Hamilton, Ontario’s indie-rock powerhouse, Ellevator made their Vancouver Island debut with a larger-than-life performance during the final day of the Rifflandia Music Festival.
Taking cues from from some of the great lyricists and songwriters, Ellevator is a band that focuses on the craft of songmaking. This is evident in their beautifully-shaped debut LP, The Words You Spoke Still Move Me, with each moment, sound, word, and fade deliberate and concise.
Tyson Elder had a chance to catch up with frontwoman Nabi Sue Bersche, guitarist Tyler Bersche and bassist/keyboardist Elliott Gwynne in the bright blue bleachers of Royal Athletic Field after their Rifflandia set. While being blasted by the bombastic sounds of Jessia on the main stage, they chatted the shady guitar deals, styling Shaq, Chris Walla’s love of Tim Hortons, and enduring the legacy of Kate Bush.
Tyson Elder: That was a fantastic set and we are excited to finally have Ellevator play in Victoria. Please come back soon.
Tyler Bersche: Absolutely!
Nabi Sue Bersche: We’d absolutely love to.
Tyler: It’s kind of wild that we have never played Victoria before. I just realized that on the trip over that this was our first time here.
TE: Was that your first ferry ride?
Nabi: That was my first one since I was a child.
Elliott Gwynne: I think that was my first too.
Tyler: I’ve been before but never played.
TE: Tyler, let’s talk about your guitar tone…
Tyler: We will be here all day for this…
Nabi: [Makes an excited giggle while nudging Tyler]
TE: I know you’re a vintage gear nut and very into analog. What’s been the hardest piece of gear for you to find?
Tyler: Oh, that’s a good question.
Elliott: That he currently owns?
Nabi: Or that he’s still looking for?
TE: Both, maybe? But remember I only have so much room on my phone to record this interview [everyone chuckles while Tyler contemplates his Quest For Gear].
Tyler: My main guitar is an old ’65 Gibson Firebird. It took me a long time to find one and there was no way I could ever afford one of those guitars. I found some deep Craigslist ad with a blurry photo. This guy met me on a GO Train and the guitar was in pieces basically. The neck had been broken and the pickups were gone – it was just like this hunk of wood. I paid him cash under the table and then fixed it up.
TE: Was the GO Train moving when you made the deal? Like a handshake deal while switching suitcases?
Tyler: Yeah, it was Indiana Jones style. [laughs]
Elliott: In the trench coat. [laughs]
TE: So, what are you on the hunt for next?
Tyler: I’m really so satisfied right now, you know what I mean? Maybe I need a twelve string. Yeah, I need a nice twelve string. I think that’s the next move. Oh, Elliott and I have this thing where we’re trying to collect everything in a set. In the 1970s, Fender made this colour called Mocha and it was only used from ’70 to ’75. I have a the Tele Deluxe and the Mustang. He’s got the Jazz Bass and the P Bass. Oh, I have the Strat too. So we just need the Tele Custom and we’ve completed the set.
TE: The Mocha colour really goes well with the band’s style.
Elliott: We built the band around it. [Elliott and Nabi laugh]
TE: I love coffee too. [anxiously laughs realizing he’s only had one cup of cold brew that day] I have to say that Ellevator’s style, photos, and branding is so on point.
Tyler: Thank you!
TE: Nabi, I’m sure the direction and vintage-styled looks comes down to you, right?
Nabi: Yes, I’d say most of the time but these guys have got good style too.
Tyler: [Leans in close to confess] I haven’t bought clothes since I was nineteen.
Nabi: [Laughs] I buy all his clothes.
TE: I’m not sure if you’ve heard but Shaq played Rifflandia the other night.
Elliott: I can’t fucking believe we missed Shaq.
TE: Yeah, that was on Friday night. He’s just a tower of a human being. Nabi, how would you dress Shaq for a gig? [everyone laughs]
Nabi: [A very excited] Oh shit!
Elliott: Doesn’t he just wear a tank top?
TE: Yeah, he came out in like a basketball jacket, took it off and rocked a tank while yelling “get that fucking pit going” all night. How would you dress some of that stature?
Nabi: I mean… I don’t know him that well and generally when I’m styling someone one I want them to feel comfortable. That’s challenging without knowing someone or their style very well.
TE: He was like a genie in a movie so he’s got to be comfortable in a lot of things.
Nabi: What’s coming to mind is honestly just like a sick pair of overalls.
Tyler: That would be sick.
Nabi: Overalls with no shirt underneath?
TE: Basically a tank is the shirt of overalls.
Nabi: Yeah! Maybe a cool mesh tank top in a bright colour under the overalls. It’d be kind of ravey.
TE: He does make EDM music.
Nabi: Then that’s perfect. Maybe some platform shoos.
TE: Just get him up even higher. [laughs]
Nabi: He’s not tall enough. [laughs]
TE: How do you feel about stilettos, Shaq?
Elliott: You’d have to reinforce those stilettos. [band laughs]
TE: I feel like everything hast to be reinforced with Shaq.
Elliott: Reinforced mesh shirt. [laughs]
Tyler: I think you should do like Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride. Like Andre the Giant with a full cape.
Nabi: Like a cloak? [laughs]
Tyler: Yeah, like a giant cloak and chainmail.
Nabi: Oh, that would be sick. Maybe chainmail under the overalls?
TE: Or overalls made of chainmail?
Nabi: There we are!
Tyler: Whatever it is it has to be made. There’s no pulling it off the shelf. He’s way off the size charts. [laughs]
TE: Let’s bring it back to you guys. I know you are very lyric driven with your music. When you’re recording and working on music where the focus is on powerful lyricism, what is your process when heading into the studio?
Nabi: Most of the time we have the lyrics written pre-studio tracking. Sometimes a song feels obvious and the lyrics kind of fall into place. Often I will bring lyrics to rehearsals as we’re writing to try them out and see what feels right. Sometimes they’ll be straight up journal entries and some of them fit; there’s little chunks here and there. Tyler quite often helps finish lyrics to songs too because I’ll have some bald spots. He’s like the chorus champion. I have troubles sometimes with the hooks.
TE: You just put out your debut record, The Words You Spoke Still Move Me, not too long ago on Arts & Crafts. I’ve always felt like Arts & Crafts is like the premiere label in Canada. All of my favourite bands are on Arts & Crafts. How does that feel to be on the label?
Nabi: It’s amazing.
Tyler: The only label that we were aware of when we were sixteen was Arts & Crafts, outside of the major labels. We all knew them because we saw it on the back of all the CDs growing up. Obviously you can hear the influence in out music. We wear it heavily on our sleeves. Being part of that story is very cool. We are very grateful.
Elliott: I found this band called Zeus and I thought that was the greatest music to ever exist. [everyone nods enthusiastically in agreement] I followed the trail back on that and it led me to Arts & Crafts. Damn, that’s a good collection of people.
TE: And they are all one band too, right? They are all in Broken Social Scene [everyone laughs]
Nabi: We are just waiting for the invite.
TE: Someone’s gotta age out soon. [everyone laughs]
Tyler: They have to retire to make room for the new members.
TE: So… my friend Mike Edel.
Nabi: YES!
TE: Mike has asked me to ask you for some weird Chris Walla stories. Do you have any to share? I’ve heard some great ones but I’d love to hear one we can share.
Tyler: The best! We’ve got a few.
Nabi: Fill in the details folks because I’m not the best at remembering all the details. When we were recording a bit of the album we learned that Chris Walla loves Tim Hortons. Like he’s a really big fan.
Tyler: Which I gotta say for a guy who has been to every city in the world many times of over and had all the coffee it fascinating to me that he loves Tim Hortons.
Nabi: We all know that Tim Horton’s is not the best there is. [we all laugh in agreement] He loves Tim’s and he specifically loves the Old Fashioned plain donut. The staple of donuts.
TE: Well… he is an old man now…
Nabi: One morning he showed up to the studio and was like “I brought coffee and donuts for the crew and everyone.”
Tyler: We show up and it’s a twenty-four pack of donuts. We open it up and every single donut is an Old Fashioned plain donut.
Nabi: First of all that’s too many donuts. It’s insane.
TE: I’m sure he’s thinking “nobody is going to eat these. I will have donuts for later.”
Nabi: Maybe that was the plan.
Tyler: I straight up was talking to other people like “is he fucking with us?” [band bursts into laughter] It’s probably like just Chris Walla and I don’t know… bingo at the old folks home are the two places buying two-fours of Old Fashioned plain.
TE: It’s funny in a roundabout way that Ellevator played the same stage that Chris Walla played his last show with Death Cab For Cutie on.
Tyler: Really? I didn’t know it was Rifflandia.
TE: It was a magical moment. A meteor went across the sky.
Elliott: Unbelievable.
Tyler: Thank you for telling me that. We’ve got to text him we are here. That’s amazing.
TE: I’ve just got one last question for you before I let you sneak off to enjoy the rest of the festival. You covered Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill like three years ago?
Nabi: Maybe four or five? 2018? It was on our first tour.
TE: Have a lot of people discovered the band because of the cover recently?
Ellevator: Yes!
Nabi: I haven’t even watched the new season yet.
Elliott: I wasn’t keeping up on Stranger Things and I don’t know who texted who and was like “our live version of Running Up That Hill has a lot more views all of a sudden!”
Tyler: It was pretty wild.
Nabi: I think we had a rehearsal like a week before the new season came out and we were planning the set. We were planning on a cover and putting Running Up That Hill aside. It’s a great song but we’ve been playing it for years and years. It was time to play another something new. We played one show with a different song and then that happened.
Tyler: A song from 1986 became a #1 hit again.
Nabi: Now we are going to have to play this cover for decades. [laughs]
Elliott: It quickly got put back in rotation. [laughs]
Nabi: We are lucky that it’s a good song.
TE: It’s a definitely a good song. Again, lyrically driven and Kate Bush is amazing. It has to be a nice little boost though and a great way for people to discover the band.
Nabi: It’s a dream.
Tyler: I’m so pleased that a whole new generation is discovering Kate Bush. What a legacy.
TE: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me!
Ellevator: Thank you!
Listen to Ellevator’s debut album, The Words You Spoke Still Move Me on all major streaming platforms, purchase the record and learn more about the band on Arts & Crafts.