by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Their high-strung melodrama, mythological tales and frantic, feverish live shows have made mini-legends of Frog Eyes on Canada's west coast. Carey Mercer, in particular, has stunned crowds with his manic presence and dissonant cabaret croon, while his band - pianist Grayson Walker, bassist Michael Rak and drummer Melanie Campbell - provide a whirling, melodic, music box score. Victoria, B.C.'s favourite art rock quartet have let their story unravel over two albums, The Bloody Hand and The Golden River, attracting more and more listeners and viewers to their ongoing serial. Leading up to Montreal's chance to turn up and tune in, the Mirror had a friendly e-chat with Walker, a former Montrealer and member of the now defunct local act Harvey Christ and Friends - "I also did a brief stint with godspeed you! black emperor," he says. But haven't we all?

Mirror: Can you pinpoint the moment you fixated on music, specifically playing music as a career?

Grayson Walker: When I was five, I played Orff instruments (they're little xylophones) in a school concert. These little things made up my entire world, and every instrument since then has been like that. I do work a day job on the side, but even that is for a music software company.

M: So how do you guys write? Are Mr. Mercer's creative spells somehow strange or awesome? How about yours?

GW: Carey writes the words and sketches the music - his direction may include things like, "More ch-ch-ch-ch in the verse" - but I've never witnessed the actual construction that leads to our communal creation. My creative spells are immediate and come from somewhere I'm not too sure of, but the final performances are certainly awesome for me.

M: Is The Golden River a thematic extension of The Bloody Hand?

GW: Yes. As Carey tells it, The Bloody Hand involved the lives of the town folk, while The Golden River is more interested in the dark forests and waters just beyond the machinations of the populace.

M: The new album seems to have one foot in mythology, or a literary world of the past, and one foot in reality, in the present. Do you agree?

GW: I certainly do. It's possible that, with so much confusion and calamity in the modern world, we can indeed look back to the days when mythology explained that which we could not yet understand with exciting creatures and magical solutions. Carey is well versed in the world of mythology, but it would seem that there is also some desire on his part to create a new world of mythology. Perhaps a bridge? Perhaps just an overpass...

M: I've yet to see you live but I'm curious about your audiences and how they drink in the drama. Describe a typical Frog Eyes fan.

GW: Audiences are, for the most part, erudite and enthusiastic. Quotes from the ancient Greeks fit right alongside mentions of modern goings-on and none are lost to the folks who also enjoy Frog Eyes. The typical fan has a nice home which they'll share with us if we promise to do the dishes and tell funny stories.

With Deerhoof and guests at La Sala Rossa (tonight!) Thursday, August 21, 9PM, $8/$10

>> Music Listings