Interview: Canadian rock band Mounties (Hawksley Workman, Steve Bays, and Ryan Dahle) - Part I

Filed under: Interviews

Mounties is a Canadian "supergroup" (in a quaint, Canadian sort of way) consisting of Hawksley Workman, Ryan Dahle (of Limblifter), and Steve Bays (of Hot Hot Heat). After releasing the single and accompanying video "Headphones" in January 2013 -- announcing the track and the existence of the band itself via a seemingly out-of-nowhere tweet from Hawksley -- the band eventually released their debut LP, Thrash Rock Legacy, in March 2014.

The release -- an album filled with straight-ahead rock tunes which somehow still manage to weave in different musical directions throughout -- coincided with a national tour, including a memorable stop at JunoFest 2014 in Winnipeg. This fall, they crossed Canada once again, and once again visited our home base of Winnipeg as support for Phantogram.

I got the chance to speak with Hawksley, Ryan, and Steve on their (very lavish) tour bus prior to their set at Winnipeg's Garrick Theatre. It was one of the most decadent interviews in our 13-year history, including a roaring (video) fire and complementary oranges. With almost half an hour to speak to the three main Mounties men (the trio is joined for their high-energy live shows by Parker Bossley and Cary Pratt), we were able to cover a lot: we spoke about the formation of the band, the type of music being put out into the world these days, how much fun the guys are having touring together, and much more.

Even with 30 minutes of chatting, we could have gone on much longer. So Steve put the challenge out to call this part one of our interview series with Mounties. Thus, the next time the band stops in Winnipeg, we'll continue our discussion on the world of music, each of the extremely talented members' careers outside of Mounties, and where the band is headed in the future.

For more from Mounties, visit www.mountiesband.com.

Thanks to Dwayne Larson of It's a Music Thing for shooting the video.

Tags: Mounties, Hawksley Workman, Steve Bays, Ryan Dahle, Hot Hot Heat, Limblifter, Canadian music, rock music, Headphones, Thrash Rock Legacy

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Paul Little is the founder and Managing Editor of ShowbizMonkeys.com. When not interviewing his favourite musicians and comedians, he can also be found putting on and promoting music and comedy events with The Purple Room in Winnipeg, or co-producing the live comedy game shows Pants on Fire and The Great Patio Showdown. (@comedygeek)

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