The
Great Forgetting
Nineteen78
Andrew Vincent
Sonora
Styrohead
The Carnations
Spacecraft 7
Sanseiru
Bartok Guitarsplat
Jack Breakfast
Poppyseed & the Love Explosion Orchestra
The Yoko Casionos
THE
GREAT FORGETTING
WAVELENGTH #70: SUNDAY JULY 1, 11:30pm
Purveyors of:Jazz-inflected post-hardcore
e-mail: thegreatforgetting@hotmail.com
Pictured: Ravi Steve, Silvana Bruni, Paul Schedlich
Who
is The Great Forgetting, what instruments do you play, where are you located,
when did you form, why did the ball get rolling?
We are:
Paul Schedlich - guitar, vocals
Ravi Steve - bass, vocals, dancing
Silvana Bruni - drums, vocals
Paul: We hide out in Toronto. We're all old friends whose lives came crashing
together again with a mutual need. Silvana and I had been jamming for
a while. We had another bass player before but things didn't work out.
I asked Ravi if he wanted to try playing bass with us even though he had
never played bass before. We tried it out, everything clicked, and here
we are two years later.
Paul,
you've already been in a lot of different bands - Two Line Filler, Drop
Forge, Eight Pound Test and probably a bunch more I can't remember. Is
this one "the one"? Or is it just the next step? Or none/all of the above?
Paul: Most of the old bands I was in always involved the same/similar
combination of people. I can look back fondly on all those past projects
and I am still friends with pretty much everyone I ever played music with.
I wouldn't say that this band is a progression in ability or technicality
as much as it is in ideology. I think the way we go about making music
is very different than any of the other projects I have been in. I know
we work in an archaic, tired formula of being a (punk) rock trio but I
would like to think we do something sort of different. With The Great
Forgetting I realize how important art really is to me. We are doing things
slowly and delicately but it is our own way; our art is too dear to us
to do otherwise. I think I see this as the beginning of something long-lasting
and I certainly have the patience for it.
The
Great Forgetting is a pretty prosaic name for a rock band. Is there a
story behind it or does it just sound cool?
Ravi: The name is borrowed from the Daniel Quinn novel Ishmael. It is
a reference to the point in time where the dominant human culture (agriculture)
began insisting that humans were intrinsically agriculturists and forgot
that humanity had existed harmoniously as hunters and gatherers for two
million years prior to this. Quinn points to this point in our history
as the start of the downward spiral that has culminated in the mess we
live in today. That aside, we chose the name as a reference to the ability
music has to take your mind off of the everyday world stuff that kills
our hearts.
How
does where you're from affect what you do?
Paul: Everyday I come home and vow that I'm going to move away. Toronto
can be a cool place to live but I think it has definitely lost its allure
to me over the last couple of years. Generally speaking there is this
mean, greedy, ultra-competitive arrogant attitude, that has become common
throughout many communities. It's becoming a tough place to live in, at
least compared to how it seemed before. Perhaps that is why we are seeing
some great music and art coming from this city recently; it's because
it's out of necessity. I would say living here inspires me though. I live
and exist to spite or just plain disregard all the crap I hate about living
here. I commend the organizers of Wavelength for doing what they do in
a place like this.
Have
you seen those Carlsberg ads that say "you actually get jazz"? If so,
how did you react when you first saw them?
Paul: No we haven't. I think Sil is the only one in our band who really
"gets" jazz. We all love it though. Jazz, not Carlsberg.
Please
give us your two cents' worth on:
a. MP pay raises
Paul: I say we get medieval on their ass(es)! Remind them about the French
Revolution. It's no surprise, they tell people to tighten their belts
while they live like royalty. Those greedy fucks should take a pay cut
and restore all the cuts to education, health care, the homeless crisis,
post-secondary education and the list goes on and on. I can understand
why people are getting violent at protests again because they are frustrated
and see no other viable options.
b.
neutrinos
Ravi: What's a neutrino? Are you asking this because I grew up around
a nuke plant?
c.
Canada Day
Ravi: What's the point? I sometimes admire the patriotism Americans have.
I can just never muster up enough of my own.
Paul: We're playing!
Sil: It's my parent's wedding anniversary.
d.
Sugar Jones
Ravi: What the hell is a Sugar Jones?
Paul: My sister saw them singing in the line-up at the beer store. I guess
nowadays to be a musician it's more important to have six-pack abs and
enhanced anatomy than it is to have a thread of musical talent.
If
(God/Allah/Whoever forbid!) your record collection was stolen and you
had to start again from scratch, what would be the first seven albums
you'd buy/borrow/burn?
Ravi: Although these are not in current rotation right now these are some
all-time faves: Dinosaur Jr.'s You're Living All Over Me, the first Fugazi,
Jawbreaker's 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, the Hoover record, Propagandhi,
Jawbox's For Your Own Special Sweetheart, the Operation Ivy record. I
should say that my computer is the best album of all time.
Paul: That new godspeed record, MC5's Back In The USA, the first Queens
of the Stone Age record, both Juno records, Low's Things We Lost In The
Fire, Miles' Bitches Brew, Jawbox's Novelty. The list would be endless.
Sil: The John Coltrane Impulse Years set (though this is probably cheating),
Nick Drake's Pink Moon, Sunny Day Real Estate's Diary, Jets To Brazil's
Orange Rhyming Dictionary, Shiner's Starless, The Weakerthans' Left And
Leaving, the newest Blonde Redhead.
Without
giving the game away, give us three clues about what you do during the
day (eg. your non-rock'n'roll life).
Ravi: To be or not to be... ah fuck, I think I gave it away.
Sil: Wiping white paw prints off of my floor.
Paul: Would you like fries with that?
What's
next?
Ravi: A CD EP this summer, a show at the Cameron House on July 12th with
more shows to follow. I have a court date on the third and I could use
a haircut when I get some money...
- interview by Jonny Dovercourt
NINETEEN78
WAVELENGTH #70: SUNDAY JULY 1, 10:30pm
Purveyors of: Self-described "wussycore" from Ottawa
e-mail: nineteenseventyeight@yahoo.com
web: www.mp3.com/nineteen78
nineteenseventyeight: factsheet
"rich sonics... with weaving guitar lines and strained, passionate vocals" - Ottawa Xpress, August/00
- the seventyeights got their start in the late winter of 2000 after the dissolution of Capital City emo kids Endgame (Spectrasonic)
- Bryan Curry writes most of the songs, pleads with the mic, and plays the guitar
- John Nash plays the bass and kicks out some harmony
- Scott Terry beats the drum and petitions for closure
- sometime guns for hire, Bryan and Scott also play with Werbo, Slow Parker and the Kelp Records familie, including Andrew Vincent et les Pirates, Rhume and Greenfield Main
- first release, four-song EP, was recorded at home on an 8 track analog tape machine in early Aug. 2000
- with a limited release and sporadic distribution, the EP debuted at #1, August 17, 2000 on CKCU 93.1FM
- it hit #16 on MP3.com's global emo chart last fall and #19 on Ottawa's CKDJ FM top 20 chart in April of this year
- placed first in the 2001 Eastern Ontario New Music Festival
- the first single off the new album, "What It Is You're Looking Back For," hit #1 on April 16th of this year on CKCU
OK.
Do not get mad. Answer the following and enjoy delicious ice cream. Which
era U2 are you (e.g., "Keepin'-It-Real U2" circa Rattle & Hum, or "Elaborate-Stage-Set-Up
U2" circa the 1990s)?
We'd have to say that were definitely coming out of War-era U2... just keeping
it real and down to earth you know, like The Lofters on U8TV. In fact,
we're slowly moving out of our U2 phase, Bryan just got rid of his delay
pedals... but we're really into the hairstyles from those days... even The
Edge had hair, now that shit is for REAL...
The
line between emo and melodic hardcore is a fine line - how is that line
drawn?
That line has
been drawn with many mediums... most efficiently with a crayon. John Cougar
was really the first to fuse the two. Someone recently told me capitalism
is chaos theory in practice...
Used
to be, the kids were important. Where'd they go?
The kids now work for the IT industry... and punk rock has moved to the
mall and the internet. By the way have you seen our website?
Should
the kids of today protect themselves against the '80s?
No way... to know the past is to know the future... the kids should embrace
it... who knows what the world would be like without gems like Red Rider's
"Lunatic Fringe", or Ronnie James Dio's "Caught in the Middle"... or Phil
Collins' entire catalog; it would be a travesty to not acknowledge Phil's
impact... it's no fun being an illegal alien and thanks for the delicious
ice cream.
- interview by Buddy 1078
ANDREW
VINCENT
WAVELENGTH #70: SUNDAY JULY 1, 9:45pm
Purveyor of: Capital City bedroom-community pop
e-mail: info@kelprecords.com
web: www.kelprecords.com
What
is Ottawa like as a place to make music?
It's pretty good. There's a nice little community of bands and musicians
that say "hi" to each other on the street and drink beers once and a while.
You know, it's probably the same as most other places, but because of
a lack of clubs to play at, I think you have to look a little harder for
what's going on. After being in Toronto for NXNE, I developed more of
an appreciation for the Ottawa scene. There were so many people prancing
around with rock hair and those little plastic NXNE passes called "laminates"
that I almost threw up several times. Just watch, I'll probably end up
being one of those people.
Who
are The Pirates?
The Pirates are Scott Terry (drums) and Bryan Curry (bass) who both play
in the band nineteenseventyeight. Scott also plays in about four other
bands. I like the situation I have going on now, which is that sometimes
I play with the Pirates and sometimes I just play by (with) myself. Both
are fun for me in different ways. The Pirates' name came about because
the first time I played with them, we didn't have a name for them and
someone yelled "Who is your band?" and Scott was drunk and he yelled "We're
the Pirates" and that was that. Personally, I think it might be time for
a name change.
Describe
the Kelp universe.
It's a small universe that revolves around a Sun that we call Jon Bartlett.
We have no money, but I think we have some good music, and we have Jon's
willpower, which, as you know, is substantial. I think the Kelp universe
has the power of good at its core. My main evidence of this is that there's
always food in Jon's kitchen, beers in the fridge, old records on the
turntable, something interesting being talked about over drinks, and three
full-size couches to sleep on. These, to me, are good signs. Sometimes
we actually sit down and mail music out to radio stations. Sometimes.
Could
Beaver Tails (a tasty flat fried dough treat found on the canal when it
freezes) be a form of punishment as well as a treat?
You know, I haven't had a Beaver Tail in ages. Probably not since one
of those horrible junior high school trips to Ottawa (I grew up in Burlington).
Every year I forget how many schools come here, I guess to see where that
thing called government happens. Not that the kids seem to care - they
just want to go to buy Beaver Tails or drugs or something. Anyway, every
May, as thousands of kids evacuate tour buses near where I work, I suddenly
remember the school trips. The kids swarm the Beaver Tail stand and make
it impossible to get to your bus stop on time. I guess that's the Beaver
Tail punishment.
What
makes you make music?
I don't know, when it goes well, it feels good. But when it goes badly,
it makes me feel like shit, and I don't want to play for months. I suppose
that the good must outweigh the bad, otherwise I wouldn't still be playing.
I suspect that it has something to do with that whole cathartic artistic
outlet thing, but I'd rather not speculate on that. Maybe it's just an
excuse to go out drinking.
Do
you want to do that "touring Canada" thing?
I don't think my car would make it to Thunder Bay.
What
the hell do you want to talk about?
Home renovation. Income taxes. Schoolyard handball tournaments. My non-existent
cover band, The Douglas Firs. Jonathan Richman. Why my car won't go faster
than 90 km/h. The Magnetic Fields. The Constantines. Advertising. The
high-tech collapse. Politics. Things I read this morning in the newspaper.
Things I heard today on As It Happens. Reasons why I suck at basketball.
Places to eat breakfast. Why when you're drunk and in a strange city,
it's sometimes better to sleep in your car than on someone's couch you
don't know very well. Etc.
Who
are some of your favourite songwriters?
Stephin Merrit, Liz Phair, Jagger/Richards, Stephen Malkmus, Lou Reed.
It changes all the time.
What
is on your turntable/CD/8-track/cassette player right now?
Well, right now The Modern Lovers. Believe it or not, I've only recently
discovered Jonathan Richman. It's been a bit of an epiphany. But then
again, whenever I discover some music that I really like, I kind of do
this revelation thing where it's all I talk about for weeks and then my
smart musical friends get annoyed because they were were all listening
to the same stuff ten years ago. And they're like, "We know. We know."
And I'm like, "Yeah, but it's THE BEST." And then they roll their eyes.
I guess I'm not really a follower of music in that studied sense. Other
recent favourites have been The Magnetic Fields and The Constantines.
I think Three Gut Records has the best stuff going on these days.
- interview by Nora Charles
SONORA
WAVELENGTH #71: SUNDAY JULY 8, 11pm
Purveyors of: "Slogaze with anthemic grit"
e-mail: sonora@sandgazing.com
web: www.sandgazing.com
Background - Jacob of Sonora says the following: Sonora is a desert in Arizona/Nevada. Sonora also means, sound.
Sonora
means "sound"? In another language? What kind of sound, is it qualified?
Specifically, "sonora" is Italian for sonorous," which means: son‡o‡rous.
adj. Having or producing sound. Having or producing a full, deep, or rich
sound. Impressive in style of speech: a sonorous oration. Produced in
the manner of a sonorant. (From dictionary.com).
Your
influences, you say, are important to you. You've listed artists from
Pink Floyd and My Bloody Valentine to The Sea And Cake and Michael Penn.
Our influences are definitely important to us, because we're all very
music-oriented people. We eat, sleep and breathe it. Most of us have been
friends for 10 years, mostly through our common love of music. So naturally,
a lot of our musical tastes evolved together over the years, to the point
where we're all very much into the same music. But as much as we've ever
attempted to emulate any particular sound (which isn't often), we almost
never end up creating anything that sounds like our main influences. I
remember a couple of years ago (back in the Divinity Burst days) someone
telling me we reminded him of My Bloody Valentine. I was like "who?" Yeah,
I know, that's sacrilege to a shoegaze aficionado, but I wasn't into that
kinda thing back then. However, someone mentioning it made me go seek
them out and then I understood. But by then, our sound had changed.
Would
you take it as a compliment if someone came up to you right after a show
and said, "Wow, you're just like Radiohead. They're my favourite band"?
Well, recently someone who listened to our EP likened our sound to U2.
I'm not too sure how happy I was about that, 'cause they're a little too
poppy lately for my taste. But I definitely acknowledge that it's a compliment
to be likened to such skilled crafters of beautiful sound. We have been
compared to Radiohead by Radiohead-junkies whose favourite band is Radiohead,
and don't listen to anyone else. I always smile and thank the person graciously,
just as I would if they compared me to any band that has been considered
influential in pop/rock history. I love Radiohead, but never got hugely
into them the way - say - our singer/guitarist Wil Richardson did. They're
a pretty obvious influence on him, and it works.
There's
a link to Athoos from your website - http://www.mp3.com/athoos
- are there many other side projects? How do they co-exist?
Well, I confess I never know quite all the things up my bandmates' sleeves.
Wil probably has something in the works, 'cause he's a prolific songwriter.
I could say the same of our guitarist, Dana Clow, drummer Shaun Peppy,
trombonist Tovy Paull, and myself. We're entertaining the idea of a jazz
trio, but it's all just ideas right now. Athoos is pretty full-blown though.
Athoos is my outlet for anything that I want to explore from a different
aspect or angle than the Sonora method [albeit, a very, very loose method].
Athoos started out as the Post.script project; the first recording was
a studio EP entitled Drone. All the Divinity Burst boys (DB had just broken
up) were involved (as well as additional players), and they helped me
produce some marvellous music that I had been writing on my own for over
a year. The next incarnation of Athoos is a full-blown album in the works,
that is all completely solo, so it's very different. I have about 30 songs
recorded right now. I have to start editing and decide what's going to
make the final cut. Athoos co-exists pretty well with Sonora because Athoos
is a studio project currently, there is no live aspect to it, and Sonora
is very much about the live aspect.
You
used to be Divinity Burst - http://www.mp3.com/divinityburst
- then you lost your drummer. Describe the changes that resulted from
the new line-up/new name. Is it also a new direction?
Our old drummer was Ozzy Park-Wheeler. He is a tremendously talented all-around
musician, with a hard edge. He liked stuff like Metallica, Sepultura,
and Korn. It made for an interesting dynamic amongst Brit'n'mope lovers
like Dana, Wil and I. He wanted to take things in a more electronica/industrial
direction, I think. In any case, we were together about a year and a half
as Divinity Burst, then we parted with Ozzy amicably, and the band broke.
Wil moved away, briefly coming home to help with the Post.script recordings.
After that, we hooked back up with our original drummer, from our incarnation
before Divinity Burst. "Sonora" was the title of the last DB song we had
been perfecting. We carried it onward as a name to symbolise some sort
of remaining life of what we were, bringing it forth to what we are now.
There
are a million descriptions for slow tempo music with heavily layered multiple
effects. You have said you play "slogaze with anthemic grit." Describe
what you are doing without creating another label. What is involved in
the music making and lyric writing process?
Yes, I do give a name to what we do when people ask, to try and satisfy
and satiate their desire to establish a frame of reference (e.g. "if you
like Radiohead, you might like us," or something like that). But truthfully,
we defy a genre. Not out of any particular desire either way, but probably
only because it's just a secondary or tertiary thought.
You
have also said that concepts and stories are important to you. Explain.
Well, we're all pretty lucky guys. We're well-fed, educated, privileged
people who live in a prosperous first-world country. So, what do we have
to say? We're not huge on world issues. We're not full of philosophical
revelations. We're a little old to be playing up the angsty angle. So
we just tell stories. People love stories. The near-biggest industry in
the world (Hollywood/movies) is all about weaving (mostly fictional) stories,
and we all love it. We eat the stories up. They tell us things about ourselves.
That's probably the quintessential concept at the heart of all our concepts...
that the story will always tell you something about you. And we talk about
girls a lot, 'cause they confuse us the most of all.
- interview by Paddy O'Donnell & V. Tree
STYROHEAD
WAVELENGTH #71: SUNDAY JULY 8, 10pm
Purveyor of: Ambient electro space-rock
e-mail:nebula@connection.com
web: www.mp3.com/styrohead
Pictured: Joe G a.k.a. Styrohead kickin' it at the Ambient Ping
Joe Galifi is Styrohead, an ambient-space-rock producer who follows the
direction of more venturesome material by Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream,
Yes and Klaus SchÄlze. If you consider what electronic music might sound
like if the explosion of the '90s never occurred, then you might get an
approximation of the Styrohead sound, veering closer to more nebulous,
angst ridden territory.
Playing since the age of fourteen, inspired by the likes of Alex Lifeson, it is in the last few years that Galifi's musical direction was sucked into the vortex of space rock. His sound was further inspired and refined in the year 2000, by attending and participating in the Ambient Ping series (www.theambientping.com) then held in Kensington Market. There Galifi met and collaborated with like minded musicians such as Michael Rockwood (Zoe Bliss), dreamSTATE, Ping founder Arnold Sprogis (Random Act) and ambient turntablist DJ Synapse - not to mention his numerous guest spots on the ambient show Sound:Escapes (www.1groove.com). This vibe cultivated the drive to cast the Styrohead sound further into the unknown, where he released his dark debut album Life After Time. Instead of journeying to and exploring uncharted galaxies like his influences, Styrohead's warp engines got stuck, careening him endlessly through the cosmos.
By day Galifi works for a well-known music store, which affords him intimate knowledge of synthesis, a major proponent of the Styrohead sound. On an interesting note, Terry Brown, the producer of Rush, bequeathed to him a computer which created part of the synthesis the band used during their epic era - the 70's, which provides the aged hull for this lost spacecraft.... You can listen to the sounds of Styrohead at www.mp3.com/styrohead or order through nebula@connection.com.
- I. Khider
THE
CARNATIONS
WAVELENGTH #72: SUNDAY JULY 15, 11pm
Purveyors of: Brit-tastic guitar pop
Spot the new drummer who happens to be the guy from Starling!
e-mail: thecarnations@hotmail.com
web: www.thecarnations.com
Your
"disco-graphy" says you guys had your first release in '97. Where did
you come from and where are you going? You may answer with band history
and future if you like.
Thom and I (Steve) have actually been together since 1995. It's a twisted
relationship; we read each others minds. Nathan has been here since '96
and, in keeping with rock tradition, we've been through many drummers.
Ian is our latest. I don't know where we're going. I suppose the journey
is the reward. We are going to keep writing the best songs we can and
kickin' ass live, and hopefully people dig it.
You
guys played a gig with my band over a year ago and I remember you took
yourselves pretty seriously. Do you still? If so, why?
I don't think we take ourselves seriously so much as taking the band seriously.
We take a lot of pride in our group as players and artists. We're not
afraid of going for broke on stage every time. Maybe we just haven't learned
how to make it look easy yet.
In
The Carnations' website diary, you mention that playing with The Mahones
went "way smoother" than you thought it would. 'Splain.
They were recording a live album and we had to use a bunch of their gear,
and they wanted it left a certain way. Also, we didn't know what to expect
from their cultish crowd. As it happens, though, drunk people will dance
to anything!
What's
the most peculiar dream you can remember that you can share with Wavelength
readers, and were there any catamarans, caterpillars, kazoos or carcasses?
Funny you should ask. I once had this dream where I was riding on a catamaran
having an impromptu jam with the members of Carcass, when I found a caterpillar
cocooning in my kazoo.
The
Carnations played Rancho Relaxo for NXNE this year. How'd it go and did
Beatle Bob dance for you again like he did last year?
We did not play NXNE this year! (Mandylion found a flier for last year's
NXNE showcase in the CD case - leading-flock-astray ed.) Or maybe the
other guys did and I wasn't invited, sniff... We chose not to play any thousand-band-smorgasbords
this year. I wish more attention was paid to the really undiscovered acts,
and the bands had more control over how their show is set up. I'd rather
play something like Fantastic! in Windsor, where the festival is all about
the bands playing live. Most of the proceeds go to the bands, too. That's
more helpful than a panel on Napster and MP3s.
Choose
your own adventure: Some people say bicycles are the best way to travel
because you don't miss much along the way, as opposed to teleportation.
'Course, plenty of trippy stuff happens through that journey too. What's
your favourite method of transportation, where will it take you and with
whom?
I believe I would like to travel through the Great Smokey Mountains on
a tandem bike with Dennis Simpson of Polka Dot Door fame. We'd pack a
box full of sandwiches and ride from sunrise to sunset, stopping to pick
wildflowers and meet girls from the towns we pass through. As the sun
would set, Dennis would build a fire, and I would strum my flat top, singing
songs of yesteryear. And as night fell, we'd lay back and look up at the
stars, and dream about building robot versions of ourselves from Radio
Shack parts. Ah, yes, Radio Shack. Goodnight Dennis, wherever you are.
- interview
by Mandylion
SPACECRAFT
7
WAVELENGTH #72: SUNDAY JULY 15, 10pm
Purveyors of: Post-punk garage psychedelia
e-mail: mfedak@yorku.ca Note:
This show is Spacecraft 7's CD release. So buy one.
Spacecraft 7 were such a welcome surprise when I first saw them last July at Wavelength. Here was a band that was equal parts punk energy, spacy headfuck and intellectual abstraction all rolled into one. What was so refreshing is that they didn't seem to take themselves too seriously and just wanted to rock the place down. Spacecraft 7 specialize in surprises, whether it's a major line-up overhaul or the occasional muted, almost folky performance. They will be gracing the Wavelength stage again on the occasion of the release of their debut eight-song CD. I say we need more songs about art movements, old video-game technology and cars driven into the ground, dammit! Spacecraft 7 have managed to keep such an air of mystery about what they do that they're forced to answer Smokey's "teenbeat" questionnaire. Singer/guitarist Marc Fedak was my victim:
What
does "Spacecraft 7" mean?
The name was Bill's idea. He likes space-rock (Hawkwind, Magma, etc.)
and Spacemen 3 a lot, and is a big aficionado of the technology of space
exploration. If we were being as logical as Dr. Spock, we'd be called
"Spacecraft 4", but I personally like the baffling inconsistency. If we
ever get around to putting out another CD, we'd have the four band members
pictured on the cover with the other three being glowing, vaguely human
shaped masses, like when the crew of the USS Enterprise were about to
be beamed down to another location.
On
the kitchen wall of a certain T.O. rock landmark it says "Spacecraft 7
- cock rock without the chicks". Discuss.
Good eye. A little bit of self-deprecating humour on our part, though
congruent with fact. You've probably heard of the saying "sex, drugs 'n'
rock'n'roll"... Well, we can verify that being in a band has exposed us
to plenty of the last two; but as for sex, none of us can claim to have
gotten lucky with women - at least not due to our Spacecraft activities.
A brief
Spacecraft 7 history, please.
Turbulent. Almost, but never quite getting airborne. But seriously, Bill
and I used to play in a band called Groundwater when we both lived in
Windsor, Ontario. When we both moved to Toronto in the mid-1990s, we decided
to continue playing together as a duo. After a few failed attempts to
involve other friends, we ended up recruiting Stephen Dohnberg (now of
White Star Line) as bassist/manager, and Domenic Coletta as drummer. For
roughly a year, from the fall of 1999 to the fall of 2000, we managed
to play a lot of shows locally and in Hamilton, Buffalo and Windsor. Around
this time, we also finished our CD, which we started two years earlier.
(For intergalactic travellers, we're pretty slow.) But since September
2000 to the present, we were not only bumped out of our long-time practice
space on Richmond, we've also been plagued with personnel changes, with
Domenic and Steve leaving in short succession. Fortunately, Davin Goudie,
whom we initially recruited as a keyboardist, has proven to be equally
proficient on drums, and within the last two weeks, David Lynch of the
folk-influenced band aitii maa (not to be confused with the psychosis-influenced
film director, we assume - warm beer ed.), has offered to fill in on bass,
at least for the time being.
The
first record you ever bought. Be honest.
I'm old enough that my formative years occurred before the advent of the
CD. My first 45 RPM single either was "Disco Inferno" by the Trampps (a
little embarrassing, but the lead vocalist was gritty) or "Conquistador"
by Procol Harum (still one of my favourites), and I'm not ashamed to admit
that my first album was by the Electric Light Orchestra, probably New
World Record. Bands or records that have influenced you greatly but few
would guess. I'm not a good judge of how transparent our influences are,
so I'll list all our influences I can think of whether or not they are
obvious: the early Who, the Buzzcocks, Hawkwind, early Pink Floyd, The
Velvet Underground and Sloan. Sometimes you can see The Grateful Dead,
Sonic Youth, Neil Young, and early '70s Miles Davis influences in Bill's
playing. Less obvious influences for me include minimalist classical music,
world music (especially from West Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans),
and progressive rock from the '70s. Bands or records that influenced you
greatly but you're sick of everybody mentioning. A lot of people who've
rated the two songs we have on the garageband.com site seem to think we
sound like The B-52s and Devo. While I admire some of the less commercial
stuff that both bands have put out, we're somewhat baffled that they see
us as more of a new wave band, whereas I think we owe much more to '60s
and '70s rock.
Any
great Spacecraft 7 inebriation stories?
Believe it or not, our new bassist David doesn't drink alcohol. Bill has
only the occasional glass or two of wine, I haven't drank to excess in
years, and Davin seems to have put his alcoholism behind him after leaving
the High School Hookers. Bill, Davin and I smoke though, but pot doesn't
really make you do anything crazy like alcohol does. Yet another reason
for decriminalization of marijuana.
Plans
for the future.
As they say at AA meetings, we're just taking things day by day for the
time being. Due to the recent departure of Steve Dohnberg, we've been
focusing solely on getting sufficiently prepared for the Wavelength gig.
That will give us an idea of whether or not we should book more shows
for the summer or wait a few months and further consolidate the new line-up.
We may also decide to do some self-produced lo-fi recordings of our more
recent material over the summer; we have a backlog of songs from the last
two years that never made it onto our debut CD, and plus, we'd like to
put some impressionistic, experimental jams on tape in a more relaxed
setting than when playing live or recording in a professional studio.
(If anyone has an empty barn in the country that we can borrow for a few
weekends to do some recording, please let us know.)
- interview
by Smokey Campbell
SANSEIRU
WAVELENGTH #73: SUNDAY JULY 22, 11:30pm
Purveyors of: Pummelling prog-punk
e-mail: sanseiru@home.com
Sanseiru is a four-piece rock machine out of the
Forest City (London, Ont.) whose live shows and recordings are not unlike
a punch to the gut. Fans of Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi and Shellac, we're
talking to you. After laying low for a couple of years, the Sanseiru squad
are poised to spread sonic shellfire across the province once again.
Who
survives the coup?
Only the meek shall inherit the earth.
What's
the first thing to change once Sanseiru is in charge?
The ruthless destruction of the music industry. The independents will
be given control. The remaining former leaders and countless minions of
this diseased industry will be interned and forced to press seven-inches
for 5 cents a day in indie-rock sweatshops. They will also be denied the
basic necessities of life until they sign a confession stating that the
industry was solely based on payola with only a token consideration to
talent.
How
can I serve Sanseiru in the new world?
Sanseiru will serve you.
Early
'80s or early '90s?
Sanseiru is not bound by this shallow and linear temporal definition.
Sanseiru exists at all points, at all times. We are a sonic quantum singularity.
Kill
'em all or what?
M ake 'em pay first!
- interview by Buddy 1078
BARTOK
GUITARSPLAT
WAVELENGTH #73: SUNDAY JULY 22, 10:30pm
Purveyor of: Acoustic electro-psychosis
web:www.planeleven.com
Bartok Guitarsplat is a unique musical entity, the
alter-ego of Calgary's Rodney "Guitarsplat" Brent. Fusing the disparate
worlds of acoustic roots music and experimental improv, the music of Bartok
Guitarsplat has been colourfully described as "acoustic electro-psychosis,"
"hypno shock psycho mantra," and "a nine-way collision between noise-rock,
new age, experimental, goth rock, psychedelia, country-blues, and virtually
every marginal subgenre of the past thirty years." Brent spent the late
'80s and early '90s in Toronto, and was a regular on the Elvis Mondays
stage. He also recorded and released over 50 limited-edition cassettes
on his own Anonymous Audio label (including the infamous Draculasplat)
before returning to his hometown in early '96. Brent returns to Toronto
this month for his first shows here in six years, to celebrate the release
of his first CD, As The Universe Unfolds, on Plan Eleven records. The
Canadian Op caught up with Bartok Guitarsplat by phone to find out what's
been up...
You've
moved back to Calgary after a long stretch in Toronto, and it sounds like
you've been as busy as ever with your music and art. How are things going
out there, and what have you been working on lately?
Calgary's an OK town, but it's so-so when it comes to the music and art
scene. Lately, I've been mostly working on writing songs and making artwork.
I've been painting a lot, and creating what some people have called "psychedelic
junk art." I'm doing some singer/songwriter stuff - I've got about 25
songs, some darker, weird acoustic songs. I've also started up The New
Beatles again, a group I had with Brad Kostynuik in Toronto back in '89
or so, which is a bit more accessible. We've been playing quite a bit.
You
released an incredible amount of music on indie cassettes. Is your Anonymous
Audio label still going?
That label was essentially an outlet for ideas I came up with and recorded
on my four-track, as well as live recordings of improvised drone music.
I'm not really doing it anymore, but I have slowly been archiving a whole
whack of CDs, so I'm hoping to release some limited CDs of that material.
Your
infamous Draculasplat tape was re-released on CD-R by Plan Eleven, and
I hear that you're going to be continuing the project.
I'm going to be working on a new version of Draculasplat when I'm in Toronto.
I want to break the Dracula story into some of the prominent scenes that
happen in Dracula and vampire films: the ship, the brides of Dracula,
the stake, the bite... it's like a vampire stew! The music will be more
calculated, to define the dialogue, more sequenced and less dischordal,
although it will still have alot of "splat-ness" to it.
What
can we expect from B.G. live in 2001?
Part of the direction I'm going in is combining Guitarsplat music with
some singer/songwriter stuff. What seems to work really well is mixing
up some instrumental music, a droney piece with spoken word, and a song
or two. I work with a stop-watch now when I do improvised pieces, because
there is the danger of them going on too long. Now I condense them into
4-5 minute Guitarsplat pop songs!
JACK
BREAKFAST
WAVELENGTH #73: SUNDAY JULY 22, 9:45pm
Purveyor of: Witty tales of heartache and subway stations
e-mail: things@jackbreakfast.com
web: www.jackbreakfast.com
Your
lyrics seem to read like stories. Are they about real people, real drama,
real things?
I guess they're a combination of memories and real things, but they're
also fantasies and daydreams, things like that. Maybe they're just quick
tiny stories that come in and out of each other, and maybe some of it's
just autobiography, but I don't know, it's hard to talk about this without
sounding like a pretentious chump. They're just little stories, and if
someone can listen to a line and feel good, or sad, or hopeful, or any
of those things, then that's good news as far as I'm concerned.
Describe
your perfect breakfast and/or breakfast nook.
I like eggs. Scambled eggs. Bacon is nice too. Good strong coffee, maybe
potatoes and toast. But if I could eat it anywhere, it'd be in a small
kitchen with music playing and sun coming in through the window and somebody
nice across the table from me. After breakfast, you can read the paper
and smoke.
Your
Eglinton West 'hood seems to hold significance within your aesthetic,
even making it to the cover of your recent Rock and Roll Album. Do you
feel like commenting on this?
Eglinton Avenue isn't a good street, but I like it anyhow. It's where
I've lived all my life. I particularly love Eglinton West station, the
way it looks when you watch it from the bridge a couple streets north
of there. With the sun going down and with cars on both sides, it's really
a pretty little piece of Toronto. I'm in a start-up street gang called
the Dukes of Eglinton, and me and Lucius and Sugarloaf spend a good deal
of time strutting the neighbourhood streets. It's just where I come from,
and it's boring and lacks character, but it's what it is, and it's okay
by me.
Tell
us a story about a day in the life of a booksleuth.
Sometimes when I get excited I pretend I'm a real sleuth instead of just
a booksleuth. But usually what happens is I get in my mother's blue Pontiac
Sunbird and drive on various highways to dusty places, and root around
through bins and shelves for the books that I will turn into money, all
this to finance my musical dreams and to buy things. Any given day is
usually divided between these dusty suburban bookstores, and the post
office, and my computer. The post office where I go has got this clerk
there who can correctly stamp and label packages faster than anyone. She's
practically a genius. But she can never understand why I'm always in there
with so many packages. Where are they all going, I'm sure she wonders.
Your
first LP was made in the comfort of obscurity, while the second was made
after you made all the rock critics in town fall in love with you. Did
this affect the creation of LP#2 at all?
That's funny! And untrue! You're crazy! I don't know if I'd call obscurity
comfortable, it's not like good shoes or anything. I guess maybe more
people will hear this new album than the first one, but no, this alleged
"falling in love" theory of yours didn't affect the creation. The only
thing is I saved up more money for this new one and took a little more
time. But thanks for saying that people fell in love with me, only is
it true?
Name
six essential things.
A powerful floor tom, open ears, winter boots, respect, ruckus and spaghetti.
I'm serious.
Do
you have any final words of wisdom to impart to the readers of Wavelength?
I would recommend not making any promises you don't intend on keeping,
and also to rock it, rock it, just a little bit every day. That one is
very important. But then again, you probably shouldn't listen to people
with weird phony names. But do rock it. Go to it, sugarplums!
- interview by Jonny Dovercourt
POPPYSEED
& THE LOVE EXPLOSION ORCHESTRA
WAVELENGTH #74: SUNDAY JULY 29, 11pm
Purveyors of: Neo-hippie psychedelic excess
Pictured: Mainman Steve Poppyseed exiting a limo with a cropped-out Gene
Hughes (sorry, Gene)
Steve Poppyseed was the pioneer behind indie-rock on Sunday nights, paving the way for the Wavelength series we enjoy today. He was the force behind the legendary (in Doc Pickles' mind at least) Sedated Sundays at the El Mocambo, which had their heyday in the mid-to-late 90's. In those days, Steve was the only person in the city who would let Doc near a stage. Here is Steve being interviewed by Doc, then briefly by a waitress, and ultimately by Folk Festival Massacre's Alastair McLeod.
Doc: We'll go fast,
I have to meet Alastair in half an hour.
Steve: Oh Duncan, you have no tape recorder. Are you from the Lenny Stoute
school of journalism?
Doc:
I've tried doing email interviews before and they don't work as well.
Steve: Interviews by text are kind of lame because they can check every
letter of every word.
Doc: The interviewee has too much control over what they say.
Steve: What was great about doing an interview with Stoute was that what
he printed was never what you said, but it was always cool anyway. What
he claimed was said during the interview was often cooler than the actual
interview.
Waitress: Would
you like beer?
Doc: Yeah, I'll have the apricot.
Waitress: Apricot
ale.
Steve: What else have you got?
Waitress: (Lists a number of beers from a list she knows by heart)
Steve: I'll have the McAuslin Stout. (Waitress leaves)This
place could do well with some plants. (Steve and Doc discuss the merits
of plants on patios, which has no real bearing on the interview).
Waitress: Here
is your beer.
Steve: Thank you. (Waitress leaves again) I always try to be polite when
I'm not overly concerned about being too self-absorbed. So you didn't
think of any questions in advance, did you?
Doc: I never like to think too much. Takes me off my game. You always
find out more about people by accident anyway. How's your stout?
Steve: Oh it's excellent. So are we supposed to talk about Wavelength
or Sundays or anything like that?
Doc: Yeah, I
wanted to talk about Sedated Sundays. Did you realize while it was going
on how significant it was?
Steve: I never considered it being significant but I enjoyed putting on
all sorts of different mediums of entertainment. I considered Sedated
Sundays to be mind control entertainment experiments because we had bands
and films and all sorts of different things going on. Maybe the pyromaniac
experiment on the second floor wasn't such a good idea in retrospect,
when we almost burned the place down.
Doc: This is
the second interview in this issue of the zine where somebody talks about
almost burning a club down.
Steve: I was running around trying to stamp out little fires on the stage.
Doc: That's
very responsible. Putting out the fires, I mean. Are Sedated Sundays done
for good?
Steve: I never did a final one, so I guess that leaves it open...
Doc: What can
we expect from your Wavelength show?
Steve: A ten-tonne truck full of bricks hitting a wall.
Doc: A brick
wall?
Steve: Just a wall.
Doc: Sort of
the immovable object versus the irresistible force type of thing?
Steve: We've got to finish our record.
Doc: Cool.
Steve: Either that or maybe we just have to get it started.
Doc: Where do
you start when you write a song?
Steve: I have no idea or I'd start more songs. I'm not very prolific.
The songs I put out, I actually like.
Doc: Prolific's
overrated anyway.
Steve: But we still give hail to both Guided by Voices and Neck.
Doc: They're
called Christiana now. We're both so old school.
Steve: What's Jonathan's band? Kid Sniper? Dean's becoming a real smokin'
drummer.
Doc: What makes
a good live show?
Steve: For me, I guess it's multi-faceted entertainment. People today
are not into using mixed media anymore. I'm getting a bit tired of going
to shows and feeling like I'm watching children playing with their toys
in the name of art.
Doc: Fucking
right on. It's not art-rock if people get bored watching it. Does any
self-respecting artist really intend to bore people?
Steve: I think it's more a case of people trying to do experimental music
with no real thought behind it, just for the sake of being experimental.
Doc: We're going
to rub a lot of failed artists the wrong way, but perhaps that's what
makes this interview "art"?
Steve: No, I think this interview is pure prima-donna-ship. Hey Al.
Alastair: Hey.
May I join you?
Doc: Yeah, I was just heading off to join you.
Steve: We just mentioned Neck in our interview.
Alastair: Oh, that'll end up on the cutting room floor. What else are
you talking about?
Doc: Art.
Steve: We just talked about prima-donna-ship in interviewing.
Doc: Hey, Alastair was the first person I interviewed.
Alastair: One of the first people you interviewed. So when are you guys
playing Wavelength?
Steve: July 29.
Alastair: I'm going to be in Winnipeg for a family reunion.
Steve: Oh, Winter-peg. That's a cool place. I'm just going to go knock
on Gene's door. I'll be back in a minute.
Alastair: Is
Gene in Poppyseed?
Doc: No I don't think so, but he was in a supergroup with Steve at the
Ramones tribute. Their version of "Rock'n'Roll High School" was the highlight
of the night.
Steve returns; Gene
was not home. Steve finishes his stout and heads north on his bike. A
minute later Gene passes Doc and Al on the patio, and greets them with
a simple wave of the hand, just as a man who has just been woken from
a deep sleep by a knock on the door would greet a passer-by.
THE
YOKO CASIONOS
WAVELENGTH #74: SUNDAY JULY 29, 10pm
Purveyors of: Pop-rockin' goodness - with no Casios in sight
Pictured: Sibling rockers Misty and Chad Reid
The
Yoko Casionos are:
Chad Reid - bass and vox
Misty Reid - guitar and vox
Juice - drums
What
is the definition of rock?
Misty: Led Zeppelin. It's just a bunch of "Aah's" and "Hhm's" and that's
it.
Chad: I'd have to say soul. Soul and a lot of fun.
Do
you enjoy playing in front of a live audience?
Juice: I absolutely would just rather play to the mirror. That's what
I grew up doing, why change it?
Chad: Definitely. If you don't enjoy playing in front of a live audience
you shouldn't be doing it.
Misty: I love playing in front of a live audience. It's something I've
just been getting more and more used to. I haven't played in front of
audiences for as long as the other guys but I'm learning how to be more
at ease in front of one. I do look down at my guitar too much but I'm
learning not to.
Surely
you've played in front of a crowd that just doesn't get what it is you're
getting at.
Chad: Of course. When that happens it basically makes you strive harder
to make them understand and appreciate what you're doing. And if they
don't get it, fuck 'em.
Juice: Just carry on. You've got to just pretend that they're liking it,
because you don't want to let your guard down and show that you've been
defeated. It's hard to get around; if you're not getting anything from
the audience, it makes it hard to get it out there. Hopefully if we're
doing our job right, it won't turn out that way. Hopefully in a crowd
of 100 there's at least two people who are digging it and hopefully there
will be two people next time.
How
many years experience do you have in this field?
Chad: I'm 23 and I started when I was about sixteen, so seven years I
suppose.
Juice: I was playing before that, but I started doing proper gigs and
recordings since at least the late '80s. It's a bit different for Misty
and Chad, because I've got seven years on them but they keep me young.
They keep me feeling like what I felt like when I still was in my early
20s.
Where
was your first gig?
Juice: It was in my classroom when I was in grade 5. We were called ZUES,
and I cut the letters out of construction paper and stuck them on the
kick drum. We didn't have a bass so the bass player used his brother's
Strat and just played the top string. We only did two songs. We did Joan
Jett's "I Love Rock'n'Roll" and the theme to Flash by Queen. It was Sean
Dean from The Sadies' little brother who was in my first band. It was
a good attempt at a first show.
Misty: In Vancouver, opening for The Dandy Warhols. I played guitar with
another band to get experience on stage. I learned their songs in seven
hours and then two days before the show. They were called Pretty Human.
That was in 1996.
Chad: It was at an after hours party in Vancouver at a place called Deepspace.
It was about 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. When do you think after hours
shows start? About 2 or 3? It was really late. It could have been four.
Was
the audience completely wasted?
Chad: Yeah, and I was really nervous. It was my first time playing in
front of a live audience, so I didn't move. I just stood there and played.
And we were so good we got invited back the next night. So they really
must have been wasted.
Do
you have any references?
Chad: Bands like Destroyer and The New Pornographers. Destroyer just released
a new album. If you don't have it I suggest you get it, it's really cool.
It's called Streethawk: A Seduction. It's not for everybody, but I think
his voice is amazing. I can't get enough of it, but I could understand
why people wouldn't like his voice at the same time. If they don't, fuck
them.
Juice: The new Destroyer record, I'm having trouble putting anything else
on, I have it glued to the turntable. It's never going to come off.
Misty: I love it! I don't have a choice not to like it. Juice plays it
24-7. I didn't really get it at first but now I can't get enough of it.
Do
you enjoy photocopy work?
Chad: No I don't like photocopy work. (In Manchester accent) I fuk'n hait
it.
Misty: That's how we started doing our posters, just cutting stuff out
of papers, cut and paste. That's how we all started before all of this
new technology. I'm sort of just learning about technology now. So yeah,
I like photocopy work.
What
is your opinion of up-sizing the order?
Chad: As long as you don't mind polluting yourself with pig fat and poisoning
your shell with grease then I guess it's cool.
Misty: I would have asked for fries with that if I wanted fries with that.
They're just doing their job.
Have
you ever played in a band with a better drummer than Juice?
Chad: The answer would be no but I have played with drummers who are amazing
in different ways.
Misty: Chad and I learned to play drums from our dad. My dad's a pretty
good drummer but I haven't really played with anyone better than Juice.
- interview
by Doc Pickles