Monday 04 January 2010
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.
(photo: Daryl Malone)
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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