>>PREVIEW
TRICKY WOO
Saturday, March 11
Broken City
Andrew Dickson breathes heavily into his cellphone while lifting his equipment into a van in preparation for a Tricky Woo show in Ottawa. The founder and front man for the Montreal based foursome is articulate and charming during our conversation, which is surprising, given the band’s sometimes controversial past.
Some media reports from the late nineties painted the band as bordering on misogynistic, and one particular incident involved a disgruntled woman who attempted to strip Dickson naked in a booze-fuelled fury. "Later," he tells me with a trace of irony, "she bought me and the whole table a round of drinks. I guess maybe she thought I was Danko Jones," he says, chuckling.
"I’ve never thought of our music as being macho," he adds. "We sing about love. I’m not Sammy Hagar and I don’t wear Hawaiian shirts."
As the founder of Montreal’s garage rock old-timers (they originally formed in 1996), his consumptive need to make music hasn’t waned, it’s only grown stronger.
"It’s like being a heroin addict," he says. "People say get therapy, but no way. I love it. It’s a total joy to play rock music."
Every time he gets onstage and tests his amp, he knows he’s doing the right thing. Dickson also says he isn’t ready to grow up just yet.
"I think we’re regressing," he says of himself and fellow band mates Adrian Popovich, Pat Sayers and Alex Crowe. "I’m about 17 right now."
For some, the slow steady creep of life can put a damper on the rock lifestyle, and they throw in the towel at the first sign of crow’s feet and aching muscles. Not Dickson – he’s in it for the long haul.
"If I get my kidney transplant, yes, I will still be playing music in 10 years," he says.
For fans of rip roaring guitar solos and soulful lyrics, seeing Tricky Woo live is an event to remember. Since he doesn’t drink, he often finds himself holed up in a hotel room after a show, trying to wind down with the boob tube.
Grappling with the egos and dramas of other band mates can sometimes be a challenge but Dickson says disputes always seem to work themselves out. He also says part of the reason Tricky Woo is back together after a two-year hiatus is their ability to kiss and make up after a fight on the road in a cramped van.
"Endurance all comes down to personality in close quarters," he says.
"We usually break up and get back together by the end of the road trip."
When asked if rock ’n’ roll will save the world, Dickson is deadpan.
"I thought it already did," he says. |
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