All Hands on Jane

Torrid Thursdays, hosted by that colourful creature, Kamil Krulis is a kooky, little shindig that takes place each week at Vicious Circle. On this particular night, the reoccurring toga party was underway which always produces a handful of sweaty, extrovert-y males wrapped in worn-out bed sheets—soiled beige, dragging on the floor—garnished with a bit of sparkle/face paint and some kind of tinsel crown stuffed in their hair. You can look, but you don’t really want to touch.

And then there are three fair ladies, looking like Rome’s finest goddesses, hair up held with golden leaves, wrapped like fresh flowers in glowing white, pink and teal togas. Although these garments are also recycled—window curtains cut up, apparently. Nonetheless, the trio looks spectacular; hips move in circular motions as they roam around on stage playing a lush brand of blues rock that ebbs and sways. All Hands on Jane, the crowd couldn’t agree more, especially when Kaitlin Gibson jumps up on her bass rig shaking a tambourine.

Ms. Gibson definitely registers as an object of desire. Recently she was identified in the Misconnections section on both craigslist and Kijiji as the girl in All Hands on Jane that someone was terribly fond of.

“When I read it I thought for sure it was someone I knew was making a joke, and kind of laughed it off,” says Gibson. “Then X92.9, because they read Misconnections over the radio, said All Hands on Jane on air, the thing about me, and my phone started going off. All these people I know calling.”

And the admirer was revealed?

“No. No one fessed up.”

Did you get to the bottom of who it might be?

“Noooo! I’m too scared, I don’t want to perpetuate anything. There’s a whole lot of crazy going on out there.”

The other two members of Jane, drummer Tess Thomas and guitarist-vocalist Teri Wagner, along with Gibson, grow quiet and ponder a potential stalker problem but only for a brief moment.

Thomas breaks the silence. “Let’s get a shot!” Tequilas soon arrive at the table basking in a warm, red light that fills the lounge. In Japanese they all shout, “One, two, three, cheers!” and quickly knock back the tequila, then bite into the lime. “Not bad,” someone remarks. “Yeah, it’s pretty smooth,” says another.

Although All Hands on Jane was formed in the fall of 2010, the current lineup with Gibson on bass is a pretty smooth experience as well. Surprising when you learn that Gibson, while trained on keyboards, only picked up the bass a mere nine months ago, and Wagner, who originally started on bass but now leads the band playing rhythm adding tasty leads and fills on electric guitar, has only been at it a little over a year.

Often compared to a grungy version of Sabbath, Jane actually started out with another singer on acoustic guitar doing what Wagner, scrunching up her face, refers to as “lady, coffee house music.” Something she obviously wasn’t into. “No, I’ve always had a little of Seattle in me,” she reveals. “I also definitely love Black Mountain, and wanted to go more in that direction.”

Thomas is a hardcore Zeppelin fan who also loves dance music along with bluegrass, banjos and pot-smoking country. She’s amazed at Neil Peart’s technical prowess but cites Bill Ward’s laid back swing in Sabbath as the major influence on her drumming style and admits to having Master of Reality stuck in her car stereo for “months.” When combined together, Thomas attacks her instrument closer to Keith Moon more than anything else. Clearly, she wasn’t suited for mellow, girl rock either.

Breaking off with the original singer Thomas and Wagner started playing as a two-piece that included a long progression of shows over several months slotted between metal bands at Vern’s. Both girls sing high praises for Clint, the club’s big burly owner for all the gigs he gave them allowing Wagner to stomp on her orange fuzz box and Thomas to smash her kit silly.

“Those shows at Vern’s really opened it up for us. I can’t say enough about Clint,” raves Wagner with Thomas nodding along expressing her gratitude. “He was phenomenal giving us that live experience even though we weren’t technically ready for it.”

The two-piece would run its course within six months, at which point Wagner says, “We wanted a warmer, ‘60s sound to fill things out.” Enter Gibson, a high school friend of Thomas who agreed to join the budding rockers after witnessing just one show thinking, “It could be fun.” Gibson is the pop fan in the band, fascinated with electro-dance, funky grooves, Gossip, Black Keys and Pink Floyd and also loves the Beatles, “mostly for the warm bass tones.”

With Gibson in the band, they started learning how to play their instruments better and songs took on a new shape. “It came fairly naturally,” explains Wagner. “Just being comfortable with the guitar, and becoming more experimental, thinking that, ‘Hey it’s okay. I don’t have to play chords all the way through. I can break it up a bit, leave some - BEATROUTE (Alberta)

CALGARY — In a dim yet colourfully lit basement – with instruments everywhere, patch cords and stomp boxes on the floor, obscure yet familiar posters on the walls, and cans of beer within arm’s reach – comes a dense wall of fuzzy yet flowery rock and roll from All Hands on Jane (AHOJ), who never hold back when it comes to their heavy blend of whisky-soaked “sleazy Canadiana.”

And it’s all about community for this four-piece from Calgary, with a sound that brings together dynamic elements of grunge, blues, garage and psych, influenced by four unique perspectives.

Now in a cozy living room, AHOJ explain their methods of musical attack over beers and a couple shots.

“We try to really just make it all about the music, about the rock and roll, and we just want to collaborate and share the stage with some badass people,” says bassist (and the newest addition to the band) Tammy Amstutz about playing live.

The results of AHOJ’s inclusive approach results in high-energy, beer-crushing ballads suitable for a head-banging party with best buds in a dingy bar.
“It started as a way to connect with people, and it turned into something I never expected. We really want to participate and help enrich the community we have going. We need every good artist we’ve got,” explains guitarist and lead singer Teri Wagner. “The ability to go out and play is so important to what makes music feel good. We just want to get out there and make everyone feel welcome and like they’re part of something.”

To which keyboard player Kaitlin Gibson adds, “The people in this city are really good at sharing and supporting each other, which makes it so worth it.”

Sorry I Set You On Fire is the band’s upcoming EP, containing six psychedelic tracks inspired by the parties and people these “weekend warriors” play for.

“If we had to sum everything up, it’s this simple: we just wanna rock everyone’s faces off and have a good time,” explains drummer Tess Graham. “That connection, and feeding off of a crowd’s energy – there’s no high like it. We’re fucking addicted to it and it keeps us going.”

Now just over five years old, AHOJ have set their sights high with a focus on creating an experience while on stage. In an effort to keep productive, they continue to set high standards for themselves.

“We have a monthly business meeting. We go over deliverables for the future. The now is fine. The now is great. But we don’t want it to be living paycheck to paycheck or booking show to show. We have long term goals and we try be as organized as we can,” explains Amstutz.

“You can’t get a degree in how to be in a band,” adds Wagner with a laugh. “I’m so grateful we take the time to organize everything and set goals for ourselves.”

However, when onstage, AHOJ don’t hesitate to get a bit wild.

“We don’t want to just go up and wing it, even though that is who we are, but at the same time we make sure all the elements are in place so we can get up there, let loose and see what happens,” says Amstutz.

“You know, wing it within reason,” adds Wagner. “We’re meticulous about the serious stuff. We get there on time, we practice and make sure everything is set up before we degrade into the party.”

All Hands On Jane will be releasing their EP on December 2nd at Nite Owl. You can also see them ever sooner in Vancouver ­­- at SBC Restaurant on November 11th. - BeatRoute Magazine