An interview avec Nothing to Say
For my latest interview, I got the chance to interview the legendary (if not now, then eventually), Nothing to Say. The interview took place in the French Club, which wouldn't have been that odd, except we did it in the downstairs bar, with some kind of dart league all around us. Of course, hilarity ensued. Here's what I got... it's quite long, but that just means it's informative!
The band had just finished their performance, and so were quite tired, and sore; there was much comparison of blisters until Harry arrived, which is when the interview actually got started (not that the blister talk isn't entertaining, but I'll just save it for later perhaps).
SM - Sean MacGillivray: vocals and guitar. Shut up Morgan! I'm introducign myself god-dammit! Sean MacGillivray, vocals and guitar.
MC - Morgan Currie, bass-player.
MG - Mike Gillespe, guitar and vocals. And peanuts.
HD - Harry Doyle, drums.
TPS - What do you think of the local music scene?
SM - Well, when I first lived here, people had a tendancy to poo-poo the local scene, and say, "Uh, it sucks. Halifax is so much better." But after moving to Halifax, I found that, I dunno, Halifax is really cloystered, and really, I dunno, uptight?
MG - Unwilling to accept other things.
SM - Exactly. People don't get along at all.. shows have to be, like 3... staight-edge-polka-hardcore bands. But here, you can see, like Deadlock and Rock Ranger, and one of any kinds of bands together. And I think that's better in the long run. I think it's a better strategy.
TPS - I've never actually been to a Halifax show, so I really don't know...
MG - Well, remember high school?
TPS - Yeah...
MG - That's the scene in Halifax. I hated high school
HD - I need a fucking "get-laid" rebate from high school. The girls didn't like skaters back then.
MC - Yeah, I know. We got robbed, hey?
(there was then much discussion concerning this subject... I'm not exactly sure why... oh well. Anyways:)
SM - But, uh, overall, I think that Cape Breton's got a really good unique thing happening, I dunno. It's really refreshing, when made by comparison to other things I've seen.
HD - Yeah. I think that Cape Breton has, like the top scene in Canada, probably, for like.. bang for your buck kinda thing.
MC - All thanks to CBLocals
MG - B.B. King. It's all thanks to B.B. King.
SM - B.B. King?
MG - Yeah. He.. he cleared the way for us guys
MC - It's all thanks to Geddy. We'd all be fucked if it wasn't for Geddy.
SM - Okay, so we attribute the success of the Cape Breton scene to Geddy Lee, B.B. King, and CBLocals
MG - I thought you were talkin' about, like, the oldest Golden Girl.
TPS - Bea Arthur?
MG - No, no no no...Geddy... er... Estelle Geddy. She was the youngest in age, and she acted the oldest.
SM - Really?
MG - Yeah, she was like, 22.
SM - But she was all little and shrivled.. and like... "picture this, Sicily: 1812"
MG - "I am 145 year old..."
TPS - What is your favorite local band?
SM - My favorite local band, this is a tough call, uh.. I really like the Rudy Huxtable Project.
MC - Ugh!
SM - Though, I am also very partial to SlowCoaster.
MC - Rock Ranger... that is all. Cuz they're good, and I like rock.
MG - Um... well, we're all going in the same way...
SM - Non-commital... non-commital!
MG - I can't pick between the 2 of them, because I like rockin-ness and I like the kind of groovin-ness of SlowCoaster. I kinda get into both of them
TPS - The rock-rangering of Rock Ranger, and the slow-coasting of SlowCoaster.
HD - My...
MG - And my flaming shirt.
HD - Fuck you Mike. My favorite band is, uh, Face Downe because I like the songs they play. It's purely based on, like, what I like coming into my ears.
SM - That goes back to, like the Halifax scene being lame cuz I was on the Halifax-Hardcore message board about 2 months ago, and the manager guy from Face Downe had said, that the administrator of the board...
MC- Manager guy from Face Downe.. that is so sad
SM - Well, some sort of SvenGali-type overseeing figure that is affiliated with them
MG - SvenGali, yeah?! I'm gonna walk away, 'cause everything's really funny right now.
SM - But, they totally trashed Face Downe... (there is then a loud noice, which must be when Mike started flexing and chatting with an old man, but I might be mistaken). I've got a lot to say...
HD - "I've got a lot of shit to say..."
SM - Let Harry speak, he almost has a degree...
TPS - Ouch...
SM - Oooh! When Ian got an email from whoever the manager is for Face Downe about the band, about their site or whatever, he posted on the Halifax-Hardcore board, and it was instantly the subject of ridicule, from like 7 different people. And they just said crass, you know, stupid things.."Uuu... punk is lame.." whatever, there was backlash, whatever. But, I dunno... it's just that you don't see that kind of thing so much in Cape Breton, like, the internet presence in Cape Breton for bands, is almost explicity has to be possitive. It's one of the things that for CBLocals and for just the way that things have gone in general; people have always tried to be really positive I think.
MG - Everybody likes everything; everybody appreciates everything.
SM - YEah, people aren't uptight. People in Halifax need to fuckin' loosen up.
MG - They appreciate things for what it is, not for what they think it should be.
TPS - What is your favorite color?
HD - Green.
MG - Orange-ish red, somewhere in there
SM - Flamign orangish red (Mike was, of course, wearign a shirt with flames on it, which resulted in ridicule from Harry, but that's okay.)
MC - Purple.
SM - Blue. Hey! Did we end up being, like the Ninja Turtles? What did you say yours was?
HD - Green.
MG - I'm Michelangelo!
MC - My color was purple because of Donatello, he was my favorite Ninja Turtle.
SM - Really? I liked Leonardo.
TPS - Yeah, me too. He was the strong leader type.
SM - He also had teh second most valid weapon, Donatello had teh most valid weapon.
HD - They were turtles, they were all green.
SM - Harry is a Ninja Turtle for all seasons.
HD - I pooped in 2 public washrooms today (I don't know why it was brought up, but it was, and led to long conversations. Thus:)
HD - Let me say this: that is something I never do, man. Whenever I go, not even public washroom, liek we have this washroom at work, where 2 people can use the washroom at the saem time, and I consider that a public washroom, even though it's only for employees. But, uh like, sometimes I'm in town, and I fuckin' have to walk all the way to the closest fuckin' Subway, just because they have private washrooms, like when I have to go poop. Liek, today I was at the skate park in North Sydney; I was so desparate to shit. So, I went to Wendy's, and I pooped, and then I came here to the show tonight, and I had to poop again. And I pooped in the washroom.
SM - You pooped here?
(there was then much chatting about Sean and Harry not being able to use public toilets/urinals.. I still don't think I get that one. But, there is just too much to type, so I'll save that little bit for later too... maybe I'll make a big thing from all the interview stuff that I never used... hmm... perhaps.)
TPS - What is your favorite kind of pudding?
SM - Pudding? I tried "No Name brand" caramel, and was really, really disappointed. I came home, and my mom always has tonnes of pudding in stock in the fridge. (at this point Harry started cackling.... I pretty much guessed at what was coming, I'm sure you can too.)
MC - Low fat choclate.
MG - Um, I'd haev to say chocolate, but I like pretty much anything that's pudding. On a serious note: that chocolate stuff with the fuckin' like really, really dark brown swirls in it - deadly.
SM - On a really serious note: rice pudding is out. That's false pudding.... Next question!
TPS - What is the best ninja movie?
SM - The best ninja movie? I really liked "Mafia vs. Ninja" - terrible acting, terrible everything, no production value - fantastic. Watch it again and again. And I saw "Croutching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", that was pretty good. But, there was only one actualy "ninja" in it, but it was... in the broader spectrum of kung-fu kinda movies, it was pretty good.
MC - "Wayne's World 1", but closely followed by "Wayne's World 2".
TPS - For best ninja movie?!
MC - Oh! Best ninja movie (me and Sean burst out laughing...) "Ninja Turtles 1".
SM - Closely followed by "Ninja Turtles 2".
MC - I'm a sucker for sequels...
SM - ... which is true, 2 was pretty mediocre.
MC - 3... did ya see that?
HD - Part 1 was fuckin' deadly.
SM - MC Hammer was on the soundtrack! And you could get the tape, in the 4 different colors of the head-bands.
TPS - And we've gotten back onto Ninja Turtles...
MG - Alright... I'm gonna go with "Shogun"... no wait.. sorry, sorry... da da da... "the Last Dragon". Leroy Brown vs. Shogun.
TPS - I don't think I've seen that one.
MG - Oh, rent it man.
SM - "Blackbelt Jones" is pretty strong too.
MG - Leroy, his father has a pizza restaurant, and Shogun fuckin' wrecks the place. He's like, "Who's the master? SHOGUN!!!"
(at this point Morgan left us for a bit, for the heat was unbearable, and he needed a beverage to keep him from spontaneously combusting... really. It happens to dozens people around the world every year. And evidently I was mistaken earlier... this is where Mike chats with the old man. Mike was flexing, and the old man walked by...)
OM - Take a look at big-daddy!
MG - Look out papa!
(the conversation between the 2 kept up liek this for a while, much to everyone's amusement, but unfortunately, the man left... poo.)
TPS - Okay in a fight between Jesus, if he were a surf-boarding super hero, thus: (see diagram) and Satan, if he were a giant Japanese robot like this: (see other diagram), who would win?
MG - How long is the fight?
TPS - As long as it can be.
SM - Does the fight take place on water, 'cause if the fight takes place on water, Jesus is probably gonna win. Cause, he can walk on water.
MG - Is it more than 4 and 1/2 years?
HD - Sean, that was Moses.
SM - Moses did not walk on water; Moses parted the Red Sea.
MG - Anything made by the Japanese is dead in 4 and 1/2 years, so Satan is fucked. Satan is gone.
TPS - So we have 1 vote for Jesus.
MG - Jesus all the way.
SM - I vote for Jesus if the fight takes place on water.
MG - It's because Satan is made by teh Japanese man! Bye! Toast!
HD - Jesus can dish out eternal damnation, Satan just has claws and stuff.
SM - Next question!
TPS - Alright. If you were a giant killer robot, which city would you destroy first, and why?
SM - Salt Lake City, Utah.
TPS - Why?
SM - Mormans. (much laughter ensues from around the table).
MG - I think I would destroy Las Vegas.
TPS - For any particular reason?
MG - Just because the concept behind it is horrible. It's based on money, and throwing that money at something that doesn't exist. I think it's a government scam.
HD - Redmond, Washington for obvious reasons.
(Morgan has just come back, so he gets to answer as well:)
MC - ...Halifax. They took my girl for 8 months.
HD - I'd be the second city he destroys. I took his girl for 8 months too!
TPS - If they based a laundry detergent on you, what would be its name?
MG - Crazy, Happy 7 People Eyeball!!(I think that's what he said, but I could be mistaken yet again..)
SM - On the band?
TPS - No, as individuals... or the band, it doesnt' really matter. It's an open question.
SM - Mine would be "Fruity-Fresh Tide"
MC - "Ancient Chinese secret? Kalgon!"
TPS - What the hell was that?
MC - It's from "Wayne's World"... assholes...
HD - I'd call it "Sulp Trep" 'cause it's Pert Plus backwards.
MG - I'd say "Luck 7 Happy 32 Laundry"
(at this point the tape I was using actually ran out... it's just that long an interview... so much material was lost before anyone noticed... but, then we continued on the other side, taping over "Nirvana - InUtero", which of course, made us talk about Nirvana for a while.)
HD - Okay, here's a question. I wanted to make this a locals poll, can I have a question on thePuddingStore?
TPS - Of course you can.
HD - I wanted to put it up, but I thought it too seedy: but, have you guys ever gotten laid to like, local bands, or your own bands?
(this discussion lasted a while too. Also, anyone who wants to answer, feel free to answer in the guestbook. I'm sure it'd make Harry smile).
TPS - Alright, to get to a serious question: What's in the future of Nothing to Say?
SM - A big black hole.
HD - I like being in a band that really kicks ass but doesn't give a fuck about it.
SM - We are split up, as half of us live in Cape Breton, half of us live in Halifax, so it's difficult for us to get together, and we all are starting jobs and careers...
MG - That set that we played was the first time we saw each other in many months.
SM - We'd like to do more. We only ever made 100 cd's, we'd like to make more. But... we're pretty, um... we aim low. We always hit our mark, but we aim low.
TPS - If you could play a show with any band, who would it be?
SM - Hey Mercedes.
MC - Rush. Obviously Rush. That'd be awesome.. Geddy.
MG - Just for, like reasons the whole thing was... that I like a lot of music um... Face to Face. I don't listen to them very much, but I think they'd be a good band to play with. I really like Face to Face, I don't listen to them a whole lot anymore, but I used to and they used to completely influence everything that I did. I would like to play with Busta Rhymes.
HD - I dunno.. there is nto really a band that I really wanted to play with, 'cause it's ridculous to think that you could play with bands that are like, old or famous like Lagwagon. But, I'd like to play with, like the old bands that I used to play with, back in like 97, 98, 'cause that was, like the funnest, and I'd like to do it again... that's pretty dumb. It was my fuckin' moment of insight for this year.
TPS - Does anyone have any words of inspiration for the dozens of people who come to thePuddingStore every year?
SM - Heh... dozens... um... aim low.
MG - And know what to aim with.
MC - Um... when my Final Fantasy III type game comes out, play it. And email me if there's any bugs.
HD - I got some words:
MG - Do it for yourself. Who cares?
HD - Don't aim too high, because when people start fuckin' calling you "Punk Rock Icon", and kids you don't know at the skate park, fuckin' go "are you Harry Doyle?" Fuckin'... that really, really fuckin' sucks. So, just do your part but don't try to go overboard cause then you get all stupid and shitty and quit Locals.
TPS - Thank you very much gentlemen.
HD - Move your site to locals.chatsubo. Those fuckin' ads and banners on your site... Arrgg!!
