Written by: Isis Graham
Paintings by: Piper Davis
atbt magazine issue 02
I met Piper in a crowded bathroom at a community centre rave in 1997. She was wearing a green Robin Hood hat, some obnoxious phat pants, while sporting the typical 90’s bleached bob hairdo.
We exchanged some hollow words about how great the party was. Eleven years have gone by - we are still great friends - and Piper is a hot Canadian commodity. She is a vocalist, songwriter, visual artist, and a magical coordinator (www.piperdavis.com & www.myspace.com/piperdavis). One year after the conception of her solo project, she has received a Factor Grant from the Canadian government (www.factor.ca) which will enable her to record and release her first full length album in 2009. Secondly she gained entry to the most unique academy in the world; The Red Bull Music Academy (www.redbullmusicacademy.com). ATBT met up with Piper over the internet the day before she took off to Barcelona to have a little chat.
atbt: Can you define your music for our readers?
PIPER: I don’t have a specific definition. Other people have called it electro-blues. I like that one, but music doesn’t necessarily have to fit too neatly into any particular genre anymore to be successful, which is great. If I were to pin it down myself, I’d call it peanut hawk. Its percussion based.
atbt: Who are your songs about?
PIPER: I’m inspired by humanity… actually they’re all about my boyfriend. Thanks a lot…
atbt: Where do you draw your influence from?
PIPER: My little brother.
atbt: Do you see your craft as underground culture versus a more main stream/ pop idea?
PIPER: I don’t buy into the starving artist stereotype. But I do buy into a diamond button and things like a boot made out of a solid gold nugget; so my music would have to be mainstream. It’s definitely not mainstream right now and I don’t know if it ever will be.
atbt: When you went to school for music in Vancouver, was there one thing that you learned that opened up your mind on how to write a good song?
PIPER: I went to SFU and took Music in the Contemporary Arts program. I thought most of what I was learning at the time was useless but in retrospect it stretched my capacity to experiment which is important. What I’m interested in theoretically, is including enough recognizable elements to set up a base for a track and then from there incorporating more creative or innovative elements so people don’t get totally lost in my brain activity and just shut it off. The pull between those things is what makes a song interesting I think. Whether or not I’m able to do that is a whole other equation; also being too concentrated on any theory while writing usually makes for a boring result. In action music is mostly about listening and putting the note where it goes, I think.
atbt: You’re a visual-artists as well as a musician, where can a potential buyer pick up or see a Piper Davis piece?
PIPER: I’m pro selling art because I have a fine arts degree. I’m not pursuing visual art as a business. The music thing takes up all my time. Some of my stuff is on my myspace page to look at.
atbt: Who else is in your band?
PIPER: Back-up singer/percussionist named Abra Rissi, A drummer named Luke Cyca and a bassist named Adrien “Earl” Fillion. Earl is a lighting technician, Luke is a computer scientist and Abra takes care of the management stuff so they’re a really amazing group of people to have with me.
atbt: As a bonus question what’s your funniest studio story?
PIPER: My studio is comprised of my laptop and closet for a sound booth so nothing amazing has ever happened. One time an iron fell on my laptop.
atbt: Thanks and good luck in Barcelona!
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