by LORRAINE CARPENTER

And you thought it was all over. From 1996 to 2001, they came, they saw and they conquered stages with a '70s-sized sound, hitting pent-up punks, adoring fanboys and rock chicks with one psychedelic rock. After their fourth album Les Sables Magiques, Tricky Woo retreated to the ether, eventually re-emerging with different bands and different directions (Soft Canyon, notably), leaving a new pack of garage rockers to gain the fame that had just escaped their grasp.

But that wave has slowly folded in on itself, and who's that riding the crest? That's right, it's Tricky Woo, the very lineup behind their beloved 1999 LP Sometimes I Cry - Andrew Dickson, Adrian Popovich and Eric LaRock, with one new kid, drummer Pat Sayers. Not only is this refuelled quartet touring Canada, they're ready to record a new LP, Heavy Feelings, to be mixed by Mr. Ian Blurton and released in the fall. Leading up to their hometown return, Popovich traded e-mails with the Mirror, discussing Tricky Woo's children, ego problems and mysterious studio experiments.

Mirror: How do you feel about the bands that picked up where you left off?

Adrian Popovich: The only link I can find between us and those bands is that we invented a genre of music (rock) that they copied. But we understand that, as pioneers, people are going to follow us down to the place we discovered and try to reap the rewards of our work. We don't consider these followers to be parasites or rip-off artists. We consider them our children. It's normal that they try and imitate us. Does a father get pissed off when his son wants to be like him? It's part of life's natural cycle.

M: How about the timing of this reunion? Is that part of the cycle as well?

AP: Time had to pass. We are very sensitive towards vibes. Right now feels powerful.

New Woo revue

M: How powerful is Heavy Feelings?

AP: It's the next step in the evolution of popular music. Since we've only just invented these new sounds, people haven't had the opportunity to coin a descriptive term for them. For practical purposes, we call it "future music." An interesting fact about the impending session is that no actual people will play on it. It's hard to explain exactly how that will happen without charts and diagrams, but it's going to be pretty revolutionary - a first for rock 'n' roll music.

M: What's it like playing together again?

AP: It's agony mixed with pure pain. Andrew's ego has swelled to the point that we needed to rent an extra van just to carry it on tour. He doesn't speak to any of us, he won't do interviews and refuses to bathe. He says there's more genius in his body oils than in all of the rest of us combined.

M: That's disturbing. How are the crowds reacting?

AP: The crowds have been wonderful. We've never felt so appreciated. I keep telling people Andy is dying, so maybe that's why.

M: You're too humble. Tell me, what should your hometown fans brace themselves for?

AP: Total guitar war and goodtime rock 'n' roll.

With C-Mon (members of Blurtonia and Nashville Pussy) and Trailer (feat. members of Soft Canyon) at El Salon on Saturday, April 17, 9pm, $8

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