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Static commotion >> Tricky Woo's Adrian Popovich tells it like it is by JOHNSON CUMMINS
Mirror: There's been a resurgence of balls-to-the-wall rock music over the past year with bands like Electric Frankenstein, Nashville Pussy and the Hellacopters. Do you consider yourself to be part of this scene? Popovich: No, I've heard of some of the bands you've just mentioned, but aside from sharing some fans with them, the affiliation ends there. There is nothing revisionist about what we are doing. The music Tricky Woo creates is utterly contemporary in that we only look to the future for inspiration. We have no interest in reviving anything. Our goal is creation, pure and simple. M: I've heard stories about weird stuff going on in the studio for this record. What was it like working with an insane person like Ian Blurton (Blurtonia, Bionic)? P: Working with a musical genius was incredible. We went into the studio with a set of finished songs that we'd been working on all of the previous month, expecting to record them as they were. Ian told us to forget about the songs and try what he called "static motion composition." It's a process that involves us falling asleep in the studio for minutes at a time and then remembering our dreams. Ian gave us some muscle relaxants to help us out. He would repeat the mantra "Static, brain, compose, compose" and watch as everyone in the band would fall asleep. He'd wake us up after around ten minutes and we would try to describe the sounds we'd heard in our dreams. Then we'd learn the bits, record them and splice them together to make complete songs. The results, as you've heard, are astounding. M: As a member of the press I've noticed that a lot of A&R people from majors like to drop your band's name at these fancy cocktail parties they always throw. Have you gotten any generous offers? P: Let me tell you about major label people and why we don't deal with them. Most of these buffoons haven't even heard Tricky Woo. This one A&R dude from a label I won't mention called us at the studio every single day that we were recording the new album. He wanted to hear the new material, so I sent him a dub of Sly and the Family Stone's greatest hits. He called me a week later and told me how much he loved the record. He said it was a lot "funkier" than he'd expected, and then asked if Andy would still be taking off his clothes at shows. M: You've been quoted as saying that the "support your local scene" mentality is idiotic because 90 per cent of the bands in any given town are a waste of time. This has upset a few local acts. Would you mind explaining your stance on this issue? P: The "support your scene" mentality is ridiculous. It's a breeding ground for a bacterium called mediocrity. If a band sucks, a band sucks and I don't care if their great-great-grandparents were born in Montreal, I'm not going to see some shitty band just because they live on the same island as me.
With the Mooney Suzuki at Café Campus, Saturday, June 26, 8pm, $8.50+taxes |
One would think that the brains behind Tricky Woo's ferocious rock power would be frontman Andrew Dickson. Those of us who are a little bit more in the know realize that Dickson is simply the Mike Love of the band and the true Brian Wilson behind the Tricky Woo operation is none other than the marching guitarist who is positioned stage right, Mr. Adrian Popovich. On the eve of the release of their latest long-player, the touchingly titled Sometimes I Cry, Popovich opens up and shines.