All Square: Interview with Inner City Elegance

Josh Parsons

Music Editor

Bands often overstate the particular circumstances that brought about its formation, mythologizing the non-existent forces that drew them together. For Inner City Elegance, this certainly isn’t the case.

There is little explanation short of fate that could explain the unlikely circumstances that catalyzed the inception of the band. How else could you explain the peculiar mixture that makes up Inner City Elegance: one part Newfoundlander, one part Albertan and one part Brazilian?

This week, ANDY had the opportunity to catch up with bassist Justin Parsons, drummer Spencer Kathrens and guitarist Bruno Rodrigues, providing some insight in to the challenges that the band has faced over the past few years.

Just over a year ago, Inner City Elegance made the tough decision to relocate, leaving everything they had in Calgary and moving to Toronto.

“We sacrificed a lot to come out here, leaving friends, family and our jobs behind. Being in a totally new city and having nothing but our band and our music made us tighter as a band, and as friends,” admits Kathrens, the drummer of the band.

Within just a few months, the band had played all across the city and started stirring a considerable buzz within professional music community. By the summer, they had mapped a four-month tour that would unexpectedly take them across Canada twice.

“Touring is a crazy time for any band. Endless hours of driving, flying, crappy road food and sleeping where ever you can lay your head for a few hours,” said Parsons. “The biggest highlight for me of all our tours is getting to experience the world with my two best friends while playing the music we love.”

Since finishing up in Moncton last August, the band has not played a single show and has focused entirely on writing. “It’s been kinda weird after pretty much 2 years non stopping but it was definitely a good thing. It gave us a chance to finally look back at what we’ve done,” said Rodrigues.

He was confident that the tour break has allowed the band to fine tune its musical direction: “We feel like we’ve all stepped up our game on these new songs. The old albums are much more instrument oriented while this time we focused more on the song as a whole and just tried to write a good song, rather than a bunch of cool parts.”

Inner City Elegance have just recently release their first single single of the year, All Square, available online. “For the first time we were able to totally immerse ourselves in songwriting and only songwriting. I think because of that the music is a lot more focused now,” Kathrens’ affirmed.

After several years of pouring an incredible amount of time and effort in to the band, the guys of Inner City Elegance have acquired an acute eye for the do’s and don’t’s of the music industry.

“Concentrate on becoming good at your craft and writing the songs you’d want to listen to,” Parsons expressed. Riffing off that, Kathrens added some advice: “I think if it’s genuine, it’ll show in your songs and your performance. I think people do a pretty decent job detecting bullshit, so if you’re in it for the wrong reasons your ship will sink eventually.”

Download their new single, ‘All Square’, at www.innercityelegance.com