FUMBLING TOWARDS ECSTACY?
Source: Watch Magazine, 1998Who's Clumsy?
There has been absolutely nothing peaceful or clumsy about the band that Toronto modern rock station 102.1 The Edge declared creators of the top album of 1997; talk about Edge-ing out Radiohead and Oasis!
Before '97 was over, Our Lady Peace had hit the seven times platinum mark (700,000 albums) in Canadian sales alone for their album Clumsy. "I certainly don't think Clumsy is a better album than [Radiohead's] OK Computer," says guitarist Mike Turner, displaying typical Canuck modesty over the accolades. "But just to be in that peer group is very flattering. We got a little misty-eyed over that."
Their efforts are paying off Stateside, where Superman's Dead was already a big radio hit. South of the border, OLP went on a recent sold-out club tour with headliners Everclear. But here in Canada, Everclear are currently opening for OLP-in sold-out arenas.
On the eve of January's Toronto date, Turner jokes about success and the fear of failure. "We have a secret feeling we'll get on- stage at Maple Leaf Gardens and there'll be two dozen people there going: Fooled you!" Try 20,000 people, Mike. "The Gardens is the place I saw bands like U2, Rush, and Queen, not a place I play."
But the reality of arena rock is sinking in. "We'd been travelling in one bus with a trailer," he remembers. "Now there are six tractor-trailers and three buses. We designed the stage, the lighting show, shot some short films, edited them and added sound effects. We're very proud of this show."
The next step? More work in the US. "We'll play as long as they want us. France, Germany, we'll suck up to anybody that lets us." "The ultimate judgement of any band is the experience of seeing them play live," he adds. "I understand the facility of pulling off a great sound on CD, but I'd much rather see a sweaty, passionate band making mistakes but with a visceral intensity."
As for great sounding CD's, one casualty in this near year-long road trip has been OLP's songwriting. "On the road, we write separately. All I need is a guitar and a quiet corner and I can work on a riff... but we can't get together as a band. When we went into a studio for a couple of days, it was all thoughtful mid-tempo stuff. That's because we don't have a chance to do a big drum kit and electric guitar rock stuff, but just sit down and do acoustic guitar." C'mon now, Mike: these automatic ballads won't do!
His final words on the unsatisfying mid-tour studio session? "There was lots of navel-gazing going on!"
Then again, life is a matter of perspective- because plenty of Our Lady Peace fans would probably just love to gaze at their navels!
-Kerry Doole
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