In a world where many musicians go it alone, or focus on power trio bands to save money, Library Voices from Regina has forged forward on a different path.
The group, which plays The Spot in Yorkton tonight (Wednesday), boasts eight voices.
The core of the group comes from Estevan; Michael Dawson, Carl Johnson, Paul Gutheil, Mike Thievin, Brennan Ross, while Karla Miller is from Edmonton, Amanda Scandrett from Moose Jaw, and Eoin Hickey-Cameron comes from Ireland originally.
In spite of the diverse places of birth, the members of Library Voices found themselves coming together basically as neighbours, said Karla Miller.
"We were all friends that lived in the same neighbourhood in Regina," she said. "Mike Dawson and Carl had been in bands together previously, and wanted to start a new pop band so in early March 2008 they invited all of us to come and jam. All of us showed up and never left!
"Also, all the guys from Estevan have known each other since they were kids. It makes for a lot of entertaining storytelling about each other during long van rides."
With eight members, influences for Library Voices is rather diverse, but it has percolated down to a sound Miller said, "could be categorized as 'indie-pop'.
"We try to write songs that are really catchy and get people dancing.
"Our musical influences are varied, as the bands we all listen to span several decades and genres. Lately we've been listening to a lot of sixties and motown music.
"Our music writing is influenced by bands like The Beatles, Talking Heads, and Magnetic Fields."
The sound Library Voices has settled on is one which has taken the band from coast-to-coast.
"We have played hundreds of shows all across Canada, from Victoria BC to Charlottetown, PEI and everything in between," said Miller. "One of the highlights to-date was the opportunity we had to play a medal 小蓝视频 during the Olympics in BC Place this past February, where we performed in front of 18,000 people.
"Some of the festival highlights include Calgary Folk Fest this past summer, Hillside Festival in Guelph the summer of 2009 and Ottawa Bluesfest in 2009."
Library Voices have also found time among a heavy travel schedule to launch a CD.
"The album was recorded by Orion Paradis in SoulSound Studios in Regina," explained Miller. "The studio is in the back of what used to be an old Jewish funeral home. An inscription still rests above the entrance that translates to 'house of truth and loving kindness'."
Miller said the studio proved to be a good place to write.
"A lot of the songs were basically written in the studio and not played live much before recording them," she said, adding taking them on the road has helped the material grow.
"Playing them live has really helped them evolve and given them a different quality than what they sound like recorded."
In terms of writing Miller said the band generally relies on two members to start the process, and then everybody becomes involved.
"The skeletons of the songs for the album were primarily written by Carl and Mike Dawson, and then everyone else came in and wrote their parts after, with a lot of writing happening in the studio," she said. "All of the songs were conceptualized and roughly outlined within a few months prior to going into the studio, but most of the songs really didn't take shape until they were tracked in the studio. We thought we would be able to finish recording the album in a couple of months, but it ended up taking over a year."
Miller said while it took far longer than anticipated, the results are worth it.
"We are happy with the finished product and it is something that took a very long time and at points it was kind of hard to remain objective about how it sounded since we had spent so much time on it," she said.
Miller said the CD was a definite education.
"We learned a lot from that process and are presently taking a more collaborative approach to song writing where all of us are spending a lot of time together playing music and working out details of new songs," she said.
"Our first EP 'Hunting Ghosts and Other Collected Shorts' was finished and recorded within a month in April 2008, and it is a representation of our songwriting in its infancy.
"Our full length release 'Denim on Denim' shows how our songwriting has grown and evolved since that EP.
"We are currently writing another full length album which will be recorded this winter.
As much as Miller said the band likes what they have accomplished in the studio, they still see the stage as where they really shine.
"We are very happy with the album, but we're very much a band that needs to be seen live to fully get the energy of the songs," she said.
Library Voices are appearing at The Spot with Paper Lions and Bend Sinister.
