20 Watts

Nils Edenloff (right) of The RAA talks to 20 Watts

PREVIEW: Download The RAA’s “The Deathbridge in Lethbridge” MP3
RELATED COVERAGE: Positive Jam: Exclusive Coverage on 20 Watts, 20 Watts Reviews The Rural Alberta Advantage’s Hometowns

Signing to Saddle Creek, releasing an acclaimed debut, and touring extensively have made this a pretty banner year for The Rural Alberta Advantage. Guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Nils Edenloff talked to 20 Watts just the other day about his experiences, the band’s origins, and our mutual affinity for The Antlers and Neutral Milk Hotel. The RAA’s Hometowns was re-released by Saddle Creek earlier this year and you can catch The Rural Alberta Advantage playing the Positive Jam at Stewart Park, on the beautiful shores of Cayuga Lake, at 1:30pm, on Sunday, Sept. 6!

20W: So to start off, why do you call yourselves The Rural Alberta Advantage? What’s the origin of the name? Did you guys ever go by any other name?

Edenloff: It’s the only name we’ve ever used. It has to do with looking back on Alberta — where I grew up — and we make a lot of references to it. The name actually comes from a play on a provincial slogan, which is now defunct, called “The Alberta Advantage,” championing the oil sands industry. My brother once emailed me the suggestion, and it stuck.

20W: How long have you guys known each other? How did you meet?

Edenloff: We’ve known each other for a long time. Paul [Banwatt], Amy [Cole] and a friend of mine used to play in another band called Clementine. Eventually Paul and I started co-hosting open-mic nights. The first year, there was kind of a fluctuating line-up, with nothing really set in stone. I think when the three of us started playing together — Paul, Amy and myself — that was when the band really started, in February, 2006.

20W: The RAA signed to Saddle Creek earlier this year after Hometowns took off. Has the experience of being signed to a major indie label changed your approach to music at all?

Edenloff: Well, see the guys at Saddle Creek are actually really friendly. They’re great, and we never felt like we were dealing with like some heartless record label. Any dealings we’ve had with Saddle Creek have felt really familiar. We haven’t changed our approach to indie music — at least for now we haven’t.

20W: What genre of indie music do you consider yourselves to be? You’ve been called indie-folk, indie-rock, etc? Do you have a particular brand?

Edenloff: I’ve always had trouble trying to classify what we do just because there are so many things going on. The band’s really the result of all three of our musical ideas coming together, so I usually leave those discussions like that to people with better ideas.

20W: I’ve also read that you guys listen to The Antlers a lot. Is there any truth to that or are those just Internet rumors?

Edenloff: No, actually, we met them when they played in Toronto, and we talk to them online. And they were at our free show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. So yeah, they’re really great guys and we love that album [Hospice]. I’ve always liked emotional music, and they pull it off very well. Hopefully we can work it out to tour with them next year or later this year.

20W: That would be very cool. (They’re one of my favorites right now, too.) Now, you’ve been compared a lot to Neutral Milk Hotel by various publications. How do you feel about that? They’re a legendary band; do you really want to be the next Neutral Milk Hotel?

Edenloff: [Laughs] It is nerve-wracking. On the one hand, it’s really flattering — and a lot of people may check us out because everyone just wants to hear In the Aeroplane over the Sea. At the same time it’s hard because fans will go in with certain expectations of what our music is going to be and what we’re going to sound like. I really just hope people just take it for what it is. [Hometowns] is not a Neutral Milk Hotel album. There are plenty of different influences and bands within the album. Neutral Milk Hotel emphasize melody and emotions really, and hopefully that’s on the album too, because we love that too.

20W: What can you tell me about your instruments? Are you guys loyal to any particular brand or do you have any special guitars that you’ll never get rid of or anything like that?

Edenloff: I do have a super-old Casio keyboard — and it’s very heavy. I’ve been trying to find a replacement for it, because I’m afraid it’s going to die on me, but I really love it. Mostly on the album, I’m playing a Seagull. I need a new one because it’s got a monstrous crack in it because I put it through a lot. I definitely don’t want to lose that Casio keyboard, though, because I don’t know where I can get another, and it’s got a great sound.

20W: What would you consider the best venue or show you’ve played so far? (Besides the upcoming Positive Jam — of course.)

Edenloff: Up until this year, we never played the States or even west of Ontario, so the first time we played in New York, at Pianos, was pretty awesome. We didn’t know what to expect. When we got onstage, and everyone knew the songs, and we were like, “What is going on?” as if someone was playing a joke on us or something. Every band we had known that had gone down to play shows, especially in New York, had a hard time getting people to come. We had them packed around, singing all the words. In addition to that, playing in Alberta for the first time, for the people that the songs had been written for, when the album came out gave us a real sense of pride; it was pretty remarkable.

20W: Continuing on that thread, “Deadroads” and “Don’t Haunt This Place” focus on topics about both love-lost and Alberta. Do you find yourselves more comfortable writing about these or do you hope to expand on them?

Edenloff: Personally, when I listen to music, I usually gravitate to sad songs. A lot of those songs came out of two different things. One was moving from Alberta to Toronto after university, and two was breaking up with my girlfriend, so those are my two themes that crept into the album. In terms of long-term, we have a number of songs that we’re playing around with. I don’t really want to say what they are or what other directions they’ll take though, haha.

20W: When do you think that next album with those new songs will come out? Do you have any kind of timetable on that?

Edenloff: We’re slowly working out new stuff, you know, just on the road. There’s still a lot of touring to do before really getting to work on the new album. It’s hard to say, because Paul [our drummer] also plays for another band, so we all have a busy schedule.

20W: What has been your biggest challenge to overcome as a band so far?

Edenloff: Hmm, wow. I think it was just balancing regular life and regular touring. And like I said, Paul also plays in another band, so it’s hard just keeping things grounded.

20W: How big do you see yourselves getting?

Edenloff: [Laughs] It’s hard to say, you know? It’s not like last year where we were getting excited to play in Montreal. Now we’re touring Canada, touring the States, and next year we might be touring Europe. Yeah, if you had asked me last year, I would have said that things had gotten as big as they could get. We had no idea we would reach this many people. But, I guess, the downside is that we really enjoyed playing small venues, but I guess we’ll just have to get used to making that connection to larger audiences.

20W: Do you have any advice for bands just starting out?

Edenloff: Well, I guess, there were a few things that were really important for us. First and foremost, we really didn’t intend to start a band. We just started playing music together, and the band sort of … took over, in a way? And we did a lot of playing before anyone ever heard of us. We would host open-mic nights when no one would come to them, so we figured out our sound with just a lot of practice beforehand.

20W: Anyone that you’d like to give a shout-out to?

Edenloff: Well, you already mentioned that Antlers album, haha.

– Eric Vilas-Boas