Interview with Mother Mother

We speak with Ryan and Ali of this indie rock five-piece band about whether their home town inspires them, and whether hype helps or hinders a band.

Interview with Mother Mother Stephanie Ng Wan: Tell me in your opinion why Mother Mother is described as being odd ball? Ryan Guldemond: Look at us. Ali Siadat: Have you listened to the music? It’s kind of hard to put it in a genre because it’s a little strange. It doesn’t quite fit in with that anything else I hear out there in the commercial world. Stephanie Ng Wan: Can you please tell me the origin story of Mother Mother? Ryan Guldemond: Well it began in 2005. I started the band with my sister in Vancouver. It’s a fairly organic natural way of starting a band just having a vision and idea and a few songs that you believed in and finding the right people to be part of it. Stephanie Ng Wan: I know that the band was originally called Mother. I was wondering where that name came from. Ryan Guldemond: We were called Mother simply because it’s like the best band name out there. We realized that there are other bands with the name Mother. I guess it just made sense to change our name and instead of changing it all together we just repeated. Stephanie Ng Wan: You guys have been the object of quite a bit of hype. You’ve been talked up by Paris Hilton and Spin Magazine for example, would you say that Hype is your friend or your foe? Ryan Guldemond: It’s just an acquaintance I guess that we welcome and discourage at the same time. Stephanie Ng Wan: What would you say are the defining elements or the signature of Mother Mother. Ali Siadat: It’s got to be about the vocals. It’s a collection of different influences I guess that come into the sound. Stephanie Ng Wan: Bands that I often speak to they say that their hometown is often the source of inspiration. Ryan Guldemond: You spend all this time there, you formulate so much of your personality there, you must bring something away from it. I guess I kind of have a philosophy about inspiration that means you and us right here and it’s tonight and it was yesterday and it was in the can of tuna. I would feel very fraudulent by saying oh you know it’s the mountainscape in Montana. Ali Siadat: I don’t know I'm a drummer. That’s really more of a singer question. You can’t really bring your hometown to your drumming in the same sense as you can bring your hometown into your lyrics.