Meet The Ormidales
Interview by Katie Bowyer
October 20, 2008

"Mrs Allan" If you are seeing this message it probably means you are using Internet Explorer. While we respect your choice in broswers, IE really, really, really scuks. I cannot tell you how much more difficult IE makes things. Now, if you are someone who has never give Firefox a try, please, please, pretty, pretty please do yourself a favor and download it. It's WAY BETTER, and I can gaurantee that everything will work on this site. More Ormidales... The Ormidales in Phibble TV The Ormidales in The Magazine The Ormidales in Phibble Films The Ormidales in Phibble Books

Please tell us about your new album and don't leave out any dirty little secrets about it!?

Mark: It was like an accidental baby really. We met to more just reconnect after a long time and played each other some music that we were working on. Meeting weekly at first, we helped each other to co-write a number of songs and thought it would be fun to make a demo of a couple. On Craigslist we located Paul Wohlstetter and went to see him at his little studio to play our music. Paul grew up in Brooklyn with a lot of great music around him that had been our early influence.

We came back the next week and were so impressed with what he had done with our rough versions. A great musician, with albums of his own, he had added some rhythm and keyboard tracks that suggested we could do more than acoustic duets with the music.

Bill's eyes started to spin like saucers and the idea of some lush production seemed quite possible and he located Kiva, a Canadian throat-singer on Craigslist. Paul socked the beats to what we originally though would be a Celtic-feel "Waiting for Catherine To Call"

So the album is a nice mix of organic and electronic sounds embellishing our songs, with some inspired moments on both the recording floor and the mixing console.

We all worked quite quickly together and came up with 8 songs completed. On the way to the studio one night, we decided on the last two songs and recorded them that night as stripped down acoustic numbers, relying more on feel than production. We were quite happy with the approach and plan to do the same on the next set of recordings.

Billy: As Mark said it was really just our idea to get together. The Divine Fire was ignited and we are really happy with our debut. We are about to begin our next project and hope for a release in the spring of 09.Really happy to have you playing our stuff and really rewarding to have seen how well in most cases it has been received.

You have done a couple of music videos for your songs, "Last Train Out"and "Didn't Even Get Your Name"do you have plans to create one for "Waiting For Catherine to Call"which has been voted as a favorite song on the Other Side show?

Billy: We thought it important to get video interpretations as it is a great medium to get your stuff out there to the masses. With a shoestring budget we were able to pull "Last Train Out"off. The lads did a great job for us and as young film grads were happy to get started in their field. Didn't Get Your Name was done with a cheapo program and just gathering some great film noir images. As far as Catherine being done as a video, it would need the real deal. As it was written after a dream one morning, which is another story, it is a must to conjure some spectacular light and archetypal imagery; as well it must be filmed in Ormidale Scotland. So we are waiting for help on this one, anyone out there?

Summer is winding down, but can you both share with us your most favorite summer vacation that you ever took?

Mark: As we have a really sweet summer in Vancouver, I usually stick around town in the summer and travel in the winter or spring. My favorite had to be a trip to Cambodia, bussing from Bangkok Thailand to the an infamous Cambodian border crossing, negotiating a bumpy ride, entrusting the driver to navigate through the darkness, clutching the back of an open pick-up truck for hours, arriving at a colonial river town. The next morning embarking on a 16 hour ride down a river inhabited by temporary villagers living marginally by the river.

The importance of water to our world being was clearly evidenced by the experience. The most compelling day I have spent in many trips through Asia was complete with mechanical breakdowns and multiple groundings as amazing life meandered past. Arriving in Siam Reap by nightfall, the following morning finding ourselves at a Khmer temple ruin, completely alone as though we had stepped back in time and were the first people to re-discover the place overgrown with trees and vines.

Billy: Without question it would be my lengthy stay in Rovinj the hometown of my love, a beautiful town in Croatia nestled on the Adriatic Sea and a short jaunt by ferry to Venice. Absolutely a delightful part of the world with warm people, a warm sea, great food and wine and a great way of life despite economic hardships.

Who writes your songs and where does the inspiration for the songs come from?

Mark:We both write the tunes, sometimes on our own and sometimes collaboratively. The writer who starts the song usually sings it on the recordings.

Being in the flow of life, observing people, society in general, hearing people's stories first hand, and travel. Most songs arrive by being unconsciously open to muse and finding something relative in real life that might be interesting to hear put to music.

My schedule lends itself to very short passages of time when an idea, a few words or a melody-filled phrase will pop into my head and compel me.

A phrase sort of gets massaged and another rhyme or line added to it while driving to and from work. I play harmonica while driving to work out melodies, writing down words while at stop lights. At home there all these scraps of paper that get sorted out best around midnight.

Billy: I don't think I have ever really had much luck sitting down writing a song. They usually come like a bolt of light. A melody, a catchy phrase, an image can be all that is needed to get the song rolling. I hear it in my head and sort of know where it's heading. Lyrics tend to work the same way and I just let them flow and worry about editing and fine tuning later. Stevie Wonder said"I open up my heart and hope my mouth follows"and that says it all.

Any plans for a tour? And if so where will you be traveling to?

Lots of interest has been expressed in having the Ormidales travel to Northern England and Scotland. A few people have welcomed us to come over your way to play some gigs. We would like to do this next spring if we can get some business sorted out with a promoter in the UK.The possibility is really exciting us these days

If you had unlimited amounts of cash would you change anything about the band?

Mark: Heck yeah, home base would be a delicious dilemma.

Billy: Yeah, let them quit their day jobs and buy everyone new sneakers.

From what I've read you have been inspired by many musicians, but when you were little and pretended to be a rock star who did you pretend to be?

Mark: I might have tried the windmill guitar strum a time or two.

Billy: Those four guys from Liverpool.

When you look back on working on your record what was the funniest thing that happened?

Billy: Well. in retrospect I guess it's funny. Every time Mark and I would head back home from our sessions usually about 11:00 PM. We would attempt to sleep but end up staring at the ceiling, eyes wide, and feeling like we had half a dozen espressos. As my better half was in la la land I had a most difficult time not waking her with my energy and buzzing. Generally it was three or four before I fell asleep only to be up at six. So as exiting as the year was making the album we defo lost sleep.

Finally, if you woke up to a world full of zombies tomorrow where would you hide and what instrument would you take with you?

Mark: I'd head for the hills above Manarola, and be strumming a Gibson arch-top, very quietly

Billy: Somewhere only I know, and a set of bag pipes. Back to the roots.

Had to add...
The enthusiasm of people in the UK and Europe are such a refreshing change. The reception that new music is given is nothing short of amazing. They really appreciate that sounds that are a bit of the beaten track. We have so many people send emails to our MySpace that connected with the music or really got what it was that we were on about in the songs.

Thank you all, we look forward to making more music for you!