THE 13 HOTTEST ROCK GODS ON THE PLANET -- OUR LADY PEACE

Source: YM Magazine, August 1998

Luscious lineup: Raine Maida, vocals; Mike Turner, guitar; Jeremy Taggart, drums; Duncan Coutts, bass/keyboards
Album: Clumsy
Our Lady Peace's rock 'n' roll sound takes a little from a lot of different musical styles. The band says its influences range from Kiss to Sinead O'Connor to the Sex Pistols. Fans have likened them to groups as diverse as Led Zeppelin and U2. That's okay with these Peace-ful dudes. "You can't get angry if people compare you to other bands," says lead singer Raine. "It's like looking at a painting and arguing over what it's supposed to be." And speaking of fighting, the members of OLP avoid locking horns by making decisions democratically. "Everybody has his say and checks his ego at the door," Raine explains. Here, he gives us the rest of the d's on the band.
YM: You've spent the last 18 months touring nonstop. Have you built up a screaming fan base?
RM: There's definitely an Our Lady Peace army out there.
YM: It hasn't always been fans and hits though, right?
RM: Right. After we got our first record deal in 1993, we opened for Blind Melon. That was one of our first gigs, and people from our record label were at the show. We didn't really have any finished songs yet. We just played the one verse we had of each song over and over again.
YM: Was everyone on to you?
RM: For the first two minutes, they were like, "Oh, cool!" Then I think they realized, "Maybe this is it."
YM: Ever use music to land chicks?
RM: Not really to land a girl, but I once wrote some lyrics for a girlfriend. I think she was pretty moved.
YM: What sucks about your job?
RM: It's a drag sometimes because you lose your privacy. I'm a nice guy -- most of the time. But it's hard to keep your cool when you get constant attention.
YM: Any Say Anything experiences?
RM: Right before a show I got an epidural [a shot in the spine to numb the area] because of a back problem I was having. The injection pretty much froze up my abdomen and my legs down to my knees. So I was onstage in front of our biggest crowd ever, and I couldn't feel my legs or stomach. I looked like such an idiot walking around the stage because I had no idea where my legs were going. It was the most bizarre experience in the world.