Oct. 29, 2008 - Issue #680: Palace of the End

Lioness

The Lioness sleeps tonight

Emerging like a synth-drenched phoenix from the ashes of two Toronto-based bands, Lioness is crossing the country supporting its new self-titled EP and bringing a hard disco sound with it. Formed by bassist Ronnie Morris and drummer Jeff Scheven of controller.controller, and vocalist Vanessa Fischer of No Dynamics, the group got together in late 2007 with an eye on touring the country and getting noticed, but started out playing tiny spaces with hard to find entrances.

 

“We played a lot of basement clubs that you have to go around to back entrances to get to. The first place we ever played was a place called Tiger Bar and you have to go through these hallways and around and it’s kind of like a secret but it’s fun,” explains Fischer of the band’s earliest days. “We like small cozy places better than big places, it’s a better feel.”

 

Lioness sounds like the logical outcome of the amalgamation of the members’ previous bands and the chemistry within the group is palpable in person and on record. It ought to come as no surprise, however, as Fischer explains that some of the chemistry in the band is romantic—something that helped push along the formation of the band in the first place.

 

“Jeff and I, we’re a couple, so he would always go away on tour and I would always go away on tour and we always thought that the best thing to do would be to join forces,” she explains. “If you date a touring musician it’s the worst headache because you always miss them and you wanna be doing the same thing, or at least I wanted to. So it was just a good decision when his band broke up and mine was on the way out.”

 

The band’s new disc has been building a buzz for them since its recent release and Lioness is concentrating on building on that buzz, with the hope that more music is just around the corner.

 

“We wanted to get our music out as quick as possible, and doing an EP [is a good way of doing that], especially if you’re just starting out as a band, if you want people to hear it right away and you don’t have a million songs yet,” Fischer says. “We’re working on getting more material together right now for a full-length—that’ll be awesome.”

 

Although Fischer’s voice was giving out when we spoke and she was sucking back liquids in an effort to get it back to its formidable form, the tour has been going well and she should be in tip-top shape when the band rolls back through Edmonton on its way home. 

“This is my first time out on tour going across Canada. As of tomorrow I’ll have seen five provinces in five days, which is ridiculous. It’s such a strange thing for your body to handle. Canada’s beautiful though.” V 

Sat, Nov 1 (8 pm)
Lioness
With Said the Whale, Latina Banda
Pawn Shop, $20

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