Clea Anaïs has collaborated with many of Calgary’s top performers including, Woodpigeon, Dojo Workhorse, Thighs, Brock Geiger and the former Consonant C. Her solo work is delicate and soothing in voice, kissed with cello and piano. She performs at Higher Ground at 9pm this Thursday.

You have been involved in so many significant musical projects in town, as well as your own solo work; who inspired you to take the plunge as a performer?

Well, really I have performed since I was little. I started playing cello when I was 3, and performed and competed in various capacities during my entire childhood. I still get nervous though. I would say my mother, Dulcie Foo Fat is a big influence on me because she is so dedicated to being an artist. I guess this year I owe a lot of credit to Mark Hamilton and Brock Geiger, who have helped me gain enough confidence to play my own solo stuff.

What Calgary artist would you like to see more people aware of?

Well yikes. Calgary is oh-so full of amazing artists, to pick one wouldn’t be fair. Right now I am super into FreeNudeCelebs which is Jordon Hossak from Azeda Booth. Also I am in constant admiration of Laura Lief when she plays. Brock Geiger just released an awesome album and is doing super creative new things. Jacqueline Bell and Chris Dadge are working on a record for the project called A Relative Distance. They are a killer duo. That’s the tip of the iceberg, if you want to know more awesome Calgary musicians just find me and ask!

What is your favourite way to spend a sunny afternoon in town?

I love biking to spots by the river and laying in the grass. Also having slurpees.

How do you feel now about this city, that you maybe didn’t last summer?

Hmm. On a personal level, this summer was a bit rough compared to last summer. However, I have never looked forward to September and another year in Calgary so much and this is the of awesome collaborative projects - first time I have had no obligations to make me stay. I am so grateful for the awesome sense of DIY community that is being built in our city. I love that it is inclusive and is based on people’s excitement about projects instead of dictated by organizations. I’m looking forward to a fall and winter

What was the first record you owned?

Well my older sisters had music that I loved as a child but didn’t own. When I was in grade 3 I fell in love with Bell and Sebastian. That was probably a good start.

Dan Guiry is one of Calgary’s sickest standup comics; but when he’s not harshin’ inappropriate jokes, he’s usually shreddin’ his unique brand of darlingly sensitive cock rock. Guiry will be performing in the 7pm slot at Higher Ground tonight. 

What do you like better - comedy or tunes?

I like listening to a great comedy album on a road trip… But that road trip will usually start with “LA Woman” as we hit the highway.

Music and comedy mean so much to me that I can’t really choose. I’ve been debating this question ever since I started performing. Some people have told me that I should choose one and focus on it. that way I have a better chance at success.

I was in Moncton, NB a year or so ago, and after a show I went to this bar. There was this great band playing your standard east coast songs and when they took a break I told them who I was and that I was in town on tour doing stand up, but I’d really like to play a few songs. The guys we’re so friendly they let me get up and play. After just a few chords the drummer had to join in and we rocked that bar till 2 in the morning. Its nights like that that I’m glad I never choose.

I used to play in a band called “flatbed” when I first started stand up… and I remember the first time I “killed” at stand up it felt just like ripping out a great guitar solo. So when that band crashed and burned as most bands do… (crackhead drummer bullshit) I felt that stand up was a great way to go. As a comic they only person I got to worry about is me. And as long as I can keep the booze and drugs and sexy time under control, I can do stand up as long as I want. In a band you have to worry about your band mates being able to get to the show, and what happens if they don’t make it?

My Main focus as a performer is playing to audiences, and sharing what I have written with them. This far in my career, Stand up has giving me the most opportunity to travel and see new audiences. But if there is something in my heart that I just can’t laugh at, I play music…

Which celebrities would be huge fans of yours, if they only knew?

The only person that ever out right told me that they are a fan is actually a celebrity. Not that you would know who he is because he’s a Canadian comic… Peter Anthony… I was opening for him in Mississauga in May and at the end of the weekend “I’m a fan” And that was it. It was really good to hear… no one says that  - especially not your peers.

I’d like to think someday I’ll be able to make Jim Carrey laugh.

What was your favourite part-time job and why?

My Favorite part time job, I’ve had so many it’s hard to choose. I’ll tell you one thing though; Starbucks is great if you’re an artist. They transferred me out to Toronto for two months on my first cross Canada tour, just so I could keep the job and make a few dollars on my off nights.

But my favorite had to be my first job ever. I started as a dishwasher for Perkins family eatery… I was 14 and I got to work with my older brother and all of his friends… we got into so much trouble every shift. The pranks, the dares, the girls… everything about that place was a blast. I worked there for two years until finally after all the shenanigans they had to close the restaurant…

Here’s a tip if you have a time machine… do not go back in time and eat at Dalhousie Perkins.

Do you still hang with the Moffats, why or why not?

Honestly I never really “hung out” with the Moffats. They had a bar in Bragg Creek called El Gringo’s. At the time I had my high school band, when we first met, I was 17… They were doing an open jam type of thing for a wedding reception. Bob and Clint Moffat were playing some tunes, and when they finished I asked to play and they said the jam had just ended, I told them I had just driven all the way from Calgary in my parents car without telling them that I was borrowing it… and they let me play three songs. Bob Moffat ended up playing drums for one of my songs.

I ended up playing at El Gringo’s once a month until I graduated high school. Our band “Empty Echoes” would have massive house parties in Bragg creek after the shows at Rob’s (keyboard artist) house. It was great because all the girls from our school thought they were going to meet the Moffats… so they all turned up and because all the girls were there all the guys followed… our band ended up having a huge following, but we broke up when all the members except me went to university.

I remember one night when rob and I tried to sneak into another bar in Bragg Creek, and we were going to chill out with Bob And Clint, but they just played golden tie, and rob and I got ID’d so we left.

Last I heard of the Moffats was when they sold El gringo’s to a guy named Christian. They were moving to the interior of BC and starting a band called “Sparrow”

What do you eat before a show?

I don’t eat before a show. I’m so high energy that if I were to eat I’d probably cramp up mid bit and shit my pants. I usually wait till I get off the stage to eat something, and then it’s mostly beer and whiskey.

Stuart Wershof and Errol Halberg of Edmonton/Calgary hybrid band, Type Monkey Type will be performing the 8pm middle slot at Higher Ground this Thursday. With an evolutionarily up-beat sound derived from the indie bands of yesteryear, this duo is shockingly entertaining, with breakdowns, improvisations and Stuart can even beatbox.

Whats a fact about monkeys you know of that most people don’t?

Monkeys do it monkey-style

Why should everyone own a typewriter?

For their rhythm section!

How do you spend your days off in Calgary?

Throwing poop from the top of the Calgary tower at passers by

What does the band miss about Edmonton?

Our drummer

What is the album of the year (so far)?

100000 Years… the Type Monkey Type EP (objective)

Come down to Higher Ground in Kensington the last Thursday of each month for some free live music and delicious Steam Whistle!

Our three talented musicians this month are:

Dan Guiry
http://www.myspace.com/danguiry

TypeMonkeyType 
http://www.myspace.com/typemonkeytype

Clea Anaïs
http://www.myspace.com/cleaanais

Music starts at 7pm! Cheap Steam Whistle only five buck!

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Photography by Gabriel Knight

I had the privilege to speak with Halifax recording artist, Classified on his last Calgary visit - ch-ch-check it out.

Kane: From listening to the new album and then reading over the lyrics of songs like Trouble, you bring up your own inner battles. How do you feel they influence your listeners?

Classified: I think it makes people more comfortable in themselves. With this album, I talk about a lot of things that usually I wouldn’t talk about because it wasn’t cool in hip hop, you know what I mean. With this one, I kind of felt like I wasn’t looking for something other than to be honest and say normal, everyday living shit that a normal guy can relate to.

Kane: When you mention drugs, hardships and being judged, what is it about making music makes you feel better about those things?

Classified: Where I was coming from – which I grew up in Enfield - is 25 minutes from Halifax. I was first doing music with two other guys before we moved to Halifax and that was where we kind of got into the scene. Even then, I always felt like I had something to prove and had to prove to these guys, who were doing it for a awhile, that I could hang and my shit was tight. Once you fight so many of those battles, it just comes to a point with anybody or anything where you’re like ‘forget everybody else – I’m not worried about what they feel like’. If you feel like you’re giving it your all, what else is there to do?

Kane: Was there an “aha!” light bulb moment in the early days? Where you changed the way you did things before getting signed?

Classified: Ah no. It was always kind of grassroots. I started out writing my own lines and when I couldn’t get any beat makers to give me beats, I learned how to make beats. Then when I couldn’t get any record labels to put out my records when they were done, I started my own record label. It went from there to setting up my own tours and just kept rolling. After you’ve done it 12 times, you learn it, man! Then Sony got involved after seeing that I had some success on my own.

Kane: You also never had a group; it was always a one-man show.

Classified: But that’s just the way it was, in Canada; no one was tripping over themselves trying to discover rappers. Coming from Enfield and then Halifax in the Maritimes, this shit wasn’t going to happen on its own. And once you realize that, it’s like: ‘alright lets go to work’… and it’s a lot of work, but I’m glad I did it.

Kane: Was there a lot of support in Halifax for hip hop?

Classified: Yeah, just like any scene in Canada. It’s a big country of communities of tight-knit people.

Kane: What specific beauty in life keeps you going?

Classified: Well I just had a baby girl.

Kane: That’s a solid reason.

Classified: Oh yeah. Well I guess now it’s my job, so I want to make sure I push this as far as I can. This all started as a hobby of just making music and hanging with my boys. Just making sure I’m working really hard and doing as many interviews. Once I decided to make this into a career, then yeah, there was a lot of grinding and maybe doing things that I didn’t want to do. But I did them if it helped get the music out…and I may have just forgotten the question and kept blabbing.

Kane: No I don’t mind, that’s the lyricist in you talking.

Kane: I was talking with a group of friends the other day about the idea of radical truth. Basically, you become a living, walking ball of honesty – regardless of how harsh things come off. You have directness to your style we’re not always used to.

Classified: There are a lot of people, like K-Os, who say a lot of things you have to listen to again and again and sort of dissect. His lyrics can be taken different ways – sometimes I wish I wrote more like that. I’m not a kid who grew up reading a bunch of books; I don’t know a bunch of crazy words; I didn’t take sociology; I’m a regular dude who loves hip hop and I’m gonna write it. It comes across so blunt because I’m gonna say things just like in this conversation when you ask me a question. I’m not gonna go: ‘well, the stars are connected to the sun…’ – I just don’t get that shit. Sometimes it sounds cool. But I’m not gonna sugarcoat it or make anything sound deeper than it really is.

Kane: But then, of your creative element, you made the new album into a choose-your-own-adventure concept. How did that idea come about?

Classified: It was an idea that cracked in my head one day. Those books, from back in the day - those were the books I read, because you could read them in two hours. It was something that was different because it was like a day-in-the-life of Classified. If you want to go to a club after one song, go to track 18; if you want to go for a bike ride, go to track 7. It just brings more of the full album back. With ringtones, singles and beats being so big right now, with this, you need to get into the full album or it won’t make sense.

Kane: Yeah, in so many hip hop records there are always skits and intros and voice clutter.

Classified: And that’s what I mean, I’ve had skits on albums but on this one, I didn’t want some stupid skit on it where people would listen to it once and be like: ‘ha ha, that kind of funny’. I wanted to make the choose-your-own-adventure aspect a side story in the entire album.

Kane: Aside from your own stuff, what makes a good listenable record for you?

Classified: If I can tell that an artist really poured their heart into it and really wanted to say some shit, I can always get into it. That’s why when Kanye’s first record called, the College Dropout, came out a few years ago, I was like: ‘shit, this guy’s doing exactly what I want to do’. He was just so direct; he said what he wanted. He just said the shit in hip hop no one else would say. I like honesty. I think the cool factor and swag is so corny now.

Kane: You’ve been working with a huge slate of Canadian-bred talent, like Joel Plaskett. How did you find that collaboration?

Classified: We always bumped into each other and I always thought he made cool music.

Kane: Thrush Hermit was so good.

Classified: Yeah, that’s when I first met him. So one day we just said, ‘let’s go into the studio one day’. So we showed up at his studio one day and he did a little piano run, he played that and we just kept moving. He was probably the most exciting guy I’ve ever seen in the studio. He would be like, ‘check out this!’ and then he’d run over and grab this echo machine from the 1960s and be like, ‘check this shit out!’ He must have shown me a hundred times, but all it would do was echo. Then he’d just keep running around, plugging things. He just had a good energy that made it exciting to be making music and it was cool to see that with a guy who has been doing it for that long.

Kane: You also had Buck 65.

Classified: When I did my first show in Halifax in ’95, it was with Stinkin’ Rich, which was Buck’s original rap name… Choclair and Maestro, I’ve worked with both those guys over the years and Chad Hatcher’s a guy on my label who’s from back home.

Kane: What will it take to break into the states or, at least, have an internationally known Canadian sound?

Classified: I think that’s what’s wrong with us. I think we need to stop thinking about breaking into the states. Why do we need to break in there when there is the whole rest of the world? Even since the Choclair days, with Let’s Ride, everyone was like: ‘this is our time’. I’m a very opinionated person, but the hip hop music I see in the States is not what I’m into, anyways.

I just have a bad vibe. I had a manager from the States about two years ago – he was only my manager for two weeks and he was always like: ‘you really gotta do this and no no take this, you really need to make your money’. There were just a lot of really money hungry things that just showed me that the horror stories were true.

I think Canadians are making great hip hop, I don’t think we need to break into the States.

Written by Jeannine Dryden

Theatre Junction GRAND opens with its fourth season on September 22, 2009. This year audiences can expect to see a variety of contemporary art performances from across the world. Artistic director, Mark Lawes is encouraging Calgarians to attend the season and expose themselves to new perspectives of theatre. Combining various styles of performance, including dance, music, video & theatre, Lawes is not only building bridges between disciplines, but also hoping to bring the audience together.

“It’s still theatre, but it’s a different way of viewing what theatre is,” says Lawes. “I think each individual spectator is going to see something different.”

The 2009/10 season will host a variety of performances from contemporary dance to concert performance for a wallet friendly price. Early birds can get their season pass for $215 (by September 10, 2009), regular passes are sold for $245 and students can get their passes for $98 (with valid student ID).

Lawes recommends attending more than just one performance in order to get the full experience.

“I think to see what we’re doing here, you have to see the whole landscape of work because there is such diversity,” said Lawes.

The internationally diverse season includes artists from Montreal, Belgium and Australia. The opening show, Orpheus and Eurydice by Compagnie Marie Chouinard will give Calgarians a taste of Montreal’s contemporary dance scene. Performing in numerous theatres worldwide, including Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, France, Orpheus and Eurydice will keep audiences wanting more.

Based on a true story, 7 Important Things by STO Union tells a story of a middle-aged man looking back on his life choices that were impacted by the 60’s hippie movement & 70’s punk movement.

“It’s like a docu-fiction,” says Lawes.

Addressing many of the same questions that today’s youth face, 7 Important Things is a performance that all generations can identify with.

“I think a lot of youth are asking the same questions; like what’s the future, what are we going to do about this world that we live in?” says Lawes.

Audiences can experience up and coming playwright, Martin Crimp’s, The Country in November. Lawes himself will take part in the performance and has worked closely with director Chris Abraham to bring this story to life.

One question that Lawes hopes to bring to attention this season is that of cultural identity.

“What is this gap, what is this post-colonial crisis that we find ourselves in?” asks Lawes.

The answer potentially lies in China, by William Yang. Yang is an Australian-born Chinese who has traveled to China in hopes of discovering his cultural identity. He tells the story of returning to his homeland using words, music and visual art.

“He is a great storyteller,” says Lawes.

For those of us who like a really good scary story, come Roadkill by Splintergroup. This psychological thriller will definitely keep audiences in suspense.

“It’s about fear and how fear plays in your mind,” says Lawes.

Playing on current urban legend hype, Roadkill will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Dance enthusiasts will be able to celebrate with Meg Stuart’s Do Animals Cry, performed by Damaged Goods. American-born, Meg Stuart, established her world-renowned company in Belgium and brings a thought provoking performance of theatre and dance.

Wrapping up the 2009/10 season is The Spaghetti Western Orchestra (Australia), a performance of classic Ennio Morricone music such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and For a Few Dollars More. Using hundreds of musical instruments to re-create these classic western songs, Calgary is about to get a lesson in real western identity.

“It makes a lot of weird sense,” says Lawes. “It shows how music can really paint the picture of the imagination.”

If the 2009/10 season isn’t enough, then don’t forget to purchase tickets for the special remount of On the Side of the Road in March. This special performance is returning to give audiences a chance to catch it again before going on its first national tour next spring.

Bringing a strange blend of western music, contemporary dance, storytelling and suspense, Theatre Junction GRAND challenges the ordinary perception of what theatre is all about.

“It’s a real adventure to come here, and I think that’s what people are looking for.”

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The Lazy Mks and friends recently played a show over the August long weekend on a Saskatchewan ranch for ChriStock. The aptly named shin-dig, hosted by Chris Prpich (Electric/Stand-up Bass) of the Lazy Mks, is now into it’s 4th year, where friends and family alike come from all over the country to cater in good food, good times and real good music.

I had a chance to sit down and talk with Tyler Hammer, to offer some insight on what these boys are up to next. And for those of you in the Calgary area, you can check them out at the Spaghetti Western Festival on August 22nd, (3-10pm) Olympic Plaza and The Legion #1 (9pm-2am).

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Photography by Jessica Wittman

Written by Brendan Kane

Brandishing a right arm that indicates either a heavy touring regiment or a cool rich kid’s concert bragging rights – Benjamin Grubin, singer of Portland new wave band, Hockey, kind of has both. It seems rare for a band – especially such a young band – to have attracted so much attention from both Capitol and Virgin in the UK, but Hockey has musically scrimmaged at practically every major festival, starting at Sasquatch, where I saw the bracelet-fangled front man.

“They’re just random shows…South by Southwest…some show in England,” said the 26 year old, adding that there is no formula to how long he’ll keep them on. “This one’s really old - I just really like bracelets.”

The Hockey namesake is instantly gratifying to Canadian fans – mostly because one of us should have thought of it and taken it before these guys. At least bands like Georgia’s Of Montreal, have the insightful and often changing chronicle of Kevin Barnes’ scorned romance with one of our women. Hockey (the band) not only possesses the foggiest notion of the frozen game, they also approach it with an almost smug disinterest. They were not pleased when another media outlet tried to get them to pose with sticks.

“It just appeals to our sense of humour, it’s actually just a joke,” laughed Grubin. “Hockey is not a part of our lives negative or positive, at all.”

The band was created in Los Angeles as a project between Grubin and bassist, Jeremy Reynolds that would show off at parties as the two attended the University of Redlands – a highly touted, highly private, liberal arts institution where student make their own major. Later the band packed up and moved to Spokane and eventually Portland to settle into they’re vibrant scene. What came as a surprise, though, was the attention the band would garner overseas in around last December.

“We moved all around, but we basically got our first jump over in England because they played our songs on the radio,” he said adding that they feel relatively unknown in their native North America.

Hockey’s new album, Mind Chaos will be released on August 24^th and will be followed by a two month, European tour with a back-to-back assault on the Leeds and Reading festivals. Grubin describes the material as “dirty dance songs”.

Photography by Jessica Wittman

In the aftermath of Andrew WK’s second of two Sled Island performances, we met the pop icon/motivational lecturer/party-starter at the bottom of the Legion’s stairwell. This is the conversation that followed - enjoy!

Kane: I would like if you could start by telling me about your motivational speaking.

Andrew WK: I’ve never officially called it motivational speaking; I have called it lectures…but even lectures has kind of been a weird word to use because lectures entails talking to or at people. It’s more like an opportunity for people to be in a very focused environment where they can be in a mode of expressing. Much like tonight, the emphasis is on freedom, on feeling really good, on setting aside a moment where we put our energy toward that good feeling – but without music or traditional modes of performance. They have been an opportunity to connect with people in a very spontaneous and subconscious place. The thing is, a lot of people are thinking the same stuff I am thinking about.

Kane: What sort of things?

Andrew WK: Just what it’s like to be alive and what to do in that state.

Kane: Was there something that you saw in people’s reaction to your music that made you want to go beyond the temporary, 45 minute positive message of a set?

Andrew WK: It came from the music in terms of the music laying the foundation for everything I get to do now. So I’m grateful to performing giving me other opportunities. But, I guess the idea was to take that risk of going up on stage without anything; without any songs; without any instruments; without any plan. That was scary for me in a way because for a long time, I thought that music was the only way I could get this feeling of joy. It’s kind of difficult to describe. But I think anyone who has felt this way understands when you feel enthusiastic and glad to be alive. It can happen from music and all sorts of situations, but the idea is to be in that state of mind all the time. Even in moments when you would feel sad or when you just don’t feel good, the lectures are about a higher point of observation that looks at all of those experiences and emotions – even the one we wouldn’t say are nice or good – and really be able to enjoy them.

Kane: I think it’s such a contrast to compare concerts, when people are loosened up, to public speaking and people’s vulnerabilities. Was there something negative you saw in people at your shows that pushed you to reach out?

Andrew WK: Well that’s what’s interesting. When I first started doing this kind of rock music, it was that I personally wanted to get out of bad feelings that I was having. It wasn’t so much that I saw others behaving badly – I just had a lot of bad vibes that I wanted to change and I wanted to come up with some reason to shake them. Music with this kind of energy gave me that reason to go beyond myself and the limitations I was feeling – a lot of those were feelings of being angry at people and the world and feeling like a victim of outside circumstances.

When most people have a passion, part of having that passion is that it brings out the best in you and ideally everyone who comes in contact with you. You realize that it’s not really your passion; it’s just a passion that exists for you to tap into and for others to tap into as well. But it starts with the individual because I did this for myself first.

Witt: It sounds to be very Zen or Buddhist. I’m a follower, on some level, of Buddhism and the Dali Lama – and not that you model your life on specific individuals – but do you have a spiritual influence?

Andrew WK: There are a lot of very basic ideas about existence that have been presented by great thinkers and traditions that I have become familiar with more recently as people would tell me I might like it. And I did like it.

Like you said, we can always take our own path and still appreciate the contributions of those great eras of thought. But I think it comes from the inexplicable feeling everybody has about what it is to be you. When you wake up in the morning, when you’re coming out of that state in-between awake and sleep and remember that you are you, you exist and this is what it feels like to be you. It’s like a flavour or a smell or a familiar feeling. Sometimes, when you’ve really pushed yourself out of your comfort zone, you can almost forget that you’re you and have to get back to that.

In the first few minutes after I get off stage, I’m recovering. There needs to be that balance between being yourself and working within the idea of your ego. The ego can be a very healthy thing to work with; but sometimes it can become painful and that’s a good time to let go of the ego – like (after a performance) on a night like this.

Kane: You mean after seeing a new crowd of a thousand people and you’ve crossed the continent to be here for everyone to try and share one idea…

Witt: …and they’re playing your music. I was watching the end of your set and you’re nowhere near your key board while some guy is pounding away on it.

Andrew WK: I tried to show him the right notes to play, too.

Witt: Not a lot of musicians allow that interaction, but you must know that most people just want to feel like they’re a part of something.

Andrew WK: That’s a nice byproduct but hopefully even people who don’t get that physical are still feeling it. I can tell if I’m feeling it and if I’m feeling it, usually someone else is too. As long as they get some kind of interaction or experience or something to think about and apply in a useful way – then that’s a real honour.

Kane: We’ve talked so much about happiness. What makes you happy right now?

Andrew WK: I thought that I would have gotten more used to this lifestyle or show biz. But the more I’ve done it, I’ve been like: ‘wait a minute, this is just insane that this even exists and I get to do this’. It’s crazy that this many people in the entertainment industry even exist!

I’m with two of the biggest booking agencies in the world – C.A.A. and Williams Morris – and I’ve looked at the rosters for those and there are literally hundreds of massive artists, each capable of filling venues 10 times this size. And I think: ‘there is so much room for people to do this’ and, at the same time, ‘how did I get to do this’?

Kane: Why do people think you party so hard?

Andrew WK: I have a lot of songs about that so that’s probably why they think that.

Kane: But is it the real you or an act? You seem to be more interested in philosophy.

Andrew WK: I don’t think that, maybe unfortunately, life or any one person is easy to figure out as either they’re “this” or “that” and this is the “real way” or the “fake way”. The idea of authenticity is, to me, one of the most absurd ideas in history. Everything that happens is real. There can be many shades of how much you’re moved by an experience or affected a performance, but there is no division between real and fake - it’s impossible for something to exist and be fake.

Kane: Do you like making people party?

Andrew WK: I can’t make people do anything.

Kane: But they do.

Andrew WK: They do that on their own will and that’s why it’s so exciting to see - when we align in those moments of subconscious agreement. I understand what you’re saying. For example, before I came to do this show I wasn’t in my hotel room screaming as loud as I could and running around in circles. I was conserving energy and preparing for the show. But I’m always trying to be in the moment…

Witt: Having fun?

Andrew WK: Yeah

Witt: I don’t think you can truly talk about something if you don’t know it.

Andrew WK: Sure you can. Yes you can.

Witt: You can?

Andrew WK: I’ve been able to. Maybe you can’t.

Witt: But to be able to get people to have fun, you can’t do it without having fun or, I guess, partying.

Andrew WK: I enjoy creating an atmosphere of energy. I feel like that’s what I was meant to do and I maybe wasn’t meant to necessarily enjoy that environment as much as other people. That’s just my path. Thank goodness there are those people though, because that gives them something to do and it gives me something to do.

This is my road and this is my path and it’s really fantastic when it coincides with other people’s paths.

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Written by Brendan Kane

Photography by Alicia Hoogveld

If it seems like the Fast Romantics have been taking it kind of slow with you lately, expect them to make a big sexy move this Saturday when they release their debut album at the Warehouse. With the better half of last year spent touring, recording and playing only select Calgary dates such as Night to Fight and Markapalooza, the band is more excited than a well played third date to throw this mega party with fellow album releasers, Secret Broadcast.

“Out of all the exciting things ever, in the history of exciting things – this would be like the ‘#2’ exciting thing,” said singer Matt Angus adding that man walking on the moon takes first place.

“Yeah, but that wasn’t real,” quipped guitarist Matthew Kliewer.

“No it wasn’t - it was staged and this is not staged. We’re gonna be on the stage.”

The evening is one of the more incentive laden local events you’ll attend this summer, seeing that $20 gets you entry plus a copy of both albums – or if you hate recorded music, you can squeeze in for a ten spot.

The Fast Romantics self-titled hardly sounds like a debuting piece; instead the sprawling, rise and fall song structure of hopscotch keys and strings gives off an intricate Euro pop joviality. The album range of musicianship is best seen on Spooning the Gorilla and Stop Me, the stomping breakdowns show off the band’s hypnotic dance style while the dark, introspective Casablanca has standout lyricism from Angus.

Anyone who’s been around the recording process knows of the desperation and tribulations that seems to come with it. Angus himself pulled a strenuous 32 hour session in the band’s studio, band members changed, and Kliewer was even in an automotive accident.

“I got t-boned by a semi-truck on my way home one night. It was after we recorded the song Casablanca,” said Kliewer. “It wasn’t detected on the first x-ray, but I hurt my fibula; it had a crack down the middle of the bone, so I was bed-ridden for about a month.”

Saturday’s festivities should not only rectify the bothersome bits of their struggle, it to will act as a send-off for their second cross-Canada tour which gets underway in September. The traditional four-piece that also includes bassist, Jeffrey Lewis and drummer, Alan Reain, has now added a lady keyboardist/backing vocalist to the mix with Laurna Germscheid.

“We wanted a lady and we got a lady,” said Angus with a smirk. “She is fitting in quite nice.”

“Her vocals are very accommodating to Matt’s. Some of the harmonies he would do with a really high falsetto, she’s able to hit those naturally whereas with a guy it’s a tough stretch,” said Kliewer.

The 16 date tour will see the band pepper Ontario and extend through Quebec as somewhat of a radio darling. Angus says that even though they have never been to the province, Quebecois stations are spinning the Romantics faster than the rest of the nation and this makes dates in Montreal and the capital stand out on the road map. Secret Broadcast will make up the other half of Calgary throughout the tour which will be their first of this magnitude – so you should expect a hilarious video blog.

“We know that it’s a party non-stop, so we’ve learned some lessons and I think we’ll share those lessons with Secret Broadcast,” said Kliewer.

“In the friendliest possible way, we’d like to see them self-destruct before Winnipeg,” joked Angus.

After about a year of honing in on their live show antics, these Fast Romantics say this is a paramount event and record for them as a band.

“We know who we are, what we’re trying to do and we want see if we can get people off at the same time – which most people aren’t lucky enough to be able to do that,” said Angus. “Rock and roll shows are a lot like really good sex…”

“We want people to walk out and be like: (wondrous sigh)… that was fantastic!” interjected Kliewer with googly eyes.

“We want everyone to come at the same time,” said Angus.

*The Warehouse opens at 8pm on Saturday with the Shagbots kicking off the night.*