A selection of some of the most colourful quotes extracted from interviews conducting by Music Express staff during 2015
By Keith Sharp
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“Finding out I was bi-Polar was like figuring out the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Once I knew what the problem was, the doctors prescribed the right medication and I eventually got things back under control.”. —–Matthew Good. (On succeeding to defeat mental health issues)
“School Of Rock is a brilliant movie, I loved everything about it. And after I watched it, I had to go to the nearest Music Camp and live out that experience.” —-Francesco Yates. (The Jack Black movie which served as his initial inspiration)
“These days, people can post your performance on You Tube before you’ve even gotten off the stage! It doesn’t matter that if that night, your voice was blown or you were feeling sick, it’s all out there. I do believe some of our artistic control has been lost.”—-Brett Emmons – Glorious Sons. (The down side of social media).
“This chap was talking to me when we were recording the album and he says, `Johnny, what kind of a record is it. Is it a rock album, is it a soul album, is it a country album’? And before I could respond, my producer Bob Ezrin interjected and said, “It’s a Johnny Reid album”.—-Johnny Reid (When is a Country artist not a Country artist?)
“If you call “Love Me Do” by The Beatles or “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley, bubble gum music, then fair enough, but like those songs, “Sugar Sugar” was written at a particular time for a particular purpose. It was written for a kids TV show (The Archies) for heaven’s sake! It wasn’t supposed to be a profound piece of music.” —-Andy Kim. ( Defending a classic hit song)
Josh (Ramsey) went through some stuff and we were just there as friends prepared to help out where we could. We gave him some space where necessary. There is no point trying to be creative when someone’s life is a shambles.”—-Matt Webb – Mariana’s Trench. (In support of his colleague during the writing of Astoria).
“I’ve been doing some swimming and I have been in the studio getting my voice chops back in shape. It was pure fatigue that was the real problem but at least now I’m not falling asleep in my dinner.” —-Alan Frew. (Battling back from his stroke scare).
“When July Talk emerged in 2012, mega record sales were history by then. So it’s something we don’t dwell on because it’s something we never had.”—Peter Dreimanis – July Talk. (The new realities of the music biz).
“In my experience, there is nothing more terrifying than singing the national anthem, especially the American one, it’s a lose/lose situation. It’s the only gig in show business where if you do an amazing job, no one really cares. Yet if you screw it up, you’re the dog’s breakfast.”—-Alan Doyle. (After singing both national anthems at a Leafs -Carolina game at the Rogers Centre).
“When I go out to eat, I always think its’s more fun to have a whole bunch of small plates rather than one big plate of the same thing. That’s sort of how we approach things musically.” —-Ewan Currie – The Sheepdogs. (An insight into their recording process).
“I waited for him (Herb Alpert) to walk across the parking lot and then I dropped my guitar and chased after him. There was a security guard chasing after me, it was a real Keystone Cops scenario—-Gino Vannelli. (How Vannelli scored his first recording contract with Alpert’s A&M Records label).
“If we could have pre-planned the viral success of that song (“Somebody That I Used To Know”) we would have had 50 of them. It was simply a case of it being the right time, on the right day and everyone wanting to share it. —-Ryan Marshall – Walk Off The Earth. (Reflecting on the global success of their Gotye cover).
“I can remember, as a kid, wanting to find a particular John Lee Hooker song that was hard to find and I had been hunting through numerous record shops trying to find it. Now, all you have to do is spend a few seconds on You Tube and there it is!—-Colin James. (How You Tube is taking all the fun out of things).
“My lawyer Chris Taylor, calls me `The Godfather Of Alternative Rap’ and I got emotional when he said that. I look around at Drake, The Weeknd, K’Naan and Classified and I think to myself, `Are they doing what I have been doing for the past 10 years?” —-k-OS. (The spark behind Canada’s global rap movement)
“If anything, this is an `Outlaw Record’, this is not `Tom Cochrane Goes Country’. I come by these influences honestly. It’s a fact that Country is the new Rock!” —-Tom Cochrane. (Commenting on Canada’s Country music resurgence).
“Some promoters take a gamble of bringing in much bigger bands than they can handle. These are the guys who get into trouble.”—-Ralph James -President – Union Agency Canada. (Pearls of wisdom from Canada’s top booking agent).
“We were just in England and I met some fans who became really emotional when they met me. Apparently seeing Men Without Hats in concert is on so many people’s bucket list. Go figure!—-Ivan Doroschuk – Men Without Hats. (Loyalty and patience finally pays off!).
“The first time we played in Thunder Bay was also an indicator that things were breaking for us. To hear the audience sing a John Lennon song back to us, gave us an indication we were doing something right—-Max Kerman – The Arkells. (On those inspirational moments).
“Writing with Ian D’Sa (Billy Talent) was the first time the band had co-written with anyone outside of the band. We have learned so much about the writing process from Ian. He has show us how to be better writers”. —-Matt Murphy – The Lazy’s. (Oz Rockers get Canuck assistance).
“The reason our songs are so friggin long all of the time, it’s because we don’t care how we are supposed to create a song. We are going to go here, we are going to go there, and then we are going fishing.” —-
Jag Tanna – I Mother Earth. (A radio programmer’s nightmare).
