Guitarist, vocalist and electronic sound artist Matt Smith is best known as a member of Les Mouches, and in some ways he is the low-key foil to Owen Pallett and Rob Gordon's onstage catharsis. His song "Spalding Man" is definitely the one smooth soul jam on You're Worth More To Me Than 1,000 Christians. As an improviser, however, Matt has appeared on stages around town under numerous different monikers. Here he appears as Nifty (sometimes King Nifty or Prince Nifty). Whatever the identity, you know with Mr. Smith that you're going to get free and free-spirited playing, that is also gratifyingly free of pretension.

WITH SO MANY ALIASES TO CHOOSE FROM, NIFTY, JOHN WAYNER, MATT SCHMIDTH... HOW DO YOU PICK WHO'S GOING TO PLAY EACH SHOW? DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE THE KOOL KEITH OF AVANT-ROCK? I like to think that there's a real difference between each title, and there is (generally) a simple distinction: Matt Schmidth (or sometimes, Schitt), is - I suppose - my given name. John Wayner and Nifty, on the other hand, are taken names that mean more or less the same thing, separated only by the number of participants. John Wayner is a lonesome cowboy, and Nifty is never without company. However, this is not by any means, a respected distinction. I am easily confused.

SOMEONE ONCE TOLD ME THAT "IMPROVISING IS NOT A YOUNG MAN'S GAME. DO YOU EVER WISH YOU WERE AS OLD AS DEREK BAILEY? Improvising is more like ringette, it's a young women's game. And there's nothing more serious than ringette. That kind of a statement is usually indicative of a narrow view of improvisation, and also of music. It's similar to someone saying, "improvisation ought to be good." And that is usually followed by comments about taste, and chops and tight pockets. Improvisation can be bad and even more so, almost nothing at all. And still it can be as profound as an intimate evening with the Free Music Ensemble. It's an interaction, and perhaps it needs the patience of the aged, but it also needs to not take itself too seriously.

SOMEONE (ELSE) ONCE TOLD ME YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INFLUENCES GROWING UP WERE JEFF BUCKLEY AND JAMIROQUAI. TRUTH OR FALSEHOOD? I never really listened to much Jamiroquai, but I most certainly adored Jeff Buckley. He's one of those boring iconic traps that are so easy to fall into, like Dave Matthews, Jaco Pastorius, Coltrane and the like. Buckley snatched so many up by pulling at our heartstrings and our sense of the beautiful. Once I got over the beautiful, I got back to the things that fascinated me when I was without heroes as artists: sounds. Maybe I've simply replaced Buckley with Cage. It's possible, I think, to get better with your mistakes.

WILL THE MUSIC SCENE IMPROVE IF EVERYONE JUST FREAKIN' LEARNS TO PLAY THEIR INSTRUMENTS BETTER, OR WILL THAT JUST TAKE THE FUN OUT OF IT? Are you saying I suck? To answer the question, yes (to your question). I don't think we should all crack down and learn our modes and prepare labouriously for our Humber auditions. I do think we should treat our instruments more like material, and we should constantly reinvent the way we play them: break them, modify them, prepare them, challenge them, simplify them, disguise them, affect them.

WHAT WOULD YOUR IDEAL CROWD RESPONSE TO A NIFTY SET BE? Polarization. If everyone's into it, or if everyone hates on me, that's okay too, but I think it's best when there's confusion. If it's too slick or too aggressive, it lingers like burnt popcorn. It becomes another thing, an illusion. But if the wires are hanging out all over the place, the trick is exposed. The process - and in the case of looping, the moment - is exploited, and that's more important than pleasing or displeasing.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TOYS YOU'RE BRINGING DOWN TO WAVELENGTH ON NOV. 7? The toys will be the usual fare: pedals, boards, instruments, but maybe this time, a P.A. system and possibly a few or a bunch of friends and their toys. I'm not sure whether to follow the Nifty guideline or not. Heads yes, tails no... ... ... tails! Whatever, we'll see.

BY JONNY DOVERCOURT