Interview with Adrian Tonceanu, Igor Lazebnik and Paul “CK” Armstrong of Morre Tuesday February 2nd 2010

http://www.myspace.com/morremusic

By: Alex Young
Photos by Scott McAlpine

Morre is a band that may be generally unknown at the moment but they are steadily on the rise since the release of their ambitious debut album in January. With a solid record under their belts and a flare for theatrics in their intriguing live show, Fazer got a chance to speak with the personalities that make the band the mystical force that it is. After a talk with Adrian, Igor and bassist Paul “CK” Armstrong, it is clear that the creative minds behind the band are ready to make Morre a force to be reckoned with.

Alex: To give a bit of a backdrop for a lot of the readers that might now be familiar with the band and to put the band into context for them, how was the band brought into existence in the first place?

Adrian: A couple of years ago I was with a local band called Automatic, and they were doing pretty well, whatever, but I knew it was going to come to an end. I knew Igor (Lazebnik, guitarist and vocalist in Morre) ten years previous to that, he was playing in a rival band at the time; we always had respect for what each other were doing. We always kind of play music with each other in the same band but we never really said anything, but we were always going to each other’s shows and being rowdy, doing our thing.

Alex: It was almost like a friendly competition.

Adrian: Right, exactly and I knew that he had integrity and I knew that he wasn’t going to drop the band he was in at the time. So I called him and I had formulate it and say it the right way and said, “Hey man, do you want to help me with something?” Because I knew he was going to say yes to that.

Igor: I say yes to opportunities, you know? (Adrian and Igor laugh together)



Adrian: I knew he would say no if I invited him to start a band from the ground up, so I was like, “I have some tunes, whatever, did you want to help me with these tunes?” and he said, “Yeah, sure.” So we made some time and started meeting up, jamming on acoustics and as time went by I said, “Do you have any songs that sound like this?” He was like, “Yeah sure, I have this song and that song.” We started jamming together more and making this whole new sound that developed in Morre. That’s kind of the whole idea, I wanted to steal him away from that band. (Everyone laughs)

Igor: He (Adrian) pretty much succeeded at some point. It was a rough period but I had to make a choice and I made the right choice. Because again, I knew that this band (Morre) and especially him (Adrian) at the time, we all have a very respectable work ethic, we’re very respectful to the music, we both have integrity and we’re very hard working people. That’s to me one of the most important things about being in a band that respect never really diminishes, it just grows over a period of time.

Alex: What was it like going through that transition period from butting heads in rival bands to turning that whole situation around to where you’re working together?

Igor: I guess it was the magic we experienced when we were writing the songs. If I would bring a skeleton he would elaborate on the song and it just grew, it’s as simple as that.

Alex: How did you discover the musical chemistry of each individual member? Did you handpick specific people or was it like bringing four corners together?

Adrian: With Tyler (Koch, Morre’s drummer) it was like…We were meant to be two guys playing acoustic guitars and doing harmonized vocals that sort of like…

Igor: Simon and Garfunkel but with more of a Middle Eastern vibe. (Everyone laughs together)

Adrian: But you know, more upbeat, kind of gloomy with lyrical content that was very heavy. We did some open mic’s and it was really good, we experienced success but on a small scale, but as time went by we auditioned Tyler (Koch) and he really fit the bill right off the bat and so we dropped the acoustics and got some electrics. We auditioned a lot of bass players but we never really gelled with anyone and that brings us to date, to the moment. CK joined the band and finally made the band a solid unit, because there were a lot of bass players auditioning and just not gelling or sucking, a lot of sucking. (Adrian laughs)

Igor: They were just not good. They weren’t proficient at all.

Adrian: And whoever proved to know how to play around the fret board proved to be flakes.



Alex: It’s striking that fine balance between personal chemistry and musical chemistry. You can be great friends with somebody but if they’re not in the pocket and it’s just not fitting that’s all there is to it. If you’re good enough friends you should be able to be friends whether you’re in a band or not, that shouldn’t be what’s holding you together or holding you back.

Igor: That’s definitely the case, we’re all good friends.

CK: For me, it was this summer I was doing a tour in the Mediterranean. I knew I was going to be coming to Toronto to stay in Toronto, which is rare for me, to know that I’m going to be staying in a place for a long time. So I was looking for the one band, the one original band, that I could sink my teeth into and have a good time.

Alex: And have a stake in for the long haul.

CK: Even if you play bars on the weekends, every musician has that rock star dream. So I always aimed for an original band and I applied to these guys along with forty or fifty other bands, and they didn’t get back to me. I found their ad again and applied again and they didn’t get back to me, then when I actually got into Toronto they got back to me. (CK laughs)

Alex: The third time was the charm! How do you guys see yourselves fitting into the musical community in Toronto? I know you guys don’t associate yourselves with any particular scene, like the metal scene or the punk scene. Since there’s so much dynamic song writing and your sound spans in so many different directions how do you personally see Morre fitting into this collage of musical diversity?

Adrian: I think it’s the kind of thing where you just have to grab the sword and just plough your way through. You have to make your own thing and go through the motions and just don’t look back. Just keep going with something you know is different, but strong enough to believe in and pull through with it.

Igor: It’s like an underdog kind of situation, but then all the bands went through that at some point.

Adrian: Something new is always met with resistance but I think in Toronto it doesn’t work against us because people crave something new, something different, just give us a vibe, we base a lot of our performance on the vibe. It’s the kind of thing where you have to stand up for what you believe in and take it upon yourself and not wait for someone to make it happen for you because no one will.