words & image by Kaitlyn Emslie Farrell
With the upcoming release of their new EP Troubled Heart, local five piece indie rockers Naysa is working hard and having a good time doing so. Dave Todd, Hayley Smith, Sean Leslie, Grant Danyluk and Graham Duval are making their mark on Winnipeg’s goofy, underground music scene that never disappoints. Last month, the band took time out of jamming to talk to Stylus about their band, the way spring smells, meteor showers, and fresh baked pies.
Stylus: How long has Naysa been around?
Grant Danyluk: We’ve been a band for about nine months. We played our first show in the beginning of April, 2013. We fully formed in the beginning of May when we added Sean Leslie to second guitar.
Stylus: How would you describe Naysa?
Dave Todd: I’m really influenced by 90s alternative indie and emo acts, and I’m very responsible and stern and angry all the time. My band is really irresponsible and I have to take care of them. I get drunk sometimes at shows, though, too.
Grant D: Naysa sounds like the way spring smells, the way a meteor shower looks, and the way fresh baked apple pie tastes. It’s the soundtrack of your adolescent innocence and the most rooting, tooting rocking indie act in Winnipeg of January, 2014. At least I think so. I’m not sure though. I haven’t listened to every act in Winnipeg.
Graham D: Naysa sounds like a piano, drums, two guitars, bass, and two vocalists playing all at once. I’m a Winnipeg boy, that’s who I am, every tattoo on my body proves who I am.
Stylus: You’ve got a demo and an EP currently right?
DT: Myself and the band recorded the albums ourselves, the first one we recorded in our basement when we lived on Nassau St and the EP was recorded in our jam space on Furby and Portage. At this moment we have no plans for future releases. We have been writing new material, though. We are focusing on planning our official album release for our new EP Troubled Heart. The show will probably be early March [March 27 at the Park Theatre, y’all!].
Stylus: What can people expect from a Naysa show?
Grant D: Sometimes Dave glares at us when we screw up, which is pretty scary, so that stopped us from screwing up. Lots of times we make a lot of jokes in-between songs and when Hayley is playing “Push Me Aside” we make jokes, like pretending to wear our guitars as hats and rocking out really hard. But I think if you come to a show you should expect to have a good time, have some drinks, dance around and party down.
Graham D: We like to have fun when we play shows, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. One time we were a little too drunk and the songs didn’t sound as tight, but we always try to make sure that everyone is having fun and stuff.
DT: We’re not the best musicians in the world, but we try to enjoy ourselves.
Stylus: Any tour plans?
DT: We saved pretty much every dollar we made from shows and merch and we bought ourselves a tour van. It’s a 1977 Dodge Camper Van. We do intend to tour in spring or early summer. This van wouldn’t make it through a winter tour, though, haha.
Grant D: The van comes complete with a fridge, two beds, a stove, a spare tire, I think there’s an engine under the hood, but I’ve never checked to see if there’s actually just a hole in the floor and Dave’s driving it like a Flintstone car. That seems unlikely though, because it’s a pretty heavy van. I tried to lift it once, and I couldn’t.
Stylus: What’s the most downright awesome thing about being a part of Naysa?
Grant D: The support from our thousands of fans. I promise I’ll answer all the fan mail.
DT: I love playing shows.
Hayley Smith: Playing in a band is fun, because I get to hang out with my friends and play in a band at the same time.
Graham D: It’s all about the money, fame, and GRL$.
Stylus: What’s the worst?
HS: Loading gear.
Grant D: The worst part is that I wish I was the centre of attention, not Dave.
Watch out for Naysa, playing a local basement pub near you soon. The official release for Troubled Heart will be on March 27 at the Park Theatre.