Weigh Anchors
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Weigh Anchors

Calgary, Alberta, Canada | SELF

Calgary, Alberta, Canada | SELF
Band Rock Folk

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Mind Folk'd interview"

November 13, 2010
Recorded live on the Mind Folk’d show on CJSW 90.9FM

MF: I’ve always been curious about bands on the road. The public build it up to be a rock star type thing. What actually goes down on the road? Is it glamorous? You said you didn’t even know what vehicle you’re taking tomorrow.

WA: We’re pretty sure that we’re taking a Plymouth Voyager, which seats four, but when we put the gear in none of the seats recline. So it will be a tour of 90 degree-angle sitting. When we bring our CD’s, people will have to hold the boxes on their laps. We’re going to select the three lightest items, and put those on the laps of whoever isn’t driving. It’s not really glamorous. Tom owns a 1973 Dodge Tradesman, which we’ve been working on, because it has room.

MF: So, not the Led Zeppelin plane, or anything like that.

WA: That’s next year.

MF: I was reading your note, “2010 Tour training note” on your facebook page. I definitely got some laughs out of that. “Buying the cheapest beer in whatever liquor store you are in, but never not drinking, fixing everything with electrical tape, cutting your own hair… these are some of the sacrifices that must be made.” Very raw and honest, which is refreshing.

WA: I was actually walking around with my girlfriend yesterday, figuring out if I can go the entire tour with one pair of pants, if I can get away with wearing only one hoodie the whole tour in winter. I don’t think I can. Maybe.

MF: I just wanted to talk about the recording process. Your CD says it “…was recorded in a wide range of basements.” Could you expand on that?

WA (Dillon): It basically just means that I took a really long time to do it. I moved I think, three times over the course of recording. I recorded it all myself, and I would start recording, something would happen and I’d have to move. Possibly because I went on tour and had no money and had to live with my parents, which is another sacrifice for touring. By the time I got to my third basement I managed to finish it up.
- CJSW 90.9FM


"The Sea - Review + Interview"

Weigh Anchors - The Sea
Trusty Record Co.

Published January 27, 2011 by Jason Lewis in CD Reviews

As a go-to sideman, guitarist Dillon Whitfield has been floating around the Calgary scene for the last six years clocking time with respected outfits such as Jane Vain and the Dark Matter and Woodpigeon. On his own, singer-songwriter Dillon Whitfield is known as Weigh Anchors, an apt moniker given his obsession with all things nautical. With that clearly in mind, the self-taught recording engineer now delivers his debut EP, The Sea, a tender collection of slaved-over mid-fi pop.

Buzzing with the warmth of a home recording and none of the pesky tape hiss, The Sea owes much to Neutral Milk Hotel, specifically on the album’s timid squeezebox “Bumblebee Symphony.” But Whitfield isn’t content to ape his indie influences. Instead, he makes them his own. “Keeper (version four)” is a rolling country-style kickoff to the album, “A Girl Inside” chugs like Crazy Horse-era Neil Young and “The Palest Light” rollicks along with minor key intensity. Ultimately, the album is a perfect blend of landlocked Calgary sensibility and the open seaside experience that Whitfield clearly longs for, which makes setting sail on The Sea a worthwhile voyage.

Fast Forward Weekly: The subtitle of the album is “The Last time I Write About That.” What is the significance of the title?

Dillon Whitfield: The songs aren’t really about the same thing, but I noticed that I kept going back to making reference to the sea. It wasn’t intentionally a concept record, but there were three songs that make reference to the sea in the same sort of light, and so it’s kind of a loose concept record that doesn’t want to be a concept record.

This album is nothing if not emotional. How personal are these songs to you?

They are almost too personal. There are lots of times I’ll be playing a show and wake up halfway through a song and be, “Oh no, why did I write all of these personal songs that I now have to perform in front of people?” Lots of times I try to hide how personal these songs are with the lyrics and dress up exactly what I’m talking about in some top-secret way so I can get it out in a public setting.

The fact that I have a personal interest in the songs makes it more important. Just playing guitar in bands or just playing instrumental music, you aren’t really as personally invested, which means you have less of an interest. When you spend that much time thinking about your writing and working to get it as close to what you had envisioned it to be, the rewards are better.

Tell us about the Trusty Record Co.

Initially I was just trying to find a way that I wouldn’t have to work a regular job. I thought, “OK, well, I’ll have a record label and I’ll record people and I’ll play music and I’ll never have to do anything else.” But it turns out that for a record label, you have to have money, so that hasn’t really gone anywhere because I don’t have any of that. Having a recording studio, I’ve been finding, just cuts into my writing time, so right now it’s just a way to have a label on my own CD.

This is your solo project but you go under the name Weigh Anchors. Why?

I know when I hear someone’s name specifically I think of them as a songwriter instead of a band or a project. It’s just a way of freeing myself to do whatever I want.

The liner notes talk about how this album was sewn together from birth to August 2010. How long have you been working on these songs?

Four of the songs were written for my other band Raccoon and that band started in 2004. So four of the songs started about six years ago. I started recording them with that band and then I gave up on those recordings. I started recording them by myself then I got five other people in the band. I tried to re-record them with a full band, then people moved away, moved on to other projects. I started recording them again and then threw them all out. And then finally started the process that ended up being those five songs on the finished recording. Four different versions of the recordings in six years.

How long till the followup?

Hopefully less time. I think part of the reason it was called The Last Time I’ll Ever Write About That is just that I wanted to seal up everything that I had been doing up to this point and have a solid tangible thing and I could move on from there. From this point on, it should be easier to get things out.

You called Trusty Record Co. slow moving. Why is that?

It’s kind of a business with no business plan. It’s just there so I can slowly put out records. Or if I happen to have a few hundred dollars I can put out a friend’s record. I’ve got no specific plan for it other than to have a name for what I have done. - FFWD Weekly


"Every second..."

Weigh Anchors is the brainchild of former Jane Vain & the Dark Matter/ Raccoon guitarist Dillon Whitfield. We have loved every second of every note he has ever played, and we are excited to host the release party for his new project.

- The Marquee Room


"...at home"

Weigh Anchors is a Calgary folk-rock supergroup with members of Jane Vain and the Dark Matter. Recalling Blue Rodeo, Goldrush Era Neil Young and even early Modest Mouse, the six-piece band are equally at home on a folk festival stage as they are in a basement, recording each track. - calgaryculture.com


"The Sea review"

The Sea is an amazing first release from this Calgary, Alberta, Canada band. This first release from Dillon Whitfield, is extremely personal. Whitfield recorded the album on his own after losing band members to other pursuits.

This EP is amazing for its defiance of a specific genre. Having done the album by himself, Whitfield makes you feel where he is coming from. Songs like “A Girl Inside” dares the listener to not nod their head and enjoy the carefully crafted lyrics and music. The bridge in this song gets a bit rockier but fits wonderfully with the rest of the song. Keeper, the first song on the album, is a great folky song with definite influences of music from far before its time. Whitfield seems to be channeling a 70’s vibe for this song and it works well.

The songs on this EP are made with care. Whitfield has definitely put himself into the songs by recording in the style that creates perfection in the songs. Whitfield has created himself in musical form and is sharing his creation with others.
-Jeff Clemens - Unrated Music


"Folky Delights"

Weigh Anchors has its core rooted in pop, although it can veer into weirder territories (Take "Keeper," for instance, which could be an Entire Cities song on valium). - FFWD Weekly


"Quote"

"You have the loudest singing voice I have ever heard." - Noah Rabinovitch


Discography

The Sea (or The Last Time I Write about That) (EP) 2010 - Charted at #9 on CJSR 88.5 - Edmonton, #15 on CJSW 90.9 - Calgary, #16 on CKLU 96.7 - Sudbury, #20 on CFRU 93.3 - Guelph. Streaming on rukusradio.ning.com. In rotation on CFBX 92.5FM Kamloops

Photos

Bio

Weigh Anchors is the musical vessel of Dillon Whitfield. Weigh Anchors could show up at your house with a guitar, and a tape recorder playing AM radio shows, or they could show up at your bar as a four piece rock band, playing like their hands are on fire. Either way; the songs will beam with honesty and energy, and do their best to break your heart.

September 2010 saw the release of The Sea EP, on The Trusty Record Co. label. All the songs were written, performed, and recorded by Whitfield, in a wide range of basements. Being the work of one person has not limited the range of influences, only focused them. Traditional folk structures are apparent, as is folk instrumentation. The 70's also are well represented, with moments on the album toeing a dreamy line. The five songs contained within it are a cleaning of the cupboards: A release of the best of the material written to this point, and a form of mental relief for the songwriter. The only way to rid yourself of ghosts is to turn them into something you can catch.

Live performances are when the exorcism begins. Playing Duck, Duck, Goose with an array of musicians serves to maintain the same song structures, but leaves room to expand on the themes and melodies started by the recorded versions. Weigh Anchors has toured to both coasts, and is booking another round of touring for August 2011. Currently featuring members of On Lock, The Grim Beat, and Mike Tod.