Propagandhi

Interviews | Nov 30th, 2005

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Were you surprised at the amount of people who bought the Glen Lambert bit? I sure know I was; got a chuckle from it.
I’m not too suprised. It is funny. I don’t know how much people know or care about the personalities in the band so I had no idea what to expect. It was funny to see some of the comments from people. Especially humorous were the people who thought Glen was ripping Chris off. The name change was just some last minute crap. haha..

Potemkin City Limits is a lot more melodic than past releases, most notably, Today’s Empires; not as Thrashy. How did you approach this album musically?
We just played from the heart and tried to mix power with some musical layering, or whatever you’d want to call it. We were just trying to give ‘er, really. As soon as we have some riffs we like and they can be mixed with lyrics to make an interesting song we start to dig it. It doesn’t feel less thrashing than Empires to me. just a tiny bit slower in a couple songs. if we’d done Empires again it would be lame.

I thought A Speculative Fiction was a good take on a sort of Cold War/Rebellion against America from a Canadians view, left as a questionable idea/warning, and a great song; any comments on it yet? Cause I could see it being taken wrong by some people.
I have seen so many people take that song wrong. that doesn’t bother me though because if you read it with any amount of thought or interest the lyrics are clear. It’s actually a song about pathetic nationalism. It’s really easy for Canucks to shake our dirty hoops at the U.S. but we’re fucked too.

Rock for Sustainable Capitalism: good laugh from Fat Mike, a little pissy, or didn’t really give a shit?
Mike wasn’t pissy. Just a little defensive as anybody would be , I suppose. The song is actually hoping that someday or somehow all these millionare punks will step up to the plate and be citizens of the world instead of just takers. It seems like it’s something easy to ask for. We’re frustrated. the things that could be done would be amazing. I’m hoping maybe Fat and the bands can at least get together to do recycled packaging or anything at all. Life can’t just be about the bottom line. I hope something good comes out of it. If not, at least we said our piece. We are really disillusioned by what the music scene is all about. I’ll tell you for sure it has nothing to do with music.

On Bringer of Greater Things you include the Hammond Organ (played by Chris Brown I believe), sounds great with the track, what inspired that idea?
Chris Brown is such a nice guy. I love his records with Kate Fenner. They are honest, they have great lyrics and are really talented, caring people. We gave him a few tunes and let him play what he wanted. He played over whole songs. We were under the unnderstanding that we would keep any parts that were suitable. He played some great things that are muted on the tracks but didn’t necesarily fit with our vision for the tune. It was hard to decide what to keep and what not to. He played over almost all of “Iteration” as well. The song didn’t seem to need the extra instrument so we just left the Clavinet at the end. Chris is amazing!

What bands do you feel actually have something worthwhile to say at the moment, (not just regarding Punk)?
I love this Canadian Rapper named K’Naan he is a immigrant from Somalia. He has great lyrics and a lot of heart. I think the last Voivod record speaks to me on a level where they are saying exactly what I am thinking. I love a lot of World music because it is usually really creative and well played. It offers me lyrics and a perspective that western music doesn’t even come close to comparing too. The last band I listened to was Tinarewen from Mali. They are hypnotic and great. There is a lot of western bands doing a lot of good stuff I just don’t really seek them out much. I’d rather hear from the rest of the world for a change. I love Immolation , a death metal band from New York. Great lyrics they got. Their dark outlook on very real topics really hits me hard. I think Ani difranco always offers alot of heart, great playing and wicked ;lyrics. She is constantly on the move!

I see “The Rod” is doing an interview with Ross Dolan of Immolation (That’s a Death Metal band folks) for Wonka Vision Magazine, when can that be expected?
haha.. that was rad. Unfortunately the inteview will only be 250 words for Wonka Vision which ends up being not very insightful or inspiring. that’s the way it goes. I think the full interview will be on www.flexyourhead.com or .ca… something or other……He gave me great answers.

I’ve read that some of your musical influences were Motorhead and Slayer; being a huge Metal fan myself, I’m curious what some of your other influences were, and what some of your favorite albums are?
I do like those bands although the bands we are really inspired by in the metal world are Voivod, Razor, Sacrifice, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Exodus (Bonded By Blood), and for me Dio and Fates Warning. I’ve been listening to lots of Queensryche latley. We like so much great old records.

How much touring do you plan to do for the new album, since it is a rarity to see Propagandhi on tour? Is it just going to stick to the west coast in the US?
We’re not sure what’s going to happen. I’m starting to feel like i would rather tour somewhere really different and inspiring so I get more out of it as a person. I like touring but sometimes the down time starts to feel like wasted time to me. I would like to hit places I’ve never seen before. South America etc.. That is what I’m hoping for. I think we’re going to do Australia first though. It’s really cold in Canada. haha. We had to get something under way so we’re out of the freezer for a while for once in our lives.

Are you going to be using any sampling for the tour? I ask because of how many tracks seemed to be used for the new album.
No sampling live for us. We’ll play them like we do in the basement. We just have to play some shit a bit different. To me it’s fun to hear it all get played by just three fellows. We rearrange some chords and bass lines etc…

What are your views on PETA?
They’re made up of all types of people so that’s cool. I’m not into the use of those models and shit “going naked” instead of wearing fur etc.. Like everything there’s good and bad. They are fighting for something good but reflect society at the same time. We did an interview with some great Peta folks in Portland. I thought they were great and doing a great thing with their time.

Rusty trombone or Tapioca pudding?
I don’t know what Rusty Trombone is but I’ll pick that because it sounds ridiculous…

You take long breaks between records to make sure you put out something you will still love years down the road; how do the older albums hold up to you today?
Well, to tell you the truth the love of the record usually turns to scorn and contempt very quickly. That may be good because it drives you to be better next time. We fell a constant state of failure. It’s not good psychologically but that’s the way some people are driven. We take a long time so we don’t let ourselves down and so that we at least come out with something we canhope to be proud of as we enter the studio.

How much longer do you guys think you will be around and kicking for?
I have no idea. We are all very odd folks. I guess we became punks at a time when being a punk meant you were a dweeb or a wang. We found each other through pure dysfunction and we are now adult screw ups. We are great friends who have the same influences and a strange need to vent, and create. As long as we’re all on a reasonable keel we’ll keep rocking. Who else would ever like us besides us? We’re best friends playing music. That is rad.

Open forum! Talk about or plug whatever the hell you want. Politics, music, books, rants, random non sensible shit; your call, have a heyday!
Well I’ll plug SNFU’s record “In The Meantime and In Between Time” because they are legends and should be the biggest punk band in history. I’ll plug the book “The Natashas” it is aboout the global sex trade. It is horrifying. And then I’d lastly like to encourage everyone to keep their closest eye on the War in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the bloodiest war in the world. Over 4 million peoplle dead. There is barely any coverage in the news or even alternative media, books and conciousness. I wonder what it is that makes people not car about this war. Most of the coltan that is used in our cell phones and laptops is mined there.

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