The making of The Rest’s third album, Seesaw, began under the most tragic circumstances when their friend, mentor, and producer, Dan Achen, passed away from a heartattack while playing hockey. As an homage to their late friend, the band recorded Seesaw at his converted church studio in the same manner as they would have if he was still alive. Satisfied with the album’s progress, they scheduled to release it in April 2011 until a bizarre hard-drive glitch erased every bit of sound that they had recorded and mixed! Six months later, and with the band nearly drained of hope, Seesaw was miraculously recovered by the same company that is responsible for airplane black box recovery!
With Seesaw uninjured and back in their possession, The Rest officially announced June 19, 2012 as the album’s highly anticipated release date.
When I first heard “Always On My Mind”, I was taken aback by Adam’s dynamic vocals. His voice resonates an enigmatic grace made more beautiful by a strain or ache emanating from his gut. Likewise, the instrumentals in this album captivates and entices its listeners to enter a chimera where one is left powerless against the influences of its wavering melodies, like holding tight to a moving seesaw. It’s not often that I find myself nearly falling off my chair in awe of what I am hearing. I have no doubt in my mind that The Rest will soon be celebrated as one of Toronto’s best indie bands of the current time. This is not an exaggeration - you can listen to their songs below or go to their shows to judge for yourself!
The Rest’s Adam Bentley chatted with Wave Maker Magazine about what sparked the band’s birth, their musical influences that helped to shape their sound, and the band’s plans for the coming future:
“The Rest started about 9 years ago when Blake and I foolishly had the idea to start a band with as many of our friends as possible. Luckily for us, most of our friends turned us down, but the guys you see in the band now were foolish enough to join us. I think we mainly wanted to have options and plenty of directions to take the music.
Right now, there are 7 members in The Rest, which has been consistent now for the last 6 years. Every member is a multi-instrumentalist and each brings various talents to the table. I think when we approach a song we try not to pigeonhole anyone in one place. This can sometimes be frustrating if you’re part of the first group working on the song, as you may hope or envision a certain sound and the layers can be taken in any direction the individual sees fit. I think it keeps every voice heard and also let’s the music feel alive. It feels like a real band.
Our interest and influences in music are quite varied. I’m personally always digging into as much music as my brain can handle, and I think through some form of musical osmosis, every bit that leaves a lasting impression seeps into the music somehow. It’s somewhat surprising to find that some of my all-time favourite albums have very little to do with the music The Rest is making. I think some artists create such a complete world over time that it’s tough to really fit into that space. It’s theirs. I think we’re always working to create that very space that we can call our own.
At the moment, there’s a plan in the works to make a video for every one of our song. We’ll see if we can achieve that goal, and we’re really going to try our best to accomplish this! We’re planning to tour behind the record in the fall, using the summer to plan everything out. We’re going to be very busy for the remainder of the year with lots of projects and ideas swirling around!
On June 22, we’ll be at The Drake Hotel for our album release show! We invite Wave Maker Magazine and all of their readers to stop by and enjoy the show! Three years between records builds a lot of energy!”
Catch The Rest at their upcoming show at The Drake Hotel on June 22 @ 7:30pm! For more information, click here: http://www.thedrakehotel.ca/happenings/2012/6/22/rest-seesaw-album-release/
Also check out their video for “Always On My Mind”:
THE REST LINKS:
Bandcamp: http://therest.bandcamp.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/therestband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therestmusic
Photos: http://therestmusic.tumblr.com/photos
Book/EP: http://www.auteurrecordings.com/therest/criedwolf/
Interview by Charmaine Santos
