The Haig Open Up About Their Inaugural Tour & New EP

Matías Muñoz
by Matías Muñoz
08/01/2014
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The-Haig-Ottawa
Ottawa “rock and not roll” band The Haig are embarking on their first tour ever across the roads of Ontario.
Booking your band’s first tour isn’t always easy (this will be made clear shortly by lead vocalist guitarist Dean Morris). However, there’s a whole world of excitement to be had on the road, which hopefully doesn’t include flat tires or engine problems. The tour announcement seemed to be timed in conjunction with the release of their brand new EP Tales of Wisdom & Might. The EP is a collection of songs that will more than likely appear on their upcoming full-length record, a follow-up to 2013’s Template For Disaster. They embark on their 10-date tour on August 2 with their first show in Cornwall, ON at La Maison Tavern. I spoke to Dean about the tour and EP, and here’s what he had to say:

The London show came to us quite serendipitously. Richard and I were at Amnesia Rockfest in June and Richard happened to be wearing his Headstones shirt that day. Right before we walked in the gate on the first day, a voice came out of nowhere and said “nice shirt” to Richard. It was a beardy guy who was super friendly and we got to chatting and he came from London and we were like “hey, we’re trying to play there” and he was like “check out my band.” He gave us a download card and we gave him a business card and kept in touch and he totally set up this gig for us. It was, and will be, totally awesome. 

When we get to Guelph, we’ll be sharing the stage with a killer band called The Pick Brothers, who I’ve seen once and Richard has seen a few times. They’ve played a bunch with our mutual friend Mark Laforest (of Autumns Cannon, Silver Creek, Scissorkick) and I think Richard met them the first time at a party at Mark’s lakeside home in Wakefield. I saw them play at a totally deserted Rainbow Bistro and they just tore it apart. They are so awesome live. We’re pumped. Every other gig was just an email barrage of lining up venues and bands who we’ve never met, places we’ve never been to. New adventures to have and friends to make, I guess.

The Haig, Tales of Wisdom & Might
Richard Michels and Treawna Harvey during recording sessions for Tales of Wisdom & Might.

As far as the music goes, we just put out a new EP called Tales of Wisdom and Might. It’s a bit of a teaser/preview of a full-length album we’re currently in the middle of recording. Most of these songs will be on the album, though we are re-recording them. Tales of Wisdom and Might was recorded at a studio in Orleans called Whisper Digital. The guy that runs it is super good at what he does, Mr. James Thorpe. Chris and I work with him, and we have mad respect for his skills. He mixed and mastered our first EP, and he’s recorded vocals and drums for our album as well. We’re getting Tales of Wisdom and Might pressed onto CD by Andrew Lacelle and Allyson Robillard of Plain White Records. They are super chill people. We met Andrew as he was doing sound at Avant Garde, and he spins us fairly often on his CKCU show, Indie City Madness.

A back-to-back-to-back marathon of venue-hopping begins for The Haig tomorrow, in Oshawa. May the wind always be at your back, guys!

The Haig – Summer 2014 Tour (event details here)

8-02 Cornwall, La Maison Tavern (w/ Above the Violet, Coldrift)
8-03 Oshawa, The Atria (w/ Viva Mars, HeavyEarth)
8-04 Toronto, Rancho Relaxo (w/ Buddy Black, Viva Mars, Trust Funds)
8-05 London, The APK (w/ The Offensive Senses, Poacher, Say Hello)
8-06 Hamilton, The Doors Pub (w/ Noise Floor, Dead End Sessions)
8-07 Guelph, Van Gogh’s Ear (w/ The Pick Brothers, Amberwood)
8-08 St. Catharines, Mahtay Cafe (w/ Trust Funds, Ardent)
8-09 Belleville, The Belle Pub (matinee show)
8-23 Ottawa, Cafe Dekcuf (w/ Empty Shelves, Canvas)

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