Messed!Up
What is it about two-piece bands (mainly just guitar and drum) that have made them such a cult over the past few years? And even more to the point, why are they so good?
Until recently, playing in a two-piece rock band evoked looks of bewilderment, but increasingly, duos are taking over the guitar world. The last couple of years have seen the arrival of bands as Royal Blood, Drenge, DZ Deathrays and my own personal favorites, newcomer Rival Bones.
Although there has always been two-piece rock acts, the rise of the two-pieces in the 2010s is led by young acts bringing back the best of the rock sound of the seventies with lots of blues guitar riffs but coated in a massive wall of sound – with only one guitarist on stage. Today, two-piece bands are the industry-standard shape of cool rock.
In Cobourg, Ontario, not more than a three-hour ride from Canada’s biggest city Toronto, childhood friends Luke Gruntz and Ian Fraser grew up with classic seventies rock music thus sharing similar musical visions and making them a tight-knit duo. 2016 saw the arrival of cleopatrick’s (always lowercase letters) debut EP “14” and one year later they recorded and released their single “hometown” that completely changed the game for the Cobourg lads.
Allison Hagendorf, the Global Head of Rock at Spotify, became obsessed with their sound and put the song on one of Spotify’s high rotation lists, and within a few months it had been streamed more than six million times. And the success continued in 2018. Their sophomore EP “the boys” was nothing but a raw and blistering sonic wall of sound that took the scene by storm and earned them quite a following.
When the boys arrived in Hamburg for a showcase festival gig in the beginning of their own massive headliner tour that would’ve made even a well-established band a bit jealous, we sat down with drummer Ian and frontman Luke to talk about the general feeling of being in a hype, a possible debut album and why it’s important to slow down the process of making an album.
Two EP’s and a world tour
I really have to say that your EP “the boys” was one of the best releases of 2018, going in a classic rock direction with lots of blues-inspired guitar riffs. Where do they find the inspiration to those really heavy guitar riffs?
Luke: Growing up listening to music we were obviously into classic rock which came along from the blues and stuff like that, especially Led Zeppelin. I also had a really, really big Jimi Hendrix phase in my life, and those two went together and kind of cleared how I wanted it to be, so it is heavily blues influenced from them.
Blues can be a little bit cringey at times and we’re trying to only have little moments of it because it’s been around for a while and is one of the oldest genres of American music, and people have already heard a lot of the blues. We’re just trying to have a little taste in what we do.
Ian: It’s a mixture of us taking what we love from that kind of stuff and trying to make it relevant and new and exciting.
You released “the boys” in June this year and you have been on this massive tour – things have happened quite quickly. How does it feel in general when you consider what has happened so far?
Luke: We are in complete shock at the moment. Even the fact that we’re here [Hamburg] right now; it hasn’t really sunk in that it’s all happened. It has been a dream of ours to be touring musicians with our songs out there, being on the radio and getting a lot of followers.
For some reason it never really felt that it was going to happen, but in the same breath it’s also right. It really feels like home for us and we’re just try to have as fun as possible now. But we really haven’t had time to process any of it and we won’t we’re home again – and maybe not even then (laughs).
Ian: When we get home we will realize “Oh, that was cool”. We’re trying to take it in as a much as possible but it’s still hard to comprehend.
How quick did everything happen after the EP?
Luke: It actually happened already after the first single, “hometown”, and I think it’s exactly eleven month since it all started. Everything just started with being picked up by that playlist [Spotify’s “Rock This” playlist] and that was enough to fill a year for us. We were so excited to just have all these listeners.
After “the boys” and this massive tour you’ve just embarked on, is it back to the studio to record the debut album?
Luke: We actually haven’t talked that much about it yet but we definitely want to make a record, but because everything has happened so fast we’re trying to put the brakes on it a bit and make sure we create something we’re really proud of.
We joke about it all the time but it can take some time to make something really powerful.
“the boys” is released DIY. Do you see yourself continue in that direction or do you want to sign with a label before the next release?
Ian: We just want whatever is going to happen to be the right thing. We’re not rushing anything and we’re not trying to sign to a label at this point. Everything that happened so far has happened so naturally, like it’s meant to be and we’re just waiting for the right moment before the next step.
Luke: There are not that many labels that understand what we’re trying to do. There’s a lot labels that are stuck in their ways. We kind of know from our first conversations how we want it to be and we really keep everything under control; we really want to change the way our music is perceived.
A lot of labels just want to see another hit on Spotify and that’s not really what we’re going for at the moment.
But I guess the situation might look quite different when everything has calmed down after the tour?
Luke: Yes exactly, and we want to show them that we have a lot more to offer than just the one single, so we’re kind of growing into this at the moment and spending this year playing and finding out who we are. We’re just twenty-one and have many years to go.
How good is the scene in Canada in general and Ontario in particular for you?
Ian: It’s EDM and hip hop, that’s pretty much what it’s all about right now. There’s a small kind of tight-knit scene for rock music and for people who are really passionate about music.
A lot of people see rock music as lame because it’s a bit oversaturated. People are talking about it like it was in the seventies and the eighties but nothing about today. There is cool, new rock music but people don’t necessarily know about it, not yet.
How good is the scene to support new bands?
Luke: It’s not awful but in general the scenes in the different cities are very tight-knit, so being from where we are, which is a very small town outside Toronto, it’s not easy to get welcomed into those groups.
Ian: No, it’s not a lot openness.
Luke: And it’s not as many people going out to see new music. People will go to see a band they already know but as a new band it’s kind of tough to get people out.
I know that most bands ambition is to make a living off their music. Do you think it’s possible to reach the goal where you actually get paid more than gas money?
Ian: For sure, I still think it’s possible to reach that. Let’s wait and see what happens after this tour.
Being a two-piece: “It’s mostly only pros”
Two instruments leaves more room for an individual player to make an impression. With multiple instruments, the sound space is cluttered by ego and flair.
Another explanation to the sudden outburst of two-piece rock acts the last couple of years is found in the evolution of on stage technology making it possible to recreate that amazing overdubbed sound you created in the studio. Basically, through creative use of gear, playing style and songwriting you could be as big as any four-piece rock band; you just need enough pedals and amps to trick the audience’s ears into thinking you are, and it the 2010s that’s possible to do if you just skip those extra beers before the gig to keep focus on the pedal board.
Recessionary factors are undoubtedly at play as well; for the acts, it’s cheaper and easier to pack the gear, travel, get gigs and make ends meet; for the labels, two egos are easier to deal with than four, and often more artistically simpatico.
For Ian and Luke there’s a simple answer concerning the question of getting a third member into the band.
Do you have some kind of common ground in terms of music taste or do you need to compromise about how it should sound? It feels as it could be easier to negotiate the sound in a two-piece.
Luke: We’re different in a lot of ways but we like the same traits in music: cool stories, good lyrics and special musical moments that you feel very passionate about.
Two-piece bands have been kind of popular the last years but it also put some extra attention on you on stage. You never felt that you’ve needed a third member at any time? What are the pros and cons with being a two-piece?
Ian: I don’t see a lot of cons honestly. We’ve been friends pretty much our whole lives and we’re fairly in tune with each other, so I feel there is a lot less to go through when trying to process different things, it just seems simpler. For us, it’s mostly only pros.
We also have one of the best teams, our best friends, working with us so it’s all good.
You never felt a bit lonely on stage or feel that it’s difficult to replicate some overdubs from the studio and make it work out live as a two-piece? It’s much easier to get the sound right in the studio when have other opportunities to work with overdubbing?
Luke: I know what you mean but we try everything out in the studio, it’s essentially live from the beginning. The way the recording sound we’re able to pull off live, but that’s always been our number one goal for everything we record. We want it to be easy to translate to the stage properly.
But sure, I have a lot of responsibility at the pedal board and stuff so maybe it would be nice to have a bass sometimes so I can put the guitar down and walk out to everyone, but at the same time I love having the control. If there’s a bad note it’s my fault, if there’s a good note it’s because of me, so in the end it just feels good to not rely on anyone else.
Future: Let’s make rock music cool again
What is most amazing is that you do a headliner tour with just one EP in your back catalogue.
Ian: So far, so good but we actually have two EP’s since we released the first in 2016. And we can probably do an hour set tonight.
Luke: And we have a few songs in the works and have two new songs tonight, but we work really hard to have more for the future of the band.
Considering everything that happened up to now, is this the major breakthrough year for cleopatrick when you have the chance to present yourself for loads of people?
Luke: That would be awesome. We’re definitely working hard and we’ll see what happens.
To wrap things up, what’s the next step, in the near future, for you? What kind of mark would you like to have done on the music scene after this year? Have a signed contract with a label at the end of December?
Ian: I don’t think so, but I just want to feel more accomplished with what we have done at the end of the year, that’s what really matters. We’re going to play a lot of shows, we’re writing new music and signing isn’t that important right now.
Right now we’re just doing our thing and working hard for it.
Luke: I think that after the tour I would feel very accomplished when I stand beside my friends in a bar. We’re doing exactly what we’ve been working for, having fun and not take things too seriously.
And last question; how far up the two-piece rock ladder are you in three years?
Ian: I want to have made an impact and it’s not necessarily about playing arenas although it would be amazing to play arenas, but just to have made some noise, an impact, trying to make rock music cool and relevant again.
We love what we’re doing right now and would love to continue doing that, everything just feels so right, and if we just can keep doing it and speak to people’s hearts, that’s pretty much enough. You can’t ask for too much more than that.
*****
The interview is over and our photographer takes Ian, Luke and their entourage for a small walk around the corner to do the photo session. Almost exactly ten hours later cleopatrick play a completely full Molotow, even a bit more than you can squeeze in, and made a show that for sure earned them a few hundred more fans. And if you missed it, there’s another chance because the boys will come back to Hamburg on March 29th!
*****
Photographer: ©Julia Schwendner
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