Canadian collaborative Broken Social Scene is known for great and experimental music where the only thing more surprising than what they’ll think of musically is who will play with them next. Popwreckoning’s Bethany got the chance to talk music and food with one of the group’s core members and co-founder, Brendan Canning. Read the interview below:
PW: Let’s start off with some recent events. I just caught your Omaha show and you had to do an impromptu DJ set.
BC: Yeah, Lizzie [Powell], was, well she had a bronchial infection.
PW: Aw. Is she doing better today?
BC: Yeah, she’s doing much better, I haven’t actually spoken to her, but I think she’s on the mend, which is good for everyone.
PW: So no impromptu DJ set tonight?
BC: No, no DJ set tonight, I had to borrow most of those records from the bartender at the Slowdown.
PW: So how do you plan out your set if you hadn’t seen the records before?
BC: Oh, well, I looked at them and I knew most of them. It is pretty easy to put on a PiL record and once you do that it’s like, well, I guess Gang of Four goes well after PiL and you try to go from there.
PW: So how did that compare to the other times when you’ve DJed some of those celebrity parties in NY?
BC: Well, normally I show up with my records. Ha. And I don’t do too many celebrity parties to be quite honest. The odd party here and there. I do like it, though.
PW: So is Lizzie like an official member of Broken Social Scene now?
BC: Well, we try to avoid the word “official” in regards to anything with Broken Social Scene, but she’s playing shows with us and she’s up on stage with us. I’d say that’s as close to being a member as anything right now. She sang on a couple of tunes on my record.
PW: Now when she wasn’t able to perform in Omaha, you guys had to call up some guest singers like Orenda Fink.
BC: That’s right.
PW: Is that hard for you to get a hold of people to do the music or are they pretty willing?
BC: That was not because Val, at the club, she called her up and then I talked to her and she came down to club. We’re very fortunate to have people like Orenda Fink around who can just kind of come in, not really knowing the songs at all, and just come up on stage and do it up. I thought she did a good job.
PW: Do you guys rehearse with guest musicians or is just a quick sound check?
BC: That wasn’t even a sound check. That was just like her, on stage, just her, me, Charlie [Spearin] and I, sort of going over the song for 5-10 minutes because we didn’t even really know what we were going to do that night. So that sort of came together about 8:00 in the evening.
PW: Wow. Now, Nate Walcott of Bright Eyes also played with you. Did he get any more advance notice?
BC: He might have gotten a couple hours extra notice. He’s a great player, though.
PW: So all these musicians, because you guys have other people in other cities that perform with you, all these musicians are pretty much cold turkey?
BC: Yeah, it’s not like they can fly up to Toronto to rehearse with us or anything. I mean, it’s not that difficult. It’s just music after all. If you got ears and some ability, our music is not that hard to comprehend.
PW: With all these guest musicians, who would you ideally like, dead or living, who would you like to perform with?
BC: Oh, I don’t know. That’s kind of a funny question. Who knows? I can’t really answer that because I don’t even know who we’re going to have play with us tonight even. Especially if we have some great player tonight that I don’t even know about yet. There’s not an ideal guest. I’ve never thought in terms like that.
PW: Last year when you guys came to Omaha, you played a secret show.
BC: I don’t know if it was a secret show, but it was an impromptu show. We had the day off there and we just kept running into people who talked to us about playing. We thought it was a good idea, too. We were there in Omaha, so we figured we’d make use of our time.
PW: Does that sort of thing happen a lot?
BC: No, it does not.
PW: How does a show like that compare to last night’s planned show? Are the crowds pretty different?
BC: Nope. Comparable, I’d say.
PW: I do like that you guys surprise and improv, so what’s the story on the “science experiment” and how involved is everyone in that?
BC: That’s Charles. Charles has an album coming out. He made a record with a bunch of conversation blips from some of his neighbors. He’d be better poised to answer, but ultimately he just chopped some conversation clips and made musical pieces and started added instrumentation to different conversations following melody lines.
PW: Yeah, I was just impressed because the first one at the show had been done before, but then the second one you did on the spot and you came out to join.
BC: Ha, yeah, well I mean I hadn’t played the cowbell before to that one, but like I said, it’s not that hard to pick up a drum stick or two and play along on cowbell or to pick up a guitar. It’s just music.
PW: So with your new album, you’re front and center with this tour, does your attitude with that also just go along with “it’s just music” or is it nerve-racking?
BC: It’s different in the sense that now instead of me just doing it for one or two songs in the set, now it’s like four or five. I’m a comfortable front man.
PW: What songs are you most excited about audiences hearing on this tour?
BC: I don’t know. I never really think about that. I’m just happy to be out there, playing music for people. I hope that there’s not just one song in particular that’s going to wow them and that’s it. I hope we get a good two hour show running from top to bottom.
PW: I think the Omaha one was kind of pushing three hours.
BC: Ha, yeah, I know. That was awfully long. We were just talking about that tonight and being like, “Ok, that’s it. We can’t be playing that long every night.” Unless, maybe we will start doing that, but take a little break in between.
PW: It was really impressive, but I think everybody was a little confused when there were like eight endings.
BC: Oh right, that’s good. Confusion is good. We don’t want to sound like something ordinary or give something that everybody’s seen before.
PW: Were you guys operating off of a set list for that show?
BC: Probably the first half. Then it kind of, well, like most of our shows, we sort of have a set list, but then about halfway through the band just kind goes and throws that out the door. We go wherever the moment seems to be taking us.
PW: At the show, you guys also brought up politics. Are you guys concerned with United States and the presidential election being Canadian?
BC: We’re so closely linked to American politics. We’ll have to witness it everyday of our lives. We’re all tuned into anything. It is going to affect our livelihood in the end because we spend so much time in the US working. We spend time working here in the US like we do in Canada, so we’re very concerned about the future of the US, the American economy and the people who live in this country who are very concerned with how it’s going to move forward. We can’t not be concerned.
PW: Now Canada just had an election as well.
BC: Yeah, it was kind of a joke. The Prime Minister called for the election thinking that he could get a majority government. It all happened very fast, but all it did was waste tons and tons and tons of money on “Oh, thank you.” It was a stupid idea and it wasted tons of money on advertising without out really solving anything. The most it did was give was give a little face time to the green party, Elizabeth May, so that’s a good thing. Another political party that has a voice outside of the common politics of a running candidate.
PW: Ok, let’s talk about your album a little bit. Your recent album was a solo album, but you still collaborated with your Broken Social Scene chums and then it got the title of Broken Social Scene Presents: slapped onto it as well. How do you keep a solo album separate from BSS when it is still that closely connected?
BC: In this instance, it was just me in the driver seat the whole time, having the ability to make the final decision on the tunes. That’s where it becomes different.
PW: Do you think you’ll do more solo albums?
BC: I think so. I got a long career ahead of me as a musician and the world’s my oyster. At the same time, I think BSS is cooking something and plans on making a full band record before another Brendan Canning solo album comes out.
PW: Will there be another BSS record before another BSS Presents?
BC: I think so. That’s the plan, but I can’t really say for sure.
PW: Because Justin [Peroff] is working on something solo isn’t he?
BC: We’ve all got lots of ideas up our sleeves, but yeah. Justin’s got a bunch of ideas, too. Probably a bunch of those will go to a BSS record. It’s really kind of an unwritten chapter that we haven’t read through yet. We’ll just take the time here and there and piece it all together, map it out.
We’ve put a lot of time on the road this year, so I know next year will be less time on the road and more focused on recording and whatever becomes of those recordings.
PW: Do you guys think you’d ever want to try to get some of the original collaborators of BSS back together in sort of a massive reunion sort of show or is that impossible since Leslie Feist and the members of Stars and all those other groups are pretty busy with their own projects.
BC: Nobody’s really thinking about a reunion because this band has never broken up and members are always coming in and out and we’ve always made records. The core that is touring right now, this is essentially BSS. Myself, Charles, Kevin [Drew], Justin and Andrew [Whiteman], we’ve been sort of the five core for the career of the touring band.
A couple of people have sort of dropped in and out, the Stars gang have come in and out, the Metric gang have come in and out an another hundred or two hundred or so players. The idea of a reunion, there is no reunion to be had, since nothing’s been disbanded. It’s more just whomever is going to be around when it comes time to make the record.
PW: Bruce McDonald is making a documentary about your life.
BC: Yeah, it’s for the Independent Film Channel. It’s sort of a little postcard of my finishing my record. It’s not my life story.
PW: So it’s about the album making process?
BC: Yeah, a little bit of that. It’s just a snap shot. There are some nice vignette moments.
PW: Did he ask to do that because you had worked together in the past?
BC: Yeah, he had the project with the Independent Film Channel and was looking for something to film, so it sort of came about that way.
PW: There’s not going to be like a DVD release?
BC: Not at this point and I don’t officially own the rights to it.
PW: Is there anything surprising for fans in it that they might not know about?
BC: I’m pretty handy in the kitchen, I suppose. There’s a little cooking moment. It’s not like I’m cooking something and then serving it to Bruce.
Is there anything surprising? I don’t know. I don’t really know what people know about. Maybe they might be, but it’s tough to say. I like, I can say that much. Some of it is mildly embarrassing, but I think that’s just because it is me watching myself. I think they did a good job. Nothing’s grossly out of proportion in it.
PW: What type of stuff do you like to cook?
BC: I can cook anything. You name it. Whatever you want, I’ll make it for you. I’m pretty handy in the kitchen.
PW: Alright, next tour, I’ll take you up on that.
BC: Yeah, sure. As long as there’s nice pans. I like nice pans.
PW: Of course, those are very important.
BC: Yeah. Pans and good knives. Oh and fresh herbs, lots of fresh herbs.
PW: Do you get to cook on the tour bus at all?
BC: No and we had a shit meal today, so I guess I should have known better.
PW: Too bad, there are some good places to eat in Kansas City.
BC: What’s that?
PW: You’re in KC, right?
BC: Yeah, KC, MO.
PW: There are lots of good places to eat there. You got to try to find good food.
BC: I did yesterday.
PW: Where’d you go?
BC: An unnamable diner.
PW: Ok. So, I saw on some sites that you’re nicknamed “The Champ.” What’s the story on that?
BC: It’s just a nickname I have sort of had since my old band hHead.
PW: How’d you get it?
BC: I used to pretend that I was a drunk prize fighter and I’d take swings at my drummer. And he’d say, “Hey Champ, Champ. It’s me, Champ,” and then I’d sort of come to. That was the game and for some reason people seemed to really gravitate toward the nickname. Then DJing, it just became a sort of DJ handle.
PW: Do you have any other nicknames?
BC: Only little funny ones that my girlfriend calls me, nothing I want to share.
PW: Alright, we can keep those private.
PW: My last question for you is: BSS did a Guided by Voices cover and I think I’ve heard you guys do that in the past, so if you could personally cover anything, what would you want to cover?
BC: Maybe “Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat” by Charles Mingus. It is a really great ballad. You should check it out, it’s one of the all-time classics.
PW: Will do. That’s all I have, thank you for talking with me.
BC: You’re welcome. Thank you, Bethany.
PW: Good luck with your show and find some better food. Eat some KC BBQ, you’re not vegetarians are you?
BC: No, there’s a few in our crew that are, but yeah, I’m sure we’ll find something.
PW: Good. Take it easy.
BC: Bye.
Broken Social Scene: website | myspace | photos
Brendan Canning: website | myspace
Photos by: Nick Davis
