A Conversation With: Imaginary Cities (Part Two)

Imaginary Cities claimed their place amongst Canada’s indie mainstays during NXNE 2010, and deservedly so. They played not one, but four shows during the week! And somehow, Rusty Matyas and Marti Sarbit they still managed to spend some time with me.

If you haven’t read part one of our conversation, click here to do so right now.

If you have, then proceed.

This is part two.

So, Steve Carroll is your manager, and I believe a member of the Constantines’ did the cover art for your EP, right?

Rusty: Yeah. Dallas. The bass player. Dallas Wehrle.

That’s a pretty impressive network. You already have the Weakerthans and the Constantines on your side. Is that a network you’ve built up over the years, or have many people been willing to help once Imaginary Cities was born?

Rusty: A combination of both, I guess. Playing in bands for ten or 15 years… Well, the Constantines played with the Weakerthans all the time, and these people are all just really good friends of mine as well. And knowing Dallas did artwork, it just seemed like a natural thing to ask him to do it. And he did a great job, I think.

It’s really cool. He made a sculpture and then photographed it, right?

Rusty: Yeah, that’s usually his style. He does sculptures and then takes weird pictures of them.

Do you know what you’re going to do for the full-length’s artwork?

Rusty: It’s going to be similar. Like a similar theme. He’s got four or five different versions of a similar thing, and others that he’s worked on with a little more detail. This one was just thrown together for NXNE.

You mentioned earlier that Marti has an amazing voice, which was the reason you wanted to work with her. In an interview you did, you described her voice as being that of a six-year-old chipmunk’s, I think.

Rusty: [laughs] A six-month-old chipmunk’s.

Marti: [laughing] Six months old! Yeah!

Rusty: Where did you read that? In the Uniter?

Marti: Yeah. That’s really weird that you found that.

It was the only press I could find on you guys.

Rusty: It’s this Winnipeg University paper.

Marti: Great!

It’s everywhere!

Rusty: If by six-month-old chipmunk, you think of Aretha Franklin and Stevie Nicks having a baby –

Marti: Awww.

Rusty: It’s awesome. It’s a good thing. Have you ever heard a six-month-old chipmunk?

I have not, actually.

Rusty: Well, you’re about to.

Marti: Well, I have I guess. Everyday of my life.

Have you had much press in Winnipeg, other than that interview?

Rusty: I think that was our first real interview that we did. And that was just a couple of weeks ago.

Mart: We’ve maybe only had two now. Or three. Before this one.

Rusty: I did one with Chart yesterday.

Marti: And I did one with Exclaim.

Rusty: But it’s all coming very quickly. And it’s great. It’s a lot to do with Steve.

Marti: Steve is a hard worker.

How did you get into NXNE? Was that Steve as well?

Rusty: Yeah. Steve… And you know, again, having done it many years in a row. Over the last ten years.

[to Marti] Have you ever been to NXNE before?

Marti: No. Never. This is all a completely new world for me.

How do you feel about it so far?

Marti: Good. Excited.

Rusty: [laughs] I remember my first NXNE…

Marti: Ah, shut up. [laughs]

Rusty: I thought it was cool, and now I’m just jaded and hate everybody.

Marti: Awww…

Rusty: I’m kidding!

It’s a lot of work, I guess.

Rusty: It’s a lot of schmoozing bullshit. You’re not going to print that, are you?

Probably. So, how about future plans for touring?

Marti: Well, we want to tour basically once we get our album out. In the fall.

Rusty: Use that schmoozing excellence that I was talking about to make new friends and find a label to help us put it out. And once that happens, we’ll start touring and supporting it.

By the way, can you tell me a little bit about Old Sparrow?

Marti: It’s the same band. We just had to change the name.

Why?

Rusty: There was another band called Old Sparrow –

Marti: That’s well known.

Rusty: That’s decently well known, yeah. And there’s like a Christian record label in Manitoba called Sparrow Records.

Marti: And they’re like a branch of EMI, right?

Rusty: Yeah. And because it’s like the same industry… There are too many risks in registering as a band with that name.

How did you come up with the name Imaginary Cities?

Marti: My dad was helping me and we were just trying to look at random things, and he had a huge book collection and he was going through all of the titles. And there was one that said “Imaginary Beings” and one that said “Invisible Cities.” And we were like, “Hey! Whoa! That’s it.”

Is there anything else you want to plug right now?

Rusty: Like our band!

Okay, so just one last question. If you could have a conversation with any three people, dead or alive, who would it be?

Rusty: Talking to them? I’d say Commander Adama… what’s his first name?

Marti: You don’t even know his name! Oh god.

Rusty: Commander Adama from Battlestar Galactica, Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and… Curly, from the Three Stooges.

Curly, like his character?

Rusty: Yeah.

Marti: Oh god. I don’t know.

Rusty: Mine were pretty good.

Marti: Yeah… Well, no. The first two, I thought, were not. But you’re a nerd so you would think that they were. [laughs] I’m going to say Sam Cooke, because you didn’t. And that’s the first person.

Rusty: One of our songs is a tribute to Sam Cooke.

Marti: And another song is actually a melody I kind of like…

Rusty: Stole from him?

Marti: Well, kind of. It wasn’t a song of his; it was just an interview of his.

Rusty: Which one?

Marti: “The Calm Before the Storm.” They asked him in a 30 second clip to do three seconds of what he thought soul sounds like, and he hummed a tune and I thought it was beautiful.

Rusty: No way! I’ve never even heard the original.

Marti: I burned it for you! Whatever. Um… Ghandi! And Rusty’s mother, because I have a lot of questions.

– INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAKINA SHAKIL