Paint Interview and On-air Performance on Thunderbird Radio Hell with Ben Lai
Paint – Live From Thunderbird Radio Hell – CiTR 101.9 fm
September 18, 2008, 10:00 p.m. PST
Ben Lai: Host Robb Johannes: Vocals/guitar Matt Laforest: Drums Paula McGlynn: Guitar/vocals Greg Williams: Bass
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SONGS: "Don’t Blow Me Away,""Jenny and Maurice,""Madonna."
Ben: You’re listening to CiTR Radio, 101.9 FM, Live From Thunderbird Radio Hell. We’re here live with Paint. Hello, how are you doin’?
Matt: Heeelllloooooo!
Paula: We’re doing pretty well
Robb: We’re doin’ okay, I think. The pressure’s off now. Ben’ s quarantined behind the glass with his sickness, so we’re safe from SARS.
Ben: Yeah, I apologize for my stuffy nose. Paint is gonna be coming out of my… my stuffy nose – I hope it doesn’t sound like "Faint"or something…
Robb: You got it from sniffing Paint, didn’t you?
Ben: Yeah… this is unrelated but I’m actually wearing a ping-pong shirt, and – I didn’t even think of this at all – and what it says on the shirt is "Paint the Line."As in ping-pong, you want to paint the line.
Robb: Nice.
Ben: Anyways, it’s unrelated but it was pointed out to me by the DJ before this show. They go, "Oh, did you wear that – is that a band shirt?"
Paula: You’re a subconscious fan.
Robb: That’s actually our full name.
Matt: It’s funny when I first heard Ben’s voice, I didn’t know it was you. I thought it was some radio trick that you put on your voice. I didn’t think you had a cold.
Ben: I know how to hide it.
Matt: It’s like it’s studio trickery.
Robb: Yeah, like a lot of records that you hear on the radio.
Ben: My voice has been pretty much highly processed. You would think it would be better with all the processing.
Robb: It’s not quite robotic like Cher but it’s alright.
Ben: Did you want to quickly introduce yourself? That would be helpful to the people out there that are keep a log of all the events on radio.
Robb: Well, I have a stalker so I’m trying to avoid any inference to my identity. My name’s Robb Johannes, and I’m the singer and guitar player in Paint.
Paula: My name’s Paula McGlynn, and I’m another singer and guitar player.
Matt: My name’s Matt. I’m the drummer.
Greg: My name’s Greg, I play bass.
Matt: Greg’s on a trial basis.
Robb: Yeah, Greg’s just filling in right now.
Matt: Don’t get too comfortable.
Ben: How did you guys get started?
Robb: It was a really long time ago actually. We’ve had more members than Spinal Tap, I think. It was something that I started years and years ago as this fusion, folk, funk band (laughs) and it’s kinda changed as you can probably tell by the way we sound now. But skipping most of the history, Matt and I met at a New Year’s party through friends of friends. He used to play drums in a band called Astoria, which I was actually a really big fan of – without having known Matt personally, so it’s kinda cool. He thought I was just sucking up to him.
Matt: I thought somebody was paying him at the party. He comes up to me and says, "Hey, didn’t you play in a band called Astoria?"I was like, "Alright, someone’s let him in!"
Robb: I was managing Dawntreader for a while, and I booked a show with Astoria and the Februarys and Dawntreader, and that’s kinda how Matt and I met originally, and then we ended up meeting each other again through our friend Alana Worsley who was the keyboard player in Maplewood Lane – and Paper Moon, who I was playing guitar in at the time. This is like a giant, jumbled family tree. It’s like a Texas family.
Matt: If you’re keeping track at home with a box score, get out a big piece of cardboard.
Paula: We’re gonna do a mind map.
Ben: That’s why we needed name introductions.
Robb: Yes, and then Paula was in Paper Moon with me, and then when Paper Moon moved back to Winnipeg, Paula joined this band. And Greg and I played in Hinterland together for quite a while, and now he’s playing in Stride Elementary and he helps us out on bass when we need it, which seems to be often because bass players don’t seem to exist in this town.
Ben: And how is this band in relation to all the other bands? Is this band the main focus? Have you been playing a lot of shows? I know there’s a show coming up…
Robb: Tomorrow. At the Railway with the Hermit and the Get Down. We’ve done a fair amount of shows since this lineup’s been around since January.
Paula: We’ve done about three. Two or three.
Matt: There was probably about a month in between when I joined and when Paula joined, and Robb and I did a couple of acoustic shows.
Robb: (laughs) Where Matt sat on a box and hit it. That was his instrument.
Ben: When did it stop being a fusion, folk, funk, you said?
Matt: The day I joined.
Robb: The day Matt joined. The day that I grew up (laughs).
Matt: I met Robb and he goes, "Yeah, I’m looking for a drummer, I’m in this band called Paint."So I went home and checked it out and my initial thought was, "There’s 14 songs on their record and it’s 14 different styles… if I’m gonna be in this band, we’re gonna have to focus this!"And Robb’s really submissive that way, so it worked out.
Robb: I’m used to being a dom, but in the band context… I’m actually wearing my leathers right now.
Ben: So, let’s talk about the show tomorrow. It’s at the Railway Club?
Robb: Is it the "World Famous"Railway Club? Or is that the Marine Club? The Marine Club took a dive though.
Ben: Yeah, the Marine Club was supposedly world famous.
Matt: Didn’t the Marine Club take a dive faster than the Titanic?
Robb: It was around for a long time.
Ben: Yep.
Robb: Since the ‘50s actually. They had the same bartender since 1954. Well, tomorrow is at the Railway Club. And we’re, uh, do you want to talk? I’ve talked enough.
Paula: Oh, sure. Yeah, tomorrow we’re playing. Starting at about 10, it’s a show with the Hermit – I also played with the Hermit a long time ago – and the Get Down, who are another North Van band.
Ben: I don’t know much about the Get Down.
Matt: They better be funky.
Ben: Yeah, the band used to be more rock and now it’s more fusion-funk.
Robb: Yeah, we’ve switched roles. We used to be called the Get Down.
Matt: It’s actually funny because since we’ve kinda been re-energizing and re-focusing the band, everyone still has the old bio from like 2001. So we’re still getting calls like, "Hey do you wanna play on our funk-fusion-folk bill?"
Ben: Funk-folk fest 2005.
Matt: As much as we’re thankful for offers to play shows, it’s like, "Well…I don’t think you’re gonna want this incarnation. It’s just a bit louder."
Robb: We play through Voxes and Shredmasters now.
Paula: Big Muffs and stuff.
Robb: Yeah, Big Muffs. Paula’s got a Big Muff. She sometimes uses it for music.
Matt: She’s got two of them actually.
Paula: It usually just sits there.
Robb: Hi Paula’s mom! She’s listening.
Ben: We’re like on CiTR. Why don’t you guys play a few more songs are we’ll come back and talk about something nice.
Robb: Sure, we’ll do that. Something pleasant, something PG. Well, this song’s funny – well it’s not funny.
Paula: It’s a little funny.
Robb: The first verse from this song was actually inspired by something that actually happened at the Railway Club, so it’s kind of fitting that we’re playing it in preparation for a show at the Railway Club tomorrow night. It’s called "Strangers."
SONGS: "Strangers,""An Evening to Myself"
Robb: Sometimes we play this song before but it’s called "After”… if anybody else wants to jump in here…
Matt: It’s more fun to watch you hang yourself.
Robb: It’s more fun to watch me die. We’ve got a lot of solidarity in the room, don’t we?
Matt (chanting): Hang Your-self! Hang your-self!
Robb: Well, there’s enough drool coming out of your mouth, I may as well just slip on my back and die.
Matt: Actually, that puddle you see is not from me, it’s from the beer machine.
Robb: Matt’s water broke.
Paula: That’s why you’ve been so grouchy.
Matt: No, that’s not it.
Robb: This next song is actually pretty serious. It’s weird that we write such serious songs.
Paula: We’re a very serious band.
Matt: I got cornered in the washroom at a wedding this weekend, and this guy says, "Hey man, you’re really serious."And I was like, "Yep."And he was like, "I’m gonna buy you a drink and get you fucked up."And I was like, "Ain’t gonna happen."
Robb: Because he was really serious about getting you in bed.
Matt: Because I get more serious when I drink.
Robb: Yeah. He gets mean. He’s violent. He throws drumsticks at us.
Matt: That’s why I’m so fun tonight!
Robb: Alright, we should play "After."We’re on air, remember.
Matt: I thought this was rehearsal.
Robb: We just drop him off his wheelchair and he plays.
SONG: "After"
Ben: We’re live on CiTR with Paint. So it says here on the website that there is some sort of release coming? Are you working on something? An album maybe? Or is that outdated?
Robb: Yeah, we decided to not put out an album ever again. No, all the songs we’re playing tonight are in preparation for a new record.
Matt: In the running.
Robb: In the running. We’re kinda narrowing down songs. We’re still writing.
Ben: How many songs do you want on the album?
Robb: Less than 14.
Matt: At this point I don’t think we really have a number in mind. It’s kind of if we’ve got 10 good ones, we do 10. If we’ve got 12, we do 12.
Robb: I think we’re still a little old school in the sense that we want to make a record that’s a complete piece of work and you can listen to from start to finish and it just makes sense. So, however many songs it takes to allow that to happen is what we’re gonna do.
Ben: And I don’t ask a lot of people this, but we do talk about this over drinks and stuff: how does a band go about ordering the songs on an album? Since we’re talking about how you want to make it a full album. Who would be ordering the songs? Would you put a strong song first and then build it up? The common wisdom is that you want to put a good song first. Track one. And then the second track is gonna build it up. And then the third track is… Did you have a theory on that at all?
Robb: That’s like the "High Fidelity"thing, right?
Ben: Yeah.
Robb: You goota do one, and two you gotta ramp it up, and you don’t wanna blow your load for three so you gotta bring it down a little bit.
Ben: Is that what you were thinking?
Robb: It’s a little early to say at this point in time.
Matt: I think the songs will really dictate that.
Robb: We’re really at the behest of the songs.
Ben: Maybe not even for you guys in general, what about albums you like? What is your favourite track on your favourite albums?
Paula: I sually find the 11th song.
Ben: Really?
Paula: Because that’s usually when they throw in the ballad.
Robb: I like number 3 and number 9 usually.
Matt: My lucky number is 7.
Ben: Really?
Greg: Number one!
Robb: Number one.
Paula: No, number 11.
Matt: I think it really depends on the band. Some bands have awesome openers. Like the Cure is one of those bands that does awesome openers. But there’s other bands where I don’t like the first two songs.
Ben: I always find it very interesting how the bands decide to order the songs. Although at this day and age maybe it doesn’t matter anymore. Like the days of iPod shuffle and mp3s and people only buying one or two songs…
Robb: Well, it doesn’t so much and the day of the concept album is almost gone but you gotta admire it when a band still does that. It acknowledges that there’s a place for it. Every song should stand out on its own and it shouldn’t really matter what order they’re in but it’s kinda nice when they do.
Ben: Because I find that I usually do listen to an album from beginning to end.
Robb: You’re archaic like that as well.
Ben: I only have a tape player.
Robb: Wow, you’re advanced! I only have a record player!
Ben: So the album is in the works. Should be…
Paula: Should be starting soon.
Ben: Maybe after the Olympics?
Robb: After 2010? I don’t think we’ll wait that long.
Matt: Originally when I started playing with Robb it was kinda like, "Okay, let’s get some songs together, I’ve got some songs, let’s just go in an record an EP."And then we kinda stepped back and said, "Well, if we’re gonna in, rather than just going in and recording the first five things we come up with, why don’t we do a bit of self-editing and see if we can better ourselves, and say ‘Well that’s a good song, let’s see if we can better ourselves and write a better one.’"Rather than going in and wasting our time, our money, someone else’s time.
Ben: Yeah, it’s no rush. People, we’ll still be here.
Robb: Yeah, the humans will be around for a couple more years. The way we’re treating the earth, I don’t know, but we’ll be around for a little bit longer. It’s also that we’re really fully entrenched in collaboration right now and writing together as a unit, which is taking us into completely different directions, which are exciting; the songs are more of a reflection of all of us.
Ben: Is this the reason there’s only one song on your Myspace page?
Robb: That’s an old song, actually.
Matt: That we’re not playing.
Robb: We still play it sometimes. But that one was recorded with a previous lineup and Caleb Stull of Parlour Steps produced that at Vogville Studios. He had mixed our previous record and we’ve done some shows together and we’re pretty good friends. And we just wanted to do a one-off of a new song and now it’s kind of obsolete. So we’re looking forward to laying some new stuff down.
Ben: Are you eventually even just in between going to put some new songs on there so people get a feel of what you sound like now compared to then?
Robb: If anything goes well tonight, we might use something. I’m hesitant to put up demos on Myspace. I like to present the finished product, but that’s just me. Maybe we can have a fight over this right now?
Matt: I’m gonna have ot actually agree with you this time.
Robb: Ooooh… Okay, everyone write down the time and the date. Matt agreed with Robb.
Matt: Well there’s no sense in putting something that’s half-assed up. Especially when you’re a new band. People are asking, "What do you sound like? There’s 50,000 bands in Vancouver, why should I come see you guys? What do you sound like?"And that’s a good way for them to check it out. But if you’ve got a half-finished idea up there it’s gonna go either way: people are gonna love it or they’re gonna think it’s crap and not come to your show.
Ben: It’s better to get them to come toyour show and check you out.
Robb: Which everyone should do tomorrow night, by the way.
Ben: At the Railway Club. Starts around 10:00. Railway’s always a great place to play. Fantastic.
Robb: It’s a great room. Especially when Johnny’s doing sound… Now, if someone else is doing sound they’re gonna beat the crap out of me tomorrow night.
Ben: It’s like, "Where are the vocals?"
Robb: That guy seems to be moving around a lot but I don’t hear anything coming from his guitar or his mouth. They’ve inserted a track of Sid Vicious singing "My Way"where my vocal is supposed to be.
Matt: Better than them overdubbing your voice with that Cher tone.
Robb: We’re leaving that one to Ben, it’s okay.
Ben: Live on CiTR with Paint, and more songs for us to enjoy.
Robb: Yeah. Breakups suck. And this next song is about one.
Paula: I really enjoy breakups. I usually get into relationships just so I can break up.
Robb: Because it’s such a gentle art, isn’t it?
Paula: It is. And surprisingly that’s the title of this next song.
Robb: Yeah, and we didn’t script that either.
Matt: Paula only dates bass players.
SONGS: "A Gentle Art,""Can You Hear Me?"
A podcast of this interview and performance can be downloaded at CiTR's website.