November 2002

Nineteenseventyeight
The Curfew
Nicole Steen
Oneida
The Sick Lipstick
Thrillville
Lungbutter
The Lullabye Arkestra
The Size Sevens
DJs

NINETEENSEVENTYEIGHT
WAVELENGTH 138
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3, 11:45PM
Purveyors of: Heartfelt hangovers
www.kelprecords.com

Nora Charles discusses Ottawa, beer and other weighty subjects with Nineteenseventyeight's Scott Terry -- drummer, back-up singer and heckler extraordinaire...

If Nineteenseventyeight had qualified for the 1978 World Cup, would the team have participated or boycotted General Videla's authoritarian regime?

Well, we are more or less into totalitarianism as opposed to authoritarianism, but there once was a great band from Ottawa called Union of Authority, pioneers du rap-metal.

On Aug. 6, 1978, Pope Paul VI died. Would Nineteenseventyeight make a good Pope?

We smell too good and would have a really hard time with the pious stuff, but who wants to run an archaic system of lies?

The Grammy for Record of the Year in 1978 went to The Eagles for Hotel California. Did this have a profound influence on your sound?

We have been influenced by many things, least of which is Glenn Frey's post-Eagles work. Besides, most of our songs were written on a 12-string acoustic guitar, reflecting Glenn's vision of returning to simplicity in an era of ever-increasing complexity.

Louise Brown, the first test tube baby, was born in 1978. Is Nineteenseventyeight a test tube band?

No, we're more of a beer bottle band because it's hard to drink out of a test tube, and they don't hold much either. The booze helps us remember what we drank to forget.

On Nov. 18, 1978, 900 followers of Jim Jones killed themselves, or were murdered, in Jonestown, Guyana. Would Nineteenseventyeight be a more benevolent cult leader?

Well, we actually are members of our own cult, based upon the writings and teachings of Germanic Tolkien metallers Blind Guardian, keepers of Middle Earth. Drop us a line at 1-800-TOL-KIEN.

In 1978, Norman Rockwell died. Was this a good or bad day for the art world?

"Art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others. Without freedom, no art." -- Albert Camus

The Sex Pistols first arrived in America in 1978 and left minus a bass player and girlfriend. Does this make for a successful tour?

Ever got the feeling you've been cheated?

The Canadiens beat the Bruins 4-2 for the 1978 Stanley Cup. How important is hockey to a well-rounded beer-fed band?

Not as important as beer, but Ottawa is a really frustrating team to watch on the ice, so we scream at the TV quite a bit when the game is on. Had Ex today?

Any favourite Bill Murray moments?

Well, for us too it has been a bit of a cinderella story. All of Bill's magical moments on screen have been profoundly influential, but his work in Stripes and Tootsie are some classics that can't be forgotten. Got swill?

THE CURFEW
WAVELENGTH 138
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3, 10:45PM
Purveyor of: Pop up past bedtime
thecurfew@sympatico.ca

You're fighting the Rolling Stones. Which band member fights which Stone, and who wins against who?

Us vs. The Stones huh? It's funny you should ask that, 'cuz on weekends we often find groups of old men and beat them mercilessly. Here's how it would go down. Jeremy, having grown up on the mean streets of London, Ontario, and blessed with killer reach, would take on the most fighting trim Stone, Mick, who probably has an all-macrobiotic diet and personal trainer. It's a good tussle, and just as J.K. is about to deliver his patented "well-placed knee-to-the-groin" he's hit in the back -- a cheap shot by Andrew Loog Oldham. (He's still looking out for the boys.) Stones 1, Curfew 0. Derek, who we've never seen vexed, fazed, perplexed or circumflexed, would be assigned the unpredictable Keith. Derek once broke his arm playing indoor soccer and turned around and drove the kid's face into the turf. Keith comes out drunk. Derek offers him Wendy's. They become fast friends. We're 0-1-1. I have a feeling Charlie Watts would just hide in the corner and complain about the noise, so we're going to let our newest member, Drew, have a go at him. Charlie gives up in seconds, but good ol' Drew just keeps beating him! That's what we call dedication. R.I.P. Charlie. Now it's 1-1-1. That leaves Ronnie for Angelo, whose forearm probably weighs as much as Mr. Wood (before scarf and belt buckle). This one is closer than predicted. Turns out Ron is a true Northern England type scrapper -- a lot of headbutts... stay tuned next week for the exciting conclusion.

Does The Curfew only use Gibson guitars and strings because they only want the best?

The Curfew uses whatever you want, whenever you want it. We're a band of the people, for the people. Who this Gibson is, and why he's so intent on lending out his equipment is none of our concern.

How often do you stop to tune?

We tune every 3 months, or 5000 kilometres, whatever comes first.

I'm giving you this opportunity, halfway through the interview, to start a petty rivalry with someone (Britpop styles).

This opportunity has been noted in the minutes. It has also been noted that the group shrugged.

Do you pack your own flashpots?

The Curfew love the environment waaay too much to use flashpots. We prefer to keep our stage shows simple -- two cannons, blasting deadly greenhouse gases directly at the ozone layer.

If 54-40 are 14, then they are one better than 13 Engines. Describe how The Curfew are greater (or less) than 54-40.

Nobody said anything about math. We all studied the periodic table. That's unfair, Mr. Johansen.

In closing, a word on Art Nouveau backdrops.

Art Nouveau backdrops are sooo last year. We're leading the charge with backdrops made of Popsicle sticks, pipe cleaner and toilet paper rolls.

-- interview by Buddy of the Pines

NICOLE STEEN
WAVELENGTH 138
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3, 9:45PM
Purveyor of: Can I get more of me in my monitor?
www.coalmusic.com

You've been the leader of Vancouver's "dreamy dark torch noir" band Coal for the past 11 years. That's an awfully long time to survive in the unforgiving climate of Canadian indie-rock. To what do you attribute the band's longevity?

Well, we are very independent; our CDs are self-released, so we've always allowed everything to go at a natural pace, not forcing it to go faster. It's kinda like the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady...maybe. It's low pressure, so the band has remained together (albeit in various forms) for a number of years....slowburning!

Recently you started performing as a solo artist, as you will at Wavelength on Nov. 3. What inspired this move, and how has the experience been so far?

A number of friends have encouraged me all along to play on my own, one reason being that I sing rather quietly, and the band has gotten louder over the years. It's just more focused on the singing that way. On a recording, that kind of thing is easier to control, but live the vocals get kind of buried in the mix. Another reason is that I love to play, so it gives me an opportunity to perform more often. It's been great so far, a learning experience, getting my footing.

Can you describe what the Vancouver scene is like these days, and how has it changed since 1991?

When we started playing, there weren't a lot of indie female singer/guitar players locally or nationally. That really changed over the years for the better. The roots scene in Vancouver has really grown and gained popularity, there is an organization called RANCH that joined together the alt-country/rockabilly/folk acts and puts on festivals and theme nights at local bars. The garage/punk/rock scene has boomed too, with bands like The Spitfires, The Nasty On and The Cinch doing really well, and new venues opening along the way. Viva le Rock!

You are also a painter and art curator. How does this tie into your music, or does it?

My partner in the Tart Gallery, Vicki M., and I have always curated shows with themes. A lot of them have been music-related. We did a great "rock poster" show last year. It ties into my music in as much as my paintings are inspired by popular culture, and music is a huge part of the popular experience. I've done a series of paintings of girls on vintage guitars, I've also done a few portraits of female rock and country artists that I dig.

Having helped curate an exhibit at a gallery in Toronto since the middle of October, what are your impressions of the much-hyped "Queen West gallery district" so far, and the T.O. art scene in general?

I'm impressed by the amount of interest in alternative art... people actually make it out to see the art at the gallery. Our female group show Vicious, Delicious and Ambitious is at the Ne Plus Ultra Project Space which is connected to 1080BUS gallery. Having a group of galleries to make it a spot of interest for people is a positive move. I heard that the whole area has expanded over the last couple of years.

The music scene here is pretty separated from the art scene, with the exception of a few bands incorporating a visual art component (The Hidden Cameras, Pony Da Look), and the odd show at the Art System space. Is it the same back home?

It's fluctuated over the years, but when I discovered the punk/underground scene in Vancouver in the early 80's, it was very intermixed, with groups like The Braineaters, Animal Slaves, etc. It was very cross-referenced; these people were artists in both senses of the word. Now, the lowbrow kar kulture crowd mix it up too. Lots of tattoo artists and painters support the rockabilly/rock/garage and alt-country/punk scenes.

-- interview by Jonny Dovercourt

ONEIDA
WAVELENGTH 139
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 10, 11PM
Purveyors of: Turn it up LOUD!
www.enemyhogs.com

The first time I saw Oneida they were hauling their gear out of the back of their van on Avenue A into Brownies (RIP). My friend lit a cigarette and said, "That's Oneida." I had no idea what that would come to mean to me. They rip shit up. I'm ready to testify.

If Oneida could play any line-up with any bands (past or present) who would it be and in what venue?

Each member of Oneida would pick something different, on different days. For me right now: Television 1973, Mission of Burma 1983, The Grateful Dead 1966 -- fucking at the Roman Coliseum when that shit was blazing. Let's say, bring a crazy P.A. back in time and then bring some Christian haters into the stadium and we'll play some GOD ROCK while the lions get at us.

Variety magazine just "exposed" Brooklyn as: "New York, Rock City." I know a lot of clubs have opened up in the past couple of years -- Luxx, Warsaw, North Six, etc. -- but is this really a new thing that people are creating, appreciating, supporting the rock in Brooklyn? Do tell.

Well, Variety and everyone else. Everyone realizes they missed a good thing when the Ramones played at CBGB's, so people are trying to compare all this shit with that. Rock City? Man, I've never seen so many shitty bands. Christ. Go to Madison, WI and get down with Digibot. Fuck all this other noise -- it's just a bunch of models wearing false eyelashes and playing with laptops. Next question.

I hear you are about to play CMJ on the Jagjaguwar showcase night. How do you feel about music festivals like CMJ, SXSW, etc.?

Music festivals make me feel stressed out. You really want to know how I feel about them? They are a pain in my ass and I've never been convinced that they do us any good. SXSW? A total fucking zoo. We played that shit. Once this Japanese label came up to us after the show and told us they want to sign us. We decided against it. That's about all I have to say on that. CMJ? A scam which fucks the clubs and the bands and the badge holders. I don't know who gets the money. Canadian festivals are fun. I can say that 'cuz I've never played one.

In a discussion with a music programmer at a (Canadian) campus radio station recently, I was informed that labels and radio tracking companies are starting to use "payola" type techniques to get their artists charting on campus radio -- exactly like commercial radio. They do this by giving the music-hungry programmers geeked-out stuff like rare singles, promo-only discs, swag etc. Has campus radio been important to Oneida?

"Starting to use?" Man I was in campus radio in the '90s. Payola was flowing. In fact, payola is about as old as radio and record companies. It's part of the whole scam. Commercial radio is a fraud. Records are bought and sold day to day. College radio is cool. I can't knock it. It's fun and a lot of stations support us, which is cool. Has it been important to Oneida? Well yeah. Once we put a song we recorded live at a radio station on one of our records. Before we did this we called them up and told them our plans. "I'm sorry, but it's against the college's policy to allow the use of recordings on commercial releases." "Huh. OK. I'll tell you what. Could you just send us a digital copy of the performance so we can listen to it? For archive purposes, of course." "Uh OK, what's your address?" So like, we never used the recording man. Like we honoured the college's policy. Honest. Now we're rich and non-com radio still struggles.

Your last Toronto set included a shout out to Ms Morrisette, half-naked Constantines cavorting on stage and a silk-screen aficionado on gongs -- can we expect more of the same this time?

You ain't gettin' more of the same. You're getting something new and something more perverse 'cuz I'm about getting sick of having to come up there and teach all you all how to rock. When will you people ever get it right? I can't fucking come up there and play drums in every little fucking band. I can't play your gigs for you. You need to start getting serious about making rock music. I don't know why I even try. I'm serious. Why do I bother?

You always talk about wanting a dance party post-set -- any requests for the DJ Dakota & DJ Smoky Hwy team?

I have a few requests: Any Egyptian Lover 12"s, "Rock Me" by Connie, Alexander Robotnick's "Problems d'Amour", "Let the Music Play" by Shannon, "White Lines," any Bon Scott AC/DC cuts, maybe "Problem Child," "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order, "Bring Out the Devil" by the Strikers, "Everybody Up" by Modern Man, "Hot Girl" by Private Eye and some other crazy fucking '80s dance music, BUT IT HAS TO BE FROM CANADA ONLY. I want to hear the cream of the crop from that era, 'cuz I know there has to be some shit that never made it south. (anyone got a copy of Vital Sines' "Collage" 12"? -- ed.) SO BRING IT ON 'CUZ NO CANADIAN HAS EVER SHOWED ME SHIT ON THE DANCE FLOOR!

-- Oneida's Kid Millions, interviewed by Ms Dakota

THE SICK LIPSTICK
WAVELENGTH 139
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 10, 10PM
Purveyors of: Holy shit, she hasn't even plugged in her guitar!
http://thesicklipstick.cjb.net

The Sick Lipstick is Lindsey Gillard (vocals), Mark McLean (synth), Allan Graham (guitar) and Dennis Amos (drums). Wavelength is Doc Pickles (in spirit). Dennis answered his questions.

So. The Sick Lipstick. You think you're pretty smart, don't you?

Yes of course, but don't forget hot. We're smart and hot.

What will your songs do to the people who came to see Oneida?

I have no idea what Oneida sound like. My bandmate assures me they're quite good, but I'm unsure as to what reaction their fans will have towards us. People tend to either really hate us or really like us. As long as they: a) Vomit uncontrollably, then wallow in that filth, or b) Taste the colour purple, we will be happy.

What island nation would you like to live in and why?

My love affair with the Island of Gagafrekham has shocked and alarmed parents/educators for many years. Once on a whim, I rolled my tanks into Gagafrekham and massacred a lot of civilians. Then I kinda felt bad about it later while noodling around the palace. At that point I invented the serum to cure death and was widely lauded. One day I hope to make a Wayne Gretzky-type return to the capital of the nation, for the reasons I've outlined.

What is the proper answer when somebody says to you, "smell my finger"?

Rock The Casbah.

If November 16 (when you play I think) could be a national holiday, what would you name it and why?

Well, the show is actually on November 10th, and were it a holiday and were I to name it, it would be called: "Doc Pickles Ate The Last Of The Fucking Eggo Waffles And Didn't Tell Anyone, Man I'm Going To Get That Piece Of Shit By The Throat Day." I think the reasoning behind that name speaks for itself, wouldn't you agree?

Why do you still care? Don't you realize everybody's just going to dance clubs and wiggling to techno Gordon Lightfoot songs?

Guy, you just wait 'til you hear our new shit. We're gonna roll with this crazy trip and drop the most life-changing shit on y'all. 100% Lightfoot dance party up the pipe for real.

What is the nicest thing somebody did for you within the last 24 hours?

Mark McLean gave me a can of pea soup about an hour ago. I thought that was kinda nice, even though it was with smoked ham.

Wouldn't it be cool if your parents came to the show?

Dennis Sr. and Janice live in New Brunswick. They haven't left the province since 1987 -- save for the occasional cross-border shopping trip to Amherst, Nova Scotia. See, there is a really good thrift store in Amherst called Frenchy's. There is also an amazing 6-way-stop intersection there that must be seen to be believed. Please, Wavelength, fly them here to watch their boy make good in the big city!

Isn't it just the stupidest question when people you barely know come up to you and say "Oh you're in a band? What kind of music do you play? What instrument do you play?" What is the right answer to that line of questioning?

Here's my phone number, now get wheelin'.

What is it about Michael Douglas that makes him such a lame-ass joke? (Defend him if you wish, it's your right I guess)...

I could really use a bong hit right about now.

THRILLVILLE
WAVELENGTH 140
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 17, 11PM
Purveyors of: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Thrillville!
thrillville@hotmail.com

The interview for Thrillville was encoded in an advanced (and perhaps futuristic) processing format not yet known to man. Thankfully, MSN© WORD©¨ was able to transcribe enough of it to piece together something resembling an interview, complete with auto-questions and pre-editing. (i.e. Paddy O'Donnell finds his questions reorganised and answered in the following manner...)

What are your favourite lyrics and why?

It's the line from "Screaming Stallion": "I like to take some time off in my day to close my eyes, and find my inner Gandhi although he's very small inside -- my inner Gandhi is small in size." No, no... it's the second verse from "Elusive Little Tiger": "A pilgrim with a purpose whoa whoa whoa you cannot deny his muscular legs, I will not deny -- the legs, see him disappear (whoa x 3) into the sunset Matterhorn bound, I will not forget -- the legs."

What is that about?

He's on a pilgrimage in search for love. It's a steep and treacherous journey, which is why his legs are so muscular. Even the most cynical person would not be able to deny the pilgrim's legs, he put in the hours.

Why are these your favourite lyrics? Actually they're not, we prefer the lyric, "I like to climb pianos, up to the starry sky to try, and find myself a baby boy who I could call my little guy, yes, I would call him my small fry." That's about feeling lonely to the point where your creative processes become your family. Painting is your wife and your songs are the children. That could be good or bad, but they definitely make a better family than, like, heroin.

Have you ever tried heroin?

Well, no.

Describe your music in three words?

Danceable. Fantasy. Rock.

Fantasy Rock? Do you sing about Unicorns?

No, they're danceable sex fantasies.

Have you ever tried heroin?

Well, no.

As an addendum, some amusing machine code will take us out of this interview: Root Entry / 1Table / WordDocument / SummaryInformation : slowlover studios / Thrillville interview for Wavelength/ Normal/Normal/Default Paragraph Font michael leblanc4Lover:Temporary Items:AutoRecovery save of Document1 Times New Roman/Symbol/$Thrillville interview for Wavelength michael leblanc/michael leblanc/michael leblanc/michael leblanc

-- P'OD

LUNGBUTTER
WAVELENGTH 140
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 17, 10PM
Purveyors of: Smash yr head on the free-improv
www.mp3.com/lungbuttered

Last time I saw you guys, about four years ago, you seemed like a pretty straightforward hardcore/punk band. Your recent CD, Dr. Rush's Tranquilizer, however, is pretty radicalized freaked-out improv jazzcore. How did this metamorphosis come about?

We'd been dabbling in improv and different timings since we started, but the biggest changes started to happen when we added a fourth Lung, Colin Fisher, on second guitar and saxophone. He's been into all sorts of free-jazz and improv for years as well as a big hardcore and punk fan, so it seemed natural to add him into the mix. It's interesting watching the progression from four years ago to now. The way we now approach music has gone beyond what I ever expected -- you start to get a real sense of each other's styles and not so much in terms of predictability, but just a sense of each other's approach to different voices. Something that can be totally ridiculously loud and full of feedback and general chaos will turn into a nursery rhyme or a rockabilly tune with no real intention at all.

Does the title of your CD betray a love of the band Rush?

Aside from our utmost respect for Rush and what they did to Canadian music, the title has absolutely nothing to do with them. The title Dr. Rush's Tranquilizer is from a doctor in the 1700s who invented a chair to aid mental patients. The chair was equipped with arm and leg straps and a wooden box that would fit snugly over the patient's head. The idea was to induce tranquility by the means of sensory deprivation, and this is why there is no such thing as crazy people anymore... There was another method where the patient would lie horizontally in a cage with just enough height that they couldn't turn over, something like veal crates I would imagine and just as malicious.

What is the common ground between the punk and free-improv communities?

I think they both carry similar ideals, and are both equally accepted, although a lot of people would disagree. True D.I.Y. punk and hardcore is just a struggling artform, much like free-jazz and improv. Going against the grain and simply playing original material can be difficult and really easily overlooked.

You guys like touring, but it doesn't seem to like you much. Please tell us about your most infamous or ignominious mishap. Recently we toured out to Vancouver and back, the best tour we've had to date. It almost didn't happen because of a seedy mechanic near Thunder Bay (yeah, that's you, Slim's Auto). He quoted us on a repair he couldn't fully guarantee for around $800, and to make a long story short, we got a second opinion and fixed the problem with a $4 bottle of gasline anti-freeze. Aside from this, the van we took was pretty old and rough, one of us had a recent operation and was on crutches for the trip, and the night before we left, we were playing a wake for two friends of ours who had passed away in a recent car crash. It's one of those things where we're kind of always expecting everything to be a lot harder than the ideal smooth and seamless path, but itmakes the whole thing seem more gratifiying in the end.

The Toronto band SherpaFeast has a song entitled "Babylon and Zion Unite Against White Dreadlocks." As a band 50% consisting of Caucasians with dreads (judging by your most recent publicity shots), how would you respond to this?

It's hair. We often get this silly insinuation that because some of us have dreads we're a bunch of vanilla Marleys who play funk for hippie cliques. I don't know where Sherpa is going with this, but really it's only hair, and whatever that has to do with anything I don't know. Maybe we should get some image consulting or something. Apparently we're not hardcore looking enough to do what we're doing. Recently a recording engineer attempted to change our "look." We heard him out but immediately after his spiel, we couldn't contain ourselves and laughed for a good while. Really all we want to do is play music and nothing more.

Lungbutter seems like a political bands, though your political aims don't seem explicitly stated. What DO you stand for?

We're four individuals, we all have similar ethics, being fairly D.I.Y. in approach to everything, but we don't really cry about any one issue in our music.

What are you most looking forward to about playing Wavelength?

Just playing, any opportunity to play and not be working day jobs, ultimately to play music, and I forget who said it, but to "live and do as [we] like..." Kind of an ideal, but if you have something you love doing, you will ultimately find a way to do this, not without much work and persistence, though, mind you.

-- Nick Kuepfer was interviewed by Jonny Dovercourt

THE LULLABYE ARKESTRA
WAVELENGTH 141
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 24, 11PM
Purveyors of: Lovers' rock
lullabye_arkestra@hotmail.com

They can be found screaming heavy and soulfully over a cacophony of low-end rumbling and hi-end screeching. They can take you uptown, downtown, and midtown --- all in the same song. They can shake some evil, and have some room to spare. They are the Lullabye Arkestra. This is their noise...

Sun Ra. Soul music. Heavy metal. A horn section. How do these things relate to Lullabye Arkestra?

We love them all.

Just exactly how does a bass end up sounding so dirty?

A Big Muff and a dirty girl.

Lullabye Arkestra is two, but sometimes it is many, many more. Describe the two at the core of L.A., and describe also the many other special guests.

The two are Justin Small (a.k.a. Dr. J) and Katia Taylor (a.k.a. Lady Taylor) as the Lullabye's bass and beats. Having the core of it made up of purely a rhythm section is what I think makes the sound so pummelling. Other members of the family include Randy Ray and Deadeye Landini on the heckling/screaming/dance moves machine, then there's the horns which is a rotating line-up of Mr. Brian Cram, Jay Baird, Ohad Benchetrit and Charles Spearin, depending on who's available. We may in fact be recruiting a guest organ player this time around.

Who will we see on stage for the Wavelength Lullabye show?

Hopefully everyone plus the whole audience.

What's on your turntable right now?

We don't have one right now, which is a shame since we have more records than we have space for. But in the CD player I have Black Sabbath, Masters of Reality.

What is the message that Lullabye Arkestra would most like to spread to the world at large?

LOOOOOOOOOVE!!!

What will be the next song you choose to cover? Any likely candidates?

Perhaps Judas Priest's "You Got Another Thing Coming," or maybe some Sinatra; it's a bit of a toss-up.

What is the title of your newest song?

"Thunderin'," and I'm in the midst of writing one called "Nation of Two," but all I've got is the title so far. They're all love songs.

Where can people find your excellent Ampgrave disc? Will there be more recordings released in the future?

We have a few left at Soundscapes, but the best place to get one is at our shows, since we make limited edition (usually of about 30) hand-made copies specifically for each show. No other recordings are being planned yet. We really have to find time to write more songs, but what with all the inter-provincial moving, world touring and rockin' and rollin', where's the time?

If L.A. could jam with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose?

Wayne Kramer, Geezer Butler, Joan Jett and Keith Moon. I think that would make for a pretty nutty jam session.

-- Katia Taylor was interviewed by Paddy O'Donnell

THE SIZE SEVENS
WAVELENGTH 141
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 24, 10PM
Purveyor of: "The Beatles, Nirvana, The Pixies" (!)
http://www.angelfire.com/on/malton

The Size Sevens Face The Music: Paddy O'Donnell interviews Paul #1 and Paul #3. We're not going to tell you which is which, because we have no clue.

Another young band with an extensive history! Who were Sleeve Movement, The Suicycles, and The Pauls? Who are The Size Sevens?

The Size Sevens are a supergroup, composed of Faux-Paul Julien Anti (slacktar/vocals), Ronny Maker (rocktar/vocals), Paul Number Three (just bass player/vocals [optional]), and William The Fifth (drumps). Sleeve Movement rocked the Malton Pop Music Charts along side The Suicycles until the unspeakable Malton Spatula Tragedy took the lives of all the members of these two bands, except the Pauls from Sleeve and Ronny of the Suicycles. Ronny, impressed by the benefit album by The Pauls, called them up and added "Let me be the Sass .." The Size Sevens were then born in a recording studio on Jarvis where William V was found on the curb at Carlton, brushed off and fed.

You're from Malton. How is that?

The Airport is there. We would collect all of our lunch money while at school. We would have enough for a one-way ticket to Buffalo and we would send one of us there. We wouldn't see that person for many days afterwards. When we did see them, they would tell us the story of how they got back and we would then write a song about it.

You've been recording and intending to release new material. When and where?

Toronto, Paris, London, A.S.A.P.! We have a connection in Toronto with a guy who plays in a pretty big band. We are hoping he will like what he hears and record us and produce us.

You have cited influences such as Nirvana, The Pixies, The Beatles, Sloan, Velvet Underground... etc. These influences were easily identifiable in the earlier recorded material. Do you feel they are becoming less easy to identify as the band continues onward?

Why or why not? In the beginning, those bands' music were like seeds to us. When we first started creating, to hear those bands in our music was easier, but now that we have grown, it is harder to hear, but still there. Those bands have served as the ultimate fertilizer.

The early demo was entitled Storrelsen Sju -- those two words have etched their way into my brain. I stare at them, rearranging them as if the title is suddenly going to make sense in English. What does it mean?

The band took remedial Norwegian in grade school together. Ronny translated "The Size Sevens" into Norwegian and got Storrelson Sju. Upon returning to their old grade school, proud and with new CD in hand, they visited their Norwegian teacher and she laughed and laughed and laughed. She said, "Why did you name your EP The Size Molesters"?

Say a few words about Lullabye Arkestra, with whom you will be performing at Wavelength.

They go through bass amps like we go through cigarettes.

Is it true that you also employ organs, pianos, and the latest in sitar technology into your sound? What is the latest in sitar technology?

Where did you hear that? Some of our original compositions do employ organ, piano and sitar. We heard a contemporary of Ravi Shankar was living in Scarborough, so we walked the streets there looking for him. We never found him, so we bought one that was either a sitar or a litre of chocolate milk.

What is exciting you most about your band right now?

We are a new entity with a lot of options. We are comparable to a huffer heating up a can of Lysol. Maybe it will blow, maybe it won't, but you better believe you want to be there when it does. There is nothing like third-degree burns to 55% of your body to show you are relevant. The thought that it might is very potent.

What is exciting you most in music right now?

The Toronto scene is really vibrant right now. We are fans of many bands and feel we don't have to go to another big city to be rocked. We just hope that we can rock people as much as our favourite bands rock us.

"If Man is Five / Then the Devil is Six And if the Devil is Six / Then God is Seven" -- Black Francis

WAVELENGTH DJs

Nov. 3 -- Mayor Mel & DJ Viva Puff

Music addicts and cheerleaders of the independent musician, Mayor Mel & DJ Viva Puff bring their collection out of the deep woods of a mysterious, unnamed forest where the little people feed on the icy hearts of giant A&R reps.

Nov. 10 -- DJ Smoky Hwy. & DJ Dakota

Turn on your heart light. DJ Smoky Hwy. & DJ Dakota kick out the indie rawk, pop hits and heartbreakers. Expect: Broken Social Scene, ELO, Neil Diamond, Van Halen, Belle & Sebastian, Super Furry Animals, Pavement. Dance, dance, dance.

Nov. 17 -- DJ m@b

I have a CD changer that holds a shitload of CDs. I also have a figure I bought at Value Village for $5 whom I call Lubu. It seems to be the God, or Eternal Spirit, of my apartment. Anyway, it has a mysterious control over what CDs get played when on RANDOM mode. So I'm gonna bring Lubu along and it'll help me select tunes to play for you. Seriously.

Nov. 24 -- DJ Inabilities

This pseudo-know-it-all will jump a bandwagon at the drop of a "fabulous haircut." Watch he doesn't bum all your smokes.