Hi! Today, I have the pleasure to chat with Ben Jewer, lead guitar from The Calrizians 3rd wave band! Thank you Ben for taking time to answer us. Let's surf and start the interview if you please. ?

SRR: What year was The Calrizians founded?
Ben Jewer: 2006.

SRR: Who are the members of The Calrizians?
Ben Jewer: We currently have: Oscar, bass; Tom, keyboards; Drew, drums and myself on guitar.

SRR: From which city did The Calrizians originate?
Ben Jewer: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

SRR: Where did the idea to form an instrumental band come from?
Ben Jewer: It was me. Someone asked me to throw something together for an art show event. I've loved playing surf since I was a kid so I decided to get some friends together & play some ventures, Dick Dale, Shadowy Men etc. We had so much fun with it we decided to keep it going. 

SRR: How did you meet each other?
Ben Jewer: Oscar & I worked together at Future Bakery on Bloor st. in the 90s & I had always intended to play music with him. We met Tom 5 years later through an ad. Drew used to be in another band we shared our old rehearsal space with. Our former drummer Jason recently passed away. He is tremendously missed. We are really lucky to have Drew with us now though. We've had the good fortune to play with some other really great people over the years, but it's currently just the 4 of us.

SRR: What were the influences of the band? 
Ben Jewer: Well, we have always loved the older surf stuff (Ventures, Astronauts, Shadows etc) as well as Man or Astroman, Shadowy Men etc, but we do delve into several other genres. We borrow from bands like Booker T & the MGs, Black Sabbath & Dewey Cox to name a few. I could list piles of others, but I don't want to take up too many pages. I love Brian Connelly of Shadowy Men, Atomic 7 etc, the Sadies, Nokie Edwards, Takeshi Terauchi,  Lee Hazelwood, Steve Cropper, Don Rich, East Bay Ray... Again, I could go on all day.

SRR: How did you guys describe the band at the time?
Ben Jewer: Well, we were originally called a "surf band" as we played surf covers & a few "surfy" originals. I believe as we started to incorporate some other styles of instrumental music & started doing some goofy covers & mashups we were described as a "party band". I don't know. I guess we just like to keep it loose & have fun with it. 

SRR: When was your first gig?
Ben Jewer: That was the Dundas West Arts Building art show in May 2006.

SRR: What year did you do your first recording?
Ben Jewer: It was 2006 I believe. we've recorded a number of times, but never officially released anything. By the time we got to the mastering stage I was always dissatisfied with the material. We've got a genuine bonafide album coming out next month though. For real this time.

SRR: Did you have a label?
Ben Jewer: No.

SRR: Which instrument do you use?
Ben Jewer: I play a Gretsch 6122jr, a Fender Stratocaster & a Fender Telecaster. Oscar plays a Jaguar bass & occasionally an old Musicmaster. Drew use a small Gretsch kit and Tom plays a Korg CX3 through a Leslie 145 (or a Motion sound at smaller gigs) & a Nord.

SRR: Which amplifier did you use?
Ben Jewer: I've used Fender Vibrolux reverbs, Deluxe reverbs & Twins in this band, but I currently just have a blackface Pro reverb and a silverface Super reverb.

SRR: Did you use a reverb tank?
Ben Jewer: Not external .

SRR: Can we know about which tube you use?
Ben Jewer: Usually winged C's or nos RCA black plate power tubes if I can still find them, whatever for pre-amp tubes.

SRR: What are the effects used on the guitar?
Ben Jewer: A mild Overdrive G2D Creamtone, a Demeter compulator compressor, an old Boss DM2 delay, and a tuner.

SRR: What type of strings did you use, flatwounds or roundwounds?
Ben Jewer: D'addario NYXL 11-52.

SRR: How long has The Calrizians been active for?
Ben Jewer: 11 years.

SRR: Were the members in any band(s) after they left the band?
Ben Jewer: An old drummer of ours, James plays with the Blue Demons & the Champions of Justice.

SRR: Where can we buy and follow The Calrizians?
Ben Jewer: Facebook for now I guess. We might have a couple of old ones on SoundCloud. Our album will be officially released Dec 1 2017. I'm sure download & other contact info will be posted on our Facebook page.

SRR: Thank you very much Ben for taking time to answer me today.
Ben Jewer: It's been a pleasure, thank you.