I Heart the Music: Your Online Source for Live Music Reviews and Interviews in Toronto!

The Weakerthans need no introduction- they have become a staple in any true Canadian music lovers repertoire. Hailing from Winnipeg, iheartthemusic were able to grab a few minutes with Stephen Carroll to talk about the importance of those Canadian roots in their music.

iheartthemusic: You won artist of the year at the XM Verge Awards in 2008. What did winning that mean to you?

I think it was the extra financials that made a big difference, but also the exposure is so useful and helpful. It’s generally a lot of work to get people’s attention, so anything we can do to do that is really useful for us and makes our lives easier is great. Establishing that relationship with XM was also key because they are the ones that play our music all the time.

iheartthemusic: And I am sure the fact that fans voted for you was great to hear too!

Yeah, and the fans!

iheartthemusic: Who would you have liked to see win artist of the year last year (2009)?

My money was on Joel Plaskett.

iheartthemusic: Album of the year?

Arkells.

iheartthemusic: You guys recorded 2007’s Reunion Tour in a factory I believe. What was that like?

Yeah it’s part of the factory lunchroom. We did it all at night and it was really crazy. We were totally isolated on the outskirts of Winnipeg in February. Living without sunlight for most of the time, because we would be sleeping in the day and going into the studio at 3:30am or 4am, it was a really interesting experience.

iheartthemusic: Would you do it again?

It felt like we had put ourselves in this secluded environment and the last couple of records we have done, we have worked regular hours and been in the city, like really in the city. So this was neat.

iheartthemusic: Where you are from, Winnipeg, seems to be heavily prevalent in all aspects of your music. Is this done on purpose?

Two reasons why that’s happened or two things that are playing into that: one, is probably trying to explain the city to ourselves, understanding it, thinking about it, singing about it and maybe trying to explain it to other people at the same time. And then, there is just the city itself. Winnipeg’s favourite thing about itself is mythologizing itself. That’s a main part of the process in mining all these little pieces of history that only we would have picked up on.

iheartthemusic: Tell me your thoughts on the state of Canadian musicians transcending into other markets. You guys have been able to do that quite successfully and I wanted to know your thoughts on why or how?

It’s not quite the same in the States. Maybe once the awards have more of a national recognition it will help, but I don’t really know. It’s kind of hard to tell. I don’t see it reflected in the US media.

The Weakerthans have just released a live album Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre and concert DVD. All the Canadian content was shot on tour. The Weakerthans play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26th with Bahamas.

photography provided by Sara Collaton

Since releasing their latest album Blood, Guts, Bruises, Cuts last summer, The Dudes have been dealt a couple of shady hands, most notably enduring a plethora of injuries. iheartthemusic sat down with them to see just how things are looking (up) these days.

iheartthemusic: I take it you guys are quite accident prone- between broken collar bones and broken moustaches, this past year has been a crazy one for you guys! Tell me, what has been the worst?

Dan: I guess I think mine is worse, but he [points to Scott]  would say his moustache pains were worse.

Scott: [laughs] Well you suffered through pain but I lost my identity! What do you [looks at Dan] think is worse?

Dan: Ya, you’re right. I guess it’s the price you pay when you choose to live the lifestyle we do.

iheartthemusic: Such a great lineup of artists this week [CMW]. Who are you looking forward to checking out?

Dan: Bend Sinister is really great

Bob: Look, I’ve got the T on here

iheartthemusic: I noticed you are giving away a free track on your website. Do you feel that that is a necessary thing to do in today’s dwindling industry?

Dan: Well they [fans] are going to get it anyway. We don’t mind, we have been giving music away forever. I mean the weird thing now is not giving it away.

Scott: You’re in la la land if you think everyone is going to buy it.

iheartthemusic: “Had Enough of it” is a great track on the album with a great guest spot by Lisa Lobsinger (Broken Social Scene). How did you guys hook up?

Dan: Ah, well Lisa is an old Calgary girl and we chilled years ago. We actually tried to release that song like maybe five years ago and it just sort of took that long to get it all together and get it out.

iheartthemusic: Did you write it together?

Dan: No, it’s just that she has the very best voice in Canadian music. We asked her if she wanted to do it with us and she said yes and that was rad. All she wanted in return was one of those bathroom placards (boy or girl) in return. So if you ever see one, just rip it off.

iheartthemusic: [laughs] Tell us what the writing process is like for you guys.

Dan: I write most of the words and then we collaborate.

Scott: Getting loaded in the basement (laughs).

iheartthemusic: When you do sit down to write, do you keep mass appeal in mind?

Dan: I don’t know. It kind of feels more channeled, like the song was already there.

Scott: Definitely not, no mass appeal. We just want music that sounds good.

iheartthemusic: Is there anything you are trying to achieve tonight, i.e.catch the attention of anyone in particular?

Scott: There are some Australians scouting for this festival that is happening in the summer. We can just hope that somebody shows up tonight (laughs).

iheartthemusic: The Dudes, as a band name, has existed since 1996, but the members have changed around right?

Dan: Bob and I have been friends since high school, we were just wee children and now we have achieved our dreams. [laughs]

iheartthemusic: What has been the biggest struggle so far?

Scott: Driving across Canada is probably the hardest part. It is fucking huge!

iheartthemusic: Who is the driver?

Scott: I am.

iheartthemusic: [laughs] Well that explains why you don’t like it! Tell us what your favourite games are to play in the car.

Bob: The alphabet game but that gets old pretty quick.

Scott: Have you ever played Cow/Horse? Crazy good game. [laughs] “cow horse cow horse”, but you know these are all games that come after you go fucking insane being on the road [laughs].

iheartthemusic: Every band has that moment when they realize they are starting to gain momentum and that they must be doing something right. Tell us what that moment has been for you.

Dan: Well I think we have had that feeling from the beginning. It’s like every little bit counts.

iheartthemusic: So I guess you could sum it up as a sequence of mini achievements along the way?

All: Yeah definitely.

iheartthemusic: What are your goals as a band?

Dan: Just to keep doing it.

Scott: You know even if you were to win a Juno or whatever you can still go down the toilet.

Dan: We don’t want to go into the toilet that’s all (laughs). I don’t care where we are until then.

iheartthemusic: Anything you want to say to the i heart the music readers?

Scott: Come to our show, we’d love to show you a good time!

We wish this hard working band the best of luck. Considering the chain of events they endured subsequent to the release of their album, hopefully they will choose their next album name more wisely

interviewed by Catherine Russell

photography provided by Mike Palmer

When we heard that the worldwide phenomenon that is Queen was coming to town we had our doubts. For one thing, Freddy Mercury has been dead for quite some time now and we hadn’t heard that an Elvis-like situation had taken place whereby fans and the media were convinced that his death was a fake. So when we actually looked into this some more, we soon came to find out that it was an actual stage reproduction of Queen’s last world tour with Freddy entitled Queen: It’s a Kind of Magic. Headed by Australian musician and bona-fide Queen historian Craig Pesco, this reproduction literally goes as afar as to create EXACTLY what would have been seen and heard during Queen’s heyday. When we say EXACTLY, Pesco actually explained to us that he sports fake teeth that look just like Freddy’s in order to make it as authentic as can be. Once we heard this, we had to see it for ourselves.

Seated in the second row (yes, we were amazed that we were able to grab these seats too) and amongst some of the biggest Queen fans in Toronto, we set out to discover the magic that is a Queen live show. The stage was decked out with all the trimmings that apparently one would find during their reign; the white baby grand piano, the blinding lights and the huge sound. Pesco (Freddy Mercury) came out in full force in costume (and teeth) and as soon as he hit the stage the crowd went crazy. Their first song “A Kind of Magic” started and we felt like we were literally thrown back into the early nineties.

Throughout the course of this production Pesco changed approximately five times, including one number in full drag (with the boobs to match), and it became more and more apparent that Pesco was the man leading (and stealing) the show. His enthusiasm and passion were evident and became even more so against the not-so-enthusiastic rest of the band. This lack of enthusiasm was extremely evident and continued throughout the rest of the production. Another rather distracting feature of this show was the wigs that they were wearing. I understand that they were there to “look like” the original Queen members, however, the wigs were not only extremely obvious to the point of funny, but also took away from the fact that this was a serious show. Their skills, however, blew me away as each member of the band spent a good two minutes each showcasing their talent on their respective instruments. I have never seen a bass solo, so that was a pleasure to view so close!

They played all of the well known tunes (and a few that I had to ask around for) including “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Another One Bites the Dust” and came on for their encore to perform cult classic “Bohemian Rhapsody” which was clearly met with chants by everyone in attendance. The crowd consisted of the young and old and most people left fairly satisfied. I did, however, meet one fan (Randy Pater) who found the whole performance a little too obvious and was not convinced. I understand where he was coming from but then you have to bring it into context: it is a tribute band in all its forms and with that, they did well.

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