by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Montreal’s Tricky Woo could be one of the most influential local bands still around, but most of the rags spilling ink on the Montreal music scene wouldn’t have you know that. Playing rock ’n’ roll way back when very few people were, Tricky Woo found success outside of Montreal early on and haven’t looked back since—they’re currently out hustling their new album First Blush. The Mirror talked to guitarist Adrian Popovich on the phone from a tour stop in Winnipeg. I sensed he may have fibbed a bit, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Mirror: Tricky Woo always remained outside of the Montreal music scene.

Adrian Popovich: That’s not true at all. We’ve always been into the Montreal music scene. We hang out at Club Zone 24-7 and we’re like, “Where is everybody?” We even called Wolf Parade to see if they wanted to play with us there but they didn’t return our calls. We also like to keep abreast by showing up at CHOM l’Esprit and Emergenza contests, to really find out what cutting-edge bands are happening in Montreal.

M: You and Andrew [Dickson, singer] are touring veterans—how is the new rhythm section enjoying the road?

AP: Well, Alex [Crowe, bass] is 16 and Pat [Sayers, drums] is 15, we got them from a Christian day camp, so Andrew and I have to take them under our wings. We have to tell them when and where to eat. Like, if you’re in Brandon, Manitoba, you don’t order a crab salad on a croissant because it just isn’t going to be fresh—stuff like that. They’re also more concerned with being teen idols, while Andrew and I are more concerned with how many people paid to get in, what were the overages, and how much merchandise money we’re taking in. I don’t know if that is because we are touring veterans, or more that Andrew and I are impotent.

M: Are a lot of new fans just getting into the band now?

AP: Well, we have a sign out front of all of our shows saying, “New fans will not be admitted,” so we have really nipped that in the bud. The old fans seem to like our new dalliance of combining regular rock with hard rock. I think we really hit something with that unholy combination.

M: What has been the high point of your tour so far?

AP: Oddly enough, it happened on a night off. We were watching TV in our hotel room in Lethbridge, Alberta, and saw David Bowie joining Arcade Fire on stage. We just cried and held each other for hours.

M: I didn’t realize you guys were such fans of Arcade Fire. Will we hear their influence on your future work?

AP: I don’t know, because combining regular rock with hard rock is tiring enough. Trying to add the new Montreal sound in there too would be like trying to create antimatter. I think we have done enough for music already, I don’t know how much more people can expect from us, but at least we try.

M: Can we expect something special for your homecoming show?

AP: Yes, Andrew comes out in a giant parachute and we all hide underneath and he lifts it every now and again to reveal us sweating and slaving away. We end the show with Pat climbing a stepladder and eating an apple, and then, uh, he tosses a piece of liver into Andrew’s mouth. We’ve found that theatre rock tends to go over a lot better in Montreal than, say, Brandon, Manitoba.

With the Leather Uppers and Top Brass at Petit Campus on Saturday, Oct. 8, 9 p.m., $8

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