The atmosphere filled with locals’ conversing, laughing, sharing hugs and hellos. The space grew quiet as music lured everyone into one room. We were surrounded by strums, beats, and words rolling off of tongues. Immersed in a space rather unique for a show, yet familiar with musicians perfecting their songs for the public. People scattered about, sitting on rugs, leaning against walls, standing, finding a comfortable spot to soak in the glorious sounds. I’ve been to my fair share of shows, but never one at a studio, specifically this one, Toy Car Studios. (Though I have been here to interview Justin Green.) It’s quite the quaint and homey set up, just on the edge of Eau Claire, WI.
Even the performers themselves were dispersed throughout, tucked within the audience. Attendees looked all different directions song after song. This was very unusual and surprisingly pleasant compared to a traditional concert setup. I found myself entranced watching a guitarist and bassist strum at one moment, then shifting my head to admire sweet words coming from the lead singer, bouncing my gaze towards the drummer with his swift beats and steady rhythm. How I wish I was musically talented, but thankful that these intimate shows exist so I can admire others and their talents. Tonights’ line up was, Fault Choir from Houghton, Michigan, Chamber Noise from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Mauno from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
The wonderful thing about a show such as this, is those who attend it really care about the music. Why else would they be there? There is no bar to purchase drinks, no television to watch, nothing else happening, but pure humane interaction and music. All cities and towns deserve such raw, beautiful shows such as this. It’s just not the same as going to a huge venue or stepping foot into a bar. People are here solely for the music. It offers a sense of family, a community, where anyone is welcome. (As long as they purchase a membership since the city won’t allow ticket sales.)
I’ve noticed that Eau Claire is growing faster than ever before. Included with this growth are a variety of additional spaces for live music. Though, this creates a lot of competition without an equally growing population. Toy Car Studios certainly offers a space unlike any other in the area for live music. Not only is it intimate and welcoming, but they of course have amazing sound equipment! They are a studio after all.
I think what really gets me is that you can take off your shoes and stand in your socks or sit crisscross applesauce on the floor. Who would dare do that on an alcohol and puke laden floor of a bar, or in a packed crowd of a concert arena (you wouldn’t see anything, but legs and butts and lets hope those are some nice butts and that they don’t fart on you, okay I’m getting sidetracked, oops).
As I spent my time in this magical place I received the opportunity to speak with one of the bands, Mauno, who headlined the show AND they happen to be from Canada. Isn’t that neat? How Toy Car Studios found these guys I wasn’t sure, but I was intrigued to find out. From what I gathered they’ve always wanted to tour the United States even though they’ve been on many tours. Now here they Mauno got an opportunity to play SXSW (South by Southwest) so it was the perfect opportunity for their long awaited US tour.
Members of Mauno consist of: Nick Everett (Vocals/Guitar), Eliza Niemi (Bass/Vocals), Adam White (Drums) and Scott Boudreau (Guitar). The Halifax, Nova Scotia band, named after Eliza’s grandfather, started about four years ago with members Nick, Eliza and a different drummer at the time. A couple years after, Adam took the reigns of drummer and Scott was added to the mix. However, the guys have been playing music together for around 15 years, so they’re no strangers to band life. Mauno, with the four of them, has been nearly two years, and within those years they’ve been doing a ton of touring.
What makes this Canadian group choose Eau Claire of all the places in the United States? Certainly if they’ve never been, there must be an array of popular attractions they’d like to see. Well, like I said earlier, Toy Car Studios was a venue unlike any other and they certainly agree.
“On our way to SXSW we wanted to fill the space and we’ve driven through Eau Claire a few times. Just cutting through the states on Canadian tours because Ontario takes a really long time to drive through, so we’d dip down since it’s faster sometimes. We keep driving through Eau Claire and talking about it. – It’s really pretty; it kind of reminds me of the East Coast in a lot of ways without the ocean maybe. – It kind of just made sense as a step because we keep driving through it and hearing about the cool festivals that happen here. Bucky (their booking agent) was like ‘there’s actually this really sweet studio you guys should play.’ Adam relayed.
With them, Mauno brings songs about cutting free from relationships, anxiety, love falling apart all on their new album Tuning. The album features field recordings from Halifax and some from Eliza’s time spent in Germany. I definitely felt like I could relate to their song Com as I’m sure many others dealing with anxiety could. “It’s about wanting to go to the neighborhood bar and trying to pump yourself up for it and just not being able to even leave your house because you’re crippled with anxiety,” Nick explained.
Mauno’s music not only discusses relatable experiences, but also gives a sense of serenity as you listen to it. They’ve been touring everywhere and trying to spread these serene poppy vibes with those all over the world as they see what works and where works. The group has experienced over 15 touring adventures together. Ranging from short trips around 10 days to some 6+ months. They’ve performed in a variety of places large and small. From festivals and huge venues to living rooms and an old abandoned dentist office. Toy Car Studios has been added to this list of unique performances. “Every night someone has made sure we have somewhere to stay.” Eliza expressed as we chatted about their various travels.
It’s pretty amazing that little ol’ Eau Claire can bring in bands like Mauno and offer such an intimate experience for audiences. We need more places like Toy Car Studios, places filled with passion for the music, places that are not in it for the money per say, but that they want to share music with the public while supporting musicians. It’s wonderful knowing that those who attend a show at this studio are in it for these very reasons. There really is no other space like this in the area and it deserves to be recognized.
As our conversation started to wrap up, the band came up with some advice for aspiring musicians, that I feel anyone with a love for live music or other passions could find useful. I may even take some of their advice for myself.
“There hasn’t been an all ages scene for 10 years. So shows are really suffering and it doesn’t seem sustainable.” – Nick
“Yeah, go to shows. It’s a huge thing that I would tell other musicians, that I even need to take the advice. – Be a part of the community so that they’ll come out and support you.” – Adam
“Be honest with yourself, don’t try to sound what you think you should sound like. Just sound like what you want it to sound like.” – Eliza
“Try to remember what is fun about it when it’s not fun. You put all of yourself into something, it’s going to be depleating.” – Scott
This group was a pleasure to talk to and gave me quite a bit of inspiration. I hope that you check out their new album Tuning. You can purchase it at their bandcamp page.
Lastly, you should probably follow this bit of advice too:
“Make sure people in Eau Claire come to this place (Toy Car Studios). This is a gem of a spot.” -Adam
All photos by: Kyle Lehman Photography
Photos of Chamber Noise and Mauno
