Disturbing the Peace
By blake crothers
Since the release of Naveed in 1994, North Americans have grown with alternative phenomenon Our
Lady Peace to the tune of hundreds of thousands of records. Naveed is a middle-eastern name that stands
for the bearer of good news, which can now be translated to read "good fortune." In the beginning, Our
Lady Peace's name was confusing, difficult to understand and, at times, mixed up with the name of
another up-and-coming Canadian act called I Mother Earth. OLP, as fans affectionately call them, have
since become a Canadian staple in the households and disc players of many, many fans. The name of the
band is derived from a poem by author Mark Van Doren; guitarist Mike Turner explains, "We all read it
and took something different from it, and that's the sense we want from the music."
Without question, you can say the success of the band has propelled them into the limelight and they are
now the torchbearers to show the world what Canadian music has to offer. In half the time it took for the
now-legendary Kingston, Ontario quintet The Tragically Hip to reach lofty sales, OLP have smashed
down barriers making the absolute best use of their musical career, a career that can sometimes be very
fleeting (Andrew Ridgeley, Helix). What OLP have been able to do that, unfortunately, the Hip have not
is make a dent in the American charts. This can be partially attributed to opening slots for such
heavyweight acts as Alanis Morissette, Van Halen, Page & Plant, Sponge, Letters To Cleo, and most
recently Everclear. But this can mainly be attributed to OLP's grinding hooks and frontman Raine
Maida's exuberant howls and commanding presence, whether he be onstage or on the set of the band's
latest video.
Another hurdle that Our Lady Peace have overcome is the treacherous sophomore jinx, which often falls
on to bands recording their second album, showing the public and critics that they didn't have a chance
to grow and are only one-hit wonders. It hasn't been a complete bed of roses for the Toronto band, even
though their record deal sounds like a fairy tale the band played less than a dozen shows together before
signing to Sony Music. In 1995, OLP had to replace bass player Chris Eacrett with Duncan Coutts and
learn, again, how to work as a team to achieve success. With Clumsy already surpassing sales of Naveed,
the band's formula for success with producer Arnold Lanni (ex-member of Sheriff and Frozen Ghost)
seems to make just the right amount of chemistry.
After a seven-month tour of the United States opening for Everclear, OLP will be back on northern turf
to play a string of capacity shows, which will include Winnipeg on Jan. 20, Thunder Bay on Feb. 5, and
Sudbury on Feb. 7. Everclear will open the first leg of the tour, which includes Winnipeg's show, while
OLP-approved hip-hopsters BTK perform opening honours for the second leg, including Thunder Bay
and Sudbury.
Our Lady Peace are comprised of Raine Maida on vocals, Duncan Coutts on bass, Mike Turner on
guitar, and Jeremy Taggart on drums. Just before Christmas, Maida had a chance to speak to me about
Naveed, Clumsy, New England Patriots, BTK, Everclear, Chantal Kreviazuk, Sinead O'Connor and
more.
lowdown: How did you guys hook up with Everclear?
Raine Maida: It was really, I guess, organic, for whatever reason. I think he (Art Alexakis, Everclear
frontman) heard our first record, or heard "Superman's Dead" on the radio in the States, and we were
touring and he called us and asked us. They had six weeks starting at the end of October and they needed
somebody to open up and they asked us. At first we kinda didn't want to do it because we were having a
lot of fun headlining and things were going really well. Then we said, "You know what it would be... I
think their audience is a little different than ours." So we decided to do it and it worked out well. They
were talking about touring Canada in January and so we said, "Why don't you guys come play with us?"
l: Were the American Everclear dates in large arenas?
RM: No, no, it was smaller. I don't know what you would call it: really big clubs or theatres 1,500
seaters. It was nice, really hot and sweaty.
l: Were you at the Boston show where the girl (23-year-old Tameeka Messier) alleged that New England
Patriots' Drew Bledsoe and Max Lane both leapt from the stage and landed on her during Everclear's
Nov. 13 performance at the Paradise Rock Club?
RM: Yeah. I don't know, it's such a weird thing. No charges were laid; it seems the girl had three disks
removed from her neck. I mean, there were a lot of other people who could have landed on her as well. It
just so happens that they were football players.
1: How long have you guys been touring the United States?
RM: We've been down here for about seven months now.
l: What do you think of touring the States?
RM: We feel really isolated down here, like we're doing something radically different, because Everclear
tends to be more punkish or raw it's either that or the whole ska thing. I don't know where we fit in, with
songs like "Car Crash" and "Carnival." Our reviews have been really positive.
1: What do you find different between Canadian and American fans?
RM: Nothing. Just size. It's still building here. We're selling a lot of clubs on our own now; I think a lot
of it's the same, you know, in the sense the kids are going out and buying the record and digging the
whole album. "Clumsy" was just released as a single here, but even two months ago all these kids who
knew "Superman's Dead" from the radio and video were singing "Clumsy" at the shows. Especially in
America, when we get a single on the radio and it starts doing well, and then TV starts playing the video,
I always get very apprehensive (Maida lowers his voice to make like he is disappointed): "Oh shit, here it
is. We're not going to be the band that gets to develop. It's just a big single." And that's what you become
just that single. We were worried about that with "Starseed"; I think it's very real and we're developing
real fans, rather than kids that won't give a shit with the next record.
l: How did you guys get hooked up with BTK for the Canadian tour's second leg?
RM: I saw them in a small club with my girlfriend in the summer when we were home in Toronto doing
the Edgefest stuff. And I saw the video for "Superchile" that they had briefly on MuchMusic and I really
dug it, and I went to see them, and it was unbelievable. We got them to open up on some of the Edgefest
dates in Ontario and they're just amazing live; we want to give them the opportunity to play. It will
definitely be to a different crowd because their crowd is probably not our crowd, but that's the interesting
thing and that's what music's all about.
l: With all your touring, have you developed a solid fan base?
RM: Yeah, when the album first came out we just toured the colleges and universities 'cause that's where
we started from, and we'll probably do it when the next record is released as well. It means a lot to us to
play those rooms that we played back when there were only three people in them.
l: You have done your share of videos for both records, but with the latest ("Automatic Flowers") the
band took over the role as director.
RM: Yeah, we did. We'll sit around and talk about the concept for a video and then explain it to a
director. Then we'll get it on paper and everything looks fine, but it kept happening over and over that the
final product was nothing, or it fell very short of the vision that we saw in our head. Finally, with
"Automatic Flowers," we were touring the States, it was really hectic and we were talking to all these
directors and thought, "This is just gonna happen again." So, we said, "Forget it. Just book us some time
and we'll do it ourselves." And I think we're happier with it.
l: Why did you do a second video for "Superman's Dead"?
RM: We did another one for MTV, only because Columbia Records down here in New York liked the
first "Superman's Dead" video but they wanted to put more band footage in it and, conceptually, it didn't
fit with the Canadian version. We felt it would compromise the integrity of it so we said, "Forget it," and
we didn't want to kill the video and its meaning just for more band footage, and we just did another one.
l: Rumours have it that you have taken some heat from adoring female fans over the relationship with
your girlfriend. (Maida is dating Winnipeg singer Chantal Kreviazuk.)
RM: Oh, really? Oh god, I couldn't tell you. I try to keep my personal life personal.
l: But as the band's success grows, your profile is reaching higher levels. Your personal life is becoming
more public.
RM: Well, kind of. I find on the Web site, and questions asked by E-mail and regular mail, that they are
pretty much more about the music and shows. That's what we give to the fans. If you give everything
about yourself, you become a prostitute.
l: Then, if it's about the music, I guess you're questioned often about the lyrics. How does that process
work for you?
RM: I think it's like having a baby it's very painful for me. It's all observational for me and I take notes
about things that interest me. I go back to them every couple of weeks or months and see if they have any
relevance to me and slowly decipher stuff until we're ready to put music to the words. It's a really strange
thing how it all happens for me and it's tough, because when I write, I'm playing the acoustic guitar and
trying to put all these melodies to the words and, all of a sudden, you have all these rules. It's not like
poetry, but I feel that I'm becoming better at it and hope to continue getting better.
l: Would you say that Our Lady Peace are more of a cohesive unit since the arrival of Duncan Coutts?
RM: Absolutely. Things were going really well when Chris was in the band: We were starting to sell a
lot of records and we felt like we were achieving something, but there was this whole spiritual and
philosophical difference between Chris and the rest of us. It was hindering us from enjoying any of the
success, so we sat down and decided what the problem was and realized that we were heading down
different paths, musically and as people.
l: It must have been kind of hard. Was it like kicking out a member of the band?
RM: It was more of an agreement. In a perfect world we wouldn't want it to happen and it was a tough
decision to make. We didn't want to have to make it but I think, looking at the career of the band, it was
a very important decision. Bringing in Duncan has made it more of a family. He was the first bass player
we auditioned for this band but he was involved in school, so he let us travel in the little school bus for
three years and then decided to join.
l: After playing Naveed live over 400 times, does it become monotonous?
RM: In terms of integrity, we feel we have 100% integrity. Even with all the warts and scars of that
record, there are things that aren't perfect, and it's something that we have captured a time in our life,
three months something that's documented and we're happy with that.
l: With all the touring for Naveed, do you feel that is what pushed the band past the sophomore jinx for
the recording of Clumsy?
RM: Oh, definitely. For us, making music is not an easy thing. We put so much pressure on ourselves to
make great records, not just to make singles. We don't let the record company hear anything until we
have 11 excellent songs, and that's where the pressure comes from. And Duncan is a great mediator:
When things get tense he becomes the voice of reason, which is something we didn't have before. I'm an
extremist and Duncan balances me pretty well. What it basically comes down to is the respect that we
have for one another and that we're able to check our egos at the door and just concentrate on making
music. I think that's where a lot of bands fall short.
l: How does it feel being put up on the pedestal as one of Canada's best bands?
RM: I don't really think about it. We've grown, and so have the fans, although lately, when I think of the
show we will be playing at Maple Leaf Gardens, it puts butterflies in my stomach. Because I grew up
watching every band in the world play there, but at the same time we're looking at goals further down the
road to make a career of this. The record industry has become so cynical and disposable, it seems just
having a career is harder.
l: When you first started off, the first single from Naveed was "Birdman," which didn't get very much
rotation on MuchMusic. Did the idea of a music career ever seem out of reach?
RM: Yeah, we didn't get any play on "Birdman." And even though Naveed sold like 400,000 copies, it
was a gradual effort. It wasn't any one single that really did it. I think we were getting nervous only
because the record company and management were. But we told them to come out to the shows and see
how the people were connecting. It wasn't anything like a one-hit-wonder kind of thing; it was a real
personal connection that people were getting from the lyrics and the show.
l: Now, OLP's Thunder Bay show won't have the same problem as the last one you played there, will it?
(A riot broke out Nov. 12, 1995, OLP's last Thunder Bay show.)
RM: I really hope not. I think it will be a little more organized. I don't mind talking about it. It was really
disappointing. We did all these colleges and had no problems and then we got to Thunder Bay and we
had some lady, who, for whatever reason, put the kids' safety aside by putting up little tables as a
barricade. We've played enough shows to see every kind of barricade and every problem that can arise,
and a kid could have easily broken their neck or collarbone or whatever for us and it's just not worth it.
Music we'll do anything for music but I won't see some kid get hurt.
l: The venue in question has since put up new barricades, but I think the concern was over the crowd-
surfing and the cement floor. Would you say you promote stage-diving and crowd-surfing at your shows?
RM: No, we don't. Well, I don't want to dictate what the kids should do at the show. During Edgefest
there were many kids that got hurt and we have heard a lot of stories about kids getting hurt, even at our
shows where we've had a girl break her neck, broken arms and stuff. Finally, after Edgefest, I sat outside
with our manager right by the B-stage and we watched St. John's Ambulance pull these kids away, and
this one girl almost died because she couldn't catch her breath. Yeah, you know, it just came to a point
where I thought someone was gonna die at one of our shows and I would probably wanna quit then. So
that's why, with this arena tour, most, if not all, the shows are seated. There might be some backlash from
our fans, but in essence we're doing it for them. I'll tell you if someone ever did die at one of our shows, I
don't know if we would still be a band. It would be really hard to get through.
l: For the third album, do you plan to stick with producer Arnold Lanni or try to do the production
yourselves?
RM: You know, with Arnold he is kind of like the fifth member. We do everything together, he's like our
Brian Eno. It's such an ideal relationship that we have never thought of anything different. If we're all
growing together, there's no need to change. The same studio (Arnyard Studios) will probably be used.
We're not gonna go to New York or LA to spend a million dollars on an album; we're going to do it for
cheap and stay in Toronto. I tell you, man, it's not fancy or anything. There's nobody there doing our
laundry for us or anything. It's not the studio or the gear that makes the music, it's the creative minds and
that's what's nurtured in the small place.
l: Is there one person in the world who you'd like to meet, but haven't had a chance to yet?
RM: Sinead O'Connor. She's probably the only musician that I would be a little starstruck by, just
because I have such a strong belief in her beliefs. She has complete integrity so what if she's not selling a
million albums. I think she is just a brilliant musical mind, and she has probably been one of the biggest
influences on me as a singer, and just someone I have a lot of respect for.
Copyright 1997 lowdown productions.
