Toronto is filled with such a plethora of indie bands that it’s often hard to keep abreast of which ones are still active and which are on, er, permanent hiatus. You’re often left wondering whatever happened to that one random kid with tonnes of talent who thoroughly impressed you at a long-ago show and then seemingly disappeared into the ether.
I had one of those, “Hey, remember that guy?” moments with Adam Nimmo, a drummer whose tremendous talent behind the kit was the primary grounding force in The Most Serene Republic, that haphazard group of kids from the suburbs whose dreamily dissociated indie rock was one of the first non-family releases put out by Arts & Crafts. TMSR’s sudden ascent was arguably a bit premature — the precocious crew found themselves touring with The Strokes when they were still working out many of their intra-band kinks. And because of their breathless, fragmented aesthetic, Nimmo’s steady backbeat often got lost in the fray.
I didn’t realize he’d reappeared with a new project till I ran into him at a downtown Starbucks. Nimmo’s new band, Oh No Forest Fires — who’ve described their sound as “guitarded” — provides a far superior showcase for his estimable skills. The four-piece headline the Jingle Bell Hop show at Rancho Relaxo this Friday (Dec. 5). As he explains, that’s probably because, in spite of the punchy, exuberant energy of their songwriting, the non-Nimmo members of the band are all former or current bassists.
“There’s so much rhythm in the band,” he raves, adding that the shared bass-player backgrounds also ensure that raging egos are kept in check. “I mean, Rajiv [Thavanathan, the group’s frontman] is a genius at writing pop songs. ADD really helps when you’re writing spastic music. But Matt [Del Buono] is the smartest, most mature bass player I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with. He’s kind of the grandfather looking over us and getting us to calm down. It’s a perfect way to have a band.”
All four members have impressive Canadindie pedigrees — aside from the TMSR connection, they boast stints in the Vulcan Dub Squad, Five Blank Pages and The Fallen Year (Nimmo’s original punk band, who toured with Wintersleep and Moneen). It shows. There’s a tightness and elasticity to even their most jangly, non-linear songs, which belies the fact that Oh No Forest Fires (who allegedly considered calling themselves Finding Nimmo at one point) only recently celebrated their first birthday.
They’ve still managed to generate effusive praise and are quietly building a solid following. Thanks to their buddy Eric Warner, Oh No Forest Fires were a MySpace featured artist of the week, along with, um, peers like Celine Dion and Guns N’ Roses.
He notes that, during the first Oh No Forest Fires show in Ottawa, about a hundred kids showed up, while their recent album release at Supermarket attracted a staggering crowd of 400 or so fans. It’s a wonderfully organic trajectory that seems more suited to Nimmo’s affable nature and DIY roots than his last band’s dizzying rise.
“That’s where my heart is,” he admits. “In Fallen Year, I did the DIY thing where I’d sleep on a cement floor and live on three sesame bagels and a loaf of bread for a week. The stuff that happened with Arts & Crafts was amazing — playing soccer with The Strokes, getting along with Fab [Moretti] so well… I have stories to tell my grandkids. But if it never happens that way again, I know that at least I’m doing this with three of the most awesome, honest guys I’ve ever known. I’d be so excited to tour with Oh No Forest Fires now, just four guys in a van getting to a city, rocking our lives away and then getting back into the van and driving to the next show.”