal harmonies we recorded all of our vocals together in the same room (in Studio, Oscar Peterson Hall, and even at the Synagogue for “Bated Breath”). We also had the pleasure of having our Synagogue choir do a guest appearance on a song, and we had guest brass, string, and woodwind players for a few others. The album was mixed by Chris and me and mastered by Ryan Morey of Ryebread mastering in Montreal. We are all really proud of this album. We worked on it for months and are extremely excited about how it sounds.

Any tours planned to support the new release?
We will be doing a 3 week tour from Charlottetown, PEI through to Toronto, ON in the summer. We will also be doing a release in NYC and Burlington, VT

Who are some of your favourite Montreal artists?
Oof. There’s so many. Charlotte Cornfield, Sarah Jane Scouten, Folly & The Hunter, Arcade Fire, Patrick Watson, Lhasa de Sela, Lake of Stew, The Unsettlers, Bad Uncle, Krista Muir, Suuns, The Youjsh, Holy Moly, David Simard, Brie Neilson, United Steel Workers, Broken Social Scene, Besnard Lakes, The Stills, The Luyas, Plants & Animals, Sam Roberts, William Shatner (“I can’t get behind that” is surprisingly good), SlutDrive, Young Galaxy, Think About Life, The Barr Brothers, Sam Shalabi. There are probably a ton more. Those are the ones I can think of right now.

What are some of your favourite venues to play in Montreal?
Well, I love Il Motore actually, that’s why we chose it for the launch, but also: Divan Orange, Casa, Sala, L’Esco (first time I played there I was expecting it to be crap and was very pleasantly surprised when it was the complete opposite), and Grumpy’s is really fun too. I also really like playing outside on my front porch when it’s warm enough.

Where is your favourite place to grab a bite to eat after a gig in Montreal?
Good question. It depends on where you’re playing obviously, but if I’m anywhere near Chez Claudette after a show, that’s probably where I’ll be headed.

Where can people find out more on Lakes of Canada?
LakesofCanada.com or LakesofCanada.ca

Tell us the meaning behind the name of your new album “Underneath The Old Red Barn” and about the recording process.
The name refers to a cigar box, containing a buffalo nickel, three Negro-league baseball cards, and a lucky paper clip, which he buried underneath the barn outside his home when he was just a mere lad. The new album was entirely inspired by a return trip to his home where he dug up the cigar box and found the album fully formed in his mind like Athena in the head of Zeus.

Tell more about the “Underneath The Old Red Barn” album launch at Cabaret Mile End.
First off, Ol’ Savannah is pleased as pot that so many friends have circled the wagons to defend “The Old Red Barn” from marauders in Ontario. (Talkin’ to you, C’est What!)

Heading the wagon train are The Unsettlers, followed by Richard King Rigby (formerly of Lake of Stew), and by Gern f. (formely of United Steelworkers of Montreal). Ol’ Savannah is happy to be bringing up the rear.

The battle begins on May 4 at the Cabaret. The first shots fired will be heard at 9PM. The last shots when the last man’s standing (or 1AM).

What are your plans for 2012?
Ol’ Savannah has experienced some radical changes in his backing band in the last months with percussive responsibilities, being covered by Max Outerbridge, Scott Dunbar, and Pi Sailin Cutler and with rhythm responsibilities by Chris Byrne and David Pearce. In 2012, Ol’ Savannah intends to recruit the rest of this forsaken mountain town and build an army of xylophones and trash. Album 3 (fully formed in the mind of Ol’ Savannah already) will require an orchestra of a thousand and three tubas.

What keeps you motivated to play as often as you do?
What the fuck else is there?

Who are some of your favourite Montreal artists?
Montreal is a bitch with many lovers. Some will give you the clap, others will give you a hard-on, but they’ll all shoot you a good time and leave you with a smile. We could name our favourites, but it’s better to stop by Divan Orange at 6 o’clock and see who’s playing, or take the metro at any given time of the day, or walk up and down all the goddamned streets, or pass by Casa Obscura on a Wednesday night… Ol’ Savannah falls in love with a Montreal artist almost every day.

What are your favourite venues to play in Montreal?
Your back yard. You bring the beer, Ol’ Savannah will bring Buckey.

Where’s the best place to grab a bite to eat after a gig in Montreal?
Montreal Stip Club in St-Henri has an all-you-can-eat buffet to die for. Don’t eat the clams. Ask for Jeanine. She’ll give ya the special if you tell her Buckey sent you.

Where can people find out more on Ol’ Savannah?
At the bottom of a whiskey jug, www.olsavannah.com, or if you invite him to your house, he will play a show for you personally. Direct inquires to booking@olsavannah.com and ask for Buckey.

MANIFESTO
The history of civilization is marked by the struggle of three classes – the hip hoppers, sad clowns, and folk musicians. Antiquity was ruled by the hip hoppers. The epoch of sad clowns lasted until 1912. 2012 marks the end of the Mayan calendar and the beginning of The Era of Ol’ Savannah (TEOS).

The hip hoppers were seduced by the promise of golden calves and pyramids, and the sad clowns choked on seltzer and pie, but Ol’ Savannah has learned the lessons of history. No empty idol, nor cheap gag will distract him from his mission. The Father has sent Ol’ Savannah into the world to spread His message of drinking, smoking, fighting, and strings.

Ol’ Savannah wants to play all the time. The venue doesn’t matter. The opener doesn’t matter. The closer doesn’t matter. He’ll penetrate your eardrums and your balls (or your ovaries). The music speaks for itself and, nevertheless, it still evolves. Its evolution is never finished, because Ol’ Savannah always has more to say and more to learn and more to learn how to say. The goal is world domination, so long as Ol’ Savannah gets to define the world and determine the method of domination. The revolution will be complete and total, and Ol’ Savannah is bound to fuck shit up. But don’t worry, he’ll be gentle.