We have it lucky here in Toronto, firstly for our wealth of amazing local music, and secondly for our close proximity to other cities and towns with amazing local music. Sometimes we forget that our brethren in Seattle-North are spawning some amazing things of their own. The Doers, comprised mostly of members of the now defunct STATIONa, are one of the best things to come out of that city since the New Pornographers. Despite the difficulty of getting Vancouver bands to make the trek east, these guys do it willingly and often. Ryan McLaren talked to Sean Maxey about Vancouver, touring, and this whole music thing.

SO, SEAN, TELL ME HOW YOU GOT INVOVLED IN THIS WHOLE "MUSIC" THING.

Well, I was in art school. Ok, before that I was playing the violin in grade one. That lasted until high school when I decided to devote my spare time to drawing. Well, drawing and getting drunk. Then I went to art school for drawing; I don't really know what I expected to learn from art school but I was eighteen. It was at this college that I was reacquainted with Barry, who was attending the jazz program and who grew up roughly 8 or 9 houses away from the house I grew up in in Chilliwack. We became roommates and I tried out for a new band he was starting with some of his schoolmates.

HOW DO YOU LIKE PLAYING IN VANCOUVER? I'VE NEVER BEEN THERE, BUT I'VE MIXED REVIEWS ABOUT THE MUSIC COMMUNITY THERE. WHAT'RE YOU'RE THOUGHTS?

There's lots of good peeps and bands here, and people really started going out to live shows again after a drought in the late nineties. But like other things in our capitalist society, opportunists squeeze the soul out of the culture with the hoohah of their personal gain and revenue-making expectations. And I think that's what's happened, or is currently happening here, manifesting itself in the closure of venues and a general lack of interest with what would normally be the average, music-going public. There are still great shows and other cultural happenings which have moved into more private settings.

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT MOVING?

The Olympics are coming, so yes fuck please.

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT COMING TO TORONTO? WE LOVE STEALING AWESOME BANDS FROM OTHER TOWNS. AND WE'VE ALWAYS GOT ROOM FOR MORE.

Thank you for the invitation. We want to move somewhere else for awhile and that really could be anywhere new. We all want to move.

YOU GUYS WENT THROUGH A LINEUP CHANGE RECENTLY, DIDN'T YOU? WHAT HAPPENED?

A lot of things happened. If you catch me or another Doer drunk enough we might tell you some of the gruesome details. All that matters is that Jerf and us ended our whole thing very amicably, and Barry and I still play with him in our other band. But he is busy with parental duties in Edmonton now.

HAS THIS CHANGED THE WAY THE BAND WORKS?

Well yes, now we have an even representation of both genders. It's nice for Sarah Jane and I not to be the only ladies in the band.

SO YOU GUYS JUST RELEASED A NEW ALBUM. GIVE ME THE SCOOP, IS IT TERRIBLE?

The square answer: "I don't know if we'd release the album if it was terrible". We do have some pride for the work we do. Although, during recording, Barry's answer to having a flubbed note of his challenged was: I don't have to listen to it for the rest of MY life. Another thing we like to say when we lay sloppy bits to tape (or digital hard drive) is "that's how people play together". I don't think the album is terrible; it's the tightest recorded Doers session yet. If you're into that sorta thing - tight. We recorded it the day we returned from a 30-show tour.

AND, SINCE YOUR COMING TO WAVELENGTH, YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY ON TOUR. ANY SHOWS IN PARTICULAR THAT HAVE GOT YOU EXCITED? GOING TO ANY NEW PLACES?

We're playing in the Dada World Data Offices in Winnipeg which is on the third floor above MonDragon. This space used to be the old HQ for the G7 Welcoming Committee and it's their first show there and sounds exciting. We're playing a francophone hardcore show in Montreal which was set up for us by Varge, as they're francophone. We're really excited for our other Toronto show too at the Boat with Ninja High School. We have a day off on Cape Breton to see nature - exciting. We're meeting up with our friends the Peter Parkers in Moncton and the best band ever, in Halifax, called Special Noise. Every show's looking rad this tour. People everywhere really make it easy for us to tour, what with being such a warm welcome and all.

BE HONEST NOW, THE TOURING THING, DO YOU REALLY LIKE IT? I REMEMBER TALKING TO A FRIEND OF A FRIEND IN MONTREAL, AND HE SWORE THAT TOURING MADE HIM HATE MUSIC, AND HE WANTED TO HANG UP THE BASS AND JUST PRODUCE AND MAKE DANCE TRACKS SO HE COULD MAKE MONEY WITHOUT EVER LEAVING HIS HOUSE. HAS THAT THOUGHT EVER CROSSED YOUR MIND?

We don't make much money touring so perhaps we should stay at home and make some money. But we all LOVE touring. It's really fun. We're cheating adulthood. We drive around and sing songs we've written and meet the exact types of people we'd wanna meet. What's wrong with that? I feel very lucky being able to contribute while truly enjoying myself. We work hard too. Sometimes touring IS gruelling.

WHAT STATE IS YOUR VAN IN THESE DAYS? WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY THAT YOU GUYS WILL GET STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PRAIRIES, DO WE?

As of today we got a new van for ourselves. We used to tour in a Mazda minivan and today we upgraded to a 1986 Chevy full-size van we can sleep in and it has a fridge and captain's chairs. It's older but very luxurious for us. We still tour with the econo ethic but now we're a little more taken care of. It's gonna be nice to be able to stretch out.