So young and fresh-faced — Eric’s Trip, circa the early ’90s
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For fans of early ’90s indie rock, the reunion fever of the last couple of years has been exciting. The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and, most recently, My Bloody Valentine have all made highly successful comebacks, with some even writing and releasing new material (Dinosaur Jr.’s Beyond from last year is one of the most consistent in their catalogue). For fans, though, seeing old favourites reunite can be a bittersweet experience. Although the Pixies still nailed every hook and twist back when they played MacEwan Hall in 2004, and Dinosaur Jr. still supplied plenty of feedback, there’s always the sneaking suspicion that your favourite band is only playing because, frankly, they need the money.
Breathe easy, cravers of nostalgia, because the champions of Canadian lo-fi noise-pop, Eric’s Trip, are back, and as bassist, singer and acclaimed solo artist Julie Doiron assures Fast Forward, “There’s no pressure to do any shows. We’re not trying to support a new album, or doing it because the label wants us to do it. We’re just doing it because it’s fun.”
Actually, they’ve been back for two years, Doiron corrects, playing a handful of dates in Eastern Canada late last year, and at their own SappyFest in their hometown of Moncton, New Brunswick. They’re only now venturing out West, though, and down into the U.S. — the gauntlet that overtook the band and tore them apart in 1996, forcing them to call it quits halfway through their scheduled dates.
“I had hesitation about [touring] for sure; I was scared that [breaking up] could happen again in that way,” says Doiron. “Obviously, when we broke up mid-tour, that wasn’t supposed to happen, and that was maybe the only thing that caused tension, in my mind, between Rick [White, songwriter] and I. But that happened, we moved on and I matured, and everyone matured.”
Though Doiron is returning to some of her former fame by rebooting Eric’s Trip, she has earned substantial notoriety over the last 12 years with her own soft, sad, affecting folk-pop. While there was some concern when the band initially talked about reforming in 2001 that the hard work Doiron had done to build her own following outside of Eric’s Trip would be undone, she’s since become more confident.
“I was truly afraid that if I did a tour [with Eric’s Trip], and it was successful, that I would have to start over again,” Doiron admits. “Like, ‘what if we do this tour and it sets me back five years?’ But it didn’t do that, it only added to what I was doing.”
White is also planning the release of a retrospective documentary on the band, Eric’s Trip Video Show: 1990-96, sometime this year. It will feature a compendium of the band’s TV appearances, interviews and explosive live performances, as well as White’s own footage and memories of the band. Doiron says the project is a labour of love for White, who is “a bit of an archivist,” and has documented the band’s accomplishments thoroughly since their modest beginnings. Despite all the looking back, though, Doiron says the reunion is about more than nostalgia.
“It’s a good time for me to do it, because throughout the last few years I’ve really been having the desire to rock out more,” she explains. “So doing Eric’s Trip is an even better experience, because the songs are so crazy and chaotic and fast.”
