On their fifth full-length release, By My Side, Victoria-based Jon and Roy continue their highly successful blend of acoustic guitar, smooth vocals, and unique drum beats. The pair of musicians, singer/guitarist Jon Middleton and drummer/percussionist Roy Vizer, has been playing together on the West Coast for years, as is evident in their music.
“We’ve definitely honed our craft when it comes to the studio, how we are able to get things done, and how we approach things,” says Vizer. “We’ve learned a lot about ourselves and how to make that process function better over the years.”
The album is the finished product of numerous songs created by the duo. Seven tracks in length, it’s a short and dense mix of solid, acoustically driven tunes. Not unlike the band’s past three albums, their latest release is relaxing, chill, and easy to hum along to, says Vizer.
“Jon and I are both pretty chill people. And that comes across in our music for sure,” he says.
By My Side builds on the success of the duo’s key “chill” ingredient and adds a little more depth to the sound.
“This album seems like we’re pushing the envelope a little more and getting a little more intense with the vocals, and maybe a few interplays that are happening between the drums and the guitar,” says Vizer.
After being in the studio for so long and learning to work closely together as a tightly knit group, the duo have been able to continually evolve their sound.
“We’ve gone through different phases with our music,” says Vizer. “At the beginning we were listening to a lot of reggae and a lot of that kind of thing made its way into our music a little bit more. Our past few albums were more on the folk-ier side of things.”
Vizer also acknowledges that on By My Side, they were okay with leaving little hiccups or tiny mistakes in the songs themselves, more so than in the past, when they felt everything needed to be perfect.
“We have that capability in the studio now,” he says, “where we can afford to let ourselves go.”
While Jon and Roy’s recordings mainly consist of quiet guitar and soft percussion, their live performances are a different story. Jon and Roy have played everywhere from Alix Goolden Hall, to Sugar nightclub, to local festivals like VIC Fest (see story on page 8).
“When playing live shows our music conveys a much higher energy level than on our albums,” says Vizer. “Flexibility is definitely important as a musician; you have to be able to adapt and play all different kinds of venues. It’s always been really fun for us to play outside in the summer.”
By My Side suits an outdoor atmosphere perfectly. The title track conjures up images of a long, sleepy car ride for a road trip up island, and “Where’d My Light Go” is a perfect song to sing around a campfire surrounded by friends on a hot August evening.
Jon and Roy have an amazing ability to continually create music that makes people feel good when listening to it, and what could possibly be a better or nobler motive than that?