QBiM Q&A with Rae Spoon

A few weeks back, I was all hyped up to see Rae Spoon play a great small space in downtown St. Catharines called 73 St. Paul, designed to be a creative and cultural hub for the city.  Alas, though the show went on as planned, an ill-timed cold got the better of me, and I was in a much-need medicated sleep by the time Rae took to the stage.  Thanks to the good folks at Killbeat Music, I still managed to get some As to my Qs, and put Spoon in the spotlight as this week’s QBiM Q&A artist, the first for 2010.

QBiM: State your name for the record, and mention your record while you’re at it.
Rae Spoon: Rae Spoon.  superioryouareinferior.

QBiM: Where are you from, how did you get here?
RS: I am from Calgary Alberta. I got to Montreal on thousands of greyhounds I am going to try to fly more often.

QBiM: Where have you been traveling to and how has that influenced your music?
RS: I have toured 12 times across Canada.  I’ve been up to the Yukon five times and to Newfoundland twice.  I feel like Canada has had a huge influence on my music because of how much time I’ve spent traveling here.  I write a lot about places I’ve been to or experiences I’ve had here.  I have also been in Europe a lot, but that shows more on my next album.

QBiM: From your perspective, travelling across country playing in all kinds of places, what’s the state of the Canadian music scene like at the end of 2009?
RS: I think the music scene in Canada is great right now.  Having a lot of support from College radio and CBC Radio 2 and 3 had really made a difference for indie music.  There are a lot of great acts still willing to go on the road and I think we have a lot going on as a country.

QBiM: Who’s hanging out with you (who else is in the band or working with you)?
RS: I made my record with Lorrie Matheson.  I just made a project in Germany with Alexandre Decoupigny.

QBiM: Tell us about your recent album with Alex Decoupigny.
RS: The album I made with Alex was actually and art project about a train line that was never built.  We wrote songs out of interviews he conducted on the U-bahn (subway) in Berlin as well as wrote songs with two people who worked on trains/buses in Berlin.  We performed the material in 6 U-bahn stations in 3 days and made a record out of it.  It was really interesting to make.  I felt like I was getting a lot more perspective on Berlin as a place.

QBiM: When was the last time you got in a fight?
RS: In St John’s, working the door of my show last month.

QBiM: What’s the one song you wish you’d have written?
RS:  “Single Ladies” (Beyoncé?? I wouldn’t have guessed! ed.)

QBiM: A Now Magazine review of the album said, “Morrissey would be proud” of the album.  Are you, or were you ever you a fan of his?  Who were your musical heroes growing up?
RS: I was a huge fan of Morrissey in high school.  I also loved Bob Dylan and Nirvana (and Hole).

QBiM: What’s the greatest invention of all time?
RS: The laptop.

QBiM: What was your best subject in school?
RS: English.

QBiM: I’ve read that superioryouareinferior was written and recorded around the theme “Canadian Gothic”.  What exactly does that mean to you?
RS: I based the theme Canadian Gothic on the literary theme American Gothic.  I connected the presence, haunted structures, the search for identity, elements of darkness and skepticism to my experiences touring in Canada.

QBiM: Do you sing in the shower?
RS: Sometimes.

QBiM: Do you listen to your own music in the car?
RS: No.

QBiM: Any vices?
RS: Energy drinks.

QBiM: What was the first concert you went to see?
RS: Billy Graham.

QBiM: Anything to declare?
RS: No.

MP3: Rae Spoon “Come on Forest Fire Burn the Disco Down”
Myspace: Rae Spoon

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