Piano lesson types in grade school – cool, or uncool?
Most kids who tickle the ivories in their early years usually have a solid opinion on the relationship between piano players and schoolyard peers; one way or the other.
To see how the debate plays out in a person’s somewhat later years, you have to look no further than Calgary blues rockers Go For The Eyes, who play Banff’s Rose & Crown, Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept 16-17).
The front duo of Go For The Eyes, you see, were on either side of the cool/uncool debate. Elise Roller (vocals, keys) was obviously on the cool side, while Jeff Turner (vocals, guitar) was on the other. The pair, along with Nathan Raboud (drums) and Scott Perrin (bass) have been on the road lately with their newest EP, Fifteen Through Twenty, which followed an earlier EP, Six Through Twelve.
In an ongoing effort to further craft their craft, the pair see Fifteen Through Twenty as the sound they’ve been working toward over the past several years.
“Some of the songs we’ve had for a while,” said Roller. “Right now, it’s important to work on our music and get better all the time. We love performing and after five years, we’re even more focused on the business and getting a lot of shows.
“This is what we’re capable of, musically, vocals and production-wise.”
To continue working on their craft, after a current fall tour, the band will take the winter off to improve “as musicians and songwriters.
“If we keep improving and making music and write as many songs as we can, the next album will be even better. We want to have 20 or 30 songs and then choose the best.
“We want quality, we owe it to everyone.”
Turner is the only original member of GFTE, since 2008, with Raboud and Roller joining in 2010 and Perrin in 2012. Six Through Twelve was released in 2013 and Fifteen Through Twenty in May, 2014.
Roller and Turner handle the bulk of the songwriting and bring tunes to the band to be jammed out.
Six Through Twelve earned the band gigs opening for Moist and The Trews, a Stampeders’ Labour Day Classic gig and a Flames home opener.
The band has toured the Prairies, visited Vancouver and had a spot in NXNE in Toronto.
“Unfortunately,” said Roller, “the way the business works we still have day jobs, although we’re so busy and have so many offers, it’s hard to keep a day job. But we bust our butts and work hard as employees.”
The dream, of course, said Turner, is to eventually make music their full-time occupation.
In getting back to the cool/uncool debate, Turner said he took piano lessons as a youngster. “But it was really uncool, so I quit. I used to play a lot of sports and took road trips and listened to my dad’s music; Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, classic rock.
“When I was young, I’d go to the shows and festivals and see that people can do it.
“Pretty soon, you develop a dream, then work toward it.”
For Roller, music was a natural, as her dad was in a ‘70s rock band and she received classical training through her mom, who was a teacher. “I made it (piano) look cool.”
The band gets airplay on Calgary’s X92.9, won one of the station’s Exposure contests in 2013, “which created an explosion of opportunities,” said Roller. “It’s a good thing on the resume.”
