Review Fix Exclusive: Limestone Chorus’ Ben Goerzen Talks Goals and Future

Review Fix chats with Limestone Chorus’ Ben Goerzen, who discusses the band’s sound, goals and creative process.

Review Fix: What was invitation to music like?

Ben Goerzen: Personally I have had music in my life from the moment I was brought into this world.  My mother was a music educator at the Bradley Institute for Music Education Research, so naturally about as soon as I could hold my head up I was sitting in a room with 10 other baby’s making “noises” on little miniature violins & cellos.  Having played music for the first 20 years of my life quite seriously I stepped away from it having had enough and wanting to pursue other passions.  But soon enough it was pulling me back in the form of my best friends from high school wanting to jam – which was just the push I needed to get me back into it.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound?

Goerzen: I think this is one of the most commonly asked questions, so surprisingly I still struggle to answer it.  It keeps me awake at night!  I think the best way to put it – particularly this release; “a soundtrack for the summer.”  Its impossible to pigeonhole our sound into a genre as I find it transcends so many so that’s where I’m going to leave it.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Goerzen: We are definitely still discovering what our creative process is like.  A lot of these songs were written before Limestone Chorus came into existence and we interpreted/rewrote them.  Jordan and Wilson are the main songwriters when it comes to lyrics so they normally will come to the band with more or less a full lyrical idea and acoustic guitar to accompany it.  Then we work as a group to take it from something that sounds like it was conceived around the campfire to a full band creation; adding “tricks” as our producer Ian Romano put it.

Review Fix: Who influences you musically?

Goerzen: Our individual musical tastes definitely differ and converge.  Our drummer Eric enjoys his heavy music, Wilson is a total folk/singer-songwriter consumer, Jordan is most likely going to have CBC Radio 2 on at any point of the day.  I really love my alt-rock; stuff like Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses.  But when we come together to make our music and say where that has come from its definitely the Canadian indie scene that is blowing up right now.  Hey Rosetta!, Said the Whale, Joel Plaskett and such.

Review Fix: What are the goals for the rest of the year?

Goerzen: Well, we plan to play the record for people, as much as we can.  We just bought a school bus that we’re gonna head out east within October – we’ll be playing to Halifax and back (Niagara, ON).  I think the bigger plans are gonna come in the new year for the album, when we will make our way out west hopefully in the same bus haha, and we are also looking into our options in Europe.

Review Fix: What is your standout song?

Goerzen: Depends on who you ask. Each of us seem to have varying opinions on that.  Mine personally would have to be Winter Light.  It’s got this unreal bass line that walks the whole time – me on the cello for that line just gives it such a groove for me.  There’s also some serious harmonies where we hold notes that are really strong for each of us so it fades out on each chorus with us belting out positive words on the strongest notes. Memorable.  Jordan wrote the song, and I believe the story goes in the dead of the winter he was holed up in a cabin way-way up north and he just needed some positive vibes to get him through the darkest months of the year so he came up with this song…something like that in any case.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone listen to our work?

Goerzen: I would recommend our music to anyone because they are great songs that we all are super proud of.  The lyrics are uplifting and memorable.  The music is complex but very accessible and again, super memorable.  I think we would all say this is one of the biggest accomplishments any of us have every succeeded at in our lives.  And are so excited to spend the years coming sharing it and more music with our audience.

Review Fix: Whats next?

Goerzen: We’re gonna play shows on shows on shows.  No better way to pass the time with your best buds.