Sitting on the dock of the Black Diamond Bay

ihm: A lot of people at your shows have mentioned that you look so passionate when you’re playing guitar. You look so intense when playing, it’s almost like we’re watching something completely intimate. Do you get a lot of those types of comments?

PK: Yeah, I get a lot of guitar face comments, crazy amounts. But I’ve been doing that since I was a kid, you know? There are pictures of me when I’m playing guitar when I’m twelve and I’m like (makes intense guitar face). I get guitar face when I’m listening to good music too. George gets the guitar face too. And Andre gets that “smells bad” face (makes face). That shit happens in rehearsals, it’s not a show trick. (Laughs) Like a knee-jerk reaction. If something sounds good, the face comes out.

ihm: How do you find working together? Do you have a brotherly relationship with each other?

PK: I find it’s a huge part of our dynamic. I think it’s something that people genuinely feel. They feel the joy, the synergy…Our brotherhood is our biggest asset.

ihm: You can always see when you’re onstage, there are nods and whispering and laughter between all the guys…

PK: We could be making fun of each other. I’ve seen other bands sitting at dinner altogether, have you ever seen the Family Guy episode with the WASP family? It’s just like everybody is so politically correct but deep inside they want to stab each other. I see that a lot in other bands. But with us, we’ll just actually stab each other and then laugh about it 5 minutes later.

Download “New Soldier”

ihm: Can you talk about the struggle of making music and trying to make a living off it?

Roberto Piccioni: You wanna know something? Our first show together, Krief, was April 2007. Since then, we’ve played a lot of shows, 50, 60, or 70 maybe. We got in our pockets, $7.

PK: I remember once we came back from a show and I go “boys, we got some profit!” and handed out seven bucks each.

RP: That was April 2007.

PK: That was the first tour.

RP: Since then….

PK: It’s all been downhill. (Laughs) Basically, that’s the life of an artist. You do it because you have no choice. I’m not going to sit in a bank, no offence to people who work in banks but I can’t do it. You do this because it’s like a drug habit. You get a good high from it and then it takes over your life. We were just joking about this today. If this is what you choose, then you’re going to be broke, even if you do well. But when people start showing up, suddenly, you’re thinking “they’re here to see us, that’s cool, you know?”

ihm: You had the help on your new record with some outside collaborators/players. Do you find it easy to collaborate in a city like Montreal where everybody seems to live on the same block?

PK: It is pretty handy to have Liam (of the Stills) and Evan Cranley (of Stars) close. We go pick them up on the corner and bring them to the jam space, which is next door to the Stills and Sam Roberts Band spaces. Sometimes I knock on their doors and say “Hey, can I borrow that mic?” or we borrow heaters. Everything was done, and we had a nice bar set up in our space and I would be like, “3 shots of whiskey, I’ll take that mic.” Liam drank half the scotch on that record, I’m not even kidding.

ihm: Can you sum up the year you had last year? It was a pretty tough first half after what happened in your recording space. (Ed. note: Krief’s space was robbed of several thousand dollars’ worth of gear.)

PK: Oh, the robbery, yeah. It’s kind of eye-opening, like, “put an alarm, a lock on the window, get insurance.” In retrospect, I can’t believe I left everything in there the way it was. I think I was just oblivious. I mean, I had been there for 4 years and had never been robbed, I felt safe.

ihm: How are things going with the Dears at the moment? Have you just recorded the new album?

PK: The album’s done. No idea of the release date. But it’s finished, 100%. I think it’s a good record. But at the moment, this band is our baby. It’s a baby that still has a future, that we can mould and nurture. It’s not an adolescent that talks back to you.

Part Two

ihm: So, what's on the agenda for today?

PK: This interview, then acoustic guitar on the balcony.

ihm: Your recording and touring certainly take up a lot of your time, what other things do you do to keep yourself inspired and actively busy?

PK: When I have time off, I barely know what to do with myself, I end up walking around the city aimlessly, more drinking than usual, sitting in bed with an acoustic guitar and laptop all day long, cooking, random phone conversations, and getting lost in my thoughts. My mom used to put me in a room full of toys and I’d just sit there doing nothing. That’s kind of been my existence outside of music since.



ihm: If you were to describe the new record using 5 adjectives, verbs or nouns, what would they be?

PK: Anxious, blizzard, dark, violent, climax. Those words best describe the feelings I get when I hear the record now.

Download “What We Wanted”

ihm: Are there any particular influences that you don't mind wearing on your sleeve with this record?

PK: The Dears, if that’s what you’re asking. When people say it sounds like the Dears, I can only take it as a good thing. There are two people playing on this record that have played on Dears records and left a huge mark on them –George and I. The sound we make or vibe we bring will carry over, no question. Murray (of the Dears) is an amazing songwriter, we have a huge amount of respect for each other’s writing, and we inspire/influence each other. So that would be one badge I’d wear with pride on my sleeve. The others would be Hendrix and The Beatles.

ihm: Any favourite songs you've written?

PK: It’s hard to say, they’re all pretty personal, hard for me to value one sentiment more than the other. But on a strictly musical level, I’m kind of intrigued with “Calm Awaits” right now, simply cause I can’t figure out where it came from.

ihm: If you had a choice to release your record the "old-fashioned" way, without the help of the Internet, would you do it and why?

PK: Well, assuming the Internet didn’t exist, I would love to release it that way. But with the monster being alive and well, I’d rather fight by its side rather than to be devoured by it.

ihm: Do you feel the internet is hindering music sales? Or do you see an advantage to its power to reach a broader audience?

PK: Both I guess. It is not hindering sales, it’s annihilating them. I often hear people say shit like, “Artists don’t make any of that money anyway, it all goes to the suits,” as if to justify the thieving with some kind of anti-corporate artistic integrity. If the industry is wounded, the artist will suffer, that’s the reality. We can’t all be Radiohead. New bands need support and they’re not gonna get it from a bank. I do see the benefits of the Internet though. I’m not entirely jaded or anti-internet, something good can come from the trough the industry is in. And I think something will soon enough. I’d like to see vinyl come back in a big way. It blows my mind that people are able to listen to MP3s. They sound like garbage. Pure garbage. Maybe that’s why people don’t feel like paying? Who knows.



ihm: Any favourite songs off the new record? Any songs that you look forward to playing live?

PK: They’ve all been pretty fun to play live but “Blue Mace” might be my favorite song to play right now.

ihm: Are there any women in the industry that you simply must work with? Who would you choose and why?

PK: Aside from you, Kelly? I already work with the women I must work with. The Ladies of The Canyon, whenever I need killer vocals, I give them a call. I once worked with Elizabeth Powell (of Land of Talk), I’d like to do that again sometime.

ihm: You've spent many a days/weeks/months touring with the Dears, are there any moments that stand out in your mind as being mind-blowing or utterly disappointing?

PK: There have been many mind-blowing experiences. Playing Letterman must have been the hugest one for me. I grew up watching that show thinking it was an unattainable dream to be a guest on it. Then one day I’m sitting with Paul Schaeffer teaching him the chords to a song. Fucked up!

ihm: You're stranded on an island and can bring one book, one album, your favourite culinary dish and one person - what/who would you choose and why?

PK: The book would be the Old Testament. If I were stranded on an island, I’d probably need to find religion or something, or at least figure out what all the fuss is about. That, or a massive crossword puzzle book. Album: White Album, ‘cause it’s the longest Beatles record and if I’m gonna be stuck with something, it’ll have to be the Beatles. Dish: I’d eat sushi. Person: I’d bring a stranger, so we can discover each other. I wouldn’t want anyone I love to be stranded on an island, especially not with me.

ihm: If you could thank 5 people who directly influenced your sound and lyrics, who would they be and what would you say to them?

PK: John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Beethoven, Paul McCartney. I’d just say “Thank you,” then maybe “Fuck you for being so good.”

ihm: I just finished reading "Let's Spend the Night Together" by Pamela Des Barres and it provides much insight to the "Sex and Drugs" aspect to the rock and roll lifestyle in previous decades. Do you feel things have changed in the present and have they changed for the good or bad? Do you feel that you have to live in the extreme in order to be a creative genius, like Robert Plant?

PK: Sex and drugs are a constant, rock band or not. People are out there getting drunk and laid every night. People I know that aren’t in rock bands are getting more sex, drugs and rock and roll than most of the bands I know. Still, if you go out on the road, there will be plenty of both at your disposal. If that’s what you’re looking for, then you’ll find it, like anything else really, but you certainly don’t need a rock band to get it. Being extreme is something that comes with the territory; it’s not something we try to do. It’s present in any creative person, whether they’re famous or not, most creative people are fucked up.

ihm: Fill in the blanks.

PK: If I was playing a kick-ass show at the Electric Ballroom in London and I saw Paul McCartney in the audience, I would piss myself and cry.

ihm: Tomorrow, you're asked to give Iggy Pop a tour of Montreal's hot spots. Based on your experiences, you take him to:
PK: Record shop: All the good ones are gone, but if MARS was still around, then we would go and find some rare Hendrix vinyl. Pub: Brutopia, to avoid scenesters and have a good beer. Restaurant: Fellinos. Venue: Barfly. Rock Show: Priestess. Studio: Victor. Hang over nursing: Olympico. Book Store: I’d find some dirty mag shop for him. Girl watching: It’s Montreal, anywhere will do!

Download "Blue Mace"