Huron Lines

Ahead of a run of Ontario shows, Windsor-based alt-rock band Huron Lines have just released their latest single, “Bad Idea” – a fuzz-filled, seductive track with grit and rawness, all about temptation and crossing lines. We caught up with the band to chat about the song, their writing process, and the Canadian bands they’re diggin’ most these days. 

From The Strait: Tell us about the new single, “Bad Idea”.

Huron Lines: Bad Idea was the last song written for this new set of songs about to come out – our 2nd album “Found In Floods”. It was written during the pandemic with an old baritone ukulele plugged into a fuzz pedal. It’s a bit of departure for us in some ways as it’s a bit more straight up the gut than some of our other songs. Nick Mitchell (drummer) and I had kind of come up with a structure to try built around the main riff and Josh Kaiser (producer/engineer) helped us flesh it out a little more the day we recorded it. This is one where Grainger Harris (guitar) and Justyn (bass/backup vocals) really came in after that point and laid down their parts. It’s a song about finding yourself at the edge of doing something you shouldn’t do (aka a bad idea) – and kind of the feelings you get from that experience.

From The Strait: What first made you want to be a musician? Was it a song, an artist, or just an undeniable pull to make music?

Huron Lines: I think it was community and friendship more than any single song or artist. I was lucky enough to have a group of friends growing up who all shared a passion for music. We spent countless hours in basements or spare rooms jamming and writing songs and ideas. That’s really where I learned how to play guitar and a few other instruments. There were other groups of friends doing the same thing and eventually we would all start to play shows together and launch more serious bands and projects. We also grew up in Windsor – which had a thriving music scene of bands and is across the river from Detroit so there was a lot of live music taken in. Once we started to play out of town in those younger days, we could see that that same DIY spirit of community was the driving force in other cities and towns. We would put on shows for other bands here and vice versa. Music is a huge community builder and for me that is really the main thing that pulled me into it. This band started in a similar way. We were all members of the Windsor music community who played in other bands but eventually found our way into the same room just to see what might happen. And now we have a band.

From The Strait: Every band has their own way of creating songs – what is your songwriting process like?

Huron Lines: Even though we have made two records together, we are still kind of evolving this as we go. Our first two records were made during the pandemic. This was, to say the least, a strange time so the process was not what I would consider to be normal. Sometimes we would be able to work on ideas together in the same room, sometimes we would have to space things out or work remotely. Most of the time, Nick Mitchell (drummer) and I would flesh out the initial idea together first (in our rehearsal space) and then present that to the other guys from there for further development. There were times when we went months without being all together so it could drag out some of the process. Recording kind of forced the issue which I think was important as it kept us focused — but it was by no means normal. Now we are together in the same room more consistently so we are super excited to be working on new songs in a more traditional way to see where that leads us. That being said, our 2nd album is coming out soon. We have released a handful of singles from it so far including this latest one Bad Idea. The album is called Found In Floods and is kind of a sibling album to the first one Lost At The Border (released in 2021) in that they were both made in a similar way mostly in our home studio.

From The Strait: What are some Canadian bands you’ve been listening to lately?

Huron Lines: I think last time we did one of these I featured a bunch of Windsor-bands – our city is really bringing it these days so highly recommend people check that out. This time, I think I’ll focus on some of the bands we are playing with in May across Ontario (with maybe one or two exceptions). The Fledge from Hamilton who we are playing in London, ON with next Friday, May 5th at the Palasad Social Bowl are one of our collectively favourite new Canadian bands. So excited to be doing shows with them. Also, Ancient Teeth (from Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg I believe) are another band people should get on their radar and check out asap – hopefully some shows with them soon. We are also playing a show with Eamon McGrath in Windsor on May 17th at Phog (along with Crazy Arm from the UK). Eamon has been dropping so much great new music over the last few months – highly recommend people spend some time checking it out. Also, on May 27th at Meteor in Windsor we are playing with Blessed and Motherhood – both amazing Canadian bands I am listening to…check them out.

From The Strait: What’s one question you wish you were asked in an interview? (And what’s your answer to it?)

Huron Lines: I am not sure I have any questions I wish I was asked… but I will take the opportunity to say that we are honoured to be supported by the fine folks at From The Strait. You guys have been with us since day one back in early 2021 when we dropped our first single. It is super appreciated. Hopefully, we can make our way up to the Niagara-region soon for a show. Thank you again!

From The Strait: Always happy to support Huron Lines, and we’ll be front and centre for a Niagara show! Thanks guys!

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Check out “Bad Idea”, the latest single from Huron Lines!

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