Interview with Toronto’s The Balconies

text: Michael Raine | photography: Mike Ford

As Jacquie Neville and Liam Jaeger stroll into The Country General on the west side of downtown Toronto on sunny April afternoon, two things are immediately clear. One, they come here a lot. And two, they are in a rock and roll band. Patrons’ heads turn as two-thirds of The Balconies come through the doorway, both clad in tight jeans and black leather jackets, Jacquie with a wild poof of jet-black hair and Liam donning an Indiana Jones-esque hat and sunglasses. The restaurant manager immediately comes to say hi while Jacquie simultaneously introduces herself to me and recommends the Verga sandwich with bacon (I acquiesce and she’s right, it is damn good).

Despite their exhaustive schedules – on top of band duties, Jacquie works at well-known Toronto bar and music venue Sneeky Dee’s while Liam and Stephen Neville both work at coffee shops – the two seem in good spirits and ready to talk about anything. Of course, when you’re talking to and about The Balconies, band dynamics and relationships are an unavoidable topic.

Popular music history is littered with inter-band sibling and romantic relationships. Somehow The Balconies have managed to combine both potentially volatile relationships within one three-person rock band. As the common last name indicates, singer/guitarist Jacquie, 24, and bassist Stephen, 22, are siblings while Jacquie and drummer Liam, 28, have been dating for the past six years.

“We’d known each other for a couple of years before we started this band and at first, when Jacquie and I starting dating, it was kind of the last thing we wanted to do, start a band together, just because it’s a potential disaster, right?” says Liam, who met his future girlfriend and bandmate at the University of Ottawa where they both studied classical music, Jacquie specializing in viola and Liam in classical guitar. “I guess after a year of me and Jacquie dating, we realized it didn’t really make sense for us not to be writing together.”

As Jacquie explains, around the same time that her and Liam were opening up to the idea of working together musically, brother Stephen was feeling frustrated his then-bandmates’ lack of dedication. “Stephen and I wanted to start playing music together again,” says Jacquie, who would often jam with her brother in their high school days. “We felt the chemistry was really good and it really brought us closer together as siblings.”

As far as Jacquie sees it, the sibling and romantic relationships that form the backbone of the The Balconies are two things that ensure the group is in it for the long haul. “What’s great about being siblings in a band is that we have to resolve the problem because we’re always going to be siblings. I’m very grateful for that. And the same with Liam; we’re in a relationship and we’re always going to have our issues but we have to solve the problems because we want to be together as a couple and as a band.”

But as Liam points out, what’s most important for the band success is not the sibling and romantic relationships, but the musical chemistry and a shared vision and level of dedication. And when it comes to their individual musical backgrounds, there is amazingly diverse set of influences that all three share. Each band member studied classical music at the University of Ottawa while also indulging, at one point or another, in ‘90s and early-2000s punk, classic rock, ‘80s pop, and new wave.

“The funny thing about how it all comes together, when you think about popular music and music played with guitar, bass, and drums, you can take things from anywhere,” says Liam, explaining the band’s ability to blend punk rock energy, soaring choruses, and infectious pop hooks. “Our goal is to create something that sounds really huge. From song to song there’s a lot of different stuff going on and that’s where all the different influences come out and we don’t argue and we don’t write songs that butt heads with each other, although they are sometimes very different.”

And that creative process is something the band is still feeling out. While creating their 2009 self-titled and self-produced debut album – which was partially recorded in fellow Toronto indie band Zeus’ studio with vocals recorded in Jacquie and Liam’s Ottawa apartment – Jacquie, Stephen, and Liam tended to write individually before bringing their ideas to the other band members. As well, though Jacquie is commonly seen as the lead singer, all three shared lead vocal duties on the album.

However, with their recently released Kill Count EP and their finished-but-unreleased second album, The Balconies are beginning to write together more often and are refining their sound. Working with renowned producer Jon Drew, of Tokyo Police Club and The Arkells fame, has also helped.

“When I listen to [the second] record now and compare it to the first record, it seems a lot more particular. You can still tell whose songs are whose because we each have our own little flare but I feel like this record really represents what The Balconies-sound is,” says Jacquie, adding that they’re aiming for a fall release.

“Working with a producer, too, changes a lot. I feel like Jon really helped capture our live energy and that’s what we felt, on the first record, didn’t come through enough,” Liam chimes in.

It’s the band’s live show that has really garnered a lot of attention, particularly at industry showcases like Canadian Music Week in Toronto and South by South West in Austin, Texas. While Liam and Stephen are both great musicians and don’t lack any energy on stage, it’s Jacquie that commands an audience’s attention.

Her powerful voice and intense stares accentuated by animated head bangs and guitar strokes. She definitely has the charisma and magnetisms that marks the difference between being a mere singer in a band and being a rock star.

“I think engaging your audience is really important. You want to entertain, you don’t want to just go on and play your record,” explains Jacquie, mentioning that Tina Turner is her idea of the perfect frontwoman.  “You want to put on a show and that is why I got into music, because I love performing. Obviously I love writing and recording as well but what drives me is being able to perform and being able to connect with an audience and get that rush and I feed off of that energy.”

Whether it’s fair or not, sex appeal is an undeniable element of being a great frontwoman and Jacquie’s sex appeal hasn’t gone unnoticed by the music media who’ve reviewed The Balconies’ shows. “I like suggestiveness. I don’t like the obvious, so if our music or our show suggests sex appeal, I think that’s awesome and is totally okay,” she says a bit nervously. “At the end of the day we’re all animals and it’s going to be there. I guess I kind of embrace that.”

Boyfriend Liam, who probably understands Jacquie’s on-stage allure better than anyone, adds, “I think it’s more of something that is inherent in rock and roll; loud nighttime events where people are getting sweaty and working their asses off.”

And working their asses off is what The Balconies are going to be doing over the next year as the new album drops and they head out on tour. They have big dreams but, as Jacquie points out, they are under no illusions that success comes easily or quickly. “Of course I would love to be a major touring band and be on the radio constantly and be selling out thousands of tickets; that would be awesome. But right now we’re very focused on where we’re at and continuing to grow organically and get people out to the shows. So one step at a time.”

And with those final thoughts, the meals are finished, the cheque is paid, Jacquie and Liam head to a nearby park to film a promo video for the Tom’s  ‘One Day Without Shoes’ awareness campaign. It’s just the next step in their journey.