Shock to the system

>> >> Ex-Doughboy Cummins quizzes ex-Doughboy Kastner on All Systems Go

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

I'm talking with my ex-bandmate from the Doughboys and current All Systems Go leader John Kastner for the first time in four years. Now maybe my hindsight is slightly skewed (or stewed) but something seems oddly different. Physically, Kastner hasn't changed one iota, right down to his trademark dreads and sinewy torso. But the calm in his voice and new-found nonchalant sense of humour have overshadowed the hyper-overdrive of the Kastner who once had his eyes glued on the prize. Now married, a successful soundtrack composer as well as round-two rock star, it seems Kastner has finally cracked the fortune cookie promising success and happiness. I talked to Kastner after a long night of rehearsal in preparation for their extensive tour.

Mirror: First off, you're playing with Peter Arsenault, also an ex-Doughboy, again.

John Kastner: Yeah, he's playing bass. We needed a bass player and we auditioned four or five people and we just couldn't find one that felt right. When Peter came in it was so easy, because we sing together well and we play together really well. He came in two weeks ago knowing all of the songs right off the bat.

M: I'm surprised you went back to the stink of his feet. Are you going to make him wear Odor-Eaters on tour?

JK: (laughs) Yeah, maybe. I actually forgot about that.

M: When was the last time you talked to him, before you phoned him up for ASG?

JK: I guess the last Doughboys show, which was about three years ago. Daniel [Rey, ASG producer] was going to play bass for the tour but he had kept in touch with Peter and told us that it would make more sense for us to ask Peter.

M: So are you guys writing the new record now?

JK: Yeah, me and Mark [Arnold, guitarist] wrote the record this winter on a little tape deck and we're going to record it right after the tour.

I married a chick from outer space

M: How's married life treating you?

JK: It's been great. It's made me a little more at peace with myself and I find I'm not really searching for things that much. It's affected me in all ways. I'm more grounded and I don't worry about as many things as I used to. My wife and I are a team and it just makes things easier.

M: Isn't your wife that alien chick on Star Trek: Deep Space 9?

JK: Yeah, she's Dax. Her real name is Nicole Deboer. She's done a lot better stuff than Star Trek. She's in this new movie Cube.

M: So you're dividing your time now between Toronto and Los Angeles. What's living in L.A. like?

JK: I love it. It's not really the kind of place you want to live for the rest of your life, but right now it's pretty fun. There is a lot of action going on and I'm meeting really cool people. There is a big group of Canadians there that we hang out with, like Cecil [Seaskull], Jordan from Blinker the Star, Sean from the Asexuals, Tinker. I used to see Melissa [Auf der Maur] a lot before she moved but we're all pretty close down there. I'm also working as a songwriter for other bands in L.A. There's all these lame bands with record contracts and tons of money that can't write a song, so I've been writing songs with them.

M: Why the initial move from Montreal to Toronto?

JK: The real motivator was when this good friend of mine died. After his funeral I just packed up the van and split. Being in a popular band and then just not being in a band at all was pretty hard as well. It wasn't until I moved to L.A. that I could just get lost. That's when everything started to feel good again and I could start a band without the Doughboys stigma attached.

M: What's the difference between the Doughboys and All Systems Go?

JK: Well, after not playing music for a year and a half I really missed it, and so I started this band to have fun. After a while the Doughboys were pretty success-driven and got away from the fun. Now I don't expect too much and am just glad to be just playing music. I've chased that carrot so much that now I just don't really care.

Back in the van

M: You're also doing some soundtrack work for film and TV.

JK: Yeah, I did this Jim Henson TV show called Brats of the Lost Nebula.

M: What's the difference from just writing songs and scoring soundtracks?

JK: It's totally different because when you're scoring it's more about setting the mood than anything else. I'm using different instruments... it's about half orchestral and half rock. I approach each cue as a song and a lot of the older composers don't. I did these Universal Soldier movies and in the whole movie there are about 120 cues that are anywhere from one minute to 30 seconds, so that's a lot of work. To do a whole movie it takes about a month of just sitting in the studio. I kind of liked it because you could be creative and make music every day, but you don't have to sit in the back of a van.

M: When you made the record this time, you paid for it yourself. Was it easier to do it that way than have a label looking over your shoulder?

JK: Totally. After what the Doughboys went through I just wanted to make a record and have fun. In the end of it we started to attract a lot of labels and did some demos for them and it ended up being the same problem as the Doughboys. So we just said, "Fuck this," took the songs we demoed and licensed it to a bunch of small labels that we thought were cool.

M: You're off to Europe, Australia and Japan after this North American tour, right?

JK: Yeah, I was just in Australia for three weeks because my wife was working there and I was doing interviews to set it up.

M: Is it any easier to get into the van now?

JK: No, it's definitely harder, because I'm leaving a lot more behind now. But maybe if we get Peter those Odor-Eaters... :

With guests Horace Pinker and Deep End at Foufounes Électriques on Monday, June 19, 8pm, $6