Not Your Ordinary Rock Stars
By Scott Ferguson
"Are you kidding? We use something similar to that for our ideas," says Our Lady Peace guitarist Mike
Turner in response to my apologies for the dated tape machine placed in front of him. "It's the worst
thing when you think of an idea and you think 'that's really cool, I'll remember that,' and then you go to
play it and it's like 'those are the notes but that's not it'."
The fact that the guitarist of one of the most successful Canadian band ever uses a dinky tape recorder
and not some mobile studio is my first indication that Out Lady Peace is not your average rock band,
Although we are in an executive suite of a fairly high class Toronto hotel, Turner didn't arrive with any
kind of entourage or bodyguards. He isn't even staying as the hotel but instead drove in for the interview
from his home and began our discussion by revealing his difficulty in finding a parking place. He isn't
the least bit pretentious and thinks carefully before offering clear and fairly concise answers to my
questions. But while Turner may not take himself too seriously, it is a different story with regard to the
music that he and fellow bandmates Raine Maida (vocals), Duncan Coutts (bass) and Jeremy Taggart
(drums) create.
"We're very serious about what we do. We've worked all our lives to make music, to make an album. Not
that our music is perfect by any stretch but it is as accurate and powerful as we are able to make it. We
really believe in what we do."
Without question thousands of music fans across the country also believe in what Our Lady Peace does.
The band's debut album Naveed was released in 1994 and became an instant success. There seemed to be
an immediate attraction to the emotional intensity of their music and songs like 'Birdman,' 'Starseed,'
'Hope,' and the title track all became hit singles. Three years later the band responded to their popular
debut album with Clumsy, a record that not only equals the quality of Naveed but surpasses it by being
more intricate musically, more personal, and by displaying an even stronger sense of conviction
throughout. The album debuted at number one in Canada and took just over three weeks to go double
platinum. It also spawned such massive hits as 'Superman's Dead,' 'Automatic Flowers,' and the title
track. While numbers ans sketchy (and not necessarily a good way to judge quality) Clumsy has sold
reportedly 700, 000 copies since it's release.
Of course Turner is pleased about the group's successes, but not simply because they have been selling
records and selling out venues, but also because of the kind of responses they have been getting from
their fans.
"We've had some very touching e-mails, [particularly] about the song '4AM' and how it's helped people in
their relationships with their parents which is really special. But honestly, to know that our music has
had an effect like that is a little intimidating."
Other fans that have been intimidating have been those of the famous kind. Led Zeppelin legend Robert
Plant was so impressed with Our Lady Peace that he invited tem to open various Page & Plant dates and
the band has also opened for Van Halen. Not only do Turner and his bandmates share musical talent with
these superstars but apparently also a surprising amount of humility.
"One of the most interesting things about the icon figures that we've met is that people like Plant, Page,
and Eddie Van Halen are regular guys. It's neat to see people of that calibre acting perfectly normal.
Robert Plant said that we had a conviction that he doesn't hear much in today's music and then he
apologized for interrupting our dinner. Ed walked up to us and said 'Hi I'm Ed' and we're like 'No shit'."
But what Our Lady Peace fans from Robert Plant to a twelve year old groupie and everyone in between
seem to enjoy about the band is its raw emotional power. But Turner says that though it's intense, their
music and Raine's lyrics tap into a directed anger which is much more useful than simply being angry.
"Anger is a legitimate emotion but undirected anger is just rage," he explains. "There are a lot of bands,
and I'm not going to name names, that...give off a sense of anger and dismay about nothing or about
really mundane topics which is ridiculous. We'd rather figure out what it is [we're angry at] and have a
resolution."
This kinda of focused intensity is something the band likes int heir on favorite musicians as well.
"We're all huge fans of U2 and The Beatles. I'm also a big fan of Ministry and Nine Inch Nails while
Raine is a big fan of Sinead O'Connor and Jeff Buckley. We mainly like musicians where you hear an
individual, or and individual identity expressed by a group, that has heart and passion. I mean Radiohead
are so brilliant at that it's terrifying, and Soul Coughing and one of the most original bands playing right
now."
But while Turner readily shares the band's influences, their own sound is quite different from any of the
acts he rhymes off.
"We assimilate everything we come into contact with but we're not good enough to imitate it so that you
would recognize it," he laughs.
Along with it's rapid and staggering success, Our Lady Peace also has another unique feature that
separates it from most Canadian acts. Rater tan having to slug it out at clubs making no money and
touring independently, they had the luxury of being signed almost instantaneously to do a major
contract.
"We did a demo with the songs 'Julia,' 'Neon Crossing,' and 'Denied' in order to get gigs, and a friend
who was going to the CMJ conference in New York took a few copies with him; they didn't even have a
real label on them, just our name scribbled on a Maxell tape, and we got a call from Interscope and a call
from Geffen and they were like 'We'd really like to hear more material' but we hadn't recorded any. So we
passed it around to a few Canadian Labels and Sony basically said they'd lie to carry us on beyond those
first three songs. They had faith in us and didn't even hear the other eight songs until we gave them the
finished master. But if they hadn't come around we would have started slugging it [as an independent
act]."
The yin and the yang of this speedy success had also had an impact on the band. When asked how Raine
feels about having been turned into a sex symbol by fans and the media, Turners reports that not only
does Raine personally dislike the title but it is also something that can potentially hurt their music.
"He doesn't like that. He's very uncomfortable with that but people perceive what they want to perceive.
Raine is a good looking guy which can be a little detrimental because I think he is a brilliant lyricist and
I think the message of his lyrics sometimes gets obscured by the fact that people will read them with the
script of him being this sex symbol boy. Not that there's anything wrong with being a thirteen year-old
girl but I'm sure some of them are missing possible meanings of a song because they want to hear it as a
love song and anything that [is detrimental to] the music to us is bad."
Our time has ended. Turner is on a busy schedule doing interviews all day so the record rep informs me
that we'll have to end.
Turner says he'll walk me downstairs because he has to put money in the parking meter and though the
rep offers to do it for him, he'd rather just do it himself. Like I said, he is not your ordinary rock star.
