GHOSTS AND DOOM ARE THE MEATDRAW
TARA ZUROWSKI
Marek Tyler’s name might sound familiar if you’re from around these parts. You’ve likely at least heard some of his handiwork on the drums, anyway. Tyler has hit the skins in plenty of projects, ranging from AA Sound System to Shulyer Jansen and more. Now entrenched in Victoria, BC, Tyler is about to grace us once again with his mad percussion, this time bringing along his latest endeavour: Meatdraw.
“I’m so excited to see some old friends,” begins Tyler. “Victoria’s like Edmonton in the fact that it’s a very incestuous community.”
Meatdraw is a band made up of seven members—occasionally giving or taking a few—and might be described as the best carnival dance band in the world. The musicians bring a certain type of joy to their audiences, demonstrating their intricate musicianship with everything from horns and saws to tin cans and accordions.
“Meatdraw is really neat—it’s fun to write the music,” says Tyler. “That’s because it’s made up of a bunch of different people from other bands: Lily Fawn from Hank and Lily, Marco Bozenich (also from Hank and Lily). Everything we do is fast, like recording our album in three days, or shooting a video in two for $180. We like dressing up, and sometimes there’s blood. Lily plays the saw; there are accordions, banjos, ukuleles and tubas. It’s an easy band to play with because no one has any big rock star dreams.”
Meatdraw brings a very theatrical, upbeat show to the table, usually beginning with the gathered musicians marching, howling and shaking their way through the crowd, up onto the stage and straight into a voracious live set.
“The songs are fun because they are either about ghosts or impending doom,” Tyler excitedly admits. “That’s about it; death and doom—and you can clap along to all of them! It’s a very New Orleans-esque kind of funeral march.
“Meatdraw is sort of epidemic pop rock opera,” Tyler concludes. “We have a big presence on stage, and it’s because there are three people over six feet tall. The Bozenich brothers (Marco and Stefan) are six foot three, six foot four, Megan’s six foot one and I’m six feet. And then there’s Lily who’s like five foot nothing in heels, but with her horns on it makes her closer to five and a half feet.” |
