1) You say that you are unsatisfied with contemporary music, how does this result in the music you create?

We’re not dissatisfied with all of it, just most of it. As musicians, you can try to make music that you think people want to hear, or you can make music that speaks to you and that you’re proud of. Personally, we make music that people don’t really want to hear and that we’re not particularly proud of. Win Win!

2) Its rare for a hip hop group to say their influences are The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, however listening to your stuff it’s definitely prominent. Do you find it difficult to blend such opposite genres?

Do people find it difficult to put on their pants on in the morning? Yes, of course we find it difficult. Some mornings it’s damn near impossible. Like when you wake up after a night of drinking. You can wrestle with the denim devil all you like, but in the end you know you’re going pant-less.

3) My favourite track is Beat Fly. The track itself sounds like it grabbed influences from Motown to 70s Rock to 80s raw hip hop. Does the sound you produce come from every member individually? Or do all of the members contribute all aspects of sound?

Each member has their own unique style. The overall sound comes from the synergy of all those styles. We are often referred to as a fusion band which makes it sound like we are going out of our way to bring different genres together. Really, we just try to make our personal tastes come together naturally. When it works it’s like waking up from a long restful sleep and those pants just slide right on

4) So many contemporary artists are a dime a dozen, how do you separate yourselves from the crowd?

We don’t really intentionally try to separate ourselves from the crowd. We just try to make music and have a good time with it. That people think we stand out, and at the same time are not repulsed by it, is a nice bonus. Like when you put on a nice pair of pants and find a crumpled up 20 dollar bill in the pocket.

5) Do you find it hard to be placed in an industry standard with such an eclectic style of music?

We don’t find it hard at all. The industry itself is finding it pretty hard to place us in any one box though. They can’t seem to make up their minds as to what kind of band we are. This works for us because we also don’t know.

6) Are there any pre-show rituals? What do you consider a successful show?

A general preshow ritual is spending the whole time before we go on worrying that no one will show up. Whether or not a show is a success to us usually depends on how the crowd reacts. How big the after party gets is a good indicator.

7) On your down time what do you find yourself doing most?

Most of our downtime is spent practicing and making music. Apparently writing one song a year isn’t enough these days.

8 ) Do you think Toronto has influenced your sound at all?

There are so many great bands and talented musicians in Toronto it would be hard not to be influenced by them. One night you are playing with a jazz band, the next night you are playing with a hip-hop group, the night after that you become a jazz hip-hop fusion group. We are pretty fortunate to have grown up here.

9) What can we expect from Tiny Danza in the future?

The near future is looking pretty busy for us. We’re heading down to Austin, Texas for SXSW then back up to Toronto for Canadian Music Week. Shortly after that we head to Dublin, Ireland to play a bunch of shows for Indie Week 2012 before possibly heading to England to top it off. That’s just the first half of the year. Hopefully by the end of it all we’ll be able to finish the next album.

10) Tiny Danza is : to Music as Nest is to Mare

Tags: 2012, band, beat, danza, fly, interview, tiny, toronto

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