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                                                                                                     Versa interview 18/10/24

MM: Can you tell us about your Band and whos your biggest influences
When I [Flautist/Guitarist/Vocalist Matthew Dolmage] first started writing music, I was listening to a lot of Jethro Tull, Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the solo work of former Barenaked Ladies keyboardist Andy Creeggan.  Those were all huge influences on early Versa.  These days I’m listening to a lot more modern prog rock and metal – bands like Big Big Train, Haken, Caligula’s Horse, Neal Morse, and Moon Safari.
Hollas [Longton, Violinist], who is the other primary writer in the band, comes from a very different perspective.  He has a deep background in classical music and a PhD in composition, and he’s also a big fan of late 90s and early 2000s alternative rock and art rock – artists like Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Bjork.  

 

MM: Where do you draw your inspirations and ideas from
Inspiration can come from anywhere!  I take a lot of inspiration from where we live – on Vancouver Island, on the west coast of Canada.  It’s a really beautiful place, with massive fir trees, the ocean, and a lot of rain.  I take inspiration from other artists, seeing great bands live, a good book or a film, from my wife, from anywhere!

MM: What would you say is your Bands favourite song ?
Right now my personal favourite song is “Come to Light” by the Norwegian band Meer, off their new album Wheels Within Wheels.  It’s an incredible song.  All time is probably “Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day” by Jethro Tull, or “The Cinema Show” by Genesis.  

MM: Plans tour and festival wise for 2023
No plans to tour – because of where we live and our work commitments, it’s very difficult.  We’ve got a couple local shows, and possibly a show or two in Vancouver and Seattle, coming in 2025, and we’d love to get on a couple of festival bills.

 

MM: What can we expect from Versa live
Good question!  We haven’t played live in almost eight years, we’ve had some major lineup changes, and two studio albums since then so it’s all going to be new to us! You’ll get to see some phenomenal violin-playing and some big post-rock crescendos, at least.

 

MM: What do you like best and worst abt touring
As noted above, because of our location and our day job commitments, we don’t tour at this time.

 

MM: Which three Bands would be your ultimate touring buddies
If we were to tour, we’d love to tour with some of the artists who have contributed to “A Voyage / A Destination” and “A Voyage / A Destination Part 2” – Haken (lead singer Ross Jennings since on the new album), Caligula’s Horse (lead singer Jim Grey sang on our last album, and guitarist Sam Vallen plays guitar on the new album), Big Big Train (Nick D’Virgilio drummed on the last album), Wobbler (Lars from Wobbler plays organ on the last album), Neal Morse Band (Eric Gillette contributed guitar and vocals to the last album), or iamthemorning (Marjana Semkina sang on the last album) would be so much fun.  We’re hoping to do a couple shows in 2025 with Seattle’s Moon Letters, which we’re really looking forward to (Michael Trew of Moon Letters sings on our new album). 

 

MM: What's the most memorable concert you've been to (other than your own) and why 
Cruise to the Edge 2022 was a series of concerts – basically a floating progressive rock music festival – and that was an amazing experience.  My wife and I got to meet so many great artists and fans, and see over a dozen incredible bands, many for the first time.  It was so inspiring that I ended up writing and arranging most of “Artemis”, the almost 18-minute prog centrepiece of the new album, in about two weeks after we attended.

 

MM: What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment so far with
Our song “We Are Not What We Say We Are” from our 2010 album “The Decline and Fall Of…” has been streamed over 2 million times and has made a number of “Best post rock songs ever” lists, so that’s something we’re very proud of!  And we’re very proud of the new record – I think it’s the best thing we’ve done so far!

 

MM: Which are your Two favourite Albums of all time
Minstrel in the Gallery by Jethro Tull and Maybe You Should Drive by Barenaked Ladies.

 

MM: Can you remember the first time you ever played live and how it felt to have people watching you?
The first time Versa played live was at a Battle of the Bands at the university we attended, the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, in early 2007.  It was a blast!  Our music was totally inappropriate for the setting but we had a bunch of music student friends out who cheered us on and we had a great time.


MM: Growing up which Bands posters did you have on your bedroom wall.
Barenaked Ladies, Pink Floyd, Tragically Hip, Jethro Tull, Radiohead, and Genesis.

 

MM - Who do you think influenced the world of Metal / Rock more than any other person
I think Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is probably the most influential person who doesn’t get enough credit for his influence.  Tull was absolutely instrumental in the creation of prog rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and progressive metal music, particularly the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands, and European Progressive Metal.  You wouldn’t have Iron Maiden or Opeth without Tull.  

 

MM - What's the most important thing to the band right now?
Just getting the new album out to as many ears as we can!
MM:If you could do a cover of any song which one would it be and why?
Stay tuned – we’re likely going to release a few covers in 2025!


MM: Tell us why we should buy and listen to your Band
I think we bring a unique blend of elements – a mix of prog, indie rock, and post rock, that you can’t hear anywhere else.  There are some beautiful performances, by band members (Hollas and Jesse are amazing musicians) and by the many guests who made incredible contributions to the record.  We really loved making it and put a lot of work into it and we think you’ll enjoy it!

 

MM: Four words to describe Versa
Indie post-prog boogaloo


Final Words for your fans and our readers
Thanks for reading, and we really hope you give the album a listen!  Lead single “Flew the Coop” featuring Ross Jennings is a great summary of everything we do in one five minute song, and we have another music video, for our instrumental track “The Seething Bay” releasing on October 18th – it’s a spooky ghost story, just in time for Halloween!

 

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