Their There

Their There are a super talented six-piece from White Rock, B.C., made up of friends Ross Jenkins (guitar, vocals), Adam de Souza (bass), Harley Small (piano, vocals), Jess Desrochers (drums), Rory Hislop (trumpet), and Adam Gough (saxophone). They’ve been in a band pretty much since they began puberty, so if it wasn’t obvious by listening to their debut album, Familiar Skin, these guys have got their sound, style and ridiculously fun live shows locked down. They have been writing and performing all over the city for the past six years, gathering a devoted flock along the way. We spoke with them to find out more about this flourishing band, their layered, lush sounds and writing style, and why—despite their poor use of grammar—you should love them.

So, you’ve been a band for the past six years. How did you all meet?
We mostly met in high school. Being young and inspired, it was neat to watch each of us really come into our own as artists. There’s a lot of all round respect for each other. It helps that we are friends, as well. Too often bands fall into the tropes of misunderstanding and don’t really communicate. That will probably never be a problem for us.

You all grew up in White Rock, B.C. Do you think growing up in the suburbs has influenced your music or lyrical content?
The coastal element definitely plays into our music. Living in such a close proximity to a beach is probably more influential than we think. There were definitely periods where we referred to our genre as ‘island-rock’. We don’t really do that anymore.

Your sound is pretty multi-layered, with heavy, melodic, instrumentals. How would you describe it? Organic. Hopefully there’s nothing in there that isn’t meant to be there.

Who are your biggest influences and why?
Way too many! Unfortunately naming a few would simply not suffice, but we don’t claim to hide our influences musically. We have a lot of respect for previous generations, and their contributions to what we make now.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
MF Doom.

Familiar Skin, released last year, is your debut album. Six years in the making is a long time. How has your sound evolved since you started the band as teenagers?
The song writing has matured, mostly, and we’ve hopefully become tighter. Sonically, things have become more experimental over the years, but without alienating that thing at the core that made us sound the way we do.

Your shows are pretty high energy. What do you like most about performing live?
Every time it’s different! You need to sweat to feel like you’re reaching people.

What has been your best moment from live shows?
We played an incredibly hot, late July show…in a guy’s basement. We played louder, and with more feeling than we ever had. One of those moments where everything clicked and the crowd clicked with us.

I’m a sucker for correct grammar and love your name. Why Their There?
Probably because it’s wrong.

You guys are a young band, with so much potential. Where do you see yourselves in five years time?
Still writing songs, making records, and playing for more people. Hopefully MF Doom is in the band at that point as well.

I hear you’re heading to Japan soon! That’s exciting! Are you ’big in Japan’?
Japan needs us and just doesn’t know it yet. They’ll probably call a few days after we get back, begging for our forgiveness and a swift return.

Do you have any new releases coming out soon?
We are writing material for a few different things. This time around, things are going to get interesting!

Where can people get their hands on a copy of your album?
Bandcamp hosts both our record, and the EP we released of supplementary tracks from the same sessions. But mainly, just come to a show!

Catch Their There live at Falconetti’s in Vancouver, on Friday April 12th. They will also be playing The Cellar in Vancouver on Friday April 26th.

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