The Last Conversation With: Arietta

Arietta is breaking up. This you probably already know, but what you probably don’t is why. Or when, exactly. Or what the band members are planning to do next.

But before we get to that, Arietta is playing their last show EVER this Thursday! If you are not there, you will end up regretting it. Click here for all the details, and make sure you drop whatever you have planned for Thursday night and somehow find your way to Sneaky Dee’s. Come early. It’ll probably be packed.

Anyways, I had lunch with Shehzaad Jiwani, Arietta’s drummer (who you should remember from the now infamous first Arietta conversation) and he filled me in on all the details, which are available for you below.

This is it. The final interview.

What happened exactly with Arietta? It seemed to come totally out of left field, because last time you were talking about how the band was a priority for all of its members.

Shehzaad: Yeah, it was out of left field for us too. It was really weird when it happened, because the day before we all heard about it was the day we played in Kingston, and then immediately drove home and played a show for NXNE. That was the 18th of June. And I thought the show that we played for NXNE was, by far, the best set we’ve ever played. It was so heavy and so confident. Every single person in the band was just killing it. It was like two in the morning, and we’d just played one show that also went kind of okay. And it was at that point where we just didn’t care anymore and we were so loose and tired. We just wanted to get it over with. But we did it in such a heavy way that everyone after the set was pretty stoked. People in the audience were really into it too. And we actually hung out; all of us, after the show, which we don’t really do that often. And everything seemed to be really really great. And then we found out the next day that Kyle wanted to tell us then, but because the show was so good it wasn’t the best time. So Sean called me the following day and told me about it. It felt like being dumped and fired at the same time. Because you’re losing something that you worked really hard at, but you’re also losing something that you really love and feel really close to. It was just weird timing for all of us, because Sean and I were wondering whether we should go back to school.

Aren’t you in school right now?

Shehzaad: Yeah, but we were debating whether to drop out and try something else. It was a really weird time for it to happen, and I think it kind of happened when everything else in our lives was sort of up in the air. And that just made it even more so. But it’s been almost two months now, and I think everybody is… Well, not really happy about it, but we’ve all come to terms and we’ve kind of realized what we want out of everything after this. Like, Sean is going forward with his label, which is really cool. I’m starting a new band, and Tyler’s going to be tour-managing some bands and starting something new as well, with some other people. So there’s a lot of stuff; a lot of good stuff that’s going to come out of it.

So the band didn’t want to replace the bass player? Like, it was Kyle, or no one. No Kyle, so no band?

Shehzaad: No, not really. Because firstly, Kyle is a phenomenal bass player and he’s got a very distinct style. Not only is he a good bass player, but I think he’s also really a part of the sound of our band. If any one of us left, I feel like it would really change the sound of our band. So that’s one reason we didn’t want to replace him. And another is that they’ve gone through a lot of members before I was even in the band. Like, I’m the fourth drummer and he’s the second bass player. It’s been a process, just even cementing a line-up like this. And we really felt like we had gotten to the point where the chemistry was so good. Like, in rehearsal, we would all play so well together. Without even really looking at each other. And we were writing songs that were indicative of that. So we just felt like we were really… And were planning all these tours and stuff, so we didn’t want to get somebody that we were just kind of okay with, just for the sake of filling in. And I guess it was sort of a long time coming, in a way. The band has been around for seven years, and has eaten a lot of shit.

And eaten a lot of money.

Shehzaad: Yeah. We’re all in debt after this. So maybe it was time to just call it. But we have a bunch of songs left over that I’m kind of bummed about; that we’re not really going to be able to finish them. But that’s the thing. You can’t really choose what happens. And you can’t look at it negatively. There’s no point. You have to look at it in a positive light. It’s a lot like a break-up, as cliché as that is to say. But it’s exactly like a relationship.

Why exactly did Kyle decide to leave?

Shehzaad: Just a number of reasons. He just felt like he couldn’t really continue being in the band at the level we wanted to be at. Money was a big thing. Being in a band is a lot of money. It wasn’t… I’m not going to explain it for him. He’s probably the nicest guy in the world and I think out of all of us, he was the most dedicated to the band. Like, he would practice his parts at home and when we recorded, he would do everything in one or two takes. He was always on point, and always ready to do stuff for the band. He was always so gung-ho about what’s best for the band and what’s best for all of us. That’s why it was such a surprise. But that’s how I also know that it was so genuine. Because I don’t think anybody loved the band as much as Kyle did. So when he told us, we were like, “You know what? If you need to leave, then it’s probably for a very good reason.” I think it was also a number of reasons for him. It was just time to move on for him. He’s also one of the older dudes in the band; like, he’s been playing music for ten years. And it’s just been hard; it’s hard on anybody trying to do it as a career. He just felt like he wasn’t up to it anymore, I guess. And there’s no animosity or hard feelings. All of us love Kyle. And we’re all still best friends. It’s just a bummer that we’re not going to see each other that often.

Do you all live in the city?

Shehzaad: Yeah, we all live in the city. But I’ve gone from seeing Sean, Brian, and Tyler three or four times a week to I haven’t seen Sean in over a week. I saw Tyler over a week ago. And it’s just like; it bums me out a little bit. But they’re all my best friends and we’re all still going to see each other. It’s just strange, you know? You can break up with somebody and still be really good friends with them, but you’re not going to see them as often. It’s just not going to be as fun. But none of us feel badly about it, I don’t think. Like, it’s a huge bummer. And especially for Sean, Brian, and Tyler, because the band’s been around for a huge portion of their lives. Like, since they were teenagers. And to have it just end like that is something totally out of your control. And I can totally understand how it’s very jarring, but at the same time, they’ll all motivated to do new things. And I feel that’s more important than hanging onto something that you can’t keep going. I’m trying to be more positive about.

Well, you have Greys and the upcoming show for that band. Why is the Greys’ show right after the last Arietta show?

Shehzaad: That was planned way before the band had broken up. And way before we knew that was going to be our last show. That was the earliest show we could get. And it was tough finding friends of ours who were available to play with. We didn’t want the show to be any old show at any old venue. We’re playing it at Sneaky Dee’s, which is a venue that has been very good to us over the past years. Especially the last few years. We’re playing with very good friends of ours in Lost Cities, Titan, and This is Picture. It’s going to be a cool thing, but it definitely wasn’t planned that way at all. It just happened. It’s cool, I guess. The next day it’s a brand new thing. It’s not like a significant thing that we planned.

Is Greys going to be on Sean’s label, Concession Records?

Shehzaad: It’s looking that way, at least for now. Sean is somebody that I trust implicitly with this sort of stuff. He knows exactly what he’s doing with the business, and taking care of a label is something that I think he’s perfectly suited to doing. Not only that, but he’s also somebody who has known me for a long time and knows about the music that I like. And about the kind of music that I want to make, and the type of band that I want to be in. There’s nobody that I would trust more with handling putting out my music than one of my best friends in the world. He’s doing a lot with Concession. The first thing he did is the Teenage Kicks 7” Release. He’s doing the Currents’ EP, or 7” – I’m not sure which it is yet – and they’re a great band. We were planning on putting the Arietta record on vinyl, which he would’ve released as well.

That would be awesome.

Shehzaad: Yeah. We were really hoping to do that but it was way too much money for us at the time. Vinyl is really expensive.

Some bands don’t even bother releasing material on CDs though. They opt for vinyl, and then digital downloads.

Shehzaad: Yeah, I think that’s what Greys is going to do.

Although the drawback of that is that more people have CD Players, or use their laptops.

Shehzaad: Well, to me, personally, for the EP we’re going to put it on vinyl but we’re also going to have download cards. Because realistically, as far as I’m concerned, nobody really listens to CDs all that often. I think what we might do is just burn CDs and throw them into the record. So if they really wanted a CD you could have that too. But to me, personally, I don’t buy CDs anymore. I only buy vinyl. It’s more of a package.

What do you mean by that?

Shehzaad: I find that it’s more tangible. The sound is better, but I just feel like it’s a whole work of art. A CD to me just feels disposable. And really boring. You put it on your computer and then you just throw it away. Whereas a record, you take care of it and listening to it is actually a conscious effort. You can’t just put it on a playlist. You have to listen to the record and flip it, and all that. It’s more of a hands on process, and listening to the music you’re a bit more involved. And I think that’s a reflection of how you listen to music now. You just download a record; you can’t even touch it. There’s no artwork that you can really feel, or look at. There’s no insert. I suppose vinyl is more for the music fan. And a lot of people are buying vinyl now. Colored records are kind of cool to have. Having a cool record on the wall is a lot better than having a CD jacket.

How do you think the Greys’ shows will be, compared to Arietta’s?

Shehzaad: Arietta always had this weird problem of not being able to play with heavier bands or softer bands, because we were always either too much of one or the other. And I thought like, “Okay. Maybe I’ll be in a band now where I won’t have that problem.”

Well, you guys played with Native.

Shehzaad: Yeah. But even on a bill like that, I feel like we’re a bit too poppy. We’re a bit poppier than any of those bands. Whereas a band like… You know, we could play with Simple Plan and be way too aggressive, or mathematic, or technical. Whatever you want to call it, for people who listen to those bands. So that was something we always ran into. And it’s funny, because I feel like that’s something I might run into again because the music is heavy but it’s also fairly melodic. People tend to not like melody when they listen to heavier music. I personally don’t mind it at all though.

How are you feeling about the upcoming last show?

Shehzaad: I hope it goes well. I’m sure the Arietta one will because we’ve played a million shows. It should be good.

Are you expecting a lot of people?

Shehzaad: I don’t know. I think a bunch of our friends will come out. I don’t know who. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out because I’m interested to see who actually gives a shit about our band. But it never goes the way you expect. I’m trying to have no expectations. We’re trying to sell everything.  We just sold our van, which was kind of a weird milestone.

Did you have a name for it?

Shehzaad: Yeah. It was called Art Vandelay. And our trailer was called Jonathan Trailer Thomas.

Any last words?

The one thing that I’m bummed about breaking up is that we were beginning to write together really easily. Ideas were just coming out. You can put this in: It’s entirely Kyle’s fault and we all hate him. I hate Kyle. He’s a jerk and he broke up our band. [laughs] No, that’s the thing. How can you ever be mad at someone like that? It would probably hurt him more. You could tell it was so hard for him to make the decision. Ultimately, we made a record that we’re really proud of. We did something that I don’t think other bands have really done all that much of. We pretty much got uniformly positive reviews on that record. People who liked it really liked it. There’s no way I would’ve gotten to see all of the east coast, or all of Ontario, without this band. There’s no way I would’ve become a better musician without this band. There’s nothing that I feel bad about. I’m just really stoked that I got to be in this band and meet the guys in this band, because they’re my favorite people in the whole world. And if people continue to listen to our music after we’ve broken up, that would be really cool.

– INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAKINA SHAKIL