Joy is the essence of pain. Mother Mother guitarist/vocalist Ryan Guldemond wrote the band’s seventh studio album, Dance and Cry,with this philosophy in mind. Guldemond argues that although the two emotions seem to be opposites, they depend upon each other.
“Hopefully the title and the album bring to light how maybe these things aren’t in polarity with each other,” says Guldemond. “They’re actually quite synonymous or intrinsic to each other… That which makes you joyful, should it be taken away, is devastating. It’s a bit different with happiness because you can be happy about all sorts of stuff, and, should it disappear, you kind of move on quickly. Like if your ice cream cone falls to the ground, it’s a drag, but, you know, you can kind of move on; but if you lose a child or you get your heart broken, well, that’s the entrance into great pain, and it’s via joy.”
In Dance and Cry, Guldemond embraces the strength in his vulnerabilities. Letting go of the pressure to be constantly charismatic, he is able to access a new level of honesty.
“I’ve discovered that there’s a real potent power in shyness and introversion and sensitivity,” says Guldemond, “because you really feel things in between the cracks and a little deeper than when you’re just barrelling forth in the grip of extroversion. I guess you can get into the nuance of your feelings a bit better when you tap into your shy guy or your shy girl, because we all have one.”
While on tour for their new album, the band aim to take audiences to a chapel of their own emotions. As he embraces his new discovery of self and channels it into his latest work, Guldemond hopes listeners will find ways to connect their own experiences and find a release at the live shows.
“The record is very much about finding the avenue for healing through pain,” says Guldemond. “Facing the shadow in order to, you know, find the light; all that kind of stuff. I think it’s probably what we’re all going through, to some extent, on a daily basis. When you write songs that centre around that, that your fanbase connects with, and learns, and knows how to sing along, and then you all get together in a room, I guess it almost becomes like a church-like experience. So I guess I just hope people get some therapy out of that, and people can sing out, sweat out, and smile out, or cry out some of their grief, in whichever venue, to a soundtrack that means something to them, by performers that are giving it 110 percent.”
Through working as a mentor and motivational speaker to aspiring musicians and other creative types, Guldemond has solidified his faith in people’s need for truth and meaning in their creativity.
“I think what I’ve learned through these talks or whatnot is just how hungry people are to just feel inspired,” says Guldemond. “That is where the thirst lives—it’s not for success, it’s not for achievement, it’s to imbue their life with more meaning, and purpose, and creativity, and magic, and it’s reaffirming because those are the things that matter to me. I live my days with a sense of wonder, and what I invest in is for the purpose of infiltrating that wonder; it’s not for acquisition. So that’s been really inspiring, that common need in people for magic in life.”
Mother Mother
8 pm Monday, January 28 and Tuesday, January 29
$57 and up, Royal Theatre
rmts.bc.ca