Melissa sit down with singer/guitarist Brandon Lehti and guitarist Ryan Stead
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In the three years since The Latency have been together, the band have made an impressive name for themselves on the Canadian music scene. Originating from Maple Ridge, BC, the quartet not only has a successful EP out, but a much more recent full length album in stores. Their self-titled debut was released September 8th, which was just after their tour with Shiloh hit Montreal on August 29th, 2009.
The buzz surrounding The Latency began a few years back when Tommy Mac, bassist for the band Hedley, started producing the bands’ EP and later producing their full length album as well as managing them full time. With his support, The Latency went on to gain a huge following across the country which was only reinforced when they played to thousands on their recently completed tour with Shiloh.
I got the opportunity to talk to singer/guitarist Brandon Lehti and guitarist Ryan Stead just before their show in Montreal back in August where I learned a little bit more about a young, but incredibly talented, professional and passionate band. They were also very excited to be touring across the country and our interview immediately jumped into their adventures in Montreal;
Brandon & Ryan: We just came back from a huge lunch!
CONFRONT: Where did you guys go?
Brandon: The place that’s a huge… Orange!
CONFRONT: Orange Julep?
Brandon & Ryan: Yeah!
CONFRONT: That place is amazing. You guys had the drink there too?
Brandon: Yeah! It’s like… Orange Julius is GOOD, but that place was a million times better
CONFRONT: *laughs* yeah! That place is classic, it’s been there for years
Ryan: The big Orange?
CONFRONT: Yeah! Didn’t you see how like old and dirty it looked?
Brandon & Ryan: Yup!
*everyone laughs*
CONFRONT: So I guess I’ll get right into the questions… How’s your tour going so far?
Brandon: Good!
Ryan: Amazing!
Brandon: *Looks over at Ryan* IN-credible
Ryan: *Looks back over at Brandon* I’m gonna say UNBELIEVABLE
Brandon: I can’t top that
Ryan: *laughs*
Brandon: That’s pretty high…
*laughs*
CONFRONT: *laughs* Good to hear! Going back in time a bit, how did you guys get together as a band?
Brandon: I’m gonna say it was about, 3 years ago?
Ryan: Yup, 3 years
Brandon: And we were all playing in like high school bands with friends… So I guess we were 16 at the time. I played drums in a band with two of my other friends… and Ryan, and Matthew our bass player played in a band and our two bands played a show together and we really liked each other’s…
Ryan: Basically we stole him
Brandon: Yeah! They TOOK me from that band. So I started playing with these two and then…
Ryan: Then we found our drummer, Johnny after we had been playing together for a while, and he *points to Brandon* decided he didn’t want to do drums anymore-
Brandon: It’s true!
Ryan: So we stuck Johnny behind the kit, and… here we are!
CONFRONT: Awesome! You guys are also pretty well known for working with Tom, from Hedley, how did that happen and how was that experience for you guys?
Ryan: I was in a high school songwriting program called ‘SASS’
Brandon: SASS!
Ryan: And Tom was a special guest and he came through and my friends were like ‘play him a song!’ So I played him a song and he really liked it and was like ‘Cool!’ So I told him to come to our show the next day that we had in his hometown, Abbottsford and he came out, he liked it… And he’s been producing, managing…ever since.
Brandon: Yeah! He originally said he just wanted to produce a song and then it grew to the whole album, then he came on to manage us… and now he’s just… he’s the guy.
CONFRONT: That’s amazing!
Brandon: Yeah!
CONFRONT: What do you think is the biggest thing you guys have learned from him?
Ryan: Just how to be more professional for sure
Brandon: For me the biggest thing I learned through Tom… he really helped me grow as a songwriter, more professionally and overall how to write well.
CONFRONT: That’s awesome. And you guys have an album coming out soon, Sept…-
Brandon and Ryan: *both scream at the same time* SEPTEMBER 8TH!!!
CONFRONT: *laughs* it’s your first full length, right?
Brandon and Ryan: Yup!
CONFRONT: Tell me a bit more about it, what are the songs like?
Ryan: There is literally a song on there for everyone. There are pop songs… maybe a bit of country in there…
Brandon: Yeah! It’s just a bunch of… songs!
Ryan: It’s a bunch of songs that we worked really hard on
CONFRONT: Well that’s good!
Brandon: Hopefully songs that mean something and songs that kind of everyone can relate to. That’s what I really like about the album, every song has a different message to it and I really hope that the universal message is there for everyone to grab on to and hold on to and hopefully relate to. That’s what sticks out in the album for me.
CONFRONT: What do you think are the biggest differences between your album and your EP?
Ryan: Well in an EP you have to cram style into 6 songs or 4 songs or however many songs you want to put on an EP but on a full length you have a lot more room to go in deeper
Brandon: I think with the full length too there are some songs on there that you would have never thought-listening to the EP- you’d never expect these songs out of us.
Ryan: That’s the one thing we really took advantage of and something we really wanted to show on the album. On the EP there was a lot of Rock/Pop but we really wanted to go in a different direction with the full length so it has a lot of different things mixed into it
Brandon: Yeah. It’s like a bag of skittles. There’s something in there for everyone!
Ryan: YEAH
*everyone laughs*
CONFRONT: So you guys have a lot of fans that read CONFRONT and I thought a good way to get them involved was to get questions from them… SO, the rest of the questions are fan questions!
Brandon & Ryan: That’s awesome!
Brandon: I love fan questions!
Ryan: Let’s do this!
CONFRONT: Jessica from Winnipeg wants to know: If you could listen to ONE album on the road and only that one album, which would it be?
Brandon: That’s like the hardest question ever!
Ryan: One between the two of us?
CONFRONT: Umm, no you can both choose your own!
Brandon: Okokokok… Think about it… One!
Ryan: I don’t know… what about you?
Brandon: I… don’t know!
Ryan: I’d have to say my favorite album right now and that’s literally MADE for bands on the road is an album called ‘Homesick’ by a band called A Day To Remember and literally every song is about being on the road. What do you think, Brandon?
Brandon: If I could only listen to one album I’d have to say… The Fray’s new album
Ryan: I WAS GONNA SAY the Fray’s new album…
CONFRONT: Good album!
Brandon: It’s amazing. I could listen to that album at least 30 times in a row
Ryan: I listened to it twice today!
CONFRONT: *laughs*
Ryan: That was a good question!
CONFRONT: Yeah, good question! Taleen, from St.Louis, Saskatchewan has two questions for you guys. One, what do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t musicians?
Ryan: I always really wanted to be a kindergarten or preschool teacher
CONFRONT: Really?!
Ryan: Yeah I love kids; I think they keep you young… I’d love to like… sing the ABC’s, you know!
Brandon: *laughing in the background*
Ryan: It’s something I would have really liked to do! Obviously though this is what I’m doing now
Brandon: I would, and still like to at some point in my life, teach grade 12 English Literature.
CONFRONT: That’s very specific!
Brandon: Yeah!
CONFRONT: Is that what you would have studied in?
Brandon: Yes!
CONFRONT: Awesome. Her second question is; what’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever done for you guys?
*Ryan and Brandon both start laughing*
Brandon: Ohhhhhhh….
Ryan: Nothing weird actually, nothing really weird! Just stuff that was really… cool! Our favorite is when fans bake for us. It’s a thing now too, fans are baking for us at shows and bringing it to us… it’s awesome! We love that!
Brandon: Another really cool thing is they make shirts
Ryan: Yeah! I got a cool shirt last night!
Brandon: Me too! They just put a lot of effort in shirts… There’s just pictures and writing… and it’s really flattering that they took the time to do that
Ryan: Yeah it is really flattering. Well, anything they take the time to do is really flattering really
CONFRONT: Yeah definitely. Shayla from Saskatoon also has two questions. Number one, do you guys enjoy hanging out with your fans after shows?
Ryan: That’s the best part!
Brandon: It’s one of the best parts of the day for sure!
CONFRONT: Cool! She also wanted to know; did you ever think you would be where you are today in the music industry?
Ryan: I always hoped that I would! I never expected that I would be though
Brandon: No one ever really sets out being like “I’m gonna be BIG”… You set out with hopes and you swing for the fences… and you just hope to hit a home run with it. We were really fortunate.
Ryan: SO fortunate!
Brandon: So fortunate to be where we are today and I don’t think any of us thought that it could happen that quickly.
CONFRONT: Yeah, definitely. The next question is by Steve from Toronto who wants to know what been the most eye opening experience or thing you’ve had to do so far in your career is?
Brandon: Most eye opening experience…
Ryan: That’s a really tough one… Hmm…
Brandon: Well, a few years ago… actually even a year ago when I was watching videos of bands touring and having a good time I was just like “Oh I want to do that, it would be so much fun!” But then you actually do it and it’s the hardest thing…. Definitely the hardest part about being in a band for me is touring.
Ryan: Yeah, I personally LOVE touring but the hardest part for me is going through the highs and lows of touring. Like playing in front of thousands of people and the next minute you’re sitting in your dressing room by yourself… that’s the boring part
Brandon: Yeah, it’s so boring! The thing with touring also for me… there are days where I’ll be on a high and I’ll be like “I’m so excited to be here” and then the next day I’ll be on such a low and I just want to go home… but it’s always like that, you just fluctuate
Ryan: I think the other thing that’s the hardest part is when we have days off… Like when we have nothing to do and we’re just sitting there…
CONFRONT: Do you guys ever get to go out and see the different towns you play in?
Ryan: Oh absolutely
Brandon: Yeah definitely! We went to Niagara Falls. Days like that are days where you’re like “this is awesome!” But then there are days off like in Toronto where you’re just sitting in your house doing nothing and you’re thinking about your family back home. I’m the kind of person who has a lot of trouble letting people go that are close to me so I miss my family a lot.
CONFRONT: Yeah it must get hard, for sure. Next question comes from Cassidy, from Toronto and she wants to know what inspired you to become a musician?
Ryan: What inspired me…? Umm, well actually the SilverSide Up by Nickelback record
*Brandon laughing out loud in the background*
Ryan: I actually started with the acoustic guitar and I learned every song on that album and that’s pretty much what got me into music. They’re kind of a heavier band though and I’ve always been into a lot of metal and I always wanted to learn all the riffs, so yeah that’s pretty much it!
CONFRONT: Awesome!
Brandon: I’ve been into music since I was like… 4. It’s always been a part of my life. My dad was a drummer and so I’ve always had music in my face- since I was a kid. I just think it’s a huge part of being a person in today’s world… When people tell me “Oh I don’t really listen to music” I’m like… *makes a face of total shock*
CONFRONT: yeah, you’re like how does that happen!?
Brandon: It’s like in my blood to be musical; I’ve always been like that. There weren’t any specific bands that really got me I’ve just been into music since I was really young
Ryan: I used to sing Backstreet Boys songs when I was like 4 or 5 years old…
*everyone laughs*
CONFRONT: Me too…*laughs*… Amanda from Montreal wants to know; if you could have one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Brandon & Ryan: ONE MEAL?! Oh noooo, such a hard question! *they say this more or less at the same time*
Ryan: You know what I love? I love lasagna.
Brandon: Really?! I’d have to say if I had one meal… it would have to be something like, fettuccine alfredo.
Ryan: WITH Chicken
CONFRONT: *laughs* December from Winnipeg has two questions…
Brandon: December?
CONFRONT: Yeah!
Brandon: That’s so nice!
CONFRONT: Yeah, it’s different! So first, she wants to know what your favorite and least favorite part of the tour is so far?
Brandon: Of the tour… Well least favorite would have to be the days off.
Ryan: Days off on this tour have been really hard
CONFRONT: Oh really?
Ryan: Yeah. The best was the show last night though!
Brandon: Yeah, we played in Ottawa with Shiloh and Faber Drive and it was probably one of the top 3 best shows we’ve ever played
Ryan: Yeah it was AMAZING.
Brandon: There were thousands of people there and it was so loud! It was just a LOT of fun.
CONFRONT: That’s wicked!
Brandon: Yeah, so that was definitely the best part of the tour so far
Ryan: Yeah, for sure.
CONFRONT: The last question is by Robin from Regina who wants to know; who’s your favorite band that you’ve ever played with and why?
Brandon: Does she mean favorite band as people or like favorite band in general?
CONFRONT: You guys can interpret it however you want! *laughs*
Brandon: Well obviously Hedley. We love playing with those guys
Ryan: Definitely
CONFRONT: Do you guys play a lot with them at home?
Brandon: No we’ve only played like 5 shows with them
Ryan: We also played with Simple Plan once in Gananoque which was really cool, because it’s Simple Plan.
CONFRONT: Was that a couple weeks ago?
Brandon & Ryan: Yeah!
CONFRONT: That was a great show, I was there!
Brandon: Oh cool, well thank you!
CONFRONT: No problem
Brandon: But yeah I mean we’re really friendly people and we’ve been fortunate enough to tour with really friendly people. Like in Gananoque playing with Faber Drive, Ten Second Epic… everyone was so nice. You learn to get along with everyone. So I don’t think I could ever pick a favorite I just love playing with different bands. It is really good to tour with bands that you can consider your friends though, like I consider those bands my friends and it’s really comforting when you’re away from home to have friends on the road with you.
CONFRONT: Yeah definitely! My last question for you guys, what do you want your legacy to be either as a band or as an individual- where do you see yourselves in 5, 10 years from now?
Brandon: Doing this!
Ryan: I want to hear “Man that guitar player shredded it!”
Brandon: *laughing* I would just hope that we can keep doing this for as long as possible… and keep expanding it, shows getting bigger and just overall growing as a band!
Ryan: As far as we can go!
Brandon: I’d like in 5, 10 years from now to still be playing and for people to know who we are!
CONFRONT: Well thank you guys a lot for you time!
Brandon & Ryan: No problem!
I was very lucky this summer to get to see The Latency perform live twice- and both times I was blown away. They’ve worked hard to get to where they are so far in their career and their efforts are noticeable as soon as they hit the stage.
Don’t forget to go buy The Latency’s brand new album if you haven’t already!
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