Looking at the raw transcripts from this August 2018 conversation with Matt Webb is to look at a band in a fascinating state of flux. Marianas Trench was deep in the trenches, so to speak, between the 80s-soaked nostalgia of Astoria and the gothic theatricality that would become 2019’s Phantoms. And in that creative downtime a flurry of solo activity had surfaced from both Webb and frontman Josh Ramsay not as a sign of fracture but as a calculated pressure release.
Webb had just dropped a solo single “Again and Again” a slick piece of modern pop that felt miles away from the band’s intricate arrangements. When the question arose of how a song becomes a Matt Webb song instead of a Marianas Trench song the answer was refreshingly simple and revealing about the band’s internal ecosystem. It was born of opportunity and environment.
“I was writing with some other friends like completely separate of the Marianas stuff and had every intention of it being a solo song” Webb says. He chalks it up to timing. He wasn’t on tour or in the studio with the band. He was just a creative person needing to create. But this casual explanation belies a deeper truth about the band’s central nervous system.
That system is of course Josh Ramsay. Webb is direct and completely without ego when he discusses the band’s power structure. “With Marianas it's like Josh is obviously the brains behind that one. You know? He's the primary songwriter obviously.” This admission isn’t a complaint; it’s a statement of fact that has allowed the band to function at a high level for nearly two decades. It’s a dynamic that defines their sound and paradoxically gives members like Webb the freedom to explore their own voices without threatening the mothership.
So is there any rivalry when both he and Ramsay drop solo tracks around the same time? Not a chance. Webb laughs it off immediately. “I can't compete with that guy. You kidding me? He's such an accomplished successful songwriter and myself on the other hand am not.” He insists it’s about mutual support a case of “wishing maximum success for everybody else.”
But more than just camaraderie these solo ventures serve a vital strategic purpose. In the dead air between album cycles they are calculated content drops designed to keep the brand alive. It’s pure industry savvy. “It's just like keeping the name out there, keeping it fresh” Webb explains. “Just a friendly reminder that hey, we're still around and we'll have some new music out for you guys soon.” It’s a brilliant way to manage audience attention in an era of fleeting digital moments.
And new music was indeed on the way. At the time of this chat the band was deep into recording what would become Phantoms. Webb’s excitement was palpable even as he remained tight-lipped. “I would say we're like kinda 70% of the way there” he estimates. “It's getting close and the songs are really awesome, really strong. I feel like it's some of the best material that we've ever done and I'm really excited to release it.” Looking back his premonition was spot-on; Phantoms was a critical and commercial success that pushed their conceptual framework further than ever before.
That conceptual framework has become the band’s signature. Webb confirms the new record had a guiding theme a secret he was keeping “close to the chest.” He explains how this approach evolved naturally making the creative process more focused and exciting. A concept provides an artistic anchor for everything.
With Marianas it's like Josh is obviously the the brains behind that one. You know? He he's the the the primary songwriter obviously.
“You can tie in if you have an overall concept, you can pull from it for everything – for the production of the show, the lighting, the style of photos that you're taking, the outfits that you're wearing” Webb notes. It prevents the kind of aesthetic dissonance that plagues less focused acts. “Maybe, instead of like, you know, having a rock record but then you're dressed like, you know, vampires. Like, you know, it doesn't make any sense. So it's all sort of cohesive.”
This cohesion extends from the grand vision right down to the mechanics of songwriting. Webb offers a fascinating glimpse into his process versus Ramsay’s. He’s a musician first building tracks from drums bass and guitar ideas with melody and lyrics coming last. Ramsay is the opposite. “He starts with a melody in his head and then builds a song around that” Webb says. “Obviously he's pretty good at it. So maybe he's doing something right and I'm doing something wrong.”
This is the classic dynamic of so many iconic partnerships a push-and-pull between music-first and melody-first architects. The only valid critique one could level at this successful formula is whether the singular vision of one “brains” has ever prevented the band from exploring wildly different sonic territory. It’s a question of what-if but the results of their method are hard to argue with.
The band has certainly grown. Webb reflects on their journey from scrappy Vancouver teenagers opening for bands like Three Days Grace and Theory of a Deadman to the polished pop-rock juggernaut they’ve become. Their sound evolved but their core identity their attitude remained intact. They navigated the shifting tides of Canadian rock surviving the emo-pop boom by embracing theatre and pop spectacle.
Despite the high-concept albums and dramatic flair the foundation is a remarkably stable friendship. Fifteen years in and the bond is unbreakable. “We still laugh at the same dumb jokes we've been laughing about for fifteen years” Webb says. “It's like a family of four plus our crew, and we've been together for a very long time.” It’s this genuine camaraderie that sells the whole package.
That sense of humour is most publicly displayed during their now-legendary Juno Awards red carpet entrances. Webb confirms the tradition isn’t going anywhere though the pressure to one-up themselves is real. “The problem is it's tough to top yourself every year” he admits. It’s a performance before the performance a key part of their irreverent brand.
The conversation also touches on the band’s deep history with Webb recalling meeting Ramsay in high school. He offers a unique perspective on his friend’s well-documented past struggles seeing him first as just a “wacky guy” before understanding the deeper issues at play. Their bond was forged after Ramsay had “kinda cleaned up everything” and it has remained a constant through all the industry’s highs and lows.
At the time of the interview the band was gearing up for a show at the Imperial Theatre in Sarnia a stark contrast to their massive summer gigs at the PNE and CNE. Webb relishes the difference. He speaks about the unique power of smaller venues with the insight of a seasoned performer.
“The smaller shows are awesome because you can engage with the audience so much more” he says. “You know? You can make eye contact with every single person in the room, which you can't do at a bigger venue or an outdoor venue.”
He articulates the trade-off perfectly. The big shows are a rush where you feel like a “big rock star” with “larger than life production.” But the clubs and theatres offer an irreplaceable energy and intimacy. It’s clear he values both sides of the coin finding fulfillment in the spectacle and the connection.
Revisiting this 2018 snapshot captures Marianas Trench at a pivotal moment. They were a veteran act operating with the confidence of a well-oiled machine yet still buzzing with creative energy for the next chapter. It was a band that had mastered its own narrative proving that side projects and solo ambitions didn’t have to signal the end. Instead they were just another tool in the arsenal of a group built to last.
519 Magazine Archive: We are thrilled to officially unearth the 519 Magazine Digital Vault. This isn't just a re-post; it's a high-fidelity restoration of a pivotal era in music journalism. By pairing original print dates with modern retrospectives, we’re bridging the gap between historical rock-and-roll grit and the lightning-fast performance of today’s web. These stories—once locked in physical print and lost URLs—are now back, fully searchable, and optimized for a new generation of fans.
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We are thrilled to officially unearth the 519 Magazine Digital Vault. This isn't just a re-post; it's a high-fidelity restoration of a pivotal era in music journalism. By pairing original print dates with modern retrospectives, we're bridging the gap between historical rock-and-roll grit and the lightning-fast performance of today's web. These stories—once locked in physical print and lost URLs—are now back, fully searchable, and optimized for a new generation of fans.
