The lifespan of a band is a short, bittersweet one. Play some shows, record some songs and release an album. Tour for a year or two, record some new shit and start all over again. Eventually, most bands run out of steam and move on with life: go to school, get a job, work your ass off, go your own way. Lucky for us, the boys in North of America haven't let their flame die just yet. Although separated by vast distances and various obligations, they still manage to find within them the spark that made playing music in the first place so enjoyable. Mike Perreault wrote some questions on an e-boomerang and threw it in NoA's Mark Mullane's direction, who sent it back with answers scrawled across it's curved cyber-wings.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE HEARD FROM THE NORTH OF AMERICA CAMP. WHAT THE HELL HAS BEEN GOING ON?
Yeah, it's been a little over two years since our last official show. Actually that's a lie; we just played our first show as a reunited band on August 30th in Halifax. Before that we played a couple of one-off Christmas holiday shows. But a lot has happened in those two years. I moved to Toronto for job reasons, Mark moved to Vancouver to pursue a law degree at UBC, and Mike and Jim are still in Halifax where they formed a new band called The Holy Shroud and put out a record this year. We all really missed the band and we decided it was worth it to give things another shot, and so far so good. We've written six new songs and we're all really excited about them and the upcoming tour.

HOW ARE THE SHOWS IN THE EAST COAST DIFFERENT FROM THE ONES IN LARGER CENTRES IN CENTRAL CANADA?
I think shows will always be exciting for younger people in the east because we don't get the usual band traffic like Toronto or Montreal. I remember how special it was to see Blonde Redhead and Lou Barlow at the first Halifax Pop Explosion or how fun it was when we drove 15 hours to see bands like Pavement, Polvo, and Archers of Loaf, I mean, I don't think that I necessarily had a unique experience seeing those bands as a teenager, but it was unique that we had to drive so far to see them. That's why when people make that effort and drive any distance to see us, we go out of our way to say thank you to them.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE/HATE ABOUT PLAYING IN TORONTO?
It's only love for me, I didn't move here because I hated it. We have so many friends here that it always felt like a homecoming of sorts, and our shows here have always been well attended and fun. This time around it's going to be totally different since I live here. We can finally have the luxury that most Ontario bands have always had: the ability to drive an hour, play a show, and then drive home. My house will probably be North of America HQ for a week when we play all our Ontario shows, that and NY Subway for the majority of the meals. Actually, I haven't had one NY Sub since I moved here last year, so it must be a tour thing for me.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN TO THE LIVE MUSIC SCENE NOW THAT GASOLINE PRICES HAVE GONE ALL NUTSO?
Ticket prices for shows might go up, but that seems to have been happening for a long time now. I'm a firm believer, if you are a local band, you should never charge at home what you would in other cities. But as for the gas prices, there's nothing anyone can do about it, so I try and not think about it.

IF EACH OF NORTH OF AMERICA'S MEMBERS WERE STAR WARS CHARACTERS, WHO WOULD THEY BE?
I look like Luke Skywalker a little bit, but I'm going to refrain from commenting on my band mates Star Wars look-a-likes, if that's ok. I will say though, that we like that (Smog) song "I Am Star Wars!" That's good jam.