Woodhands Lose The Laptop

02/29/08 6:30pm

by John Papamarko (CHARTattack)

It's hard to believe the funky electronic dance-pop of Woodhands comes from just two men. Keytar-toting frontman Dan Werb and rhythm section Paul Banwatt are aided only by a sea of cables, effect pedals and the energy of their raucous live shows.

It can often be difficult for a band to translate their live energy on to disc. Not so for Woodhands, explains Werb while discussing their new album, Heart Attack.

"The whole point of going to shows is to see these people grind out music. To see your favourite performer's show, you see what they're all about — show you where the music is coming from."

Woodhands are among the growing trend of electronic musicians — along with the likes of We Are Wolves, Junior Boys and Holy Fuck — who address the disconnect between performer and fan by dropping the smoke and mirrors of the laptop for tangible instruments.

"You got a guy with a laptop, it doesn't matter how many other instruments you have on stage, in the back of your mind you're gonna be like, 'So, what is real?,'" says Werb. "We build all of our shit on stage. There are no prerecorded samples. We build our songs right there. Everyone can see where they're coming from."

Heart Attack's "Dancer" and "I Can't See Straight" have been around in some form on the band's MySpace page for a couple of years, survivors of Werb finally finding the right musical partner.

"Last year I met Paul Banwatt," he says. "Since then, we've written a lot of stuff together, and it's been totally collaborative. The older stuff I wrote, we just adapt and change."

It seems like the current incarnation of Woodhands is here to stay, which is why Werb is a bit hesitant to discuss the band's first release, the decidedly more ambient Baggagetown EP.

"We never really released it," he explains. "We sold it at two to three shows.

"I'm proud of that, but it's not our project. It's a different project. That's a testament to Paul's influence, and my own growth as a performer."

Woodhands can be seen at these shows:

Feb. 29 Montreal, QC @ Just For Laughs Studio
Feb. 29 Montreal, QC @ Green Room
March 4 Toronto, ON @ Wrongbar w/Sally Shapiro
March 7 Toronto, ON @ The Drake (CMW)
March 28 Peterborough, ON @ The Spill
March 29 Waterloo, ON @ Starlight
April 1 Kingston, ON @ Queen St. United Church
April 2 Oshawa, ON @ TBA
April 3 Toronto, ON @ Wrongbar
April 4 London, ON @ Alex P Keaton
April 7 Winnipeg, MB @ The Rocker
April 8 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
April 9 Calgary, AB @ TBA
April 10 Kelowna, BC @ TBA
April 11 Vancouver, BC @ Astoria
April 12 Vancouver, BC @ Peanut Gallery
April 13 Edmonton, AB @ Jekyll & Hyde
April 14 Regina, SK @ TBA
April 16 Thunder Bay, ON @ Apollo
April 19 Montreal, QC @ Club Lambi
April 20 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
April 21 Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle
April 22 Charlottetown, PEI @ Baba's
April 23 Halifax, NS @ TBA
May 1 Toronto, ON @ TBA (Over The Top Festival)
May 2 Guelph, ON @ Jimmy Jazz
May 3 Hamilton, ON Pepper Jack Cafe