The Hoof and The Heel

The Hoof and The Heel are Harris, Christine, Al and Farid.  And they are from Canada. The band just released their Fireworks EP, which you can download HERE.  They are also on a short tour on the East Coast, with stops at Pianos in NYC tonight and Bruar Falls in Brooklyn tomorrow.  If you are around, I recommend checking them out.  Here is the title track “Fireworks,” as well as the video, and a nice little chat with the band below.  Love, love, LOVE this song and video.

The Hoof and The Heel – Fireworks

The Hoof & The Heel – “Fireworks” (NSFW) from Bryan Schlam on Vimeo.

Who are The Hoof and The Heel and how did you all meet?
C:  I met Harris and Farid the week I first visited Montreal in 2008, apparently just a few weeks after they met, at the bar that Harris was working at. It wasn’t until a year later did we play together. I was  living in LA, and came to Montreal to pretty much join the band (I didn’t know it at the time until the first day we all got together). While we were recording our EP, I met Al at a rock lotto fundraiser (bands are formed by pulling names out of a hat and they have a week to write 3 songs and perform them). We needed a bass player, and Al and I got along great so he joined the team.

You just released your Fireworks EP on July 13 and embarked on a tour a few days ago.  What’s been the most exciting part of the process?
H: It’s all happened really fast so it’s hard to even take it in. Every day we do what we need to do without thinking too much about it. I have to say personally the most exciting thing is still to get up in front of a new audience and play. Each show is extremely unique right now, going from a 400 capacity venue in the city to a dive bar in a small town or a barn in the country. It’s all sort of equally fun so I think we’re just enjoying the whole thing.

What’s your favorite The Hoof and The Heel song / which do you love performing live and why?
C: Every time we have a new song I think it’s all of our favorite song at the time – so on this tour it’s exciting trying out the new songs in different places to work out the kinks and get the audiences response. Off our EP, I love performing King because it’s the most intimate and I love playing Tigers because it’s the opposite. We have a bi-polar set sometimes.

We’ve seen the video for “Fireworks” and really love the song and the visuals.  Tell us about the process of making the video.
H: We were really lucky, a friend of a friend used fireworks in an indie film called “So Long Lonesome”  and the cinematographer on that was Bryan Schlam. I got an e-mail from him maybe a few weeks after the movie was released asking if he could make a music video for the song. He’s in LA and none of us could get there so I told him to go for it if he wanted. Even though So Long Lonesome was really beautifully shot I was expecting a much lower production on our video, but then a couple months later he emailed me a rough cut and I was amazed at how great it looked and how much work he put into it. I gave him carte blanche on the storyline so it was really interesting to see his interpretation of the song come to life.

When or how did you first fall in love with music? (Your dad taught you banjo, you heard Dirty Diana in a bathroom, etc.)
F: My mother thought that I would become a punk rocker because as a baby whenever we would go past record stores playing loud music I would dance in my pram (stroller, as you guys call it). I’ve been dancing since!

If you could cover any song right now, what would it be and describe what it would sound like?
H: “The day they drove old dixie down” by The Band. I’m not sure how it would sound, but I hope to find out eventually.
C: “Wild Thing”
A: Loving old Whitney Houston right now. Especially “How Will I Know.” It would be fun to play that one (not sure Harris would be comfortable singing the lyrics).