WILD WORLD TOUR ENDS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Source: The Edmonton Journal, August 20, 1998

Finishing their world tour back at home on a late summer evening was an easy choice for Our Lady Peace.
Canada's favorite band, according to to fans who voted for last year's people's choice Juno award, wanted to wind up a 22-month road stint on their native soil as a thank you to their fans.
They also wanted to bring along some of their friends they made on the way, says lead singer Raine Maida.
Hence, the Summersault tour, a three-date, multi-band concert series that begins in Barrie, Ont., on Sunday, then swings east to St. John's Sept. 3 and Shediac, N.B., Sept. 5.
The band is particularly proud to be taking acts like Garbage, I Mother Earth and the Crystal Method to Newfoundland-too many of the big summer tours have snubbed the East Coast claiming that there aren't any venues big enough, says Maida.
"If we were going to do one show-and it came down to that one point-(the St. John's) show was the one we were going to do," says Maida.
"So many artists actually plan shows there, then cancel. I think the public there is really gun shy about buying tickets for anything because they just figure it's going to be cancelled and that's really depressing.
"I don't think we're making a whole lot of money on the show but it's not about that."
The all-day concerts will feature a variety of bands like Eve 6, the Johnny Favorite Swing Orchestra and Harvey Danger. Other activities will take place in the Summersault carnival village side tent, including some tack-spinning by electronic artists B.T.K., a side show by Circus Diablo, midway games, fire-breathers and dozens of vendors.
Summersault caps a splendid season for Our Lady Peace. Over the past four years the group has climbed from obscurity to the top of the pile in Canadian rock. After two albums , Naveed and Clumsy, they have built a a solid fan base here and in the United States. Clumsy, released last March, has sold more than a million copies.
It has earned star status for the band, which includes Maida on vocals, Mike Turner on guitar, Jeremy Taggart on drums and Duncan Coutts on bass. Their most recent achievement: a song on the soundtrack to the summer blockbuster film Armageddon.
Their rising fame also unleashed a few barbs from Billy Corgan, frontman for megastars the Smashing Pumpkins, who suggested Our Lady Peace are nothing more than Pumpkins imitators.
"We're still looking for Our Lady Peace's phone number," Corgan quipped sarcastically on a recent visit to the Toronto studios of MuchMusic.
"We're going to call them up and make friends with them, tell them thanks a lot for keeping our old music alive."
The comment wasn't a big deal, says Maida, but it was unwarranted nonetheless:"I never like to slag other bands in public. It's a tough enough business as it is. I was offended just in the sense that there were many other bands that have a much bigger influence and were more important in our lives than the Smashing Pumpkins. So I thought it was pretty pretentious to flatter himself like that."
After the Summersault dates, Our Lady Peace will take a break for about a month, then head back to producer Arnold Lanni's studio, Maida says. It'll take some getting used to after life on the road, he says.
"Granted it's not fancy, there's no catering and we have to do our own laundry," Maida says with a chuckle.
"It's about music, it's not about all that stuff. That's why I think a lot of bands, if they attain any success, get really screwed up because you start taking advantage of that stuff and you really lose focus.
"We just want to make a record the same way we did before, sweating it out in the studio and arguing and just being really passionate about music and nothing else."

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