The power of the snack

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This article was published 26/01/2024 (985 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When you first hear We’re Only Here for the Snacks’s synthy sounds you would be forgiven for thinking the Winnipeg four-piece has been around for some time. But these Wolseley boys — Bennett Erum-Rieger (drums), Madis Paas (guitar), Sal Tait (synthesizer) and Sebi Zurzolo (synthesizer) — are all just sixth-graders who started playing together in January 2022.

The quartet, who have known each other since kindergarten, sat down one cold Friday afternoon, with one of their dads, Eric Paas, to tell us a little bit about themselves and their upcoming gig at the Good Will Social Club.

Whose idea was it to start the band?

Sal: Sebi used to play harmonica all the time in Grade 4. He was the harmonica guy. Him and I had the idea to jam on synths one day since we had both played piano for a long time. We decided that day to start a band. Madis heard of our band idea and asked to join us on guitar.

The three of us got together one day at my house and wrote and recorded a song called Bob the Builder Passed Away to the tune of London Bridge. I have the recording of that first song on my phone. We invited Bennett to join on us drums. He played one of those Cajon box drums back then and we played without amps or anything. We wrote a song together called Time and Money.

Why did you start the band?

Sebi: It’s fun! After those first few jams together, there was a performance day at our school at the end of Grade 4 and we played Time and Money in front of our class. We had lots of fun performing, so we kept practising every week and writing new songs. We got a drum kit and amps and started playing louder.

Madis: Last year in Grade 5, we wrote some more songs and then played our first “real concert” at our end of year school picnic in June 2023. It was super fun. That June, we recorded four songs with Sal’s dad Jason (Tait, drummer for the Weakerthans and Bahamas, among others) at his studio, Traditional Grip Audio. It was cool to get to do professional recordings with him. You can hear these songs on our Bandcamp page now.

What genre of music do you play?

Sebi: Snack rock!

Eric: What’s snack rock?

Sebi: Party music fuelled by snacks. We always snack together before we practise.

Madis: One time we tried to practise in the morning and we couldn’t get through a single song. After we took a break and had a snack, we were playing through songs no problem. This was proof of the power of the snack.

Who are your favourite singers/bands? What are your musical influences?

Sal: The Beatles.

Madis: Hmm. I listen to a bit of everything. I know the songs I listen to, but I don’t even know who sings them. I listen to whatever Spotify tells me to. (Laughs)

Bennett: Taylor Swift.

Sebi: Yeah, I’d have to say Taylor Swift, too.

Sal: Seriously? Taylor Swift? Name five Taylor Swift songs.

A spirited shouting match ensues over who knows the most Taylor Swift songs.

How often do you practise? How do you fit music around your other commitments?

Madis: We try to practise every Friday after school. We all have a lot of activities going on like hockey, soccer, jiu jitsu, choir, music lessons and nature club, so Fridays after school are the only day that we are all usually free. Our parents have a chat to help us schedule practices on days when we are all free.

Who are your positive influences/mentors, if any?

Sal: My parents are both musicians. My dad recorded us and helps us with sound at our shows.

Bennett: Eric helps us with booking shows and keeps us on track at practice.

Madis: My mom makes us snacks before every Friday band practice. We always look through the window when we get home to see what snacks are on the table and race to get there first.

Bennett: One of my moms drives us to practice and transports our gear in her van to shows. Another one of my moms makes our band T-shirts and other merch.

Sebi: All of our parents support our band. We all take music lessons too and have great music teachers.

Madis: Mr. G., our music teacher at school, is another mentor. He plays in a rock band. He’s from Chicago, right?

The boys bicker over where Mr. G is from and what kind of accent he has.

What are your plans for the future? Do you think you will keep this band going into adulthood?

Sal: We’d like to keep on playing as long as we can. We hope to play at some festivals this summer and see what happens after that.

What can we look forward to at the show?

Sebi: People can look forward to our “phenomenal stage presence,” whatever that means. Someone at our last show said that. People can also look forward to the Cheezie toss. Oh wait, that’s supposed to be a surprise. I guess everyone knows we toss Cheezies now. That’s why people come to our shows: free snacks.

And finally, what are your favourite snacks?

Madis: Gummy bears

Sal: Cheezies

Bennett: Pizza

Sebi: All of the above

av.kitching@winnipegfreepress.com