Hey Rosetta! on Arcade Fire's Grammy and Award Shows Going Indie

Posted on Feb 28th 2011 11:30AM by Melody Lau
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Jill Willcott | WireImage

While millions were glued to their television sets watching Arcade Fire upset the Grammys by taking Album of the Year, fellow Canadian indie rockers Hey Rosetta! were in the dark.

Having left their hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland earlier that day to start a tour in support of new album 'Seeds,' the band hit a weather-related roadblock at the ferry terminal, and were stranded there all night with, gasp, no TV.

"We basically slept on the floor of the ferry terminal and missed the whole thing," bassist Josh Ward tells Spinner. "But it was so great to see them recognized in such a way."

The band lists the Montreal collective -- who have since gone on to receive honours at both the Birt and NME Awards -- as an inspiration, and feel their win is a significant step in the right direction for the music industry.

"I think it actually might be a reactionary move from the Grammy people. But I think they felt it was time for a change, and this was the kind of change in a better direction," says Ward. "I mean, let's face it, they're a pretty obscure band, and a lot of people had no idea who these guys were."

Ward references the recent slew of "Who is Arcade Fire?" comments and websites (specifically, the Tumblr page devoted to confused Grammy viewers, including, most notably, Rosie O'Donnell) as proof of the turmoil the band stirred up with their big win.

"But I think a lot of people should know who they are," says Ward, before spouting off about mainstream success.

"From a younger age, I got turned off of that kind of extremely popular music scene like, watching Britney Spears win these Grammys, and just thinking this doesn't make any sense to me. But now, maybe they're realizing that there's a problem there and that they should be focusing more on interesting and creative things as opposed to just album sales."

Watch Hey Rosetta! Perform 'Yer Spring' on QTV
Ward believes that critic-voted prizes like the UK's Mercury Prize and Canada's Polaris Prize (which Hey Rosetta! was shortlisted for in 2009) "is rubbing off in some way" and contributing to the popularity and acceptance of smaller indie-type bands.

"Maybe there are people out there pushing for recognition of musicians as artists, that are not based on record sales or not based on, I don't know, fashion or whatever else has been driving the music scene for the past several years.

"Maybe there are people out there saying, 'You know what? The Grammys is a big deal, and there are a lot of people tuning in, maybe we can use this to actually showcase some interesting music.'"

Does this give hope to Hey Rosetta! that they, too, might one day step up to the Grammy podium?

"I don't know!" laughs Ward. "I don't think we're driven by that. I think success is writing that song that makes us feel good, or playing that show where you really feel connected with people.

"I think that's our goal as a band, not that little figurine."