{"id":9770,"date":"2014-12-16T16:19:12","date_gmt":"2014-12-16T16:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stylusmagazine.ca\/?p=9770"},"modified":"2014-12-16T16:19:12","modified_gmt":"2014-12-16T16:19:12","slug":"mobina-galore-rocking-heavy-heartfelt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/2014\/12\/16\/mobina-galore-rocking-heavy-heartfelt\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobina Galore :: Rocking heavy & heartfelt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"photo:<\/a>
photo: Jenna Priestner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by Daniel Emberg<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the first Stylus<\/i> feature on Mobina Galore, so we will start with the most important question: what should you expect when checking them out?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe describe ourselves as an alternative punk duo, kind of in the vein of Brody Dalle, The Distillers, Japandroids, that sort of thing,\u201d offers guitarist\/vocalist Jenna Priestner over a frosty pint glass. Her bandmate Marcia Hanson (drums\/vocals) quickly interjects, \u201cYeah, all of that but we\u2019re more melodic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nodding in agreement, Priestner adds, \u201cAt live shows, we always try to be high energy and as entertaining as possible. It\u2019s kind of a visual show. We want people to be engaged with what we\u2019re doing, to see that it\u2019s really heartfelt.\u201d<\/p>\n

The description is both straightforward and accurate. Their songs are heavy on hooks<\/a>, and often carried by emotive vocal leads that are enunciated clearly but come with a rough enough edge to let you know Mobina Galore could well be the last band standing on any given Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Priestner and Hanson met through mutual friends in Fernie, BC, a few years back. As explained by Hanson, \u201cJenna had a jam room at her house, so we\u2019d go get drunk at the bar then head back and jam\u2026 All of a sudden we were playing shows around Fernie.\u201d<\/p>\n

They soon moved to Vancouver, the \u201cnatural progression\u201d for a band that decides to get out of town in those parts. Having grown up in Winnipeg, Hanson eventually got the itch to return home. Priestner decided to come along, and a funny thing happened when Mobina Galore landed here.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like other people started taking us more seriously,\u201d muses Hanson. \u201cI think we fit in a lot better with the Winnipeg scene.\u201d Encouraged, the duo pumped out a five-song EP called Skeletons <\/i>in 2012. The disc quickly got lots of love from community radio and CBC, leading to a headlining tour of Western Canada and showcase slot at NXNE.<\/p>\n

Some people take positive feedback as a finish line, and settle for the first plateau. Mobina Galore took the sudden accolades as a challenge to refine their sound. Per Priestner, \u201cWe started thinking that, with more people coming to our shows, we should try to write better songs, try to be a band we would really want to hear.\u201d After reflecting on what they \u201cwant to hear,\u201d the band made a conscious decision to bring their punky tendencies more to the forefront for a follow-up release.<\/p>\n

Late last year, recording commenced at Private Ear with John Paul Peters, whom the band describes as, \u201cjust the most amazing guy.\u201d While Skeletons <\/i>came from overnight sessions with recording students (budget concerns and all that), Priestner says this time, \u201cWe wanted to go all-in and work with a proper producer.\u201d The resulting full-length album, Cities Away<\/i>, will be available to the public on December 9, with a release show booked at the Park Theatre for December 27.<\/p>\n

The advance release of \u201cBad Love Song\u201d came with the band’s first music video<\/a>, and Mobina Galore has again found support from community and public radio outlets in generating anticipation for Cities Away<\/i>. Just in time for the full album release, they are starting to push a track called \u201cYou\u2019re Not 23 Anymore.\u201d Both tracks are laden with crunch and swagger, reflecting a band riding a wave of confidence in their latest work.<\/p>\n

Both members point to working with Peters as a key factor in improving their songwriting, as there had never previously been an outsider playing a part in the creative process. \u201cIt could be something as simple as suggesting we arrange a song to bring in the chorus a little sooner,\u201d says Hanson. \u201cWe\u2019d been playing some of these songs together so long, it was hard to think about them objectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither member of Mobina Galore has ever been in another band, and they earnestly describe their apprehension around the prospect of a career in music. One major priority is figuring out how to make it financially sustainable enough to get away from the ol\u2019 day jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will \u2018sell out\u2019 so happily,\u201d attests Hanson. \u201cFuck, I will write jingles for Swiffer commercials if it means I can stop serving and just play music!\u201d<\/p>\n

Priestner has a caveat: \u201cI don’t drink milk, so I won’t do a milk commercial. Almond milk only.\u201d At the same time, she agrees that being able to support themselves through music is the \u201cultimate dream\u201d for Mobina Galore, and\u2014after gentle prodding from her bandmate\u2014concedes that she would do it for milk. The exchange shows the two are not only on the same page in terms of business, but close enough friends to rib one another while discussing that business.<\/p>\n

To that end, the band has assertively spread its name around throughout 2014. Several tours, radio tracking, and working with a publicist have been major factors in a strategic approach to increasing their public profile. Dishing out business cards at a conference with pre-loaded USB sticks attached was apparently quite effective.<\/p>\n

Of course, they are feeling a bit of the pathetic, predictable pushback that is part of the deal for women playing rock music. Priestner offers a bit of advice for dealing with it on tour: \u201cMake sure you\u2019re the person to speak first, tell the sound guy how it\u2019s going to be and it\u2019s usually fine. If you don\u2019t say anything, they wonder if you know what you\u2019re doing. Go in there with confidence and they\u2019re not usually dicks about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the hurdles loom a bit larger when trying to get major radio play. \u201cBeing a female-fronted band, you get the shit end of the stick,\u201d confirms Priestner. \u201cWe hear back from programmers saying they like our song but we’d be \u2018competing\u2019 against The Pack A.D., Die Mannequin, The Balconies\u2026 If they play those bands, why are we the competition?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly,\u201d adds Hanson. \u201cIs every dude rock band out there competing with each other? So how does anybody get played? It doesn\u2019t make any sense. They might as well say, \u2018There\u2019s only room for one band with women on this station, we\u2019ve filled our quota,\u2019 or at least that\u2019s the impression we get.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of awareness is in step with the increasingly plucky path being walked by Mobina Galore. Given how much effort has gone into priming the pump for Cities Away, <\/i>its release should see the band working hard throughout 2015 to keep their snowball rolling. If you want to give it a little push, consider the below.<\/p>\n

Mobina Galore play the Park Theatre on December 27, and hope you’ll be sick enough of your family to come spend a Saturday night with them. Clipwing and Union Stockyards are also on the bill. Show at 9pm, tickets are $10 at Music Trader, the Park, or through the band. If you have a contact in the world of dairy advertising, make sure to hit ’em up!<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Daniel Emberg This is the first Stylus feature on Mobina Galore, so we will start with the most important question: what should you expect when checking them out? \u201cWe describe ourselves as an alternative punk duo, kind of in the vein of Brody Dalle, The Distillers, Japandroids, that sort of thing,\u201d offers guitarist\/vocalist Jenna […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}