The Theory of Evolution: A Conversation with Dan Moxon, Jon Bunyan and Jason Dana of Bend Sinister

YOU will like this band. You will like this band. You will like this band. Got it? Ok, good. Bend Sinister is a band worth enjoying. Through an amazing amount of turmoil, they manage to exist as a band, and as one of the finer bands to emerge from Canada’s west coast in a while. Bend Sinister is a band of many faces, which finds the perfect combination of difficult, intellectual music and catchy, likeable melodies. They are not a band whose sound you can understand by simply looking at the clothes they wear and the way they style their hair. Bend Sinister (in its current iteration) is Dan Moxon (vocals, keys, guitar), Jon Bunyan (vocals, guitar, keys), Naben Ruthnum (lead guitar), Jason Dana (drums, percussion) and, (for the meantime), Edo Van Breemen (bass via keyboard).

BYE, BYE, BASSIST

I caught up with Bend Sinister during their cross-Canada fall tour only to find that the quintet was now minus one.

“Lately we’ve had a big dilemma,” Moxon explains. “Our bass player (Dave Buck) left two nights ago. Just before we went to Edmonton, he was having some medical/personal issues and he pulled out of the tour at the last minute and left us all kind of in the lurch. Luckily, we had our friend Edo [Van Breemen ] (of The Clips) and he stepped up the way we asked him to. He said, ‘Sure, I’ll learn the songs,’ and we’ve slowly been teaching him the songs, via his laptop and midi keyboard, while driving; so now we’ve got a keyboard/bass tour.”

MUSICAL CHAIRS

Thanks to the World Wide Web, inaccurate or dated information can become commonplace, especially if you are a band with little exposure.

“Well, it’s really funny,” Moxon laughs. “Every time you -- it’s really nerdy to say -- but, you know when you Google your own band name and see what shows up? The first article that ever shows up [for us] is one of the first articles ever written about us (in Discorder). That’s where I’m assuming you’re getting bad info from.”

The rumor mill claims that Bend Sinister makes a habit of playing musical chairs with their instruments; the truth, however, is that since the time that the original article was published, (during Bend Sinister’s infancy), the guys have come to grips with the fact that there are instruments other than guitars that need to be manned.

“It’s so weird that it pops up first all the time; the first words: ‘Bend Sinister, a four-piece instrumental prog-rock band,’ and… it’s quite a lot different than how we sound now. We were all metalheads, and all wanted to play guitar. There was four guitar players that started the band, and so one of us was like, “Well, you play drums, you play bass cause I wrote a song.”

DRUMLINE

While losing a bassist (not even) mid-tour can really put a damper on things, having a bit of experience with replacing band members does have its pros. In the case of Bend Sinister, “a bit of experience” is “a bit” of an understatement.

“We released two albums with [Dan Goughnour] but it was like the DIY do-up: 200 CD-Rs, packaged them yourself, sold them at shows and so on. [Bend Sinister] was a band made of people who lived in Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, and all over the place, because we moved away after growing up in Kelowna. But when you’re done your first year in university, you’re never keen to just stay in the city that you’ve moved to. You always go back home for the summer and see your old high school friends.” As Dan confides, Goughnour had different intentions, “Dan was just deciding he wanted to stay in Victoria and pursue his degree, and not be a part of things. We were kind of on a hiatus until we found another drummer, which was Ronnie Wilson, who was just a roommate at the time. He was a great drummer, and he was the one where we started playing in the formation as we are now, with vocals, and me on the piano instead of guitar. But he ended up being a very different, sort of free-roaming personality. Instead of coming with us, Ronnie would take his Volkswagen Beetle, and just kind of show up right when you’re supposed to play, and not when you’re supposed to do sound check. [He’d] be like, ‘Oh, I was just in the park with my girlfriend,’ and he ended up ditching out to hitchhike across Canada and tree plant.”

With two drummers down, Bend Sinister finally found the drummer that most fans are familiar with, but still only the third of five.

“Kevin Keegan was our third drummer, and he was the main [drummer] who recorded our album, Through the Broken City; who we had for two years. [Then Kevin] decided to move to Montreal to get a change of scenery.” Clearly unshaken by their odd drummer luck, Moxon continues on to the next men to hit the skins, “We had a fellow [Mike Magnusson] come and play drums with us for a year; and then he -- just when we were setting up this tour -- got accepted to dental school, and had to make a tough call between the two. He went with dental school; and [Jason] Dana -- I’ve been jamming with Dana for almost two years with another band -- when Mike left the band I couldn’t think of a better drummer to play on this tour, and play with Bend Sinister, so he hopped on board.”

While his role in the band might seem cursed, Jason showed no signs of being spooked. So is Dana in it for the long run?

“Oh, I’m sure, yeah; unless they kick me out.” Dana then jokes about his other options, “Well, I’ve sent my [dental school] applications in.”

“It’s pretty funny that we’ve had that many drummers,” concludes Moxon. “But it’s just kind of a thing, you know, when somebody quits in a band. We could have done the same thing when Dave left us in Kelowna. You either go, ‘Are we gonna just pack it in and call it quits now that a member’s quit? Or do we struggle through it and figure out a solution?’ It was either hire somebody to play bass with us, and pay them -- the quote I got from one guy was $150 a day which was more than we’d make from shows sometimes -- or, ask Edo. But [Edo]’s working out wonderfully, and we’re doing it to get through [the] tour, and when we get back, who knows... we’ll have to find some sort of solution to who to have as a bass player.”

As far as reinstating Buck when they get home is concerned, Moxon has mixed feelings, “Well, we’re all feeling a little bummed on the whole loyalty -- I mean, as much as a medical issue or personal issue is its own thing, you really can’t help but feel hurt if one of your friends dekes out of a commitment at such a crucial point, not even midway [through the tour]. It’s three days into a one month tour, with no indications, no warning, no signs that there could be a chance that he might not come. [There was] no willingness to say, ‘I’ll stay with you another two days til’ you get on your feet,’ or ‘I’ll teach somebody the parts, I’ll write out the charts,’ it was just, ‘I’m sorry, I’m going home.’ We were like, ‘I guess you gotta do what you gotta do,’ and he was like (in cheery voice) ‘Alright, see you guys! Take it easy!

EVOLUTION

Starting off as an instrumental only band isn’t that surprising considering that most of the members have been playing together since they inhabited their high school band room. “We are total band nerds,” laughs Dana. So at what point did Moxon decide to retire his guitar and pick up the mic?

“We were instrumental to begin with because I was somewhat shy in the past, especially as an adolescent,” Dan confesses. “Basically, the thought of singing in front of people scared the shit out of me, so I would have never stepped up to the plate to do it. But I kind of worked through that by playing with my friend Emma; we started a folk project called Daniel and Emma, and we’d both sing at the same time. When that person’s singing with you, you didn’t feel as naked; it taught me to sing in front of people.

Emma gave Dan a connection on stage -- someone to perform for who wouldn’t judge him.

“You’re looking [at] somebody else when you’re playing shows. So I started playing shows with her, and started writing more on a piano,” recounts Moxon. “Bend Sinister never had any sort of piano in it, so I came up with a few structures for songs where I was playing piano and singing, and I played a show with a few other session players -- well not session players, just friends at the time -- like these dudes from the band Ladyhawk, Ryan Peters and Duffy [Driediger]. We played one show at this huge annual Boxing Day party bash in Kelowna, and that was kind of the start of what Bend Sinister was. It was three Bend Sinister songs that ended up on Through the Broken City. I played it with those guys, and I was so happy with the response and people were so keen on it that I came back to Bend Sinister and just asked the guys, ‘Well, I’m on a turning point where I can keep you guys going as an instrumental band, but you’re not gonna be my focus because I’m gonna start another band where I’m writing singer-songwriting songs and taking more of an active role in songs in that respect,’ whereas before, Bend Sinister was very much collaborative. So I kind of gave them an ultimatum: either we merge it and call Bend Sinister this new project I’m going to do, or I’ll start a totally different band and have Bend Sinister be what we are; an instrumental, proggie, crazy math-rock band. So after talking about it for a while we decided to give it a shot, and ever since then it’s certainly been a learning process, but a good one.”

The path from instrumental to vocals was only the beginning. As Bend Sinister prepared the follow up to their full-length, a self-titled EP, a moment of realization came upon the band. It was time for their style to evolve once more.

“The biggest thing, turning point -- me and Jon were roommates for about two years and Jon brought home this Beatles anthology, [the] nine piece DVD set; and I just sessioned it in a week, I think I watched everything. I always liked The Beatles but was never an über-fan that knew every song and was obsessive over The Beatles,” Dan remembers. “For some reason, when watching those, it changed my thinking about music in a certain respect where I realized that singing some really nice notes, or even having some simple chords, like A to E, or anything -- just the energy and charisma you can put into a song, or the way that you sing it, can be what makes a song amazing. It doesn’t have to have a million parts.”

“Performance goes a long way,” adds Bunyan.

From there it was clear that the time of musical exploration was now. No longer shutting themselves away from artists that didn’t fit their personal tastes, the evolution was almost complete.

“We all changed the music that we were listening to,” tells Moxon. “Jon brought his CD collection into the mix and so did Ronnie. Your influences change. I got obsessed with Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, the classics that everybody almost shrugs off because it’s such an obvious like, ‘You like Pink Floyd? Well obviously,’ or Queen or Supertramp. I never listened to Supertramp except on the radio until one day, when we were playing a show in the Through the Broken City era, where people were like, ‘You guys sound a lot like Supertramp, or Elton John.’ Every time somebody says that, you think, ‘Supertramp, I’ll pick up their first album.’ Elton John, if you asked me two years ago what I thought about Elton John, I’d be like, ‘I can’t stand Elton John, he drives me nuts,’ and now, it’s like, ‘Dude, you gotta put on ‘[Captain Fantastic And] The Brown Dirt Cowboy’’ or whatever. There’s so many good songs. So that’s the change; and also just writing on piano way more.”

Listening to Bend Sinister EP, the fact that this was once a band without keys seems like folklore. With piano driven songs such as “Juliana” and “Time Breaks Down” one would think that these guys have been doing it all their lives.

“Piano -- it’s funny -- I always felt like I was putting on a façade cause’ I never really knew what I was doing at the beginning,” Dan admits. “I taught myself to play a piano by only playing black keys and slowly adding white keys to the mix. Obviously I had a background of theory from guitar lessons and things, but my piano playing, even at this point, it’s always key of Ab or Eb. Basically all black keys.”

Now that they’ve found their true potential, Bend Sinister plans to build upon the framework of their self-titled EP -- without stripping it down too much.

“I know it’s happened to me in the past where you have a band you love, and when you listen to their next album, it’s like, ‘They’ve simplified everything, it’s so mellow, not as tech,’ but I feel like we’re not simplifying song structure, but actually creating better songs in that sense,” claims Moxon.

“I think the conviction of the performance goes a long way,” chimes Bunyan. “I think the difference between appreciating a band like Yes, and thinking, ‘Wow, what are they going to do next?’ because they’re such great players, and listening to The Beach Boys and thinking ‘That song is so perfect the whole way through,’ -- and I’ve always loved those songs more. It seems the band’s gone more that way.”

ANY FAN IS A GOOD FAN

These guys are influenced by The Beach Boys and Elton John, but who do they sound like? Well, based on some songs, one could compare Moxon’s vocals to the theatrics of My Chemical Romance’s frontman, Gerard Way. What do you think of that, Dan?

“I don’t even know who Gerard Way is,” Moxon attests.

Jason, on the other hand, seems to have a little more knowledge on the New Jersey natives.

“I think it’s only because their new record is this epic kind of rock opera,” ponders Dana. “I see what they’re saying. Sometimes a record’s made and all the songs sound really cohesive and flow together very well. I’m not familiar with the record, but I’ve heard that it’s pretty good -- for [a band whose fans are] thirteen year old girls.

Playing clubs, pubs and bars across North America, Bend Sinister has a slightly different demographic than My Chemical Romance, although as My Chemical Romance themselves proved with their latest effort, your fan base can evolve with every record. So what would the boys of Bend Sinister do if they looked out at the crowd one night and saw a throng of thirteen year old girls?

“I don’t know if you ever really think about that,” says Bunyan.

Dana has a more vivid image in mind, “Kind of like the soldiers marching into war with Metallica playing or something?”

Always one to stay grounded, Moxon tells it like it is, “You set the personal goal, or the thing to aspire to, in the sense that you want to think that you can quit your day job, doing what you’re doing with music, and that you’re never gonna have to worry about looking for money to record a song you want to record or to have artistic freedom to keep doing what you want to do. If that means that perhaps the cool kids in your town aren’t the ones coming out to your shows, but it’s just 400 random people, by all means. If somebody is enjoying what we’re doing up there, then I’m happy to have them check it out. If it gives you the opportunity to do what you want to do, then it’s for the best.”

DANCE OFF!

In the music video for “Time Breaks Down”, Dan and the gang take part in a dance off with a mysterious female dancer in a back alley. To ensure they gave her a good run for her money, our sinister friends came well prepared.

“Believe it or not, we actually spent a couple of weeks taking dancing lessons to practice for that,” chuckles Bunyan.

And their competition?

“Her name’s Carissa Barry,” reveals Moxon. “She’s a choreographer/dancer in Vancouver that’s doing pretty well for herself. She kind of was a friend of a friend of the director, Michael Lewis, and I guess he approached her and wrote the concept and the treatment for the video -- which was funded by Bravo! -- and then he gave the idea to us, which he pitched as a kind of West Side Story/Grease style dance-off in an alley. It sounded neat because we wanted to try to learn the steps as good as we could so that it was basically almost a mockery of the classic boy band. We’re all far from your average boy band style type of guy that would be doing that sort of thing. It was especially funny that we all had soaking wet hair and wet t-shirts because we were in the alley all day. It was the coldest, worst day. It was basically the rainiest day of the year and it was October so in ten months the rainiest day in Vancouver, which is one of the rainiest places in North America.”

“For continuity’s sake, we couldn’t change our t-shirts or pants or anything,” adds Jon.

Dan continues, “So we had to stay wet. I’ve got still-framed pictures of us between every shot, where we jumped into this little spot that gave us a bit of shelter from the rain because it was just pouring. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like more of a diva in my life. I was like (in his best diva voice), ‘Fuck! This sucks! Michael! Get the shot over with! I’m done with this shot! I’m done with it!’”

Well actually Dan, Bend Sinister is far from done. In fact, it looks like this is just the beginning of what will become a long and successful career for the boys from British Columbia. Buy their CD’s (their EP is one of my personal favorites) and listen to them until you’re hooked. Consider it an early Christmas present from you to...you. Oh, and when Bend Sinister comes rockin’ through your town, don’t miss the boat. You will like this band.