ORCHID THIEVES are an Ottawa-based, four-man (insert meaningless label here) alternative rock band that has been making the rounds in the National Capital's music scene during 2009.

Blending chiming and droning guitar textures, slightly off-kilter bass and driving beats—along with a certain degree of naivety—they create a transatlantic sound that wanders within the pop song format, but often stumbles beyond. A kind of mutant cross between the Pixies and Buddy Holly, their music has been described as at once edgy, haunting and infectious.

Jeff Frank is the main voice of the band and, despite (or maybe because of) God having given him all thumbs, he also manages to crank out some inimitable guitar work. Pete Laviolette (guitar, vocal) is the band's musical conscience and can be relied upon to keep the suck factor at bay. Steve Clifford on drums is the band's nerve centre and in-house engineer. Each member brings an unschooled and therefore unique approach to music making, resulting in a distinctive, immensely likeable sound that screams ORCHID THIEVES.

Check out www.orchidthieves.com to hear the brand of aural sculpture that the band delivers. Orchid Thieves' debut album will be available in early 2010.

ORCHID THIEVES INTERVIEW (EXCERPT) June 2009

INTERVIEWER: So, let’s start with describing the Orchid Thieves sound.

ORCHID THIEVES: Sure, how about melodic, vaguely Brit-sounding guitar band. I don’t know. There’s good melodies, there’s good bite, pretty interesting lyrics. The only reasonable answer, and the one I really recommend, is to ask people to listen for themselves. Any description I’d offer probably wouldn’t work for anybody else.

INTERVIEWER: Another standard question... any influences that are significant or worth mentioning?

ORCHID THIEVES: You know, like all bands, we usually describe a mix of real influences and fake ones which sound edgy or cool. In truth, we’re all over the map. That variety is a good thing, really useful. Having everybody automatically in lockstep in terms of the sound they envision would definitely be easier, but ultimately way less interesting. That's part of what any good band is, the chemistry of what each member brings to the mix. So for us there's a range of things. Most of us dig UK bands like Radiohead and Muse. But also American stuff, like Interpol, Beck and just about anything that Jack White is up to. There's also a respect and aesthetic we draw from the oldies. Absolutely tons of British invasion stuff, from the 60s until more recently …the Smiths, Oasis, Coldplay. Then you have to garnish that with some Pixies and Captain Beefheart, stir wildly and bake in your mp3 player. Something sounding like us might emerge.

INTERVIEWER: I think I can hear some of those sounds in the tunes I heard. How do you come up with your material? How does the writing work?

ORCHID THIEVES: Typically someone might just bring in a song to rehearsal or, probably more often, uploads a draft to allow everyone a pre-listen. Sometimes ideas are just a sketch, really raw and simple, other times they’re a pretty advanced draft. We’re pretty comfortable with the premise of respecting the writer so that whoever brings in the song is kind of the lead on the direction it takes but it’s also really common for a basic idea to come in and then take shape through just jamming it out or whatever. It’s also pretty normal to have a song shared around even though the writer pretty much knows in advance that it’s not going to be a good fit for this band. Sometimes that changes once everyone gets their hands on it. I guess, to make a short story long, we have tons of material coming from all four of us and have trouble keeping up with it all, which is a good problem to have.

INTERVIEWER: If I come to see you guys, what’s an Orchid Thieves show like?

ORCHID THIEVES: Typically we stride on to the stage like four Adonises, bathe in the misdirected adoration of the tiny audience, and then hope to get home early for a good nights sleep. Probably a little sweating in there somewhere.

INTERVIEWER: Nice, what are Orchid Thieves' plans for the coming months?

ORCHID THIEVES: Well we spent the first part of 2009 working up and demoing some new material. We’ve done 5 or 6 gigs since then to give the songs a test drive and just have some fun. Though most of us have been playing in one capacity or another for years, this project is still pretty new. So I guess the master plan is, more writing, more recording, and more playing out. Doing what it takes to have better songs and play them better. Do those things and evolve as naturally as possible. We’ll also be looking for opportunities to open for better known acts, maybe festival shows, contest entries, whatever seems fun and useful. And like everybody these days we’ll also be doing some homework on how best to promote and distribute the work. One clear goal is to have some recorded product out there that we can be really proud of. So whatever else happens we'll definitely be working toward that.

Steve Clifford - drums
Jeff Frank - vocal, guitar
Pierre Laviolette - vocal, guitar
Richard Nash - bass, vocal

www.orchidthieves.com