Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Film & Music

A collage interpretation of the band's eclectic sound Photo: Natascha Malta

The band shares a moment on the stairs Photo: Brucepeninsula / Myspace

Ontario band Bruce Peninsula taps into a musical energy that is sometimes primal, sometimes polished, and always thoroughly engaging. The music disintegrates into musical anarchy in a way that only nine wailing, chanting, humming, instrument-banging, tambourine-shaking, chime-jangling musicians are capable of - only to seamlessly emerge into incredibly tightly controlled, complex and cohesive music. Bruce Peninsula manages to pull off a large-band sound that is one part growling Tom Waits-style blues, one part gospel call and response, and two parts folk on an epic scale. Band member Neil Haverty recently took a break on the road to chat with The Strand about folk music in the city and the perils of fielding a large band.

Strand: Your work draws upon a wide variety of genres. Who would you cite as musical influences?
Neil Haverty: There are too many ingredients in the pot to boil it down to a couple of bands. We are surrounded by all kinds of music and it all seeps in. There are sometimes upwards of 10 people in our band and we each have our own top 10 favorites. Add that up and you have 100 different bands. We tend to find common ground in old impassioned blues music, trance-like African music and good and complex prog rock.

S: There seems to be some fluidity in the number of artists playing in Bruce Peninsula at any given time. Do you have a target number of members?
NH: There is a core band of five that are always there, then we add members as necessary. Sometimes it's a question of feasibility and how many people we can fit in the van, but mostly it's a strategic draft depending on what we want to get out of a show. It's a little hectic sometimes, but so far the extra work has been worth it.

S: You're embarking upon a cross-Canada tour. Is there anything about this tour you're particularly excited about?
NH: Well, we are actually in the middle of the Eastern tour now and it has surpassed our wildest expectations so far. Lots of great life experiences - like a house party broken up by the cops and a magical experience at a secret little coffee shop in a small town - and there's still a few days to go. We feel really lucky that we have an outlet that lets us travel and meet new people and see new sights. We love getting in the van.

S: Bruce Peninsula is an interesting name choice for a Toronto group. Do you all hail from the city?
NH: I actually know very few people from Toronto. We all met in the city, but we all came from surrounding places… We all moved downtown when we were younger because the city lights were appealing. It's funny though, as we get older we've all started longing for a slower pace. It's a good city to spend young adulthood in but I don't know if any of us are firmly rooted in the downtown core. We'll see, I guess.

S: How did you settle on the name?
NH: Being from places not too far from the peninsula, we all have very fond memories of camping or hiking the trail. Our parents would take us when we were little and it always strikes a chord when we talk about it with people our age… We liked that it was simultaneously recognizable to people from Ontario and mysterious to people from outside. It also invokes some imagery we wanted to associate with and I think it's a pretty commanding image.

S: Do the diverse geographical marvels of southern Ontario hold a special place in your heart?
NH: Your surroundings are always going to play some role in your development as a person. We are extremely lucky in Canada to have access to wildlife and the woods, mere minutes from our metropolitan areas. That dual experience is important to all of us and is a regular touchstone in our music. So, yes, there is a big dollop of Southern Ontario in our music.

S: How did you find yourself playing folk music in Canada's biggest city?
NH: Toronto has a pretty rich history with folk music. Joni Mitchell and Neil Young got started here, for example. We come at folk from a different context, a different community, but in many ways it mirrors what was going on then. Just musicians playing for other musicians and appreciative music fans, carving out a little pocket to exist and create within.

S: Any parting thoughts for the readers here at UofT?
NH: I used to get drunk in your dorms.

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