Premiere: Forno by Suits ‘n Toques
Ottawa’s ska ensemble Suits ‘n Toques are releasing an new EP, Forno, this Friday, but we have the exclusive premiere a day early. We chatted with Chris Ferrante, singer, trombonist and guitar player, about the band, the album and their live show. Take a listen to Forno at the bottom of the page after the interview, and don’t forget to check out their album release show Friday May 15 at the Rainbow Bistro with Cardboard Crowns and Francbâtards.
What is the story behind the name?
Not really any great story behind the name! We were stuck and needed something, and all our past names were shit so we just turned to a friend of ours and said come up with a name for us! I’m pretty sure Suits ‘n Toques was the first thing he said, and it has that goofy Canadian feel so it kind of stuck for us.
What drove you guys towards playing ska? I ask because there is very little of it in Ottawa.
Probably six or so years ago prior to going on a family road trip, I was desperately looking for music on the Internet to keep me occupied for a 16-hour drive. I came across Streetlight Manifesto’s Somewhere in the Between and The Planet Smashers’ Life of the Party albums. I downloaded them and ended up listening to them each like 10 times on that trip. I came back and was just so into this type of music that I got the band listening to it a bit. Luckily, we were all band geeks so we had experience on horns already.
“We Will Fall Together” by Streetlight Manifesto ended up being the first song we ever played as a band.
Any Ottawa bands from the past or present influence your sound?
We look up to a lot of different Ottawa bands and enjoying going to local shows and stuff but I don’t think we have specifically drawn influences for our sound from any local bands. For me though, going and seeing local bands play always really pushes me to want to get better at what we do.
From what I’ve been told, there used to be a lot more local ska bands kicking around, but we were still in the early years of high school when all that was going down so we were never really exposed to that. I will say though that even in the last few years, we’ve noticed more big ska shows coming about so hopefully that’s a sign that the scene is back on the upswing!
What is the story behind the new album?
So the album was tracked and mixed by Dean Watson at Gallery Recording Studios in the Glebe. Super fun times working with him! The EP was mastered by Roger Lima, bassist of Less Than Jake, at his studio in Gainesville, Florida. It was pretty sweet that Roger was down to work on this for us, and we are stoked that it turned out how it did! I mean, Less Than Jake is one of my all-time favourite ska punk bands and I knew that Roger, being around ska-punk music for so long, would have a good sense of what we were going for musically.
There are five songs on this EP, and I wrote all the lyrics but the music itself is usually a pretty collaborative process. Our jam sessions are just a lot of fun and occasionally a song gets spit out! “Jenga” is the only old song of ours on the EP which we decided to re-record. All the others are new within the last year and a half or so.
The title, Forno, came about because on the way to the studio we always drove by Forno’s Pizzeria on Bronson, and every time we drove by that place we’d all start saying “Forno” in a stupid voice mimicking the SNL skit “The Californians.” When people ask about the name now though we just say we named it Forno, “FOR NO REASON.”
What is your favourite track from the new album?
I personally love “Faceplant!” It’s the last song on the EP but the first song we actually recorded for it. I personally think it’s one of our best written songs and I just love how it has a real cool sped up in your face ending.
Which one do you think will get the most people dancing and singing and why?
People respond really well to “California Chrome”. It’s a catchy tune that alternates from a groovy chill verse to an in-your-face punk chorus so it really has something for everyone. It’s one of those songs where you could skank, mosh, jump, or just chill, and it wouldn’t look weird. There is also a call-and-response element to the chorus that lets people sing along so we are hoping it catches on!
Your live shows are an absolute blast and you guys do great covers. What is your favourite track to cover live?
We’ve covered a bunch of bands like Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Streetlight Manifesto, Rancid, Mad Caddies, etc… but I always get most pumped up when I see a Streetlight Manifesto Cover on the set. My favourite to do is probably “Somewhere in the Between!”
Can you tell me the story behind the trom-bong?
Yeah, so we do a trombone beer bong at all our shows! Who doesn’t like seeing someone struggle to chug a beer in front of a bunch of people?! There is no real story behind it, I just thought it would be a great little gimmick to get people to remember us and it seems to have caught on. People will do a lot for a free beer!
How is your sax player doing? Can you elaborate on his tale of woe that led to broken teeth?
Our sax player Andrew was BMX biking and overshot a jump or something and went over his handle bars. He smashed out his two front teeth and had to get a bunch of stitches and root canals and stuff. This happened days before our last House of TARG show and obviously this isn’t an ideal situation for a sax player so for a while he was fighting through quite a bit of pain. He’s all good now though, he has his fake teeth (which look better than his old buck teeth, anyway) and sax playing is no problem for him.
Now as your parting words, sell people on why they should skip all other shows May 15th and skank the night away with you?
May 15th at the Rainbow is going to be crazy! Forget about us for a second… we’ll be kicking off the show with Montreal reggae masters Francbâtards and ending the night with the mighty Cardboard Crowns! Sandwiched in between will be us showcasing our new EP which we’ve been working hard on for the past year! The Rainbow Bistro is going to be packed to the brim with people skanking like idiots so it will not be a show to miss! Come early, and stay late! Ottawa hasn’t seen a ska show like this one in a while.