Marianas Trench: Van-City Band Are Completely Unlike Kanye

Maybe you've seen the video with the guys dancing and prancing down the street singing about shaking tramps? Well, that would be Vancouver's Marianas Trench. These guys scored when they signed with Chad Kroeger's 604 Records and released their Fix Me debut album last year. Now they're ending this whole cycle with a #1 video.

From hauling their own gear to empty bars to playing Vancouver's Virgin Festival and the Calgary Stampede, frontman Josh Ramsay is doing his best to stay level-headed.

"I think it's easy to keep your sense of humour and it's valuable," he says. "It will keep you grounded. The whole thing is really ridiculous. All you're doing is writing songs and hopefully people identify with them. You're just entertaining people. I don't think that's any reason to think you're the next Jesus or anything, like Kayne West."

Ramsay — along with guitarist Matt Webb, drummer Ian Casselman and bassist Mike Ayley — are clearly all about putting the fun back into music despite how seriously they take their careers (all four band members are singers and they refuse to use any type of Pro Tools or editing equipment on their albums). With plans to record a sophomore disc this winter, the fun is sure to continue.

This Listen Up article is from the October 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. You can purchase the issue in the Chart Shop.