Getting The Measure Of Metric

Contemporary music- It's an unforgiving bitch that knows no bounds to say the least. First musicians had to worry about relevancy and changing tastes, and then the whole interweb came gallivanting into existence like an unplanned pregnancy.  Mucking up the good thing the industry had going and creating worry and fevered promotion meeting discussing the threat of P2P sites, and the downloading of leaked albums. The test of strength and in kind relevancy for any form of music is adaptability coupled with intuition. Metric, have had to flex this flux muscle, but have taken an actionary's position, instead of reactionary, and as a result is creating a change they wish to see in music.

Fresh from a shower, and eager to find some decent fried eggs amidst Detroit's legion of restaurants and eateries,  Metric guitarist Jimmy Shaw is, if anything, passionate about his craft and conveys this to Gigwise before playing Saint Andrews Hall. His passion is amplified by the love of Metric as a unit and their collective love for the environment in which they have distinguished themselves. "With these four people, there is nothing we'd rather do than make music."

With a musical atmosphere such as the one we live in, comprised of contributors and increasingly grabby and impatient consumers, there really is nothing a developing band can afford to do aside from make music, ad nauseum, to expand their reach. "Right now is the wild west. Make up your own rules, you're only as relevant as you make yourself. We can't be so concerned with the old school crap. If people want to download a new song every week, write a new song every week. It's really the only way to do it. Don't fight change, just roll with it. Every and any option is viable."

Metric seems to be defined by change. They once were a two piece (Shaw himself & Emily Haines), and are now a healthy foursome. Their music has always been about evolving and changing habits. Or at least so it seems to Jimmy; "We make a change in the people who come to the show and lower their inhibitions. I'm not sure how they are changed once they leave the venue, I'd like to think it’s sustainable. In the very least, for they time they spend with us, they react."