Five Blank Pages - Last Blush (2007)

Five Blank Pages is one of my favoutire Toronto bands and I was able to interview Noyan a few months ago about the recent line up changes and the future of the band.

First off, can you give a little rundown about how the band got started and what has gone on in the past five years?
Noyan: In a nutshell, I started the band as a solo project under another name back in 2002, my sister Chelen picked playing up the drums and a few months later, she joined. My then-girlfriend/now-wife, Pinar picked up the bass and a few weeks later, she joined. We changed the name to Five Blank Pages in 2003 as our sound was a bit more of a band-ish. We released an EP called "Spaces to Occupy and Abandon". We played many, many shows and a bunch of festivals. We performed with acts ranging from Bedouin Soundclash and Pilate to Malajube and moneen. We don't really sound like any of them but it's fun to be versatile enough that you fit. Rajiv joined the band on bass in February 2006; we played more shows and recorded our first full-length album with Jose Contreras. Entitled "Last Blush", we released it ourselves under the label City Mouse Records in October 2007.

How have things changed for the band since the release of Last Blush?
Noyan: We managed to get lots of college radio play with the album, charting high nationally, and we played many a show to support it. Things have been going very well but as the band begun taking up more and more time, Chelen and Rajiv decided to leave to pursue other interests. We had a huge show in early February at the Horseshoe Tavern to celebrate their time in the band with us. Since then, Pinar and I have been busy writing and taking some much needed time off from playing live.

What do you think are the best and/or worst elements of the music scene in Toronto?
Noyan: I think with any metropolis, there are just so many venues and so many bands and artists that there's just too much available to you. I know that seems like a silly thing to say but I think the average concert goer in Toronto can take for granted the quality of music that is around them, just because it is so readily available, every night of the week. It's definitely hard to impress that person. But, at the same time, for the person that can appreciate it, they can catch amazing music, at any given time pretty much in Toronto.

On the website, you were talking about the new songs that have been written, can you tell us a little about that?
Noyan: It's kind of backwards, but Pinar and I almost feel like there's even more freedom to write outside of the box with just the two of us. The songs right now are almost motion-picture-esque and kind of dark. The pop element of our music is being pushed a bit to the background. I don't really know how this is coming about as it's not conscious- the songs are just rolling out that way. It's somewhat organic even. Can a song be organic? Hmmm... I'm pretty sure there are no harmful fertilizers in our songs.

What challenges have you faced with Rajiv and Chelen's departure?
Noyan: We've really looked at the positives of the situation in that it has opened the possibility of reinvention. We're very excited about the prospect of new players and what they can bring to the new songs we've been writing. Onward and upwards!

How has the band evolved to make things still go smoothly as a two-piece?
Noyan: We've played at least a few shows as a two-piece, three-piece and I've played solo many times as well. The songs are pretty translatable into different arrangements. They really turn into something new, being stripped down. I like that about them. And it's always fun contrasting playing in a rock band with sometimes playing in a soft, quieter arrangement, where you can actually hear yourself sing. We won't always be playing as a two-piece but one nice thing about it so far is rehearsals being so easy... Pinar and I could be eating dinner at home and then be like "wanna rehearse?" and we just set things up wherever we like at home and play. It feels natural to be able to play music with someone right when you feel like it and not have to schedule it.

What are the plans for the future of Five Blank Pages?
Noyan: When the songs we're working on are ready we'll be making a record and releasing it. I guess the tentative plan is to have that before the year is up, hopefully sooner, but you know how things go... We'll also be playing a bit more into summer, in different arrangements and with a few surprises.

Five Blank Pages - Last Blush (2007)
Toronto, Canada
myspace.com/fiveblankpages