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The Eardrums

Lost in the scene. With its gimmick-free rock ’n’ roll sound, Winnipeg three-piece The Eardrums is having a tough time breaking into the city’s music cliques.
   
"I don’t know how much this is me being spiteful or jealous but it seems that Winnipeg has this tightly knit community and it’s sort of tough to penetrate that bubble,"" says Grant Patridge, 28, who is joined in the band by brother/fraternal twin Tim Patridge and friend James MacLean. "Our most likely channels to go through are your indie channels. We ought to be playing at The Lo Pub, but you put on us a bill with Haunter and The Cannon Bros. and its like, ‘OK, two hip bands and these squares paying rock ’n’ roll.’ It’s a little incongruous."
   
Still, it’s evident Partridge takes pride in not fitting in. Released in September, The Eardrums’ new EP is titled We’re Not From Toronto — a little jab at the Centre of the Universe, not to mention ideas of what is cool. But while the band — which formed in 2007 — likes life on the outside, it wouldn’t shy away from a little attention.
   
"We’re convinced we’re at the level now that people ought to be paying attention to us, it’s just a matter of breaking through," Partridge says. "We’re really good at what we’re doing and that’s why we take it so seriously. Every band has to ask themselves ‘Are we going to make a go of this or not?’ and once you’ve made a decision you either flake out after a couple of years or keep trying. It’s been four years now and every so often we reap the rewards of being persistent."
   
Yes, persistence pays off. The Eardrums debut release — 2009’s Eardrops EP —  charted on national campus radio for three months and its single You Win Again infiltrated the Top 10 at 92.9 KICK FM. When it comes to diligence, The Eardrums draw inspiration from Sloan. Like the 20-year-old Canadian rock band, The Eardrums switch instruments and singing duties and take the ‘if it feels good do it’ approach.
   
"(Sloan is) a real big inspiration in the sense that they’re willing to do things their own way," Patridge says. "They said fuck you to Geffen by putting out a pop album in the middle of the grunge years. It must be hard to market a band — well, actually I know it’s hard to market a band that doesn’t have a proper frontman — but it’s good, too. It’s a matter of taking those things that seem to be disadvantages and playing them out as strengths."
   
Such as that time The Eardrums played to 10,000 screaming fans in Japan. OK, maybe that didn’t happen, but We’re Not From Toronto’s closing track is called Mystery Mansion (Live at Budokon) and was recorded in front of a "live" audience.
   
"It makes me smile to listen to," Partridge says. "I’ve almost convinced myself that it actually happened. When Alzheimer’s starts to kick in, I’ll have a fun false memory."
   
The Eardrums will make fun, real memories when they open for Ween tribute band The Fancy Pants on Oct. 22 at The Cavern. Go to www.eardrums.ca for more info on the band and to stream We’re Not From Toronto.
   
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