The origin of the Man Feelings moniker is still something that is up for debate amongst its members.
“Tyler [Willson] remembers it as his buddy passing through town and suggesting the name, but there is not consensus on that,” laughs drummer John De Lorenzi.
“It may have been a late Friday night.”
One thing that isn’t up for debate is the direction that Man Feelings was going to take when they formed four years ago.
Lead vocalist and bass player Tyler Willson (originally from Thunder Bay), drummer John De Lorenzi, keyboardist BJ Swire and guitarist Paul (Gabby) Gabrylewicz knew that they wanted to create original music.
“None of us wanted to do covers, though we have a few,” says De Lorenzi.
“It was clear early on that our collective playing style was more conducive to original music.”
And original they are.
The music Man Feelings creates is seemingly very different and distinct than anything else happening locally.
“It’s all-natural. We like a lot of local original bands and we go see them. This is simply the sound that came out when we started jamming.”
The songs on City Friends conjures up classic alternative acts like Talking Heads or Television, who put in their dues at CBGBs in New York, or the more recent alternative heirs in bands like Modest Mouse (whose name is played upon in a Man Feelings’ tune on the EP called Modest Spouse).
On their social media pages, the band members describe their writing and composing style as having “no filter on creativity or performance.”
“We all like alternative and indie rock from different generations: punk, new wave, 90s and current alternative, and certain forms of hip-hop,” says De Lorenzi.
“Trying to marry our wide range of influences into songwriting is interesting. Add some salt and pepper, not the R&B group, and you get served up a dish of Man Feelings.”
The band’s love for the North also plays a part in their sound.
“We love northern Ontario and its landscape. It’s our lifestyle. So, lyrically, some songs sit within that environment. Musically, the ethereal interplay of cat and mouse between instruments, etches an angst of…,” says De Lorenzi who jokingly stops himself before completing the sentence.
“Hopefully, you can picture a walk-through of a northern winter forest or a gritty downtown street when you listen to the music build through the songs.”
The process of creation is shared between the bandmates.
“No one has ever brought a [complete] song to the band. Sometimes BJ will bring a keyboard progression, or Tyler has a riff, but once we all contribute, it ends up completely different from where it started.”
De Lorenzi notes that the songwriting often occurs in “four-hour-long jams” where the members just experiment with music and melody.
“Once we do isolate the core of a song, we put in several sessions on the music, the changes, the words, how the words fit into the song, harmony, effects, crescendo, and mood. We want each song to offer up something different.”
De Lorenzi writes many of the lyrics for the band.
“Weird for a drummer, right? When composing, our lead vocalist will hum the melody and throw in random words. Those few words typically stick with me, and I build the lyrics around that.”
The band wrote approximately fourteen album-ready songs when they made the decision to record.
“Tyler records us, plays bass, and sings lead vocals, so we cut him a break after [we recorded] four songs,” says De Lorenzi.
“We started mid-2020 and finished around December.”
The band originally mixed the songs intended for the EP themselves, before taking a different direction.
“[We] decided to strip them down and hand them over to Dustin Goodall [at Unsalted Sound] to mix. We wanted to give the songs an experienced, professional touch, and to see what he would come up with in terms of our recorded sound. He did a great job.”
The experience was so positive they plan to work with Goodall again in the future.
“BJ and I both loved the sound Goodall got on the Pixo Control album Probably Not [from 2015]. We met months prior to recording and saw his studio,” he says.
“We never did see him during the actual mixing of the EP. For all we know, he got his sister to do it,” he laughs, questioning whether or not Goodall actually has a sister.
Once mixed, the Man Feelings’ debut EP was mastered by Noah Mintz, who has done albums by The Dears, Rheostatics, Broken Social Scene and many more.
“Dustin recommended a few studios and individuals to master the EP. Noah Mintz from Lacquer Channel Mastering in Toronto was on that list. [Mintz’s] band, hHead from the 90s was awesome and had a great sound. I’ve listened to other albums he mastered, so I knew we were in good hands.”
Although City Friends wasn’t officially released until April 1, it's coinciding with April Fools Day wasn’t necessarily by design.
“You are our launch,” says De Lorenzi of the Sootoday interview.
“That was driven by you, so if the EP is cursed, it's your fault. I like that it ended up that way.”
The band sent the EP to about twenty of their friends and music acquaintances they know to get input on what should be their lead single when shopping it to radio.
“The feedback has been very positive,” he says, noting the band plan to film a couple of videos for the songs on the EP.
“We have CDs that we will peddle to local music stores or contact us, and we’ll bring you one. We’d love some vinyl, but the small lot cost is big. If there is interest, we can always go back and get some printed.”
The band is hoping to be able to book some shows in support of the new release gigs by summer, depending on the ongoing pandemic.
“If not, we’ll continue recording. Either way, we need to keep recording.”
City Friends is available on streaming sites like Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and Apple Music.
You can find out more about Man Feelings and their music from their website, Facebook, Instagram or Bandcamp pages.
The band also encourages people to reach out to them directly at: [email protected].