by Sheldon Birnie
Go For The Eyes are a “psychedelic blues-rock” band out of Calgary. Over the past four years, they’ve been working hard to hone their sound and to get out in front of audiences across Canada. With a lot of buzz in their hometown over the past year, Go For The Eyes are taking their music on a tour across central Canada before settling in to the studio in March. Leading up to their gig at the Times Change(d) with local rockers the Noble Thiefs, guitar player and vocalist Jeff Turner took some time out to talk to Stylus.
Stylus: What’s the story behind Go For The Eyes? How did you get started?
Jeff Turner: I guess we started about four years ago. Elise [Roller, vocals/keys] decided we were going to join forces and make rock n roll. She was doing a little solo project at the time. At that time we got Nathan [Raboud], our drummer, who came to an audition through a friend of a friend. He was the only person we auditioned. A couple years ago, our bass player, our main focus guy, quit the band. So when we were looking, Scott [Perrin] was very eager and it was almost instantaneous that we chose him as well.
Stylus: Did you have a sound in mind when you started, or an idea of what you wanted Go For The Eyes to be?
JT: I think you always kind of have an idea. But when you get four people in the room, everyone has such different tastes. Elise was sort of, I don’t want to say classical, but she was a solo piano artist. So her music was very different from what she’s doing now. Nate had more of a metal background. And Scott, our bass player, came from a comedy band. So, then there was me, I was more into Queens of the Stone Age or Arctic Monkeys kind of thing. I guess you have an idea of what you think a band is going to be. But in reality, you just kind of hope that it works out. I think we’re still developing our sound, and it gets better every day.
Stylus: You’re getting quite a bit of attention in Calgary. Is this the first time you’ve headed out to Winnipeg?
JT: No, I think this is our third or maybe even fourth time playing Winnipeg. We met who we think are the coolest people in Winnipeg, the Noble Thiefs, they’re part of a label called Pipe & Hat. I think Elise met the people behind Pipe & Hat in Toronto, so we hooked up a show in Winnipeg. We just went on tour with another one of their bands, the Revival. They’re just the greatest people, we love touring with them. We’ve been really spoiled, to be honest. We got really lucky.
Stylus: Where else are you hitting on your current tour?
JT: We just did Canmore, Fernie, Lethbridge, and then we’ve got Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and then home. So it’s not a large extended tour, but we’re hitting central Canada.
Stylus: What do Go For The Eyes have planned for the rest of the year?
JT: We’re back in the studio in March. We still haven’t decided if it’ll be a full length or an EP. We’re going all the way out to Toronto in May, doing CMW. And then we’re looking at summer festivals. Nothing’s been confirmed yet, but that will be our summer.
Stylus: What can we expect from your set at the Times Change(d) if people haven’t seen you before?
JT: It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be rock n roll. If you’ve ever seen the Noble Thiefs, you know the place is gonna be packed. It’s gonna be hot, it’s gonna be sweaty. It’ll be the best thing you can possibly do in Winnipeg, if you’re into bands. You couldn’t ask for a better show.
Check out Go For The Eyes at the Times Change(d) on Saturday, February 22nd alongside the Noble Thiefs. Make sure to get there before 10pm if you want to get into the hot, sweaty party, though! See you on the dancefloor.