Nathan
Lawr
Baron Samedi esq
From Fiction
Lorelei
Alexis O'hara
Fog
Dosh
The Creeping Nobodies
New
Radiant Storm King
Dame Fate
DJs
NATHAN
LAWR
WAVELENGTH 161
Sunday May 4, 11pm
Purveyor of: Why don’t we try one of my songs?
Nathan Lawr is the former timekeeper for Royal City and King Cobb Steelie.
He is currently behind the kit in local bands the Sea Snakes, Fembots
and Boy. He has recorded a lovely collection of his own songs, The Heart
Beats A Waltz — put to tape with Andy Magoffin and Evan Gordon.
I’m fascinated by love and geography. These themes are threads that
seem to tie your record together. You recently went chasing your heart
down the westbound lane of the Trans-Canada Hwy. Tell us how Vancouver
differs from Toronto — with regard to love and music.
Sometimes, in life, you can come to a fork in the road and you have to
make a choice. I made a decision that seemed right at the time and I wound
up right where I am. I felt then, and I still feel now, that if you’re
acting within what’s true to yourself, there’s no such thing
as a bad decision. With every decision you make, there is a series of
opportunities and limitations presented to you. I definitely feel a lot
less naïve about love and about music from that experience. As for
Vancouver as a city, it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery
anywhere. It was great to just hop on the bus and get off at a place like
Stanley Park or Lynn Valley. There is also a very rich improvised music
scene there. There is this weird Amsterdam/Vancouver connection that the
people I met in that scene were very aware of, but unable to explain.
A band like the Beans were very inspiring to meet. They do some very brave
and amazing things, like their 48 hour show and their performance surrounding
the pool at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre. It’s hard to compare.
Both places have things working for and against them. In the end, Toronto
is just more my kind of place and that’s all there is to it really.
You were team captain recently for the Three Gut Feelings in the Exclaim!
hockey tournament. Other than Stephen Malkmus, why is it that indie rockers
(usually) hate sports?
I think that it all starts in high school. As a student, you’re
encouraged to pick a direction and go with it. If your interest is sports,
then you’re encouraged to be involved exclusively with sports; if
your interest is the arts, you’re encouraged to be involved exclusively
with the arts. It was rare in my school for someone to be involved in
both, which I think is a shame because there are a lot of things that
music and sports have in common. Sports are a very emotional undertaking
and music is as well. Sports require a great amount of dedication and
effort. So too does music. I think that Buddy Rich was definitely a kind
of athlete and there is definitely an art to the way David Beckham kicks
a soccer ball. But ultimately, to me, sports are about participating in
something through which you can experience yourself in relation to other
people, and music is nothing if not that. The Three Gut Feelings didn’t
win a single game, but I was so proud of everyone because we were all
so fully engaged with the game and one another. So I felt we were tremendously
successful because of that. When I play music, I enjoy doing it with people
who are fully engaged and immersed with the music and one another. Usually
when I feel a show was successful, it was because we overcame extreme
odds and remained a very tight unit. Just like in hockey!! Plus, as a
drummer, I have to carry a hockey bag around for both endeavors.
Why do drummers seem to climb out from behind their kits more than bass
players down from on top of their rigs?
It’s because drummers have an inferiority complex!!! No one ever
recognizes us in public. Fans always beeline it to the front person. But
seriously though, I think drummers can have a very unique perspective
on things. A good drummer is just as musical as any other instrumentalist,
and a good drummer is always very aware of and sensitive to everything
going on in the music. So making your own music as a drummer, I think,
is a very natural progression. Every drummer I know does it in some shape
or form. Plus, it’s just great to be the boss.
Won’t you please tell us about the stellar cast of characters you
amassed for this project?
Well, I’m just so lucky to be surrounded by such talented and vibrant
people. And a lot of the people I have met over the years were kind enough
to lend those talents to my music. On the record, there’s Andy Magoffin
(The Two Minute Miracles), Michael Olsen (The Hidden Cameras), Jim Guthrie,
Simon Osborne, Gentleman Reg, John Higney (2MM), Clare Ferko (an incredible
vocalist), Mitch Girios (Microbunny), Evan Gordon (The Mudpuddles), Michael
Barclay, Nick Craine and Drew McIvor as the Guelph contingent, as well
as Jeremy Strachan (Rockets Red Glare, Sea Snakes). I thank my lucky stars
for the good company I’m in.
Who will be playing with you at your Wavelength set? Will you play any
of your songs from behind the kit?
Whil Kidman from Woolly Leaves and The Constantines on guitar. Simon Osborne
from Royal City on the bass. Shaw-Han Liem from I Am Robot and Proud and
Sea Snakes on the keys. And Jason Tait from The Weakerthans on the drums.
And no, I’m leaving the drum duties entirely up to Jason. I think
it’s going to be a very fun band.
Is it possible to qualify how your travelling, touring and recording with
Royal City has bled into your own songwriting? Or maybe it hasn’t
at all. What do you say?
I have always been influenced heavily by the people I am involved with
musically. There are all kinds of little moments in my music that I could
tie directly to something I learned from being around Aaron, Jim and Simon.
The experiences we had touring helped me realize what you can accomplish
when you really set your mind to it. Recording those Royal City records
also taught me that the magic you’re after when you set out to make
a record isn’t necessarily arrived at through painstaking rehearsal
and planning. Sometimes that magic is a complete fluke, or at least it
happens in a way you couldn’t have imagined. Which isn’t to
say you shouldn’t practice, that’s definitely crucial, but
there’s a fine line between being over-prepared and being just prepared
enough to be able to allow for the happy accidents that inevitably occur.
It’s kind of like being prepared to be unprepared. Those fellers
have always been and continue to be an inspiration to me as a person and
as a musician. Being in that band was one of the most real and gratifying
musical experiences of my life so far.
Tell us about the other musical projects you have on the go these days!
How do you ever remember what to bring to practice? Snare, strings,
sticks, vocal cords — who can keep them all straight?
Well, right now I’m just working on putting this record out and
playing my songs live, which is a new thing for me. Drumming-wise, I’m
doing a bunch of shows with the Fembots and Boy. Sea Snakes is working
hard to get ready for our first recording (in August), and I’m going
to do some touring with Kepler in the fall. I have also started taking
drum lessons from the great Jim Blackley, which has changed a lot of things
in my life, musically and non-musically. It gets a little complicated
trying to schedule so many things at once and sometimes I get run a little
ragged but I’m just having a great time with it all. Thanks for
having me at Wavelength!! — interview by Lisa
BARON
SAMEDI ESQ
WAVELENGTH 161
Sunday May 4, 10pm
Purveyor of: Serfs UP!
www.hivestudios.net,
baronsamediesq@yahoo.com
Baron Samedi Ecstatic Soul Quintet’s disc Live, No Overdubs arrived
at Wavelength HQ along with a whack of other scratch from Scratch, but
it was Arrington de Dionyso who urged it to the top of the pile. The furniture
at WLHQ has had to be rearranged ever since. Jonny Dovercourt interviewed
Steve Balogh, bassist and founder of the Vancouver-based funk-soul melting
pot.
Give us a brief history of the Baron’s lordship over the Vancouver
music community.
I’ve been playing in bands for about 12 years, since high school.
Always pop/rock type bands, always some dude (or lady) singing and playing
guitar. When I left Capozzi Park a couple of years ago, I decided to do
something different, something more like the records I was buying (and
beginning to play out as DJ Ofay). I’d thought of starting something
for a long time but felt thwarted in the knowledge that I would never
write a lyric that could melt somebody’s heart. Initially I thought
an instrumental soul revue, all covers, would be the thing but I had trouble
finding people into devoting their time to a non-original project. Once
I’d written some stuff, things went a lot more smoothly and I soon
found myself surrounded by four very talented fellows that I’d met
under very different circumstances. We played our first show one month
after all of us started practicing together. A local journalist, John
Keillor (known as “The Dancing Guy” to most and a sweet, sweet
man) was at that show and heralded us as a “supergroup” in
a review (if you’ve been in anything half-decent before, regardless
if anybody’s heard it, you’re a “supergroup,”
it appears). The kind press and word of mouth helped attendance at our
shows. Since then it’s been up and down, but never less than fun.
The ESQ sounds like the ultimate dance party band. What kind of dance
steps do you want to see your audience attempt?
Dancing’s a very individual thing. I’d like to see people
lose their inhibitions and just bust out! Whatever step crosses your mind,
if you’re feelin’ it, then throw it down! Ain’t nobody
gonna laugh at you and if they do, fuck them, because you’re having
fun and involving yourself in the show. You’re creating the atmosphere.
We definitely play better and feel better when we can see that folks are
enjoying themselves. That’s what performance is all about: taking
something that you believe in and presenting it to people in the hopes
that it’ll make them feel better than when they walked into the
club. On the record we didn’t thank our individual friends, just
“anybody who’s danced at one of our shows”.
Wavelength is in its fourth year and you guys are only the fourth band
from Van to play our series (following in the footsteps of Clover Honey,
The Buttless Chaps and Radio Berlin). Explain how (if at all) BSESQ may
be connected to: the Beans, Canned Hamm, Capozzi Park, The Nasty On and
any of the aforementioned artistes.
Oh boy, alright... I was in Capozzi Park from its inception. I left and
they played a couple of shows with another bass player, then folded. When
Mark (Szabo) finished compiling The Record Of..., we got back together
and did our reunion/farewell/album release show, which was probably the
best Capozzi show ever. We’re all still good friends. The Beans
are friends of ours. They also record with Colin from The Hive. At the
show that became their Inner Cosmosis record, we played before them, then
at the end we did “Zombie” by Fela Kuti as a double-quintet.
Big fun that was — it’s available for download at our page
on www.hivestudios.net.
The Nasty On guys are good friends too. Jason sang a Stooges song with
us one night. I play fuzzbox accordion in a Hawkwind-esque fuck band called
Bateater with those dudes and people from The Cinch. Also, Shane played
on their record Citysick... Aside from The Hive connection, Josh from
Radio Berlin (one of Vancouver’s finest drummers) filled in for
Rod on percussion at a show in Victoria... Robert Dayton from Canned Hamm
is one of a kind and (yes, that’s right) a very good friend. He
sang a James Chance & The Contortions song with us one night. We are
blessed to know such talented and sweet people.
How do you whoop the crowd into a frenzy without a vocalist?
We just try to kick it raw from the first note. We get a little outside
sometimes but always try to keep the rhythm solid, keep ‘em dancin’.
Everyone else is chained to either a stool or a mic so I guess I’m
the de facto frontman and I usually dance around and act the fool. Sometimes
I’ll drop the bass during a drum solo and dance with the people
up front. I like that.
Describe the personality of the vintage keyboard so crucial to the groop’s
sound.
The organ is very dear to me. From the get-go I knew that I had to have
(specifically analogue) organ in this band. Chris (the original organist)
is mainly a guitar player/singer. He learned to play keys while working
on his Bossanova stuff. He had a great sound (Korg CX-3) but ultimately
lost interest in doing anything but his own stuff. Our new organist, Tyson,
is sooo good. He, like Shane and unlike myself, is schooled in jazz. Problem
is, he doesn’t own an organ — we’re constantly borrowing.
We have bought a Hammond but the guy we bought it from screwed us and
it needs work. That’ll happen after the tour. I will cry tears of
joy when that organ is part of the band.
What kind of visceral reaction do you have to the word “kitsch”?
I have no time for “kitsch.” What we do, we do in the purest
way possible. No smirks, no “this’ll be funny” (except
for the field recording on the album, which was candid by the way). Though
we all share common ground as far as listening tastes, we avoid “authentic
plagiarism” or referencing. We’re trying to create something
familiar yet wholly original. The feeling we’re trying to create
is where the “Ecstatic” comes in — playing our hearts
out, leaving ourselves open to the moment (‘scuse me while i light
some incense) and trying to reach that fevered, chaotic place every time
we play.
FROM
FICTION
WAVELENGTH 162
Sunday May 11, 11:45pm
Purveyors of: Purveyors of: The truth and nothing but
fromfiction@hotmail.com
Yes, we could ask the boys in From Fiction some relevant, informative
questions. There would be much to talk about. We could discuss their unexpected
attack on Toronto audiences last year and the hype that followed, or how
they managed to keep that momentum going despite a long hiatus and no
recorded product to speak of. Yes, we could tell you about their exceptional
ability to show up anyone and everyone they play with. Yes, we could ask
them their thoughts about the so-called “math-rock revival”
happening in this city these days. But listen, we’re just not going
to. Wavelength groupie Neil Haverty opted instead to pull questions from
various classic novels, posing them to From Fiction (ha… get it?)
completely out of context. Hell, last time From Fiction played Wavelength,
all you got was a crossword puzzle. This is at least that good.
What in hell’s name is a pint? (from 1984)
A pike is a fish.
What is a bone spur? Can it be as painful as the spur of a fighting cock
in one’s heel? (from The Old Man and the Sea)
The strength of Chicago’s musical community seems to depend upon
its lack of genre boundaries. The intermingling of rock musicians with
those from the jazz realm draws an appropriate audience from both cultural
worlds. If such a community comes to prosper in Toronto, it will be to
the effect of Ed Mirvish handing out cocks at Christmas.
Who said Christ is good? (from Ulysses)
Get dirty for god, go lay a brick.
That man I’ve never seen before, is he your son? (from Wuthering
Heights)
No.
Where did you bury your iyi-uwa? (from Things Fall Apart)
There must be some confusion; we have never accepted endorsements.
Sun’s pretty bad today, aint it? (from The Outsiders)
Weather remains the only relevant topic of conversation.
— interview by Neil Hamburger
LORELEI
WAVELENGTH 162
Sunday May 11, 10:45pm
Purveyors of: The ’burgh is the word
www.ice-made.com
Lorelei return to Wavelength. They travel from Pittsburgh. They are armed
with two basses, a drum set, and enough panache to knock you sideways.
Or something like that. Paddy O’Donnell throws the questions their
way.
Okay, the obvious first: why two basses and drums and no guitars? (And
if it was just a matter of convenience, why keep it that way?)
Art is rarely convenient. We found each other by accident and made a band
and as a result are now three people doing one thing together. A beautiful
reduction. There is no one that I would put into the fire, so to speak,
for the arbitrary purpose of “adding guitar.”
You have released a disc on your own label. How have you found this experience?
It was a means to an end. Having nothing to compare it to, I’d say
it’s been fine. However, I’d leap at the opportunity to do
it the other way. Self-promotion is awkward.
You’re working on a new album. Tell us about it.
The new record is done (in the unreleased sort of way). It’s called
77 and I think it sounds really good.
Susannah Mira, are you are responsible for the photography found on the
albums? What makes a good photograph? What makes you decide to take one?
I’m responsible merely for the manipulation of existing photographs
on our albums. But as a photographer, I think the good ones must have
seductive composition and enough mystery to make you want to keep looking.
Are lyrics important, or are they an afterthought? Are Lorelei lyrics
poetry, prose, random words or abstract ideas?
Lyrics are a lot. I’d say ours are practical poetry, often abstract,
but never such that a person couldn’t find something to relate to
them with a hard listen.
What is currently catching your interest in the world at large?
I just drove cross-country. It was a great escape into the “world
at large.” In short, I found the landscape of the American southwest
to be the greatest psychological tonic that I’ve ever experienced.
Being alone for a couple of weeks in the desert and the mountains has
made me very interested in the goodness of the smallest things.
You’ll be playing Ladyfest in Philadelphia soon. What else does
the future hold?
At this point Ladyfest Philadelphia was a month ago. The future is now,
I guess, and for the band it holds days of driving and playing as much
as possible.
Your website says in big block letters “NO WAR!” Have you
received any mail regarding this? Any encouraging signs from your perspective,
or is it all a step into the “New American Century” with no
looking back?
No word about “No War.” I didn’t exactly expect a deluge
of comment. I posted the link because even though we are not an overtly
political band, come on, hurting other people is always wrong.
Parting sentiments? Last words?
Toronto rocks.
ALEXIS
O'HARA
WAVELENGTH 162
Sunday May 11: 9:45pm
Purveyor of: O’Haratronica
www.grenadinerecords.com
Experimental electronic music, indie-pop, found sound, spoken word and
performance art are the pathways that lead to the work of Montreal-based
artist Alexis O’Hara, who happens to be a niece of some Toronto
celebrity siblings — that’s right, Catherine, Mary Margaret
and Marcus O’Hara. In Abulia is the title of Alexis’ Grenadine
Records debut, and she hits Wavelength at the tail end of a six-week tour
in its support…
How did you get to be where you are right now? In a metaphysical creative
journey kinda sense, that is.
I started out in theatre but quickly tired of the notion of the “fourth
wall” and found that I had little in common with “theatre
people.” When I was living in Switzerland, I did a couple of non-verbal
performance art events and that really piqued my interest in finding ways
to connect theatrics with art concepts and intellectual notions. But I’m
also really attached to the idea of being entertaining too, and that didn’t
always fly in the chin-scratching world of European conceptual art. When
I moved to Montreal, I got into spoken word ‘cuz it offered a very
direct means of communicating with the audience and I’d written
free verse and rhymes since I was a kid. Eventually I had to break out
‘cuz the poetry audience is kinda elitist and the work has a short
shelf life. All the while I’ve been singing in bands and fucking
around with sound art, so it just made sense to incorporate musical elements
into my performance work. When I got a loop station, everything fell into
place. In a “metaphysical creative journey kinda sense,” as
you say, I’ve never been interested in fitting into one genre and
have always aimed to create work that makes people wonder what the hell
it is they’re listening to. This has made my life difficult in a
sense, but I don’t think I could do it any other way.
To tackle that first question more literally, how is your tour going?
Touring all alone must make for some interesting experiences — feel
free to share some of the funniest/scariest with us.
The tour has been going well. There have, obviously, been rough moments.
Performing to 10 people in a pie shop in San Luis Obispo. Competing with
bar fights in Thunder Bay. Sleeping in the car and getting woken up by
a train at 5:30am. But there have also been some really amazing gigs.
A freaky wedding in the Mojave Desert. In the home of a wealthy art patron
in Santa Fe, NM. At a dive bar for a gang of rowdy dykes in New Orleans...
Touring alone is really interesting ‘cuz you have so much freedom.
I’ve toured with groups before and it’s exhausting to be in
that pod mentality of always having to negotiate and follow folks around.
Having said that, it was retarded of me to think that I could be booking
agent, tour manager, driver and performer. A publicist would have been
a much-needed addition, ‘cuz it’s one thing to book the shows,
but if no one knows about it, what’s the point? The thing is, the
“work” is really social and it’s a real relief to get
in the car and be alone for several hours. I’ve endeavoured to not
eat any fast food which has been interesting. So I get my thermos full
of soup and my fruit at the rest areas while all the fat Americans buy
food from a machine.
How has the Montreal musical/artistic community helped shaped your aesthetic,
as well as the creation of your current album, In Abulia?
I have to admit that I was pretty influenced by the Montreal musique actuelle
and Constellation Records sound when I was making the record. I don’t
think it’s a direct or obvious influence, but it was in my mind.
It’s kinda funny, ‘cuz a lot of these musicians are my friends,
but I still have so much respect for the music they are making that I
feel a kind of hero worship. I wanted to make something that could, in
some way, make sense in the context of the Montreal sound, if there is
such a thing. I was set up in an industrial loft in St-Henri with an eight-track
and some gear over a long, cold winter and spent months noodling. I had
to laugh when, armed with a grant to make a spoken word recording, I found
myself with 23 instrumental tracks! So I had to get a grip and rediscover
what “my sound” would be and forget about everything else.
I mean, I knew I would be making an interesting record, but I honestly
had no idea whether it would be any good. Luckily I was smart enough to
bring in some “consultants” to help in the mixing and mastering
stages.
You are related to some pretty talented and famous women. How does this
affect others’ expectations of what you do, or does it at all?
Only in Ontario do people make a big deal about that. That’s one
of the reasons I didn’t last too long in Toronto (I spent two years
at York U). People would treat me like I was some bitch with the deed
to the city in my pocket. I’m a late-blooming Capricorn, so I had
to fuck off and do my own thing before I was ready to accept some kind
of next-generation mantle. And still, Toronto can be so weird. I’ve
been trying to convince Mary to move to Montreal ‘cuz it seems like
everyone and their goldfish has strong opinions about what she should
be doing with her life. It’s totally unfair. At my first big show
in Toronto, my name was up on the marquee at the El Mocambo right next
to Teenage Head, and the reviewer at Now obviously had some king-size
chip on her shoulder that, I feel, had little to do with me. She ripped
me to shreds. I mean, I got an encore that night! Other times, folks will
find out I’m one of “those” O’Haras after seeing
me and then they’ll slap their heads and say: “So that’s
it!” I can’t pretend that I’m not influenced by them
and I don’t know whether it’s an innate genetic thing or what.
I’m grateful that I grew up with so much creative energy and I’m
really proud and respectful of my aunts’ accomplishments. Mary,
in particular, has always been really supportive of my work and I’m
glad that I’ve been inspirational to her ‘cuz heaven knows
she’s totally inspirational to me.
Poetry and experimental music don’t intersect as much as they should.
Why do you think this is, and what do you feel you are doing to change
the situation, if anything?
I think there have been some classic intersections of poetry and experimental
music that I find extremely motivating. Laurie Anderson and Yoko Ono are
two examples that come to mind. They are interesting role models for me
‘cuz they managed to bridge the gap between the experimental and
the pop worlds and that is definitely one of my goals. I like to think
that I’m more in the experimental music camp than the poetry one
and I am endeavouring to get more gigs where I’m singing and doing
non-verbal sound stuff. I had a killer gig at Tonic in NYC where I did
glitch-techno with just my mouth and some guitar pedals. But I also have
to ‘fess up to what my forte is and that’s talking, using
words, freestylin’, storytelling, what have you. So, seeing as I
have interests in exploring boundary-crashing musico-theatrical endeavours,
that’s what I have to bring to the table, y’know? I’ve
done 30 shows in the last month and a half and inevitably there will be
one to three guys who will come up to me after I’m done and ask
me about my gear and tell me that they want to do what I’m doing,
so maybe I’m about to start some kind of performance art revolution.
Ha ha ha!!!!
How do all the crazy sounds on In Abulia come together live? Or is it
a
completely different experience?
The live experience is pretty different, but no less weird or engaging.
I had toyed with the idea of using a minidisc and doing the playback version
of the album but that’s just not my style. I also didn’t want
to tour with too much gear ‘cuz I was nervous about border crossing,
so it’s a really stripped-down but very effective set-up. Basically
I sing and beatbox the instrumental parts and loop them to create the
backdrop for the texts and songs. I also have my sampler and this cool
MIDI glove controller that my friend Mike Duemo built for me, but I save
that for my finale.
Make one wish.
I know this is far-fetched but I wish that folks would stop blindly (or
worse yet, knowingly and cynically) swallowing all the lies that the media
is feeding us.
— interview by Jonny Dovercourt
FOG
WAVELENGTH 163
Sunday May 18, 11:15pm
Purveyor of: And indie-rock could nevah hip-hop like this
www.fogtimewaster.com,
www.ninjatune.net
When Jonny suggested that I do an interview with Ninja Tune’s first
Minneapolis-based signing, Fog, for the upcoming issue of Wavelength,
I said “of course!” Andrew Broder a.k.a. Fog’s new record,
Ether Teeth, is a current personal fave, a perfect indie-rock, folk-hop
gem full of beautifully sad melodic themes and a unique approach to the
turntables. Never mind the tiny conflict of interest considering that
I work at his label, Ninja Tune — in fact, if we were going to be
in such blatant disregard of one of the most basic rules of journalistic
integrity, then why not go all the way? We would get each person in the
office here in Montreal to contribute questions and make my life considerably
easier! This is the kind of stuff we sat around wondering about when we
put on Ether Teeth for the first time — questions like what exactly
is a “what a day day”? (see below for the answer!) Here is
the first ever Ninja Tune Office Interview! — Jon a.k.a. jrobot
In the movie The Fog, were you scared when you found out that the evil
in the fog was actually a bunch of pirates at the end of the film, or
did you think to yourself: “Pirates? Pirates aren’t scary!
What the hell kind of movie is this?!” — Jon
Um, I’ve never seen that movie. I don’t really get into movies
too much. I find them very obvious, most of the time (I hope that doesn’t
sound snotty). But I think pirates are OK, I don’t think they are
very scary at all. They say funny things, like “Swab the Poop Deck”
or “Arrr, Ye Scurvy Dogs!”
What is the name of the creepy bug on the album cover for your self-titled
debut album? ‘Cuz those things are way more scary than pirates.
Can you describe your conceptual journey from those creepy bugs to a dumptruck
filled with kittens? Do you think it illustrates your growth as an artist
to a cuter, kinder Fog? — Phil
I don’t know about cuter. Definitely kinder. The bug is a silverfish
and I am terrified of them. They represent fear for me. Dumptruck filled
with kittens, well... you can see where this is going. I have grown very
much as a human since my last record album.
It’s fair to say that your music is a hybrid of a folk/rock thing
and a hip-hop thang. What did you get into first? — Lew
The first record I ever got was Twisted Sister when I was six, I think,
so I guess rock came first. Aside from the obvious Beastie Boys/Run-DMC,
De La Soul’s first record made me fall very in love with hip-hop.
I guess my music is hybrid music, but life is hybrid, your perception
of anything is a hybrid of all the events that came before it to form
it, so I don’t think hybridization is out of the ordinary. I don’t
intentionally strive to mix two or three styles to come up with a specific
style. Everything just happens.
When did you know you were bound for stardom? — Lew
I used to think I was, from pretty early on — as a little kid, singing
into the mirror and all that. Now, I don’t think I am bound for
stardom.
Any good groupie stories? — Lew
No. I just got married. I don’t have a lot of interest in the extra
rock star perk shit. I play music to play music.
What’s easier to unload, one ton of bowling balls or one ton of
dead babies? — Lew
Wow, that’s a fucked-up question, Lew, ha ha... Um... Like unload
out of what? Like a dumptruck? Bowling balls. They are not sticky. Shit,
this is awful...
As a Minneapolis local, does it make sense that Prince is from the same
city that spawned Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Babes In Toyland
and Soul Asylum? Have you ever been to The Artist’s garage sales?
— Jon
I think it makes sense, but I don’t know, I haven’t given
a lot of thought to the whole Minnesota music legacy, to tell you the
truth. I really like Bob Dylan. Prince has made lots of great music. All
the MN rock shit kinda came a bit before my time. No, I have never been
to Paisley Park.
C’est quand ton “what a day day”? Est-ce que ca marche
aussi en France? — Estelle (our intern from France)
Boy, my French is terrible. Um, “What a Day Day” is a national
holiday that I made up to celebrate seeing the same people every day and
having the same awkward conversations, etc. Me being a sarcastic prick,
basically. My town is very small and can feel like a tiny incestuous pond
sometimes, I guess. But also, I realize that me getting all bent out of
shape about it is retarded too. So I am having a laugh at myself with
that song.
What is the crappiest job you’ve ever had? How did it end? —
Richard
Kinko’s. Got fired for refusing to go to any store meetings.
Mixtape! 8-10 songs to a side. Theme: guilty pleasures (no, not like that)
— Richard
50 Cent — “Wanksta,” played 20 times.
Describe a perfect day in Andrew Broder’s life — Pat
General lovey-dovey with wifey. Coffee. Vegan french toast and fruit.
Shopping at thrift stores for records or shoes. More coffee. Sushi. Cherry
nirvana soy delicious ice cream. Red wine. Weed. Idaho’s “Dum
Dum.” Albert Ayler’s “Ghosts.” Dose and Why. Hear
the birds singing. Make a dumb joke. Play the piano. Play with my band.
Timberwolves beat L.A.
DOSH
WAVELENGTH
163
Sunday May 18, 10:30pm
Purveyor of: I guess we'll see, won't we?
www.anticon.com
We can’t tell you much about Dosh. All we know is he’s Fog’s drummer, he has an instrumental LP set to drop in August on Oakland indie-hip-hop collective/label Anticon, and he’ll be performing a 24-minute set at our May 2-4 weekend Wavelength party. (How come the 2-4 never falls on May 24th, by the way? Fucking whacked-out Canadian holidays, man.) And this, from Fog’s website: “Martin Dosh is the drummer of Fog’s live band. He makes solo music on drums, keyboards, samplers, vocals, toys, whatever he can get his hands on. It is sweet and joyful and warm and still sad and off-kilter and highly original. His music is deservedly getting more and more attention. His self-titled debut is on Dinkytown Records. Go see him live.” There, you heard it from Andrew himself.
THE
CREEPING NOBODIES
WAVELENGTH
164
Sunday May 25, 11:45pm
Purveyors of: Post-punk '00s minus fashion crimes
www.thecreepingnobodies.com
The Creeping Nobodies are a fantastic band. They are really nice. None
of them have done me any harm. They are a musical marvel and must be seen
to be believed. Singer/guitarist Derek Westerholm, bassist Matt McDonough
and “alternate” drummer James Anderson answered my questions.
-- Subeditor's note: The Creeping Nobodies wanted to
make it known that drummer Jaime Carrasco (not pictured)
also answered Smokey Campbell's questions.
“ The quest for originality in pop music is pointless. The only
reasonable goal is to be unique.” Discuss.
James: Unfortunately, some people seem to believe that
merely being different automatically makes them both original and unique.
Uniqueness is intrinsically compulsory, like falling down.
Derek: The artists I like best are the ones that follow
their own voice and don’t try to sound like any one particular other
thing. I think if anyone follows their own instincts and has some of their
own ideas about what’s good, then they will make original and unique
music.
Matt: The quest for an answer unique from that of Derek’s
is pointless. What he said.
How is the live Creeping Nobodies experience different from the recorded
one? Do you approach them differently? I bet opening for Wire was a fabulous
experience.
Matt: They’re very different. From the time we
started this band, we’ve been very fortunate in terms of being able
to elicit a response from the audience. This has made the live experience
really focal for us; it really drives us. It’s entirely euphoric,
and we play that way. For recordings, we try to give something a little
different from what we’re like live — perhaps we’re
more scientific about it, if only slightly. We’ve been getting more
into “hiding” other instrumentation and parts into the recordings.
I’ve always been a fan of subtle additions to recordings that you
don’t necessarily hear on the first few listens. Opening for Wire
was wonderful. I never thought I would get the chance to see that band
play. Each one of their members has such a serious, determined nature
that they exude — it’s pretty inspiring. While I loved playing
that show, I have to say that my favourite shows are always ones where
we are able to really get up close to the audience. The most intense experiences
were probably the shows at Fruition and the latest at Cinecycle. Anytime
we play from the floor, it can get really exciting.
Jaime: I am very much looking forward to doing some recording!
Wire, who’s Wire? Ha ha ha ha ha!
Derek: Well, I have always found it difficult to bridge
the differences between the studio experience and the live experience.
Yes, they end up being different no matter what you try to do to capture
a “live” sound in the studio. But it was definitely nice to
be able to open for Wire. In retrospect, though, I think it was a bad
idea telling Robert Gotobed that I, too, would have quit Wire after making
Manscape. He didn’t seem to be too impressed by my poorly chosen
sentiment.
When I hear the Nobodies, I hear a wide array of influences. Is there
anything right now (musical or otherwise) that is far-and-away influencing
the songs you are working on?
Matt: We’re all avid music fans and compulsive
about hearing new things, so ideas are constantly coming into the mix.
For us, it’s more about the spirit and type of music that we cherish
above any adherence to a particular influence. A lot of times I come across
music/images/etc. that, although not at all musically related to what
we do, really help propel me to create music. A few months back I saw
some footage of DNA in a recording studio as part of the movie Downtown
‘81. Seeing them play, the sheer deliberateness and menacing-yet-playfulness
of it, that was both an epiphany and reassurance to me.
Derek: It’s always hard to narrow it down. Nothing
leaps to mind. I tend to listen to a lot of things at once. I’d
prefer to be influenced by lots of things, but generally don’t follow
any one direction as a rule. I would like to note, though, that there’s
a whole ton of stuff in our own scene right now that is very inspiring.
It’s really amazing how much there is to be excited about with all
the music coming out of the Toronto and surrounding area these days.
Jaime: Yeah, me. Ha ha ha ha ha!
Tell us about what is up with Eric and tell us about your new drummer
and “alternate.”
Derek: Eric has decided to travel semi-permanently to Europe.
He doesn’t know when he’s coming back; therefore, he is not
drumming with us anymore. Our new drummer is Jaime Carrasco, and we like
him a whole bunch. He’s going to a Jazz Workshop in Banff for a
few weeks near the end of May and early June, so we are having another
new drummer named James Anderson play some shows with us. We like him
a whole bunch, too. You can also find Jaime playing in the HOC Trio and
Free Work Band, and James Anderson in Blackeyes.
Jaime: Jaime and James. Same name, different language.
Matt: We’ll miss Eric dearly. From the first time
I played with him I found his drumming really inspiring. Playing with
him really helped the creative process for me. He was a lot of fun to
tour with too. Let me tell you about the time in Canmore when he passed
out drooling behind the kit mid-show...
If/when will the post-punk of the early ‘80s become irrelevant?
Should we all be preserving it like some animal to be stuffed and admired
for generations to come?
Matt: No good music ever really becomes entirely irrelevant.
Certain aspects get over-used and in their resurgence they begin to bore
us, but in time everything gets recycled. I think it’s great that
people rediscover past periods of music and incorporate it. I think the
problem arises when you get too analytical and scientific about it to
the point of trying to 100% re-create a particular band/song. So no, forget
the “preservation,” but sure, take the spirit and some of
the technical/stylistic innovations and run with it.
Derek: I don’t think of music in these terms. The
music I like usually stays relevant to me for most of my life. What other
people think of it or do with it is really their business. I can’t
preserve anything.
Jaime: What is post-punk?
What are The Creeping Nobodies’ upcoming plans?
Matt: We’re going to continue to try to play out-of-town
as much as possible. We like to travel and meet new faces. With Jaime
and James, we now have new victims to corrupt to life on the road with
us. They’ll learn all about the smell of a cooler full of shawarma
meat left cooking for days in the van during summer heat in NYC, the companionship
found in traveling with a box o’ wine, floors with silverfish, avoiding
partying with coke addicts at remote hotels and, best of all, the joys
of puking on yourself mid-set and mid-song from behind the drumkit to
the utter horror and amazement of your bandmates while the crowd makes
another call for a Slayer cover (we’ll miss you, Eric!).
Derek: We are currently recording a new album. We are
always interested in touring. The Escape Goat Records (www.escapegoatrecords.com)
compilation CD should be out soon, and it has a new track of ours plus
many others.
Jaime: New album? World tour in support of said album?
— interview by Smokey Campbell
NEW
RADIANT STORM KING
WAVELENGTH
164
Sunday May 25, 10:45pm
Purveyors of: Burmese bliss-rock
www.nokarma.com/nrsk
JUST CONFIRMED!
A late addition to May 25's Creeping Nobodies/Dame Fate Wavelength bill is New York City's New Radiant Storm King, who have been pumping out the indie-rock on and off since the fabled early '90s, releasing split seven-inches with the likes of Pavement and Guided by Voices (hot damn!). This marks NRSK's first-ever Toronto appearance, coinciding with the release of their latest disc, Winter's Kill, on Rainbow Quartz International. Wavelength's logistical stormtrooper Chuck Skullz asked them some questions for this web-only exclusive!
NRSK has always seemed to be a band whose musical influences and background are hard to pinpoint. Can you shed any light on this? Give us a brief history of NRSK's development. What first encouraged you to start making music?
The initial concept (1990) was to twist musical genres/styles that we liked. The first album (My Little Bastard Soul) reflects that pretty accurately, I think. Since then, our "sound" became a kind of Wire/Mission of Burma/Sonic Youth mishmash. And that has pretty much stuck with us, no matter how much we may have tried to amend, adapt or fuck with it over the years. Why did we start doing this in the first place? I'm still not sure...attract girls, maybe? I've always liked putting chords together to see what result I get. Still do.
Some of your members grew up in Massachusetts, correct? Did this have any particular affect on your musical upbringing?
Our current drummer (George Berz) and last full-time drummer (Garrett Fontes) are both Massachusetts natives, but that's it. The rest of us are from all over: I was born and raised in Arizona, and Peyton's from Westchester county, New York. Still, you're right that our scattered upbringing has consistently made our music a bit schizo. I think Robbie Robertson made a connection between landscape and music. Do we "sound" like "Western Massachusetts"? Not really to my ears, but I certainly don't mind if people hear that.
Was the late '80s/early '90s period in Mass. as fantastically wonderful and influential as we're led to believe?
It was a pretty good period in some ways. It was (like now) a good place to be based, and a hard place to get much more than fleeting attention if you play rock music. Must be why so many people have left.
Reviews of your albums quite often make mention the lyrics and how they seem to expose a cheeky bookishness. Is this a fair assessment, where do ideas for lyrics come from mostly?
Lyrics, lyrics, lyrics... Mostly they're extremely private, though I'll do my best to explain them if someone really wants to know. The "cheeky" comment bothers me, 'cuz we do take it seriously. It makes it sound like we're geeky snobs or something. I will say that if lyrics weren't such a chore we could put out two or three albums a year (though you might only want to actually buy one of 'em.)
NRSK is a band that has managed to exist just a little below the musical surface, poking its head up every once in awhile just when people begin to wonder about its status as a band. What do you think accounts for your longevity? What keeps you soldiering on with a determination lacking in a lot of more fickle bands?
We think we have a lot of great music left in us. One of these days more people will (I hope) pay attention. Plus I've vowed not to stop making music until (at least) the Phoenix Suns finally win a championship. Detractors, take notice!
Members of the band have made some very surprising appearances, such as involvement in the Pernice Brothers, as the back-up band for the Silver Jews, and working with J Mascis and Wharton Tiers. Tells us a bit about how these relationships came about? What were these experiences like? Do they in turn affect what comes out of New Radiant Storm King?
Totally random events, every one of them. Many of these people happened to be a friend who needed a hired gun, etc. We're improved, certainly, by working with other skilled professionals. Have any of these relationships affected our sound? Probably, but I'd be the last guy to understand how.
A lot of the songs on your most recent album Winter's Kill sound much more pop. Is this a new direction for New Radiant Storm King? Live, are the songs as tempered as on the album, or do you allow some of the chaos and blasts present on past material to creep in? What can we expect from a live NRSK show?
Live, things are always hard to control. And that's (generally) a good thing. I wouldn't look at Winter's Kill as a harbinger of things to come (the songs we're writing for the next album are very different), so much as a long, long period we spent in a cold basement.
DAME
FATE
WAVELENGTH
164
Sunday May 25, 9:45pm
Purveyors of: Rock be a lady tonight
www.damefate.com,
www.lovitt.com
Dame Fate is a D.C. band that has been around since about 1999 and have
just recently released their first CD, Time and Tide Wait for No Man,
on Lovitt Records. The band consists of singer/bassist Yalan Papillons,
who emerged out of various Ohio bands such as Miss May 66 and Shanghai
Lily, guitarist Melissa Ferris of Tuscadero and drummer Speck who lays
out some “Mo-Tucker-esque” drum beats. These ladies are active
supporters of the D.C. music scene and all helped coordinate Ladyfest
D.C. last year, which was of course a smashing success. I had the privilege
of meeting Yalan last year and staying at her incredibly ornate abode
in the middle of a long U.S. tour. She drinks like a champ and can rock…
my kind of woman!
So you know Dave Doughman [Swearing at Motorists] from Ohio days, right?
Have any good stories?
I have many, but… once Dave showed up drunk at my birthday party
in Columbus wearing a wig, sunglasses and a suit. He bought me a sparkly
blue tank top and scared my mom.
You’re an excellent drinker, one of the finest I have ever seen.
Do you have a strategy?
I need some “enhancement” before I start drinking so I don’t
get too wasted and don’t get a hangover. I usually start off with
a Car Bomb (half a shot of Baileys and half a shot of Jamieson in one
shot glass, dropped in a pint of Guinness), which you drink really fast.
Then I move into really good whiskey that you drink slowly so you can
enjoy it. With a few diamonds.
You’re an excellent dresser, one of the finest I have ever seen.
Do you have a strategy?
I wore my mom’s clothes in high school and ended up borrowing her
style of bell-bottoms and polyester shirts. I kept that going for a while
and then it came in style and I continued to add to that collection. It’s
good to spend money on good basics and then throw stuff on top from vintage
stores. I am doing some stylist stuff on the side now with The Burning
Brides and have been getting into that more. I played with Barbie dolls
until I was 16.
When you went on tour with Q And Not U, did you play in Montana at all?
I am curious but not sure if it’s worth it. If not, what’s
the worst city you have ever played in?
No, we didn’t play in Montana. The worst city I ever played in was
with Miss May 66 (the name comes from the singer of the band Beyond the
Valley of the Dolls, from the Russ Meyer movie of the same name) in San
Antonio at this club called Deviate. We had just ended one part of the
tour with Tribait (Alternative Tentacles) and I didn’t really know
the promoter who set up the show. We were playing on stage and I was wearing
kind of a short skirt and some guy in the audience grabbed my leg, on
the inside. So I kicked him and he went flying across the room. Then we
went to the promoter’s house where the rest of the band ended up
in one room and I was by myself. The promoter was telling me that I shouldn’t
fall asleep because if I did, he would take pictures of me holding a dildo.
So I didn’t want to sleep at all and ended up staying up with this
guy from the other band that played that night. We decided to play Battleship
and did that until about seven in the morning and kind of bonded. Then
I was like, “I am tired, I want to sleep,” so I decided to
go out into the hallway and sleep on a blanket. The guy asked if he could
join me and I said sure. It was really hot and I just wanted to sleep.
Anyway, we go to sleep and I wake up and the guy is touching my breast,
like not with his hand on it, he is like feeling my nipple! He is hovercrafting
my boobies! I thought we were friends, so I get up and freak out and demand
that everyone gets up so we can drive home.
Do your parents like what you do?
They like the stuff that I am doing now. When I first started, I was really
outspoken and didn’t bring any guys home or anything and we toured
with Tribait. I didn’t know their scene, but they’re an all-girl
lesbian band who have songs about frat boys and castration and then the
singer takes off her shirt and cuts off her dildo and throws it into the
audience. And their audience got naked. This whole time scared them a
bit, but then my mom put up some money for Dragonlady records, which started
the whole thing. We paid her back eventually. They have always been pretty
supportive.
Who is the best band in D.C. right now (besides Dame Fate)?
I don’t really know; I’m not shitting my pants over anything.
I support the scene a lot, though.
— interview by Liz Hysen
May 4
DJ Eric John Abboud or DJ BacKTheFuckUp or DJ Monsieur Nobody. Peee-You!
April 25/03
Tonight I boxed all but 50 of my CDs
My old band is playing in a bike shop.
Should I pack a hat?
I feel displaced. Halfway in the middle.
I’ll play you songs for here and there.
50 is still quite a few CDs to be walking around with.
But what hat? Quelle chapeau!
May 11
DJ Control-Alt-Delete
DJ Control-Alt-Delete destroys digital culture through the means of badass,
obscure funk/soul/R&B. A veritable BBQ for the ears.
May 18
DJ Deutsche Als Fremdsprache
Special posthumous DJ set! Variously fined, gaoled, and forced into exile,
DJ DAF was ignored by the art establishment of the day, only to be hailed
in recent years as one of the most outstanding and unique contributions
to post-war art in Europe. Exaggeration and myth still obscure his activities,
however, and his actual motives for an art centred on the examination
of taboos, the “hidden” secrets of the body, the aesthetics
of destruction and the possibilities of regeneration have remained elusive.
Subsequent generations of artists have claimed him as their forefather
or unscrupulously borrowed his ideas (but without approaching the intensity
of his actions), and while international exhibitions have reclaimed his
work for the visual arts, his writings have remained largely unpublished
since they first appeared in small mimeographed editions, or are long
since out of print.
May 25
DJ Steven Venn
Previously postponed, DJ Steven Venn makes good on his promise to bring
the sweetness from his mixed bag of hits.