interview with steve bays #1
September 11, 2007
Okay, when I got an email saying it was possible I could get an interview with Paul on the 10th of September, I was estatic. I could hardly wait for Monday. But, it fell through and I was sad. In fact, I was flat out upset. But, aah, that couldn't stop me. A very kind person worked their ass off to do me probably one of the nicest things anybody has EVER done for me! So, at 5:19PM, on September 11, I get a call back on my cell phone telling me to hurry and get my interview equipment set up! I was was freaking out! I didn't expect to get an interview on the day of the Happiness LTD. album drop. So, I grabbed the microphone and made a ghetto little recording system. I get the call back...and lo and behold...it wasn't Paul...but Steve! After my cellphone dropped the call and there was a bit of confusion on my part, the interview commenced. So, here is my humble interview with our favorite frontman: STEVE BAYS!
How do you think the band has changed since Elevator?
I think we’re tighter as friends. I think around when Elevator was being made, we knew Dante was leaving. And considering that our whole approach to this record was built around the mood we were in when we were writing it and the mood we were in while we were recording it. The word vibe is used like every five seconds. It just describes that thing you can’t put your finger on but effects everything. And when we made Elevator it had to be a pop record because you can write pop with the left side of your brain...which we needed to turn off the right side a little bit...because when you know somebody’s leaving...you know the vibe...it’s just so screwed up. So, in a weird way, we wanted to make it a pop record because we could write that more logically. Pop is almost like a craft. It’s just as much as it is an art, where as with this record, it was more about the vibe and the emotion going into the original inspiration of the idea. You know, sometimes you go like a month without any inspiration, but you’re just...kind of one day it just hits you and a song’s written right away. So that’s how this one was done whereas Elevator was written more like something you’ve crafted. So I’m really proud of it but for different reasons.
So, what are your favorite songs off of Happiness LTD?
My Best Fiend, Harmonicas and Tambourines, Outta Heart—those would probably be my favorite songs. I know Luke—his favorite song is Waiting For Nothing, and that’s probably why it made it onto the record, whereas I tend not to like the songs that I write myself. Some of the songs we write as a whole band…some of them, you know, like Good Day To Die was mainly Luke’s song and My Best Fiend was a very collaborative thing, whereas Outta Heart and Let Me In and Waiting for Nothing—those kind of songs I tend to shy away from because I don’t like my own songs. I tend to like the songs that we all write as a collaboration like My Best Fiend and So So Cold and Harmonicas and Tambourines. Those were all of us working on them in bits and pieces together as a little gang. Those are the songs I like the best probably because they’re a little bit less personal, too.
What would you have to say would be your favorite B-side?
Money and Reputation, which I think comes out on the DVD version, I’m not sure, but I’m hoping that. Almost every B-side, I’m really into, and there’s even some B-sides that I still have to mix that will come out, I don’t know, as soon as I get time to do it. But Money and Reputation and Setting Son and there’s a song called Life Alone that probably won’t come out until the second UK single. Life Alone is a really cool song—that one’s more of a Paul song and I think we all argued about the chorus, we thought it was too grunge so we dropped it but it’s probably one of the coolest songs we’ve done in the verse. The way we made the record was we wanted to record all the ideas really quickly, so we didn’t have time to over-think it. And the good thing about that is there’s definitely a frantic energy and you are more susceptible to squeezing out emotion if you’re not using your brain too much. The downside to it was that there was some songs that I thought were really cool, but I think needed more time and that’s what made them B-sides.
Out of all the tracks you've ever done, what is your favorite unreleased track?
Let me think…I know there was one song…the only song I didn’t write the lyrics for is Good Day To Die, that was written by Luke, he wrote those lyrics…umm, there was this song called When We Were Kids and Dante wrote that. I just recorded it in his barn on my laptop so the recording is really shitty. He wrote the lyrics to that…I thought that more than any of his solo stuff or anything that he’s done for Hot Hot Heat, that song really summed up where he’s coming from as a person, which is, he just…he just really values his circle of friends, like their blood, and he grew up in a really small town that’s like a little lake community where, the smaller the town, the more crucial it is the relationships you have. You can’t hide behind anything really. So, he’s a really unique guy and that’s one of the big reasons why he left the band was because he was just homesick for his childhood friends who he’s still extremely tight with and actually played music with in his solo project. I just thought that was a really cool song. I think that one sticks out to me cuz it was really different. But there was also a song called Eyes Ears Mouth and that song was…I don’t know…that was almost like my answer to When We Were Kids because we grew up in a small town as well and I used to really trip hard on the whole idea of leaving the town where you grew up in seeing as it had so much to do with who you are as a person, and when you say goodbye to it, it’s bittersweet. So I always really thought that was a cool song. And also musically, I thought it was really unique and weird. And then also the other Elevator B-side, Wait A Second, I really liked as well because it was about a night in Paris where I finally stopped holding on to my heart so tightly and I actually gave in to the girl that was most of the inspiration for Elevator. So I really liked that song, too. And also, it has a Bob Marley feel to it because I’m a massive Bob Marley fan.
What's your favorite song to play live?
The new version of Talk To Me, Dance With Me I’m really excited about. It’s hard to say what my favorite song is. My favorite songs right now to play live are Talk To Me and Harmonicas and Tambourines and I’m really itching to play Happiness LTD, the song, but it’s one of those songs that takes a little bit more of listener to appreciate it, I think. A lot of the new songs on the record, I think they need to be pulled out only for audiences that actually know the record, so, probably more like the club shows. Once the record’s been out for a few months, we’ll be able to play it. Even Waiting For Nothing…it’s such an awesome live song to play, but around people that have never heard it…they just don’t get it.
In your opinion, where do y'all have the best crowds?
It’s such of a geographic thing. Now that music…the whole global village thing…music get’s everywhere right now so it’s kind of like…if people love you in one town, there’s a good chance they’ll have the opportunity to love you in another town. But it really comes down to when all the stars are aligned—if it’s the right venue, what other bands are playing in town, have there been a lot of good shows already that week, have you had a day off the night before, or have you had a string of awful shows. Sometimes it’s hard to have a good show if the show the night before is just in your top five shows of all time. You just go into it thinking “Oh, there’s no way we can have a better show.” It’s hard to say what the best crowds are because it’s very seldom that I feel unfulfilled by a crown. Like, we played Italy with Nine Inch Nails and Tool the other day—that was one of the toughest crowds I think we’ve ever played. But it’s no diss on Italy because we’ve played there before and it’s amazing. And the feed back after was awesome, but at the time, it’s like daytime…people…the sun…it’s probably a hundred degrees…you can’t really just blame the crowd and I think we always tell each other, “Don’t blame the crowd.” If it’s a good show, it’s all about your state of mind going into it.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Tons. There’s a ton of stuff. The pre-show ritual starts the night before the show and it’s just a big set-up. You have to know when to save yourself and when to just completely let go of yourself. If you give yourself to everyone and everything all the time, you just burn out. I’m very careful about reserving my energy and just being very zen and mellow until an hour or two before we go on. I like to explore the town...like walk around and meet people...and just really get a feel for the town so it doesn’t just feel like you’re playing another show in another city. The longer you get to actually hang out in a city, often the better the show is because it’s emotional investment and you’re appreciating the city. Another thing is, we like to listen to music a lot backstage. Usually all day long we’ll be listening to music backstage. The more it feels like a party backstage, the more it feels like you just walk on a stage and it just feels like you’re not faking it, you know? You’re actually having a good time and you’re actually feel like you’re having the time of your life. Then you don’t have to fake anything.
What is your biggest pet peeve on the tour bus?
There seems to be an intolerance for wet clothes. I mean, I’m always drenched after every show and for some reason, I go back to the back of the bus to get my clothes and somebody knocked them in the corner and they’re just covered in mildew. (laughs) It’s just so hard to do laundry, so it’s like a lot of your life being comfortable with being dirty. I don’t mind being dirty at all, I can wear the same clothes for weeks, but when they’re wet, that’s my biggest peeve.
Who were your musical influences growing up?
That’s a tough one. It’s hard to get into. I’ve just been into good music, period, so it’s always been hard to define who I am based on a handful of experiences or people. The easiest answer is...the local music scene was my biggest influence. My biggest idols growing up, nobody’s ever heard of. They were just local people and I never understood the celebrity culture and I never was into bands that felt untangable...I don’t know if that’s the word...un...intangible. I liked bands that I could see and maybe I would have seen more bands if we weren’t on an island. Nobody ever came to the island because it was really expensive and a pain in the ass, so all my rock stars were just people I’d see walking down the street. I think the reason I got so into music was because I liked the community of me and just friends hanging out.
If you could travel to anywhere in the world--and it has to be a place you've never been before--where would you go?
Moscow
What's your favorite color?
Dark, dark navy blue. Almost black.
If you could be any animal for a day, what would you be?
Definitely a young cat. Maybe not a kitten. Maybe not an old cat. Definitely a young cat.
What was your favorite TV show growing up?
(thinks for a while) I was really into the A-Team. But I wouldn’t say that was my favorite. It definitely was up there. I’d say the A-Team was definitely in my top ten, for sure.
If you could have any super power, what power would you want?
Probably to be invisible. Definitely to be invisible.
Now, let's pretend you're hunting with Dick Cheney. Who do you think would deserve to be mistaken for a quail?
Oh, it would have been awesome if he shot George Bush. That would have been the story of the century.
Can you give me three random facts about yourself but lie about one of them?
(long pause, you hear mumbles of “oh my God”)
Just as you said that, I was looking…somebody spraypainted “Bush” on the sidewalk, but the “S” is a swastika. Anyway, I just don’t understand those kind of things. No conservative is going to be walking down the street… Anyway, so what was that question?
Give us three random facts about yourself but lie about one of them.
Okay. Umm…let me think here…I’ve basically been 160lbs for years. At one point I was almost 180. Umm…and I’m 6’2’’.
Who's Jimmy?
Ooh, I’m with Jimmy right now! Jimmy is Luke’s old friend from when Luke was in film school. He used to live with this guy, Lorenzo, who now is in Vancouver…and this guy…Jimmy Sweet…and they’re just those two kind of guys that always seemed to be everywhere we were. Jimmy’s never worked a day in his life. (you hear him laughing in the background) He’s played in about eight million bands. He’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades, but his number one priority is life is to have fun. We were looking for someone to fill in the cracks live, and originally it was gonna be The Goose, who is in a lot of the DVD we did, but then The Goose got offered a job playing guitars and keyboards and backing vocals and tambourine for this Canadian band, Sloan. And then Jimmy said, “Well hey, I’m usually everywhere you guys go all the time anyway.” (Jimmy is talking in the background…) He actually played guitar on Good Day To Die. He’s just one of those guys that’s everywhere. Nobody knows where he gets his money from. He’s a complete enigma. I don’t know anyone like him, so he just started coming on tour with us because we liked hanging out with him and he had a good vibe. You know, like I said, having a good vibe backstage is absolutely crucial to having a good show. And then at some point, he just started playing the occasional instrument. So, he’s kind of tucked away in the back and he’s not a Hot Hot Heat full member, but…shoot…I think he’s earned the right to play with us live. He’s on a bit of (something inaudible) and he likes to party pretty hard so he’s gotta keep that in check. But if he passes all the tests, I think he’ll be playing live with us for a while.
Do you have any final words for the fans on the website?
Well, the fan presence…I wish there was another word either than just fan…it’s more than just a fan thing…just the presence of everyone’s support and comments and attention…most importantly the attention to detail that I noticed kinda has been increasing in the last year has definitely made us care more about the little details like making sure the B-sides get out there and the DVD was essentially done for the fans because for the first time, we knew that they were actually out there. I’m sure most people won’t wanna see the DVD, but for the people that do care, I think it’s cool. And so it makes me wanna…I’m working on little things…I wanna do all the net version of things in the back of the bus. It’s definitely inspiring to know how somebody actually cares because, believe it or not, when you travel the world playing venues—you know, a different venue every night—sometimes you get the sense of “what are we doing this for” and it’s so weird because it seems so ridiculous to have people coming and cheering and having all these great shows but somehow you’re left with the sense of, you know, at the end of the day…does anyone really care? And then, so, it’s just like those occasional comments that you read or somebody tells you from the hardcore fans…that kind of inspires you to keep going and not really give a shit about record sales or stats. I think a lot of bands get obsessed with their level of quote un-quote “success.” As long as good music is being made and appreciated by intelligent people, then it’s—that’s almost all you really need. As long as you can pay your rent.
I didn't expect Steve to be this kind and answer my questions so well. I also didn't expect him to directly compliment me before and after the interview. Of course, I was stupid and forgot to ask about the Le Le Low music video...but oh well. I seriously couldn't thank him enough for doing this for me.
