Moose Jaw, SK Rockers Highwind’s Latest Single “At What Cost” Reveals Love’s Price Tag: Nothing Comes Free
Nothing comes free in life, and love is no exception. Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan rockers Highwind’s newest single, “At What Cost,” explains the price of humankind’s most precious emotion.
Rich with the apathy at punk’s core, vocalist Chase Rysavy unleashes his own tribulations onto the track.
“‘At What Cost’ is a song about being with someone that makes you feel alone,” the band explained. “No matter how hard you try to grasp onto them and fix things, it always seems to be wrong.”
The single fits neatly into the larger theme of Highwind’s latest EP, Final Words. Rysavy’s original idea for the project was to infuse the concept of grief being the cost of love. That displays itself openly in “At What Cost,” particularly in the track’s bridge, performed intensely by drummer and unclean vocalist Troy Waggoner:
“You’re breaking my heart
My meaning is lost
If love is the prize
Then grief is the cost”
Those who put themselves out there will be crushed. It is an inevitability that grief will follow after attaching oneself to someone or something because it will one day be taken from you. This is the cost of love.
These are the harsh realities that Highwind explores in Final Words. The band’s previous single from earlier this year, “Weighing You Down,” describes the story of a hospitalized person who feels guilty for what their health is doing to their beloved partner.
Final Words is not Highwind’s first project – the band self-released Cellar Door in 2016, a full-length that was recorded live off the floor at Regina’s Blue Door Studios and went on to be chosen as one of Sask Music’s “Best Albums of 2016” – but it was its first with lead guitarist Ehren Pfeifer. Working entirely remote from Rysavy, Waggoner, and bassist and vocalist Eric Taylor, Pfeifer recorded all his parts in Toronto having never played with the band before.
But the chemistry shines through. “Weighing You Down” has become a regular on rock stations in Regina and Saskatoon, and “Finals Words” is gaining support from the Vancouver arts community.
It’s been a long time coming for the band which began with Rysavy, Taylor, and Waggoner in 2014. The trio first collaborated long distance with some time together while on university breaks in their hometown of Moose Jaw. Their initial self-release, “We’re All Alone,” came in that year. It garnered praise from Vancouver-based magazine, Permanent Rain Press, which said that “Highwind might be the best thing by far to come out of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan … the band is capable of being more than just your average punk band.”
Now nine years later, the band is ready to break out onto the next level and make a national splash in Canada’s music scene. Check out Highwind’s latest piece of art, “At What Cost.”
Watch the video for “At What Cost” below and learn more about Highwind via our mini-interview.
You’ve been in this space before, and good to see you again! What’s been going on since your last single?
Yeah! Thanks for having us back! We’ve been doing a lot of writing new material and figuring out the ebbs and flows of where to go next with our music.
Tell us about the process of writing and recording “At What Cost?”
It started out as Chase having the cool little beginning riff and just sort of naturally flowed together. The vocals came last as it is a tricky song to sing and play haha! We also wrote Troy’s screamy bridge kind of during the recording process as we knew how we wanted it to be but again tricky song to sing and play 
What’s the one thing you need to take on the road with you for your happiness?
We need to have Ehren to play those sweet tasty riffs as well as some sort of Pokémon game
What doesn’t cost that much, but you will never get rid of it or use a lot?
A good book or graphic novel
What’s the one song by a Canadian you wished you wrote?
Not sure what the other fellas feel but “One Week”- The Barenaked Ladies, “Sun in an empty room”- The Weakerthans, and “Orca”- Wintersleep.