Laughs & Secret Handshakes in Toronto: Leaving Thomas Interview
While Leaving Thomas were on their recent trip to Toronto we had a chance to catch up for a little pre-show interview session… and we’d like to share that with you – because we love you like that.
Big thanks to Annika and Bryton for meeting up with Natali and Trish – we can’t wait to see these 2 again soon.
Check out our notes and more photos from the Drake Underground showcase HERE!
Here we go…
Natali: Hi, so we actually talked to you back in Christmas…
Annika: Oh this is the Reviews are IN! You guys have been great for us, you genuinely support us and we absolutely appreciate it thank you so much.
Trish: Thank you.
N: Yeah so when we talked to you last we were waiting kind of girl to be on the radio. Now that it’s out there, how are you feeling?
A: I think we’re still waiting for the high to come down. You know December 25th it was released to radio, we started hearing about ads in January, iTunes downloads, and now with all this promotional stuff that we’re doing it still feels like it was released yesterday. I think we’re still trying to enjoy every minute of it because it’s been such a milestone for us. I mean, I’ve been a pro musician now for 10 years and to finally hear something we’ve written on the radio is such a, such an exciting thing.
Bryton: Yeah it’s been really cool to see the response. Hear the response come back, the stories of people who share with us about the song and how it’s impacted their lives, it’s been really exciting to just ride the wave and hope it keeps going.
N: You mentioned you’ve been doing a lot of promotion, shows, radio. What’s it been like?
B: So much fun (laugh) every single day is like a new day. It’s exhausting but in the best way possible being able to wake up and do what you love every day. Regardless of if it’s radio, showcase, TV. Yeah we enjoy every minute of it, makes it really easy to wake up in the morning no matter how early it is because we’re really excited.
A: I think it’s really great to also meet people who have [downloaded] our songs to say thank you in person, you know to meet those faces behind the ads and all the DJs that have been so great. That’s also really exciting and they’re excited to meet you. To have that personal connection really makes an impact…
N: So among all this promotion, you’ve been together the entire time – are you getting on each other’s nerves?
[BOTH LAUGH LOUDLY]
A: How can you say that? We’re two peas in a pod here!… I feel like you have to be best friends to do this together, I feel like it would be very difficult to be in a relationship with someone or someone you don’t know very well. B and I have known each other since we’re kids. We’ve had long hours [together] where instead of getting annoyed with each other we just get giggly, and we just get silly. So we have a lot of fun together. And I think that it’s solidified, you know this is who I want to be in it for the long haul with. It’s such an integral part of it. It’s not just on stage, it’s not just writing, it’s… you have to hang out with each other so much.
B: Yeah, well I think with every friendship, you have just those snippets of being annoyed or you’re in an opposite mood, but it is very much, you know, we have a great relationship in the sense that we’re so understanding and transparent and we communicate, and it really makes everything so much easier when you have someone you get along with and understand.
A: It’s almost like siblings too.
B: Absolutely.
A: You know where you get annoyed and you get over it in 5 secs because you have to hang out with each other. You know we always say, (to B) you’re the younger brother I never had and I’m the older sister you never wanted (both laugh).
Really, you’re more responsible, you make me remember things
B: Well you force me to.
A: I forget everything. It’s his fault if I forget anything. But yeah, no we get along.
N: How do you get ready for a performance?
A: Funny that you ask. We don’t have a green room here so I was straightening my hair in a room I found using my iPhone as a mirror. It’s a lot of, for me, getting ready wherever is easiest and quickest. I feel like we’re both quite chill. I mean we get pumped up…
B: The thing is, it’s almost a moment of calm before the storm. We do like our handshake that we do before we go on (giggle…)
N: What does that look like?
A: We can show you!
(Check out this photo set!)
B: It’s really complex.
A: We were trying to kill some hours at one point…
N: Awesome.
A: Yes gets us in the right zone.
N: Speaking of fun, tell me about making the video (for Waiting Kind Of Girl). What was that like?
B: It was like early morning, Annika’s in makeup which she loves.
A: Have people make me look pretty instead of trying to do it myself!
B: It’s funny because that was our first music video that we’ve ever done, it was a lot of hurry up and wait, but it was the best because we’re just super anxious to do the next shot, and uh, I think the best part about the video, it was so funny, is that we shot it in double speed. So, if you watch the video, it’s very like, loose and flowy and in slow motion, but we had to sing to the track all day at twice the speed.
A: And it’s fast!
B: And it’s a decently fast song already, and so I got to the shoot, and I thought, ok yeah, have to sing it, but I forgot I have to play it in double speed, so I’m sitting there going (mimics twitching), like vibrating the entire time, trying to make it look like I’m playing in time to the song, but…
A: It was so much fun! Like for me, I grew up, you know, singing to a mirror with my hair brush, like every girl does. And, um, the director they were kind of telling us, you know you might get a little camera shy because there’s a lot of people in there, and of course I’m thinking “Are you kidding, I’ve been waiting for this my whole life! The more the merrier, like let’s do this!” So it was a real treat.
N: So Waiting Kind Of Girl was written about a real experience.
A: Yes!
N: Does the guy that the song was written about, know that it was written about him?
A: NO!
B: I’ve been sworn to secrecy.
A: Bryton knows! And um no one will ever know, other than Bryton, that’s that bond we can never separate because he knows my secrets!
B: I’m going to get blackmail.
A: The Leaving Thomas Mystery!
N: Tell me something funny or embarrassing that has happened to you on stage?
A: I plant my face on the mic all the time. It will probably happen tonight. And it’s a stationary mic, and I… no matter what, because I like to do these things where I go away and come back and, every time. Every Single Time.
B: I actually have a video where she’s walking up and smoking her head.
A: And he boomeranged it!
B: If you scroll through Instagram it’s there.
A: And we just embrace that.
T: We may have to include that.
A: Go for it! We can laugh at ourselves.
N: Speaking of, you mentioned Instagram, you guys are great with connecting with your fans through social media. How do you like that?
Both: We love it.
B: It is so cool to connect with everybody, and like I said, to hear their stories and also to really give our gratitude to radio and music directors, program directors, it’s really cool.
A: And also when they want to hang out with you. Because we’re happy that you think we’re fun, because we think you’re fun and cool. So many people will follow, and we’ll be like, this girl seems awesome I want to go out for coffee with her! You know, it’s awesome and it makes you feel like they … basically, it’s beyond the music. It’s us as people. We have loves and hobbies and things that makes us laugh, and so it’s nice to connect on something beyond the songs themselves.
N: So you signed with MDM. What was that day like?
B: It was crazy, it happened like really fast, but in like the best way. About more than two weeks after we had signed the agreement we had flown out to Toronto and met Jess Moskaluke, Chad Brownlee, Bobby Wills, and we’re hanging out with everyone and it’s crazy that we’re a part of them. It’s cool that we’re on that side of the table and we’re all lined up playing songs, and then Chad plays his song, it is just… crazy.
A: And we have so much respect for all the other artists on the roster and it’s so great to be part of it.
N: What does success look like for Leaving Thomas?
A: Well, it’s funny because Bryton and I both love making music, we both also love spending time with our families, we love being able to travel, to do the things we want to do, I don’t think we have a certain number of followers we have in mind or number of record sales, we think it’s a success to be making the music we created as a full-time job. That would be the dream, so if we’re getting closer to that, that’s amazing.
B: And just share our music with as many people we can… and just be personally fulfilled. And you know, just have fun. At the end of the day that’s why we’re here, because we had fun doing it…
A: Which led us to more opportunities.
– With the early success of Waiting Kind Of Girl, the support of MDM Recordings, and all the talent that they bring to the table, we’re sure there will be even more opportunities coming soon!
