Winnipeg’s Enjoy Your Pumas are hard to classify, but the blissful indie pop of their debut Commonality makes comparisons and scene trappings irrelevant.

An environment like NXNE - where 600 acts pass through of every conceivable style - the Pumas offer an oasis: a great show without the baggage of excessive hype. Though the group has enjoyed much praise, they seem to be more progressing organically than their peers. We talked about that and more with frontwoman Rosie Blais and drummer Luke Janzen over a pint.

Enjoy Your Pumas have gone through some lineup changes over the years. Rosie, you’ve been with the band from the beginning - has material from the original incarnation carried over to now?

ROSIE: Somewhat. In the very beginning, no. We tried that with this lineup, because we had (an older) song charting on college radio. We tried to make it a full band song, but it didn’t work at all. We pretty much started fresh. But older songs have gone through transformations.

Reviewers have noted a few times that the Enjoy Your Pumas sound is somewhat unclassifiable. It’s indie rock, but without the irony, pop with unconventional songwriting. Was this something you actively pursued?

ROSIE: I don’t think we actively tried to be different. Naturally, we’re 5 different people with different personalities and tastes in music. When we come together, whatever happens becomes our sound.

Is the clash between backgrounds a positive thing? Is there something gained in the attempt to find a democratic middle-ground?

ROSIE: We do have a very democratic way of writing. We let people have their own take on the song.

LUKE: We respect each other’s opinions. We avoid anything that will piss somebody off. We know where each other’s intentions are.

ROSIE: We challenge each other more than we did years ago. We know what we can do, and we want to make it better.

When you become proficient on an instrument, I would imagine there’s a challenge in trying to play a different way, even for one song.

ROSIE: We all have our fall-back (positions).

Where did you find commonality?

ROSIE: [Laughs] That’s good.

I didn’t even mean to do that.

ROSIE: It’s fresh in your mind. We all like Radiohead...

LUKE: Like, why did we come together?

There must be a few artists you’re all into.

LUKE: Everyone in the band can appreciate when a genre is done well.

[“No Diggity” is playing on the PA] Like this track. Everybody loves it.

ROSIE: If I get a few shots in me, then it’ll get me moving.

Do you ever have nights where you really don’t want to move, as in play a show you have scheduled?

ROSIE: There are nights where I wish I could give a better representation - like what I know I can do. Not like I don’t want to play, but I don’t want to let people down. Especially if it’s (an audience member’s) first time seeing us.

You guys have it harder than bands 10 years ago - if you put on a weak show, it could be recorded and put on Youtube.

ROSIE: I haven’t really noticed that. I can’t think of a show that’s been recorded, that we didn’t know about...

LUKE: I think it’s positive and negative. It forces artists to really work on their craft. For indie bands, the ones that are really good will rise to the top. For bands that are doing everything themselves, if you’re not good...buzz can only go so far.



How conscious were you of “image” when you started out? Press bio, pictures, music videos...

ROSIE: I care about that stuff, but it’s hard to get guys to take on a girl’s opinion about it...

LUKE: Sometimes it’s hard to get a girl to take on guys’ opinions.

You’re outnumbered.

ROSIE: I am!

LUKE: I think it’s more about what we look like individually.

ROSIE: Just wear something that’s clean.

I have met bands that dress in unison. There’s always one or two members obviously just going along with it, not totally comfortable.

LUKE: It works at first, as something to draw the eye. But it’s not the most important thing. If your thing becomes a look...you have to get past it.

ROSIE: For our music, it’s not as important. For a metal show, or goth-rock, there’s more of an expectation for it.

LUKE: It can backfire, if someone is dressed totally outrageously.

ROSIE: You don’t want to alienate anyone who might see you through a press photo or something.

You guys were picked to open for Bon Jovi - was that the strangest Enjoy Your Pumas billing?

LUKE: Very odd. But they wanted indie bands to open, and you’re not going to find a lot of young bands (influenced by) Bon Jovi.

ROSIE: But a fun experience.

LUKE: We were treated very well. Got catering, we had people hauling our gear for us...just fantastic. It gave us something to strive for.

Do you have thick skin? Are you prepared, as you become more popular, for any backlash?

ROSIE: We’ve seen criticism.

LUKE: A couple weeks ago, we read an article in a college newspaper about us and another band, accusing (both groups) of plagiarizing a song on the radio.

That’s the worst argument. The history of music is built on copying.

LUKE: It really is. But that sort of thing happens.

ROSIE: We laugh at that kind of stuff.

LUKE: We know what’s copying and what isn’t. The line was “Does this Winnipeg band have a lawsuit headed in their direction?” I (met) another band that was mentioned in the article, and we had a good laugh.