WILLIAM LOUISON

Matt Webb expands his solo career with a new album and a tour across Canada.

Matt Webb, lead guitarist of Marianas Trench, is taking advantage of some downtime between albums to work on a few solo projects and tour across Canada.

On Feb. 4 Webb released Right Direction, his second solo EP. All six tracks — two of which are exclusive to the digital copy — were written by Webb after his first EP Coda and Jacket debuted in 2011.

While the writing process took some time for Webb, recording the tracks happened fairly quickly.

“We put [Right Direction] together in about a month or so,” Webb said. “I’ve got a pretty tight schedule, so it’s really when the Marianas Trench album cycle kind of slows down a little bit that I have the time to devote to some of my stuff.”

Apart from playing guitar, the EP features Webb on lead vocals — something he doesn’t do with Marianas Trench. Webb also teamed up with a few old friends to make the EP happen and the result has been quite successful.

“I wanted music that was based around the guitar and is raw and organic,” Webb said. “I wanted to be able to hear individual performances and breaths and mistakes and that kind of stuff, unlike the slick pop-rock that Marianas Trench does.”

To promote the album, Webb is touring Canada during March. He kicked things off on March 5 in Hamilton, Ont. and the tour will end in Vancouver, B.C. on March 27, with stops in Regina and Saskatoon on March 16 and 18 respectively.

Webb has described his solo shows as a completely different experience than a Marianas Trench show. This evolution has certainly been a change for Webb, especially since he is playing his solo shows at smaller venues.

“I can chat with the crowd, crack jokes and really connect on a more individual level,” Webb said. “It’s stuff we used to do in the early days of Marianas Trench, but we can’t really now because of the size of everything.”

More than anything, Webb is grateful for the opportunity to have some of his own work in the spotlight. He grew up on solo performances, so in a lot of ways Right Direction and its supporting tour allow Webb to go back to his roots. The support from fans has been incredible and is what has allowed Webb to pursue extra projects like this.

“The crowd response has been awesome,” Webb said of the first few shows in Ontario. “We’ve got a great fan base coming out and singing along. I couldn’t be happier on stage. I’m getting to do what I love every night and it’s something a little bit different.”

Webb views his solo music as a side project and seems perfectly content to keep it that way.

“Obviously, Marianas is my number one and so I need to be there for that whenever I can,” Webb said.

Without revealing any details, Webb has confirmed that Marianas Trench is currently working on a new album. Webb plans to get back in the studio with the rest of the band once he wraps up his solo tour.

Visit the Matt Webb Facebook page for more information on his tour dates and solo  career.

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Photo: Supplied