popwreckoning

Any wise alterna-rocker from the ‘90s knows Our Lady Peace. They’re currently touring in support of their 7th studio album, Burn Burn. Just hours before their sold-out show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, Sara sat down and had a chat with drummer Jeremy Taggart, and here’s what he had to say about hard work, changes, and what John Candy and Ghandi have in common.

Sara Swiecki, PopWreckoning: I apologize in advance if you’ve answered these questions 8 million times and are totally sick of hearing them.
Jeremy Taggart, Our Lady Peace: Oh no. That’s fine.
PW: What would you say to people who have criticized your later releases such as Gravity and Healthy in Paranoid Times?
JT: Nothing.
PW: Nothing?
JT: Yeah. Why would I try and waste time changing the opinion of someone who’s not into something? I’ll always love what we do, and we make our records as honestly and as real as we can at the time that we make them, and I don’t think we have any regrets. But we just do what we do, and that’s all we can control.

PW: Yeah. But I’ve also heard that Raine (lead singer Maida) has criticized Healthy in Paranoid Times. Is that true?
JT: Well, I think it was just the experience that it was. It wasn’t the perfect situation. And a lot of other bands we know went through it. And we were lucky enough not to go through it. And I think we were just a little lost. That’s where some of the upset and the idea of bitterness comes in, and the unpleasantness of the experience, rather than we were doing something we didn’t want to do. We were just searching, and we may not have got where we wanted to be. But in that situation, you don’t always get what you want when you’re making a record, you know?

PW: Yeah. Mike Turner’s departure, how did that affect things?
JT: Not at all.
PW: Really?!?
JT: No. Not at all.
PW: Well, he was one of the founding members, yes?
JT: Yeah, he was.
PW: And it didn’t affect anything?
JT: Nope.
PW: Ok, then!
JT: No, because, I mean, we were already in a position where the creative….the music that was getting done at the time….that’s the reason why we parted ways. Mike, he was slowly, more and more going his way and we were going our way. That’s just the way it is. Sometimes when those things happen, it makes things slow down until that happens. And then things go along, generally….I mean, for us, things went along swimmingly (chuckles).

PW: Right on. Raine is known for his vocals, particularly his trademark falsetto. And with the exception of a couple of tracks on Gravity and with Healthy in Paranoid Times, that’s kind of disappeared. But recently, it’s started to come back. What happened there? Was there a reason that he got rid of it for awhile?
JT: I think if someone asked us before our 2nd record, they wouldn’t have said he had a signature falsetto, until Clumsy. That was just kind of a thing that we went into, and it wasn’t like, “Oh yeah! And I sing like this, too!” It was kind of affected by some of the music we were listening to at the time, like Jeff Buckley and Shudder to Think. A lot of those bands were using falsettos and it really created kind of a cool darkness to have that texture. And I think that was more the reason, that it went along with the decision-making process to do that. And songs like “Car Crash” and even “Clumsy” just had a element of all those kinds of bands. And that’s just the way it is, you know? Bands like Garbage or Portishead, those kind of records were the ones we were listening to at the time. They all kind of had an eerie quality that we kind of took the mindset of.

PW: Ok, um…You guys have been out there for quite a long time now, not stoppin’. So you kind of have to think about it. You know, Neil Young said it, Kurt Cobain made it famous….is it better to burn out or fade away?
JT: Well there’s two examples. One’s still burning and the other one burnt out (chuckles). I mean Neil Young is a good example of if you’re creative and you keep that creative fire going, then you’ll be happy in life. And obviously Kurt Cobain lost that. He had it early in his life, and making music to him helped him escape the problems and the thoughts that were making him feel depressed. And I think that once Nirvana found success, he probably lost that and tried to get it back. And he couldn’t find it in a relationship, and he couldn’t find it in making another record with the band. And who knows? It had nothing to do with the BIG picture, which is inner thoughts of a human being. That doesn’t really have anything to do with Nirvana or success or all that stuff. It has more to do with someone who grows up and what they go through, and their connection to reality, and their connection to the earth and life. And he obviously felt really very terrified. And that’s something that I’m glad I don’t know what that feels like.

PW: Nice. Where do we get the name Our Lady Peace from?
JT: It’s from a poem by a man named Mark van Doren, who was a poet and a literary professor at Columbia University in the ‘50s, I think. He was kind of an early visionary for people like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Kind of a straighter version of that. You know, the outspoken, creative poet. And that poem, “Our Lady Peace,” just kind of had a quality that we all kind of dug.

PW: Out of your guys’ best known songs…you know, your hits and everything. If you had to pick one that best defines your band, what would it be?
JT: I don’t know. I think when we play anything our sound happens. When we play any song in our set, it’s us. So it’s hard to pick one to say that is us the most. Like “this is me more than this is me.” It’s hard to judge that. But I feel what you’re saying.
PW: Like if you were to–for somebody that has no idea who you are–hat one song would you pick for them to hear and know this is Our Lady Peace?
JT: Um, well, I don’t know. Because I can’t say, “This is us.” But you can just hopefully pick something that people would have known the most. Songs that are singles and ones that are more specifically musical songs….I don’t know. I’m not sure. Maybe “Superman’s Dead” or “One Man Army” or something like that. I don’t know.

PW: How have you guys noticed your career change as the industry has been shifting?
JT: How has our position changed?
PW: Yes.
JT: Well, now that we’re kind of independent purveyors of our own music, that’s kind of cool. That’s amazing. And it’s great to have a transparency to the business side of things. To know where all our hard earned dollars are going when we’re trying to put a record together, and all that stuff. You know? The cost of putting an album together and all those things you don’t generally have to think about when you’re on a major label. But in the big picture, it’s important to know about that stuff.

PW: You guys have a sold-out show tonight. Does that still feel really good after all these years?
JT: Oh yeah! Yeah! I mean, it’s great to have people come out. I think, for us, to play these songs is the exciting thing. To be playing at The Troubadour again….I think we played here in ’95. So, that’s kind of cool to be back here and to be in such a historic place. But in terms of playing and selling out or whatever, that’s just….that’s our creativity at work in a sense (laughs). People are lining up! They’re lining up outside to watch us play! That’s a good feeling.

PW: Cool! Back to when you guys were first getting started, what did it take and how hard was it to bridge the gap from just playing local clubs and little hole-in-the-walls to getting signed and picking up?
JT: Yeah. To paying rent and eating!
PW: Yeah (laughs)!
JT: It’s hard, you know? It was difficult, but we were prepared. We didn’t have anything to do but the music and we were on tour for 9, 10 months of the year, we were making an album when we weren’t on tour. You kinda have to give 100% of your life to give yourself a chance…to get to make a career out of music. It was easier then, because there were more bars to play. There were more live venues that were there for bands to develop. The labels had more money to pay for tour support, and stuff like that to keep the band on the road. Now, it’s more, you have to scale everything down, and it’s more….it’s about performance. And that hasn’t changed. I think if you’re a good live band, and your songs have a feeling that people can get when you play them, then you’ll have a chance. And that’s it. You just have to keep performing and practicing and you’ll be alright. I think for us, our success has always been based on one day at a time in terms of the shows. And when we’re in the studio, we don’t get precious with our ideas, and we record as much as we can, and we try and write as much as we can while we’re making a record. And we don’t really feel we’ve finished a record until it tells us. And that’s it. Anything other than that, you can’t control. People will say what they want, or try and get into our head space, or try and explain why we don’t sound like we do, or we do sound like we used to or whatever.
Man Outside: FUCK YOU!
(both laugh)
PW: Welcome to LA!
JT: That’s how I feel sometimes. When people tell you how life is supposed to be through rose-colored glasses. We’ve just been super cautious to be really simple. And all our mindset has been is just to sell some records in order to make another one. Not a lot. Not to fill a gap. It’s only about performing at a level that we feel is exciting to us musically. And making records that we like to add to our body of work.

PW: You were talking about not necessarily wanting to fill a gap. But going from a band that was just recognized in Canada to being recognized in the US, was that something you guys were shooting for? Something you were pushed towards? Was it difficult or hard? Did it just happen?
JT: Well, we’re at our best when we’re just trying to write, and everything comes from that. Whether we’re trying to make it through a performance, or trying to write a song, we follow….the only formula is just kind of mining an idea, and whether that be just trying to make something tighter, or trying to create an actual song. The only way to get through it is hard work. Again, it’s the only thing we want to do…we’re not interested in trying to do anything other than that.

PW: Alright. So I’m sure you guys get sick of being asked the same questions over and over.
JT: (Sarcastically) Oh, it’s totally a pain. (laughs)
PW: (Laughing) Well, where I’m going with that is there anything that nobody ever asks you that you’d love to talk about?
JT: Oh no, never. I think people that are like, waiting for a certain question, like wanting someone to ask…like, that’s fucked up. (laughs)
PW: (Laughing) Like did you ever see Kanye that year at the Grammys on the red carpet? He was dying for Kathy Griffin to say something about his outfit and they were only asking about his music and he was pissed.
JT: Yeah, I’m not a big fan of setting up things. No, I think the best interviews are slightly conversation-based. That way, they can be anything, like someone on the street. I don’t expect anything from anyone.
PW: I agree. Totally. So, nothing special you want to say at all?
JT: Well, no. That’s not what I meant by that! (both laugh)
PW: That’s basically what I was getting at. Is there anything that you want to say? That you want to tell people?
JT: I just want people to like me.
PW: (Laughing) Don’t we all?
JT: That’s it. That’s what John Candy said, and that’s a pretty good way to live. He was a pretty loved guy, so… John Candy is Canada’s Gandhi.
PW: That’s epic. Thank you for that quote. And for everything!
JT: No problem! Enjoy the show!

Our Lady Peace: website | myspace

Photo  by: Christopher Hickson

As Dear and the Headlights prep for the release of their sophomore album Drunk Like Bible Times, a few of the guys took some time to discuss their busy tour schedule and upcoming album with me. Below you can read my interview with bass and key player Robert Cissell, guitarist P.J. Waxman and lead vocalist and guitarist Ian Metzger.

Bethany, Popwreckoning: Can you tell me a little bit about your band formation? You guys almost didn’t happen, right?
Ian Metzger, Dear and the Headlights: Yeah, It was just a long process of years of trying to get a band together, then it breaking up and reforming. Of having different members and format. It’s been a slow click. It’s been three years of a sort of trimming the fat process.

PW: Now you [Ian] actually left town for awhile. Where you looking to just leave Dear and the Headlights behind?
IM: Well, we weren’t really Dear and the Headlights at that point. It was just me, P.J. and another guy. It just wasn’t working out, so I was just looking to do something else. Then this ended up working out.

PW: You guys met Mark Kulvinskas through Craigslist. How did that process workout? Did you run into any kooks trying to do that?
IM: Well, Craigslist was kind of a last resort. We had tried out 13 different people: drummers from friends we knew and friends of friends, but they were no good.

PW: With a solidified line-up and not all the drama of finding members, how has recording your sophomore album compared to the first one?
Robert Cissell, Dear and the Headlights: It was easy and fun. It was my first recording experience because I didn’t do the first record with them. So, it was awesome and I don’t think it could have gone any better. Unless, if we had like three months instead of six weeks.

PW: How involved was Equal Vision with the album?
IM: With the recording? They were involved financially and that was about it.
P.J. Waxman, Dear and the Headlights: They had no say in what we actually put on the record.

PW: So it wasn’t very different then when you guys recorded through Bob Hoag?
IM: Bob? We did it with him again, but he has a new studio, which made things easier. There weren’t motorcycles revving in the acoustic tracks and airplanes going by during everything this time.

PW: No free sound effects?
IM: Haha, yeah, exactly.

PW: Another thing you guys tried out was not demoing the songs. How did that work, you just tested them out live?
PJW: Yeah, we would just play them out live even if they weren’t actually finished.
RC: We’d play them without singing actually lyrics.
IM: Yeah, I’d try them out with different lyrics every night. I’d say different stuff and it worked out. It was cool. It definitely made the recording itself a lot more exciting for us.

PW: So, when the lyrics quit did you just remember them from the night or did you take notes?
IM: The lyric process is a lot more in-depth. I would just make all the sounds I wanted to make and then I would just say words that had the same syllable count I was looking for, but wasn’t necessarily the word I wanted to use. It kind of was like a weird game, I guess.

PW: So how did audiences respond to that? Were they confused by that?
IM: They don’t know.
PJW: They don’t know if you’re singing the right words, especially if it’s a new song.
RC: Especially if they’ve never heard the right lyrics.

PW: The new record comes out on the Sept. 30. What can people expect from this? Is it similar to the first album or are you trying some new styles?
IM: I don’t think it’s like the first album, but I don’t think it’s going to be disappointing to anybody that liked the first album. It’s not like a big disconnector or anything like that. It seems like any sort of lack of maturity that we might have had on the first record came through as a more mature idea on this second record. With having different members in the band, a lot of parts worked better together than they did on the first record.

PW: So, Rob with this being your first time recording, since you weren’t there for the first album, how was your contribution? Was it pretty exciting to be involved in the songs finally?
RC: Definitely. I had been playing the old songs with the guys for like close to a year so it was cool to actually get together and write a batch of new songs that I could say that I actually had a hand in writing and recording.

PW: So do you think you had something really different to offer?
RC: Yeah, I think every single musician has something different to offer.

PW: So you didn’t try to emulate the original?
RC: No, I just tried to do my own thing.

PW: Are you guys worried about sophomore slump reaction or anything like that?
IM: I think we’re all really happy with what we did and we’re all really happy with the way it came out.
RC: It’s not like we really stress out about whether it’s going to be a slump or not. We’re just excited to get it out there and see what happens really.
IM: Even if every one else thinks it is a slump, we’ll be proud of it.

PW: It won’t be a slump. I’m sure it will be fine. So which song on the record are you most excited for people to hear?
PJW: I hear every one on there and think, “I love this song,” but then it will go to the next one and think this is the one.
IM: I think every one will be pleased by the diversity. I’m excited for them to hear the whole record in its entirety, not just one song.

PW: Are there some common themes throughout the songs?
IM: Lyrically, each song is kind of about it’s own thing.
RC: I think it’s about Ian’s comments on like the last year or so of his life.
IM: Yeah, the last two years since this band’s been going. A lot of it, lyrically, is just about my experiences and just a kind of current recap of things that I have been thinking about or occurrences.

PW: Like relationship stuff or do you get political?
IM: No, I’m not really political, per se. It’s not even necessarily relationships or stuff like that. Some songs are, but not just male/female relationships.
RC: Relationships with friends.
IM: Conversations. I don’t know. One song is kind of dealing with a poem that I read.

PW: What poem?
IM: “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg.

PW: How did that poem inspire you?
IM: Hm.

PW: It’s not like a recap is it? Like Ra Ra Riot did a song based off an e.e. cummings poem that basically restated the poem.
IM: Oh, really? No, it’s not like that.
RC: I don’t think you’d even be able to tell that it’s really about the poem reading the lyrics.

PW: Which song is it?
IM: “Carl Solomon Blues.” It is like the third song on the record. I more so read that poem and it made me question my abilities as a writer or anybody interested in poetry or lyricism. So it kind of is a song mocking myself and my abilities as a poet after reading such a dense, crazy work. As much as I’m kinding making fun of myself in a way after reading that poem, a lot of that poem and that style has influenced the ways that I write. I really connect with Ginsberg and his writings.

PW: Do you like the other beat poets, too?
IM: I’m most familiar with Ginsberg. I’m not really familiar with beat poetry. I’ve read some Kerouac.

PW: So you guys have toured with some pretty big names, like fellow Arizonians Jimmy Eat World. Did you know those guys before you toured with them?
PJW: Yeah, we just kind of met up with them on that tour.

PW: How was that tour, I know their were some people questioning the line up because it was you all and Jimmy Eat World with Paramore, which was kind of a weird combination.
IM: Yeah, it was great.
RC: It was cool.
PJW: We had really good responses. There were lots of people there and then we did like five or six shows after that with just Jimmy Eat World.
RC: That was really cool.

PW: So, is there much of a music scene?
RC: I don’t even know anymore.
IM: There’s much more of one than before.
PJW: There’s tons of bands.
RC: I guess I don’t really know. What exactly is a scene?

PW: Well, like I’m from Omaha and there is kind of a scene built up around Saddle Creek or you go to Chicago and you get a lot of bands that sound like Fall Out Boy. I actually heard something about screamo music being big in Arizona?
RC: Is that still going?
PJW: We don’t really hang out in Arizona too much anymore.

PW: My last question then, what would I find on your iPods or whatever music device you use?
RC: So much.
PJW: A lot of stuff.
RC: Different stuff. Harry Nelson to Dr. Dre.
PJW: Haha. Seriously though.
RC: The most hardcore rap to the most beautiful, touching music.

PW: What’s the most embarrassing thing anybody has on their iPod?
IM: I’m not embarrassed by anything.
RC: Bon Jovi.
PJW: It’s not even Bon Jovi. It says Bon Jovi, but it’s really one of our songs.
All laugh.

PW: You labelled one of your songs as a Bon Jovi song?
PJW: Yeah, we were just driving and I was like I’m going to just play this song as a joke.
IM: Then one of our songs started and I was like, “What?”
PJW: The Walkmen.

PW: That’s not embarrassing.
PJW: No, that’s not embarrassing. I just bought a lot of older records. A lot of our influences are older.
IM: Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Harry Nelson, Flaming Lips. We listen to a lot of stuff.
PJW: Kinks.
PW: That’s all I have. Thank-you so much guys.

Dear and the Headlights: website | myspace