One thing I didn't include in the story or the Q&A: She talked a bit about warming up for the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden. When I asked what it was like to hang out with Mick and the boys, she said they met, but only briefly. "They run a pretty tight ship."
Here's the story:
Metric, and its fans, gets a gift from the past
By Chris Nixon
For the Union-Tribune
September 27, 2007
Nobody knows which street to take / He took the easy way / What was the easy way? sings Metric frontwoman Emily Haines in her sweetest voice on the title track from the Canadian quartet's long-lost debut disc. In terms of the music business and Metric's steady rise to fame, there is no easy way.
Splitting time between flats in London and Brooklyn, Haines and her partner, Jimmy Shaw, meticulously crafted and assembled the 10 tracks on “Grow Up and Blow Away.” Recorded in 2001, Haines (daughter of poet Paul Haines) and Shaw (who studied trumpet at Juilliard) thought the album would represent the first chapter in their careers as Metric. After six years of sitting on the shelves of the record label Rykodisc, “Grow Up and Blow Away” became the latest chapter instead of the first.
“This work symbolizes the innocent and naive period of beginning to try to be musicians for a living and all of the obstacles that we've encountered on the way,” recalled Haines in a recent phone conversation from New York City as her band prepared for a North American tour. “When I listen to that music, I think of how pure and sweet our vision was of how it could be. Since then, we've really taken matters into our own hands.
DETAILS
Metric, with Crystal Castles
When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Where: House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., downtown
Tickets: $12.50-$14.50
Phone: (619) 671-3700
Online: www.hob.com
“We realized it's probably a blessing that we weren't handed (a contract) and then became recording artists in 1998. When I listen to ('Grow Up and Blow Away'), it's like listening to my little sister that I don't have.”
Metric purchased the album and released it on Last Gang Records this year, giving listeners a glimpse into the early, concentrated version of Metric. Recorded before the addition of drummer Joules Scott-Key and bassist Josh Winstead, “Grow Up and Blow Away” shines a light on Metric's roots. Wrapped in layers of synths and drum machine percussion patterns, Haines' seemingly effortless melodic sense and Shaw's ability to construct songs around her melodies carry the disc.
Along with providing the seeds for Metric's intellectual pop, the project also gave Haines a more realistic sense of the music industry. In other words, there is no easy way: “Those (were) the days that we thought we could just sit in our house and make music and other people would do the legwork for us. We quickly realized that was never going to be a life that we could handle. Instead of listening to people who said that we had to look for someone to help us realize our potential, we just did it ourselves. I'm really glad we made that decision.”
Since the recording of “Grow Up and Blow Away,” Metric has steadily grown a fan base through the infectious keyboard-driven pop of 2003's “Old World Underground, Where Are You Now” and the more guitar-oriented rock of 2005's “Live It Out.” After the disappointment of “Grow Up and Blow Away,” Metric has found itself in a nice groove: opening for the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden, the Juno Awards, spots at the Coachella music fest, solid record sales and enthusiastic crowds at shows. Recognizing the dangers of typecasting, Haines didn't want to get stuck in the groove.
“I see it all the time with musicians: You get stuck in a rut,” Haines said. “It's like playing a role in a sitcom. You become a one-dimensional character if the only way you function is in a particular role.”
In the past year, Haines released her first solo record, “Knives Don't Have Your Back” by Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton, a somber, stripped-down affair highlighted by Haines' compositions on the piano. Winstead and Scott-Key formed the side project Bang Lime and released “Best Friends in Love.”
“It's part of the (band's) concept that everyone should be able to develop,” Haines said. “It just really worked out well this year. It gave everyone a chance to breathe and do some other things. And so coming back to start writing the new Metric record has benefited enormously from that.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
