BeatRoute Magazine ON Edition - January 2020

Anyway Gang
T
he hardest thing
about being in
Anyway Gang is
wrangling. It goes
like this: I call Dave
Monks. No answer.
I call again. Leave a
message. Then I call Menno
Versteeg. When we get Monks,
the lines are fuzzy. Five calls
later we have a clear reception
and a little less time. But it’s
okay, because this isn’t about
publicity, anyway.
“One thing at a time—that’s
kinda been the mantra here,”
Versteeg says, hours before
playing the last Hollerado show
ever. Anyway Gang released
their self-titled debut album on
November 29. “We’re not doing
press just because that’s what
you’re supposed to do. We’re
doing press that we want to
do.”
This take-it-as-it-comes
attitude is an approach most
up-and-coming bands cannot
afford, but Anyway Gang has
paid their dues. Equally fronted
by Sam Roberts, Chris Murphy
of Sloan, Dave Monks of
Tokyo Police Club, and Menno
Versteeg of Hollerado, the
musical supergroup formed “on
a whim.”
Monks and Versteeg met
backstage in 2010 when
Tokyo Police Club opened for
The Flaming Lips in Toronto.
Versteeg met Roberts at a
concert, and when Versteeg
was in the eighth grade he got
a poster signed by Murphy,
oblivious to what the future
held for either of them.
“It’s pretty neat for Dave and
I especially,” Versteeg muses.
“We grew up listening to these
guys. Sam and Chris, like, they
barely know our band.” Monks
chimes in: “They are vaguely
aware that we make music.”
The road brought them
together, along with an email
Canada's latest indie-rock supergroup featuring members of Sloan, Tokyo Police Club, Hollerado and
Sam Roberts Band find a new perspective through jokes and junk food By DAYNA MAHANNAH
NOW WE
KNOW THAT YOU
CAN DO ANYTHING
AND IT’S GONNA BE
FINE AS LONG AS YOU
TRY YOUR HARDEST
AND HAVE A GOOD
TIME DOING IT.
Menno Versteeg
Having the
record be self-titled
just felt appropriate.
It was really an act of
discovering ones-self
and discovering the
powers within me.
thread and four back pockets-worth
of material that had
yet to find a home. Once they
managed to lock down a date
outside of their respective schedules,
it was “a pretty easy thing to
make happen.” Aside from being a
self-contained unit with a four-way
history of independent success,
pre-backed by a respected label
(Versteeg owns Royal Mountain
Records), the lighthearted, downto-earth
nature of Monks and Versteeg
make it simple to understand
how.
“The first day we sat around
the couches and a coffee table,”
says Monks, “and it was just like,
doing ukulele and guitar versions
of everybody’s songs.” Versteeg
jumps in, noting that between them,
they’ve been playing music for
decades: “Not to sound like this,
but we know what we’re doing. Any
idea that anyone has—it’s not gonna
be bad.” Without the pressure
of any one band member relying on
Anyway Gang to be their bread and
butter, the group has been free to
play purely for the love of it.
This manifested as a positive
creative culture within the group.
“That was a really cool part of the
process,” Versteeg expresses.
“Everyone was saying yes and
enabling each other.” That enthusiastic
alchemy crystallized into the
album’s most notable attribute.
“Everyone brought these songs
that were kind of outward looking,
like universal ideas,” Monks reveals.
“When we’re all working on our own
records, you dig into your personal
stuff. But this is the first band I’ve
been a part of where each song is
speaking more outwardly.”
Plus, it’s fun. The indie-rock
virtuosos have formed a nine-track
debut that is equal parts danceable
beats, catchy hooks, present lyrics,
and zippy production. The kind
of music to play amongst friends,
perhaps while sitting around eating
junk food and telling jokes, which
is exactly how Anyway Gang
recorded it.
“When you’re starting your
career, it’s so easy to be precious
about your stuff, and rightly so,”
Versteeg says. He’s got to go get
ready for his monumental last show
with Hollerado. And Monks just
claimed a spot on the guest list.
“But now we know that you can do
anything and it’s gonna be fine as
long as you try your hardest and
have a good time doing it.”
Anyway Gang is out everywhere via Royal
Mountain Records. They perform January
17 at The Horseshoe Tavern (Toronto). Tix:
Eventbrite
JANUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 17