Talking to The Vaniers about their upcoming LP “So Bad, So Good”

Toronto’s indie rock trio The Vaniers is about to release their sophomore LP, So Bad, So Good, set to drop on May 1, 2025. The album is a showcase of their raw energy and songwriting talents that earned them a recent spotlight on Hockey Night in Canada.

The band (pronounced van-ee-ays) consists of former high school classmates Diego Paz (bass guitar/vocals), Alex Iacobellis (guitar) and Nick Donato (drums). In anticipation of the record, Quip caught up with Diego Paz to talk about remaking the album after having their drives stolen, as well as past and future projects.

Kateryna Topol: Let’s go back to the beginning – how did you first get into music?

Diego Paz: I didn’t really have a musical family or anything like that, but I always loved listening to music from an early age. Naturally, I was sacrificing the family computer to Limewire viruses just to get my MP3 collection up to scratch. I didn’t think I would actually play or write any music until I was given a guitar for Christmas when I was 7 years old. I started singing when I was 13, then playing in a band and playing shows followed soon after in high school when I met Alex.

From there, we jammed in a band throughout all of high school, until things eventually fizzled out. Then came a point, where we wanted to start a new band, and needed a drummer. Nick was a childhood buddy of Alex’s, where they had actually been in a band throughout elementary school together. We phoned him up, scheduled some time in a jam room, and here we are.

KT: What’s the inspiration behind the name, The Vaniers?

DP: The Vaniers doesn’t have a particularly deep meaning to us to be honest. It first came up in conversation with a close friend who was describing a seedy neighbourhood close to where he grew up in Ottawa called Vanier and something about the name stuck to us. We knew we wanted to have a name that started with “the”. Rest is history. Long story short, it sounds cool. We think.

KT: The latest single you shared, “Painted Town,” is inspired by the FIFA games soundtrack. Is that a one-off or will there be more retro inspiration in the upcoming sophomore LP So Bad, So Good?

DP: “Painted Town” definitely has a nostalgic vibe to it. I would say that particular style is definitely felt elsewhere in the record as well. Certainly, some streaks of it are in the mix and production of other tunes, but the record as a whole takes you to a number of different places. You could even say “Painted Town” is a sign of things to come more than anything. We’ve been incorporating more of that style in some new songs yet to be released.

KT: Looking forward to hearing it. This new record has gone through some turbulent times with the drives being stolen early on, how has it been working on it, should I say – for the second time? 

DP: It’s been quite the journey. To start the whole process again, after having essentially the entire album completed,  was a gut punch. It was definitely rattling, but to be honest, we didn’t stall. We took it to the chin and moved on. There’s no crying in baseball. We were back in the studio in a few days and we went into it with conviction.

Getting a chance to re-record everything gave us the opportunity to double down on some creative decisions that we were perhaps hesitant to make the first time around. By the end of it, we were happier with what we had the first time around, and we’re stoked about that. Getting the chance to hear our tunes come to fruition twice, and actually hearing a real improvement, felt good. Felt really good.

KT: And what does your collaborative process look like?

DP: The collaborative process is always evolving. We all sort of pitch in with our own takes on ideas, riffs, lyrics, concepts. It keeps things very fresh, and true to our sound. I’ve been coming up with some fundamental ideas for new songs as of late, and we’ve been having a blast working at them in a completely collaborative way from very early stages. I used to work things out a bit more before that, but there’s a lot of trust and synergy between us. Starting from even the smallest idea instantly feels like it has direction.

KT: Do you have any rituals when it comes to live performances? 

DP:  The pre-show ritual is a secret. Sorry.

KT: Okay, okay! What’s on your rider?

DP: As for our rider: Water. Tea. Hot drinks. Beers. Tequila. Doritos. Little guacamole, maybe.

KT: Being located in Toronto, how do you find the music scene here?

DP: The music scene in Toronto is great. There’s always something going on, and there’s a solid number of small to midsize venues that give indie bands, like us, an outlet to put a show together. A great thing about the city is the hunger people have to go out to see live music. Toronto is home for us, and we love playing here.

KT: And switching to online, you’ve got quite a following on social media, do you find it helpful when it come to reaching new listeners?

DP: We definitely find it helpful. Social media is the name of the game. It’s been a lovely thing to connect with listeners all over the world and it’s been a massive benefit for us in getting people to listen to our music. To a lot of folks it’s the only thing that matters, which is fine. But as important as it is, we’re a bit old school by modern standards. Nothing beats playing a show, having a drink with someone who just heard you for the first time, and handing them a vinyl of the new stuff. It’s definitely a smaller connection, but maybe more satisfying. All that said, follow us at @thevaniers. Cheers.

KT: What else is on your agenda for this year?

DP: Our new album, So Bad, So Good, comes out May 1st. We’re celebrating it with an album release show at Longboat Hall in Toronto on May 2nd. Then, we have a slate of shows we’ll be announcing shortly to promote the album. Stay tuned.

KT: Exciting. Anything the music world, fans and future fans should know about you?

DP: We are The Vaniers. We got an album coming out May 1st. It’s called So Bad, So Good. It’s like nothing you’ve ever heard. It’s the culmination of years of work. Despite the setbacks, we’re here, and we’re coming. Up the Vans.

Photos by Mike Neal