28 Oct 2014

Toronto band HIGHS have been busy since they first came to Guelph. Over the last two years, they have been touring, writing music, getting featured in movies, and more. The band is gearing up for a busy fall season with the release of their deluxe EP, a packed tour schedule supporting Twin Forks across Canada and will be playing several showcases at CMJ in New York City. In the last few months they have held the top spot on the CBC charts, toured with Canadian favourites Hey Ocean and they also scored a big song placement with ‘Nomads’ on the trailer for the Emma Roberts and John Cusack film “Adult World” (you can check out the trailer here).

HIGHS stops in Guelph on November 4th. We got a chance to ask the band a few questions about what they’ve been up to and where they are headed in the future.

Music Lives: Your EP has been on regular rotation of my playlist over the last two years! When can fans expect some new music from the band?

HIGHS: That’s great news, very happy to hear you’ve been enjoying it! We’re actually just about to re-release the EP with a new song called “Mango” on it, so that’ll be new. The other option is to come out to a show. Most of the songs we play are unreleased and could be considered “new” as well. As for a whole new release, we’re working hard on a full length. The goal is summer 2015!

ML: How have things changed since you first came to Guelph in 2013?

HIGHS: Things have changed a lot! There are some more blatant changes like members leaving and joining the band and a couple of us growing a little taller. On a more subtle level, we’ve really grown into our sound and found a rhythm and direction to both the songs we write and our live performances. I think playing a whole lot of shows helps to speed up the development process. We were a much younger band back in 2013. It’s exciting to look back on the last couple years and see how the band has developed, matured, and changed.

ML: Your stop in Guelph is part of a pretty big Canadian tour. What’s the best part of touring? The worst?

HIGHS: This is going to be our biggest tour yet! I’d say that the best part of touring comes down to two things…

A) Playing a series of shows with another band and getting to know their songs and the individuals in the band on a deeper level is pretty awesome. We were really lucky with our last touring partners, Hey Ocean!. They have got to be some of the nicest people around and with some sweet songs too!

B) Meeting and connecting with fans on a personal face to face level. Connecting with people is much easier these days with all the tweets, friend requests and instagrams going around. It’s nice to meet and talk to people face to face in cities you don’t get to visit often.

Hardest part, I’d have to say is staying healthy – eating, sleeping, staying hydrated, stretching, that sort of thing. You’ve got to come into touring with a plan in place and that’s just what we intend to do. Limit ourselves to a maximum 3 Dairy Queen stops a day.

http://vimeo.com/100819614

ML: Congrats on the success of Nomads! How does it feel to have your song in a movie?

HIGHS: Thank you, it’s pretty surreal! One might say that seeing John Cusack’s and Emma Roberts’ beautiful faces while our song is being played in the background is a dream come true. It’s very cool to know that our new friends John and Emma have listened to our song, even if they didn’t have a choice!

ML: Where can people learn more about HIGHS?

HIGHS: We’ve got it all! You can visit our website – www.highsmusic.com – or connect with us via facebook, twitter, and instagram – /highsmusic. Our favourite option, however, is to come out to a show and to talk to us. That’s probably the best way to learn more about what’s going on and is also a lot of fun for us. Granted, for those people who aren’t able to travel long distances to ask us “what’s up?”, our website is a good place to start!

HIGHS plays at DSTRCT on November 4th. Click here to find more details about their show. We’ll see you there!