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Interview with Kevin Drew
Interviewed By: Amy Wagner
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I caught up with Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew at the Soho Grand on his recent swing through New York, which included an opening slot for fellow BSS member Feist at McCarren Park Pool. In person, Drew, like his music, is charismatic, bursting with energy and just the slightest bit enigmatic. |
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Above all, he was interested. Before the “official” interview began, Drew fired up his lap top and took a gander at none other than kevchino.com. And guess what? He approves! In fact, being that there’s a “Kev” in the chino, Drew even joked about taking over the site.
If this music thing doesn’t work out for him, we might give him a chance.
But seriously, read on for the 411 on Kevin Drew’s new album “Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew Spirit If . . . “ out September 18th, how he borrowed from Buena Vista Social Club and who would make his team for a game of Broken Social Scene dodge ball.
Tell me how the idea of the "Broken Social Scene Presents" series came about?
Brendan [Canning] started to make a record back in the winter and we knew we wanted to keep it within the idea of what we started back in 1999 with "Feel Good Lost" and since it was only Justin, Brendan and I and we never had another album or any other band out of this crew, we didn't want to veer far from the name of Social Scene that we worked so hard to build. Also, because we had so much material all the time, we thought that we could now have another sort of place to put it - another way to get it out there. Anything you wanted to do, you could put it under this "Presents" series. We're testing it out with me. I know it's very confusing for a lot of people. I could not call this record Broken Social Scene and I didn't want to just say "Kevin Drew". I wanted to let them know that this is the Broken Social Scene. It's the family everyone is there. We thought it was the right thing to do and we took a page out of the Buena Vista Social Club way of doing things.
Who's next in line to release an album under the "Presents" banner?
B. Canning.
When will it be out?
It might come out in February or March. It's almost done. It's quite soon and we want it to be that way because we do want to get back and make another monumental Social Scene record at some point.
Usually when people start going solo it can be the end of a band but everyone keeps coming back to this larger thing. Why do you think Broken Social Scene is so successful at holding people together?
I think it lies in the music. I think now that we're all scattered all over the place, sometimes we only get to see each other when we play shows or you go and record together. We have now in the last five years, all the bands and it's completely different then how it was in the beginning. It's quite different to be honest with you. At some point, once all the shit settles and everyone works through what they need to, I know that everybody could not want to play together again. I think a lot of people needed to make sure that their own thing was doing really well cause at one point; there was a time where Social Scene was doing better than everyone. That time has come and gone now and so it's exciting for these other people to get their projects going exceptionally well and then, at some point, I think there's a freedom when we play together that we sort of become addicted to as friends and musicians. It's what we need.
Some of these songs have been with you for awhile. Have you purposefully kept them hidden away for your own use or did they start out as possible Broken Social Scene songs?
They were mostly rants. Songs like "F--ked Up Kid" and "Bodhi Sappy Weekend" they were kind of Social Scene songs. "Big Love", that was a Charles [Spearin] and Ohad [Benchetrit] song that was around before and near the ending of the record, when we were deciding what to put on it, it was really great to turn to Charlie and Ohad and look at them, as my producers, and say, "Should we put "Big Love" on my record?" All I did was sing on it, but we'd been making music together for the past couple of years and I was a huge fan of the song so they were kind of like this isn't going to go anywhere if it doesn't end up here so let's do this.
Tell me about the production of the song "Lucky Ones”. It plays like one of those perfectly crafted pop songs that were coming out of places like the Record Plant every day back in the 1970s.
That song I had written while I was jamming. Ohad and I would always start with a midi beat because usually when you have a beat, you have a song. Everything that was written on this record started with a beat and a lot of the beats were the same. That song was a bit of a funny one because first I came up with the progression of the chord. Ohad just stayed the course with me. I asked him to play some of the hooks. He's an exceptional player so when I couldn't quite nail them, I'd say, "Ohad can you do this . . ." Gonzales came to town and I'm just such a huge fan and love him so much now cause I met him through Feist for the last few years that I got him to play piano. At the time, I said to him, "Look, I want to make this teenage anthems record. It's got to be like teenagers in the rain making out." He got up on the piano. The hook came in and I asked him to play it on the piano. Then, I leaned in and said, "Gonzales is that melody okay?" He just goes, "Dude, I can hear the pubes cracking through the kid's skin. This is incredible!" I started howling cause I knew I was on the right track!
Even thought this record is "Broken Social Scene Presents", your name is still out there on the line. Was there any fear of being out there on your own in that sense?
I had a lot of anxiety at the end process when we had to choose the songs and decide what the stuff would sound like. That's my weakest character trait as a human is making decisions. I used to be amazing at it and I've now lost it in the last few years. I did have a sequence melt-down after it was all mastered. I'm pulling the car over. I'm breathing. I'm listening to the record and it's so long! It gets boring but I've exhausted these songs so my opinion doesn't really matter cause I've played this stuff too many times now.
Is there ever a time when you're able to step back after you record something and hear it differently?
Yeah, I haven't done that yet with this one but I remember with the last Social Scene record, I hadn't heard it in six or seven months and we were in Japan doing press and they were playing it and I just kept going to Canning, "This is fucking great!"
You pulled it off!
We got a lot of flack when we first put that record out cause a lot of people just wanted a straight forward album. We just couldn't do that because it wasn't in our character and [Dave] Neufeld didn't want to do it and we didn't want to do it. The greatest thing about that record, and I hope the same thing sort of happens with this one, is that all I ever wanted to do is make an amazing album that just hits you over the head but I just can't seem to fucking do that. I have to make these growers where if you listen to it a few times, you get wrapped up in it and then maybe it comes into your life more.
You've described yourself in the past as being the type of kid who didn't want to take piano lessons or any lessons. You just wanted to "hang out". Now, you seem like one of the most disciplined musicians out there. Have you become disciplined are or you just really good at faking it?
I definitely have faked a lot of discipline in my life. Patience and discipline is something that if I don't get soon, I'm fucked as an individual because I'm paying the price now for not having those qualities in my life. But there was, actually, a lot of discipline in this recording. We started to record mainly after Ohad's kid started going into daycare. We were always recording but once the kid went in, we only had a certain amount of time and we worked really hard and there was a lot of discipline going around but I don't know if you consider it discipline so much when you're having a great time. For me, discipline, the word kind of represents all the things you don't want to do - the things you're terrible at. To be positive every day - that's takes discipline for me. To not become a raging lunatic asshole - that takes discipline for me.
You just played at McCarren Park Pool. How did you like that whole experience?
I really enjoyed it. It was a tough gig for us because it was only our second gig and it was an opening spot. It was Feisty's night and really they are so amazing. We're a new band and we're still figuring stuff out but people said it sounded good and the thing I liked the most about it was that I just loved the rest of the show. Everyone backstage and the crowd . . . I think it was such an incredible night. Feist’s band was just exceptional - every player was on! I've seen a lot of these shows now and that night, at McCarren, for me was just very very magical for all the people on stage.
There's always something special about that place.
Maybe it's cause they shot some of "The Warriors" there. Didn't they shoot some of "The Warriors" there? It looks like a set from "The Warriors" or "Electric Boogaloo 2".
Something that barely survived the 80s . . .
I was talking to Feist about calling people up and maybe doing some kind of break dancing contest.
Did you hit the slip 'n' slide or play dodge ball while you were there?
No, I didn't.
If you were going to have a Broken Social Scene dodge ball tournament at McCarren, which members of the band would you want to have on your team?
Oh, I know that down flat! Jason Collett. Andrew Whiteman. Brendan Canning. Marty Davis.
These are the people who are vicious?
These are the people who are vicious and precise!
You’re about to go out on tour. Where are looking the most forward to playing?
This club in London called Cocos. I'm kind of scared shitless about it because I feel like we have to start again a bit with this record and it's this really big big place in London but it's also one of those exceptional venues where people are very nice. It's hard to really think of places because I don't really know where I'm playing. That's one of the things that I have to change - knowing the schedule. I have to take a little more responsibility for my career because I'm just letting it slide by. I'm only doing this cause I'm just trying to eat a fucking grilled cheese.
After this album, it can be a grilled cheese with tomato or bacon.
That's right! You know I don't like tomato though it cause it’s always so hot that it can burn your mouth and you got the ketchup so what's the point? Cause you can't give up the ketchup with the grilled cheese - it's like Christ and God right there! The two go hand in hand. |
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