Quickly becoming a fixture on Vancouver’s indie music scene, The Matinee continues to generate excitement as they expand their fan base across Canada and beyond. Joe Leary spent 24 Seconds with guitarist Matt Rose.

24: You recorded your debut album We Swore We’d See the Sunrise in a few different studios. Is that a common practice?

MR: We recorded most of the album with our producer Steve Berlin — who also plays in Los Lobos. It was fantastic. He's a super creative guy who really brought out the best in the songs. We also had Steve Bays produce two of the songs (Young & Lazy and This Town). Steve plays in Hot Hot Heat and we also co-wrote those songs with him. He was also great to work with, and he really challenged us to push our songwriting skills to the next level. We did use a few different studios and that's fairly common these days. We were trying to balance a number of schedules throughout the process, so it wasn't always possible to be in the same place.

24: Generally what’s the songwriting process like for you guys?

MR: It varies from song to song. Sometimes it's just me and Matt Layzell, sometimes it’s a full band thing. Sometimes someone has a musical idea and that’s how we start, or sometimes it’s a simple vocal melody. In the case of Young & Lazy, that song was written around that song title. Our bass player’s last name is Young and singer Matt Layzell’s nickname is Lazy.

24: How has life changed now that you’re signed to Light Organ Records?

MR: It’s really allowed us to focus our efforts more on the songwriting and the performance aspect of what we do. We trust the label to look after a lot of the behind-the-scenes elements of being in a band. That said we’re still super involved in all elements of the band because up until signing with Light Organ, we’ve always been a very hands-on band.

24: What’s the story behind the song L’Absinthe?

MR: L'Absinthe was written about a night that we had on tour in Montreal a couple of years ago. It was one of those amazing nights on the road — a packed room and a great show. When the bar closed we ended up heading to an all-night poutine restaurant and kept the party going with a bunch of the people from the show. It was just a great night, and we ended up partying through the morning. There’s actually a lyric in L'Absinthe — we swore we’d see the sunrise — which ended up being the title of the album. It’s very symbolic of us and where we are as a band — we’re hanging in there to see the sun come up and chasing that light at the end of the tunnel. Plus we’ve been known to partake in a little absinthe when out on the road.

24: How is the cross-Canada tour going?

MR: Tour is great. We’re in the middle of a 24-hour straight drive from Winnipeg to Toronto. Its dumping snow and freezing cold but we're loving every minute of it. We've been on the road with a band from Detroit called Electric Six and they've been fantastic to travel with. The shows have been packed, and it's been great to get back on the road. We're looking forward to Canadian Music Week this weekend in Toronto, and after our last show in Montreal we head down to the USA for a few more dates. We couldn't be happier — and we're looking forward to a very busy year of touring in support of the new album.