(Cord Magazine's questions are in blue. Artist responses are in grey.)


This is a little featurelet kind of thing that Cord is starting up. We have a set of ten pretty much totally unrelated questions that we're asking everybody.

NIKO FRIESEN (DRUMS): So we have one person answer each one?

Oh you guys can do what you want.

KEVIN COOPER (BASS): We could just keep it bang bang bang bang…

CHAD HORTON (VOCALS/GUITAR): I'd like to hear what the questions are first before I go jumping into the ring. OKAY I'LL GET THIS ONE! What's the question? I dunno, I don't wanna jump in…

KEVIN: I'll take number seven.

CHAD : No way.

MARC WILD (GUITAR) : Just start asking.

CHAD : Okay, blue…

All right all right. What do you guys do on your downtime when you're not off recording, rehearsing?

NIKO : Downtime?

Yeah between tour…

NIKO : Music is life. It's everything for me. For me. I think for everyone in this band. For the most part. Chad does landscaping 'cause he has to make a living and everyone else has done different little jobs of course for sure. You gotta pay the bills. But I think that's the common interest in this band is everyone has completely dedicated their entire life to making music. You know aside from whatever… girlfriends or little, maybe going to a movie now and then… don't laugh!

CHAD : I like walking.

MARC : Yeah yeah. I mean definitely more specifically within the answer's like practicing, educating ourselves about music that we don't know about or music that we love and we just want to listen to it more…

NIKO : Going to see other shows…

MARC : Yeah, going to see other shows, other bands, going to great concerts…

CHAD : It's a real simple question at this stage of the game, 'cause right now it's like we know where we're at so pretty much everything's Motion Soundtrack right now.

KEVIN: And I'm addicted to the internet.

CHAD : And Motion Soundtrack.

KEVIN: Yeah, I tried doing a whole bunch of computering today, but I just ended up playing arpeggios.

MARC : There you go. Not that exciting. To the outsider.

CHAD : The outsidahs!

KEVIN: Pretty exciting for my fingers. They're happy.

Vice of choice.

CHAD : Pardon?

NIKO : Vice of choice?

(silence)

CHAD : Well, you know, I started playing guitar for the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

KEVIN: I think the company Stanley makes a great vice, but Black & Deckers are good too.

CHAD : Husquavarna.

KEVIN: I don't know if they make vices.

CHAD : Well if you like using chainsaws, they make great vices.

KEVIN: They also make sewing machines.

CHAD : Yeah they do. And rifles.

Oookay... next question!

CHAD : So that's gonna be, "Well they like drugs and guns…"

KEVIN: And sewing.

Favourite venue/city/country/continent if you feel like getting that out there, to play in?

CHAD : For me, Richard's on Richards.

NIKO : The Commodore.

MARC : The Commodore, the Commodore.

NIKO : The Commodore Ballroom is one of the best live venues in Canada. For sure.

CHAD : It is the best.

NIKO : Well, it is…

CHAD : The Tragically Hip said it.

NIKO : Well, I said it too.

CHAD : Well, there you go.

MARC : The Commodore is awesome when it's packed and sold out and you know, and just the energy is fucking great.

NIKO : A really cool city is Saskatoon actually. People don't talk about it that much. But in every city that I've ever played in Canada, Saskatoon is some of the most open-minded, enthusiastic music fans, and it's a pretty small city but people turn out. They've got the Odeon there which is basically like a three-quarter size Commodore, very similar room, like really well done like that, sounds amazing. I played there once and the room was pretty much packed and I'm thinking this place isn't that big, like I mean, Saskatoon, how do all these people come out? And there was like five other venues on that same street that all had people in them checking other bands out. Everyone was really enthusiastic and open to what was going on and so that was a cool city for me to play, Saskatoon. [Editor's note : Great, even Saskatoon beats out Vancouver in good venues? Something's wrong with that picture.]

CHAD : Barrymore's in Ottawa. Never played there. Hope to. Good place.

KEVIN: Nelson, BC. Everyone will dance all night long to anything.

CHAD : In pirate shirts.

KEVIN: Pirate shirts.

Is there an explanation there, or…?

CHAD : Oh never mind about that one.

KEVIN: Next question.

What sort of issues and aspects of the world these days most concern you? There's so much going on.

MARC : Consumerism. North American culture. I'd like to see a little more Eastern philosophy in American culture. People are quite attached to everything outside of themselves.

Okay, that's it? Anyone else?

NIKO : Well, there's so much…

CHAD : I'd just like to see people caring a bit more. You know, that's a pretty general statement but you know as far as... that's my topic. I'll give you my thesis in the next interview.

NIKO : I think that music has always been about crossing borders. There's always this thing in jazz school where you can get up on stage with people who you don't speak the same language, like say a German person that doesn't speak English, you don't speak German, and you can play together, play a blues progression, or play rhythm changes or something, and totally interact and communicate and get really personal in a certain way. Music is very personal. And you don't really have to even understand much more than that and I think that I would like to see humanity learn how to do that. Appreciate each other's differences and resolve problems in a little more creative manner than…

CHAD : Imagine if everyone brought a guitar to war? That'd be great!

MARC : Oh yeah?? We got Jeff Beck!

CHAD : You know we have battle of the bands already. I think it's starting. I believe there will be a war with guitars.

MARC : Continue the John [Lennon] and Yoko [Ono] tour. Promote love.

What is one interview question you hope nobody ever asks again?

KEVIN: I don't think we've had that question before.

CHAD : Well you know right now I think we're pretty happy if anyone's taking interest, so ask away. Call us in five years and ask us.

NIKO : Yeah, we'll have a better answer then.

CHAD : Oh, we'll have it right away. Actually, that'll probably be the question. That question, actually, we hate that question.

Okay sorry.

CHAD : No no…

MARC : Any question that has serious intent behind a question that's very superficial.

CHAD : Or any question that forces you to categorize yourself.

NIKO : Absolutely. That's hard, yeah.

CHAD : It's not hard, it's annoying.

NIKO : It's hard too.

CHAD : Yeah. It shouldn't be.

MARC : Yeah. It's annoying. I'd go more with annoying.

Favourite Saturday morning cartoon. What was?

CHAD : I'm not up on Saturday mornings.

NIKO : Are there still cartoons on Saturdays?

Yeah, there aren't really. We're thinking of childhood here.

MARC : Mighty Mouse. I'd have to say Mighty Mouse.

CHAD : Oh from childhood?

Yeah.

CHAD : Oh the Smurfs, man.

MARC : Yeah that's pretty killer.

KEVIN: I used to watch Justice League of America, but I recently saw reruns and it was like an awful, awful cartoon. It's so bad.

CHAD : [You're] like, 'Oh my god, this explains so much!'

KEVIN: But it had Batman in it, and that's really all that matters.

CHAD : Oh that's right, good point.

Yes, that's very important.

KEVIN: Although he was very badly done.

NIKO : I like the opening theme song to Inspector Gadget. It's really… real players on that too! It's all real musicians.

KEVIN: The Tick was really good. So was Eek The Cat.

I remember that one. I loved Eek.

KEVIN: Never hurts to help.

What did you want to be when you were growing up, and you cannot say musician.

CHAD : Hockey player.

NIKO : What if it was musician? We're supposed to lie? What else?

What else, yeah. What was your second choice?

NIKO : Go to someone else, I don't know…

CHAD : I said hockey player. Am I the only one who knew all along what I wanted to do?

NIKO : He's the only one who's not doing what he really wanted to do.

CHAD : No well, I always... ever since I was a kid, I always knew what I wanted to do. And if I couldn't do that immediately, like within two weeks I knew what I wanted to do right away after that. So like, I've always known.

MARC : I was gonna be a squash player. Play professional… why am I… I feel so silly… professional squash player. And then an architect.

CHAD : And I was a professional squash eater.

KEVIN: There's so many different kinds.

Yes, it's a versatile gourd.

NIKO : I guess snowboarding in a way. The guys I used to ride with before I went to music school a lot of them now are professional snowboarders in kinda the pack of guys I used to play with... er, ride with. And I guess for a while that was sort of the…

(huge laughter)

MARC : Ohhh you set yourself up so well there…

NIKO : That was sort of on the back of my mind for a while there, was snowboarding and music were together and I saw how people, you know, the industry was growing and people could make a living from snowboarding.

If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?

CHAD : Well, obviously it's someone living. You know, I'm just gonna say it. Heidi Klumm so I could have a shower.

(laughter)

CHAD : No I'm kidding. I don't know, who would I trade places with? Niko so I could learn how to play the drums.

MARC : The Dalai Lama.

NIKO : That would be a very peaceful day.

KEVIN: Why does Arnold Schwarzenegger pop into mind? So I could wreck the country?

CHAD : Off the record! Off the record.

(Schwarzeneggeresque mumbling)

Okay, this is the weird question… listen carefully. A shark and a bear fight. Here are the rules. The water for the shark is just deep enough for him to exist, and there is a small rock in the middle of the water on which the bear may stand. Neither has been trained, neither has been fed for a few days. Who wins?

NIKO : The bear easily.

KEVIN: I say the rock.

The rock's not fighting.

KEVIN: Oh well, it's gonna last longer.

CHAD : Did this really happen?

It might have. It probably did, somewhere in the world.

(confused laughter)

NIKO : I don't know if it's possible.

CHAD : Well I don't know, I'll go with the bear.

MARC : I'll go with the shark.

Root for the underdog.

CHAD : Do you have the answer at the bottom of the page?

I don't, I wish I did. I really wish I did.

KEVIN: He always gets scared when he sees a bear holding a shark, that's for sure.

MARC : That's part of another world there.

And this is the final… if you could ask me one question, what would it be?

MARC : Ask you a question?

Yeah. Now I get to be interviewed.

NIKO : How do you hope your new magazine will affect the local music community?

I just hope to get a lot of word out about a ton of bands that deserve to be out there a lot more than they perhaps already are.

NIKO : Who deserves to be out there more…

CHAD : That's two questions!

NIKO : Oh okay.

(laughter)

CHAD : I've got a question… what was your favourite…

MARC : Yeah, we, I, can … can we do another question…?

CHAD : Well everyone gets to ask. I've got one, what was your favourite…

MARC : Oh well… oh well it's kinda similar… well, go ahead.

CHAD : What was your favourite smell as a kid?

My favourite what?

CHAD : Smell.

Smell!

CHAD : When you were a kid.

Oh. Jeez.

MARC : Cheese.

No not cheese.

KEVIN: Cheese.

Not cheese.

KEVIN: Oh.

Huh. Maybe my dad's famous crepes on Sunday mornings.

KEVIN: Mmmm.

CHAD : Mmmmm there we go.

MARC : Killer.

Yeah. That's good stuff.

MARC : What inspires you to do what you do?

Um, a big part of it is because I personally possess absolutely zero musical talent myself and the way that I figured that I could get involved with the music industry and music, because I like music so much, is to photograph it. And this kinda came out of it really you know, having to work for magazines to do photographing, they often want you to write as well. I just got frustrated with magazines that weren't working so well for me so I'm doing it on my own!

CHAD : Do you know how to listen to music?

Do I know how to listen to music? Like really technically and analytically?

CHAD : No, just listen to it.

Well, yeah.

CHAD : That's the biggest talent any musician can have.

KEVIN: That's true, so true.

CHAD : Kevin what's your question for Andy?

KEVIN: Uh, what's your hair colour gonna be in five years from now?

Probably still some shade of red and/or pinkish.

CHAD : Good.

KEVIN: Cool.

CHAD : I was glad you went with that shade! We knew Andy Scheffler when…

Back in the day. Okay that's it! We're done! Thank you very much!

CHAD : Thank you.

MARC : Thank you.

Elsewhere

By Andy Scheffler
Video + stills : Andy Scheffler
Published : April 22, 2004.