"It's not the most conventional band there ever was. But at the same time, it's not that hard to figure out."
That's how Brendan Canning succinctly summed up his all-star band/collective/clique, Broken Social Scene, which has become the Canadian indie-rock version of "American Idol." BSS is best known as the launching pad for "1 2 3 4" mega-hitmaker Feist. Its members have also gone on to issue albums as Stars, Metric, Jason Collett, Apostle of Hustle -- many of them on BSS' in-house record label, Arts & Crafts (also home to the Constantines, Stills, Dears and Los Campesinos!).
Got all that?
Over the past year and a half, Broken Social Scene has also become the Canadian indie-rock version of the Wu-Tang Clan, issuing "Broken Social Scene Presents"-branded solo albums by its two principal members, Canning and Kevin Drew. Canning's record, "Something for All of Us," is the latest, and thus it's the album du jour for the BSS tour that lands Monday at First Avenue.
The tour, by the way, doesn't include Feist, nor Emily Haines of Metric, but it will feature Apostle of Hustle's Andrew Whiteman and Land of Talk's Lizzie Powell. Talking by phone from his home in Toronto two weeks ago, Canning gave a more thorough explanation of the beast that is Broken Social Scene.
Q: Are these Broken Social Scene solo albums more like the Kiss solo albums or the Wu-Tang Clan's?
A: I'd say probably Wu-Tang over Kiss. With Kiss, there was some serious strategizing, because those records all came out at once and the covers matched up and all that. And as far as the Wu-Tang goes, their solo acts within the group made better records than those shitty Kiss records. Except Ace's was pretty good.
Q: What was the strategizing, if any, behind these albums?
A: It was just sort of happening anyway. Kevin had been doing a bunch of recording at his studio, called the Schvitz. I actually have a couple songs on my record that I made at his studio as well. It seemed like the stuff going on over there was less of a Broken Social Scene thing and more of a Kevin thing or a Brendan thing. It was just sort of necessary because Kevin and I don't have the other band outlets that everyone else in the group has. Trying to manage this band became more of what Kevin and I were doing than creating music, things like figuring out everyone's schedules and coming up with rehearsal time. We needed our own diversions from that.
Q: Will there be "BSS Presents ... " albums by any other members, or will you focus back on a regular BSS record?
A: I don't think we'll do "Broken Social Scene Presents ... " for anyone else. There are other people within the band releasing other records. And yes, there will be another Broken Social Scene record. It's just a matter of when it's going to happen, and how and where. We are playing songs on this tour that are new Broken Social Scene songs, ones people haven't heard before. We're trying to be inventive as far as presenting different programs every time we go on tour. We like to keep it fresh for ourselves as much as our audience.
Q: How did Broken Social Scene come about in the first place?
A: It was Kevin and myself making the "Feel Good Lost" record. We started recording in the autumn of 1999, once again with no certain purpose as yet. We had just kind of known each other a bit from around town and decided to get together and make a record, working on an eight-track. Then we started playing shows, and for those we rounded up a collection of Kevin's friends and my friends. We both knew a lot of people in Toronto. [Then] we took some time to all write songs together. As people came in and out of the city, the band changed; at the end of it all, we had a good body of work to draw on. That was essentially how we came to release the "You Forgot It in People" record [2002], when we started to get noticed more.
Q: What exactly is the relationship between BSS and the Arts & Crafts label?
A: I introduced Kevin and a friend of mine, Jeff Remedios, and they started the label. And it just became this label to house all the different affiliated acts that at least came close to being related to Broken Social Scene. Early on, there was, like, an album that Charles Spearin and I were involved with, Valley of the Giants. Then there was a Stars record, and Jason Collett's, Apostle of Hustle -- all people who at one time or another have played and maybe still are playing in Broken Social Scene.
Q: So, just to get an idea how Broken Social Scene Inc., works: Do you personally get a cut when Feist sells a T-shirt?
A: No. I don't get points on her merchandise. I got a songwriting credit on one of her tunes. That's as far as I go toward getting into her pocketbook.
Q: Is Feist still a part of the Broken Social Scene scene?
A: Not so much right now, because her path has definitely taken her to different places. You know, she's playing the hockey arena here in Toronto next month. She had a really massive single, that really changes things. I've known Feist since 1993. It's great seeing where her career has gone.
Q: BSS seems to be a good launching pad for female vocalists. Any idea why?
A: Yeah, it has been that way, but then again, Leslie Feist would've done just fine without Broken Social Scene, too. But we definitely have a lot of female vocalists come in and out of the camp, which has been good for everyone.
Q: Your latest is Lizzie Powell, who has worked with and dated one of our local stars, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). How did she come aboard?
A: I've know Liz since she was 18, quite a while. I've always thought highly of her. She probably would've been with us earlier, but she was living in Montreal, and whatever other reasons. She did some singing for a movie soundtrack I was working on, and when it came time for this tour, I thought, "Well, Liz has her band, Land of Talk [which opens Monday's show]. Maybe we could make it work." She brings such a great vibe to the band. She's a killer guitar player, too.
Q: You guys have played here at First Avenue a few times. Any memories of it?
A: The last time we played there, I think it was Halloween, and it was the night before the Constantines and the Hold Steady. It was nice to be around for that. It's definitely one of the classic venues in America. A gig at First Avenue is one to look forward to.
Q: So who'd win in a cage match: Broken Social Scene or [fellow Canadian supergroup] the New Pornographers?
A: I think I've probably watched more wrestling than anyone in either band. I went to a lot of matches in the '80s, and I've actually seen a few cage matches. So I'd have a few tricks up my sleeve. I'd be the one pulling brass knuckles out of my tights. I'd maybe have to keep an eye on [Pornos drummer] Kurt Dahle. But I think we'd take 'em.
