Sometimes you just want to hear that kind of filthy rock that reminds you of 40 proof binges and dirty, piss-covered bathroom floors. It's hard to admit, but sometimes the gutter has the warm and comforting embrace of an old friend as we find ourselves face up in it from time to time. It is a strongly held position and like with all aspects of life, alcoholism and cheap sex should most certainly have their very own soundtrack. Ergo, we have Basement Arms. These boys conjure up the kind of back alley hijinks that give 4am behind some dingy bar an epic, dramatic quality akin to any sweeping period piece. After drinking his weight in JD, befriending a couple of trannies, spitting out a couple teeth and breaking some glasses, Matt Thomas broke out his Slurr-cyclopedia and cozied up to Basement Arms before passing out in a pile of his own enjoyment.

NAME/INSTRUMENTS/FAVOURITE PLACES TO MAKE LOVE

Dwight Schenk: vocals, guitar, mandolin, percussion, MC-505, harmonica, toys, drums. Ummm... in de butt.
Jay Haddow: bass, vocals... ceiling.
Chris Eakins: Rhodes, percussion, drums, guitar, dulcimer, toys, vocals... outdoors.
Brian Lahaie: drums, percussion, marimbas, toys... bed.

STARTING OUT AS A JAM BAND IS SOMETIMES THE ROOT OF PURE GENIUS. HOW DOES "JAM" FACTOR INTO BASEMENT ARMS?

Almost every song we play was born out of a jam session. We record everything when we jam, and review it like a sports team would review a video tape. For the fun of it, we also make unofficial albums out of every jam session, complete with album cover. We have 27 "albums" to date. When we listen back, we listen to the potential of the song in its infancy. If something gets us excited, and fits into a style we want to explore, we'll work on it more. Sometimes a song needs a lot of work, sometimes it is an adult in its infancy.

SO, BASEMENT ARMS... PLEASE GIVE US THE FOUR-ELEVEN ON THIS INTERESTING MONIKER.

We started out jamming in my old house. It had a basement that we turned into a studio/rehearsal space. When I moved out of there, I moved into an apartment building called "The Windsor Arms". So around that time, the transition time, those unofficial albums that we make were under the name "The Basement Arms experiments". Ta-dah!

IT SEEMS THAT THE BOYS OF BASEMENT ARMS ARE TIGHT WITH THE MAN HIMSELF, THE DEVIL. HOW DO YOU AND OR HOW SHOULD WE APPEASE HIM MUSICALLY?

He's not picky. His only thing is that he doesn't want to hear any songs that remind him of his childhood. Which is tough, '˜cuz he doesn't say what those things are. We are tight. I think he's misunderstood. A victim of some bad press.

IF YOUR MUSIC WAS TO SERVE ONE PURPOSE IN IT'S AFFECT ON THE LISTENER WHAT WOULD THAT BE AND WHY?

To feel okay being dirty. I'm going to scream out shit, and we're going to play songs about crap, and it's gonna get all over you, and that's cool. The good and the bad live together in harmony. The clean and the dirty can too.

IN AN EFFORT TO PIN DOWN A DESCRIPTION OF YOUR STYLE, I CAN ONLY COME UP WITH A PERVERTED MIX OF TOM WAITS, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, AND ZAPPA. PLEASE GIVE US ANOTHER LESS RECORD-STORE-KID INTERPRETATION OF YOUR STYLE IN THE FORM OF A SMALL POEM AND OR SONNET.

A place to be in winter we
take ground that hard and bitter sound
ride trike and bike in red we like
a tit and sit on piles of shit

(I'm no poet, but take the last word of every line)

IF BASEMENT ARMS WAS AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE, WHERE WOULD IT BE SERVED, WHAT WOULD IT CONTAIN, AND HOW EXACTLY WOULD ITS SHITFACING QUALITIES PLAY OUT?

Served: The streets of Toronto
Contains: Milk, Gin, Tequilla, half shot of Keith's, and coffee.
Shitfaced Qualities: A desire to dance like a blade of grass at the bottom of a river (all swirvey like). A desire to sing like Ace Ventura's landlord. A desire to quit your job. And a desire to fuck, not make love.

EXACTLY HOW FILTHY ARE YOU REALLY?

We bathe/shower frequently. But it's not enough.

IN ONE OF YOUR SONGS YOU TALK ABOUT GETTING "DRUNK ON THE SHINE OF HER MOON". HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN, AND WHERE EXACTLY CAN I FIND THIS AREA?

As for where, it's different on all girls but the effect is always the same. Or it isn't. That's not an answer? (Why the question mark?) Who are you? You don't know me. I'm going to show you who's a dick. See? Wanna make something of it? Ohhh, you're awezome.
I'm coming over theerre nd bleeding murphy... you want to? That's how girls make me feel....

WHEN I THINK OF YOUR LIVE SHOW, I THINK WHISKEY, GIRLS, SMALL CIRCUS FOLK IN HATS, AND FREAK OUTS. HOW WILL YOU FRIGHTEN THE WAVELENGTH AUDIENCE WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE?

It's like you've seen our live show without us. If it's a frightened audience you want.... I've been told by quite a few people that I scare them, so we'll probably just do what we always do. My secret is to make super intense wide-eyed faces. The small circus folk do the rest. (Mostly with little buzzers on their hands.)