>>PREVIEW
SLED ISLAND
Destroyer
Thursday, June 28
Grace Presbyterian Church
Vancouver native Dan Bejar is something of a musical paradox. He’s a member of the New Pornographers, possibly the most exuberant power-poppers ever to emerge from the Canadian landscape, but in his solo albums, recorded as Destroyer, Bejar is anything but straightforward. His latest, 2006’s Destroyer’s Rubies, is Bejar’s best to date, an intricate tangle of self-referential wordplay and skewed, glam-influenced songwriting.
The always self-deprecating Bejar recently spoke with Fast Forward about his attitude towards performing and why he’s no good as a musician.
FFWD: You’ll be playing at the inaugural Sled Island festival. Is it safe to assume from "Death on the Festival Circuit" (from 2000’s Theif album) that you aren’t a fan of that type of show?
Dan Bejar: I don't think "Death on the Festival Circuit" is a damnation of festivals. I thought it was a murder mystery that took place on the summer festival circuit. I don't really like playing in daylight, or too early in the day in general. And playing to a lot of people is something I'm still not that used to. And I generally don't like really big stages. And the sound of an outdoor stage generally blows. But aside from that, there's no reason why a festival can't rule.
So, the rumours that you’re not overly fond of performing are true?
I don't see how people can be on night after night. I don't think I have it in me to really nail it more than one-out-of-three nights (a very generous ratio, actually!), and if you're out for three or four weeks, such a ratio has the potential to really get you down. I'm not a natural, but I think I'm getting better, slowly.
All that being said, the people who give me flack over the live show are usually going on about something completely different, shit I will never bring myself to give any thought to, like jumping up and down, or "engaging" the audience, or the fact that my voice might sound unpleasant to the vast majority of ears.
Vocally, you seem to focus as much on phrasing as on melody. Does phrasing communicate something that lyrics and melodies can’t?
Any singer worth their salt is gonna be known for their phrasing by someone out there. My phrasing is completely unconsidered, just like everything else I do. Which doesn't mean it's not important to me. I don't know about specific meanings in art in general – I'm more of a cause-and-effect man – but I'll go on the record to say that the way you sing a song changes a song very, very much.
You’ve said that you need other people to inspire you musically. How much of your inspiration comes from collaborators?
Yeah, the people I play with inspire me. I mean, I can come up with shit, but I love hearing parts flying out of nowhere, from a place I'll never have access to (partly ’cause I'm very limited on my instrument). I will change a song to suit something cool that someone did, 9.9 times out of 10.
Why do you always slag your musicianship?
I never slag my singing, I think my singing is hilarious, really cool, and I'm really good at singing my songs. Other people call my voice horrendous while I go on about being the premier stylist of my age. I slag my guitar playing, because I suck. |
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