by Daniel Colussi | Rarely does a band’s name so rightly capture their aural aesthetic, but Disappears is the perfect name for what these guys do. They craft hazy visions of half forgotten memories. They’re dream house-livers. They’re ghost riders, patrolmen of lost highways. But as people, they’re much more straight forward. Frontman Brian Case is a longtime indie-rocker, and in the following conversation he sheds light on playing tunes, being a bartender, and everything else that maketh a Chicago psych rocker tick.

What I’ve heard so far from Pre Language, the new album, sounds a little more reined in than the last two. The overall sound seems a bit less gauzy, less hazy, and more focused. What was the plan going into this recording? What kind of album did you want to record? And what did having Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth drummer) on board bring to recording proceedings? Well, we definitely didn’t want to make a record like we had before. We move pretty fast in terms of writing, and in the past the recording process mirrored that. This time we had a few more resources available to us (Steve’s studio) and a little more time to work. We really just wanted to do what was best for the songs, which is always the goal, but this time we were a little more considered than we have been in the past. Lux and Guider were each recorded in 2 days and mixed in 2 days by a member of the band in the same studio. This time we had someone to engineer, someone to mix and two separate studios – gives you a little more breathing time and helps keep your head clear.

I was a fan of 90 Day Men, and thinking back to when that band was around, it feels like a different era from today. It feels like there’s just so much more music/labels/bands/etc than ever before. Do you have any thoughts or reflections on how “indie rock” music/culture has evolved in the last 10-15 years? Oh my god, I think about this all the time. Yes, things are so completely different. I mean, when 90 Day Men was around, people were worried about promo’s being sold before release date, not your record being available to anyone who felt like googling your band name. The internet was such a small, tiny part of independent music culture then – it’s so hard to illustrate how it has become a major force in creating, marketing, selling, hyping, and ultimately destroying bands today. Great question that we could talk about for hours.

Something I like about Disappears is how your music balances the spaciness of psych/kraut music with a sort of tight punk rock vibe. Am I way off on this? How does that dynamic come about? How much is that by design? I think it’s just a matter of taste really. Ultimately that’s what makes a band good or bad in my opinion. Yes, skill plays a part, but if you can get a group of people together with a good combination of chemistry and influences, then you’ve got it. That’s how it’s been in all the bands I’ve played in at least. You’re right on with how you describe us; we try and balance the visceral-ness of punk with the experimental side of things. Usually we just slap the two right on top of each other, haha.

What’s the best Hawkwind album? What’s the best Fall album? Honestly I know nothing about Hawkwind, aside from Lemmy being the original bass player and that people think they are an influence on us. I really do need to check them out. The best Fall record is impossible to pick. Right now I’m actually listening to ‘Bend Sinister’ and I can’t imagine anything sounding better, so let’s go with that.

Am I correct in thinking that all of Disappears, minus Steve, are bartenders? That means a lot of time spent in bars. What’s it like to work in a bar and then go on tour and spend all your time in bars? Two of us are bartenders. Ummm…it can be a little like “Groundhog Day” but that’s more about being on tour and being at the same clubs all the time. The bar I work at is in a really nice restaurant so it’s not dark with loud music and people getting wasted so that helps keep it in a different place for me. Jonathan works at a great bar called Rainbo, it’s been around since the 1930′s or something and doesn’t have bands (well, very rarely), so it’s more of a place to hang out vs. being assaulted with a band 7 days a week.

I imagine that Disappears live is a different beast than Disappears in the studio. What makes for a good Disappears live show? What kind of places do you prefer to play? How do you feel your songs translate in larger setting like the Pitchfork or Lollapalooza shows vs. a 300 person capacity bar? I think we prefer to play places where we can control the environment some, a good mid-size club that’s packed with people who want to hear music is the best – everyone can see, there are few distractions and you can really pull off the energy of the audience. With the festivals it’s totally different – you have to fight to make people care, which has it’s own advantages as well. Live is different for us – we really try and link things together, similar to a DJ set. We try our best to keep the momentum going and try and pace things so they build into something versus just playing 12 songs and talking about how rad everyone is between them. Hopefully there’s a little mystery there.

Finally, I imagine that everyone in the band is a total music head. So what gets played in the van when you’re on tour? We all take turns with the music but a lot of times the van is quite tame. We like to talk and use that time to make plans about what’s coming up – what we’d like to happen. Steve and Jonathan end up DJing a lot – lots of old soul stuff, weird new wave, obscure french music…hahaha…just a bunch of music snobs driving around in a van somewhere.

Disappears and The Fresh And Onlys play the Biltmore Saturday Feb 18th. Tickets at Zulu and Red Cat and the Biltmore.

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Zulu Records veteran and tunage aficionado Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine.

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours…

LISTEN | Sam Sullivan is holding another one of his Public Salons this week. The former mayor of Vancouver has gathered an impressive line-up of “thinkers and doers’ to talk Wednesday night. Expect presentations by architect Matthew Soules, former attorney general Wally Oppal, Myriam Laroche (Founder of Eco Fashion Week) and Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes. Get tickets here.
Wednesday, February 8 | 7:30-9 pm | Vancouver Playhouse (Dunsmuir/Georgia) | $16

LEARN | Are you a little sketched-out by global industrial food systems? We certainly are. Journalist and former Vancouver city councillor Peter Ladner (The Urban Food Revolution: Changing the Way We Feed Cities) is too and he wants to get people excited about a local food-production revolution. He’ll be hanging out at Eternal Abundance on the Drive on Thursday night to chat about a variety of ways in which we can build and support community food security. Expect to gather practical advice on how to contribute to making local, fresh sustainable food affordable and widely available. Details.
Thursday, February 9 | 8pm | Eternal Abundance (1025 Commercial) | $3

LOOK | Catalog is having a show on Thursday night. Love is in the Error: Pathetic Solutions to Pathetic Problems is new work by the artists Chris von Szombathy & Drew Shaffer. “This show of sculptural work puts forth their mutual conception that our actions are both pathetic and divine; that what is gauche is more revealing than what is graceful. Both artists’ work grows between Rococo and Pop branches and their work is proof that the exegesis of our existence is as ignored as it is apparent.” Pre-show sushi at Sea Monstr! The show runs until Sunday February 26th.
Thursday, February 9 | Catalog Gallery (56 Powell) | Free

EAT | Along lower Main Street there is a little gallery space, and in the alley behind that gallery there is silver gate. Through that gate (this Friday night) will be a pop up dinner project called “Elephant Cutlet”. They’re not taking reservations or telling just anyone where the fabled gate is, but if you contact the organisers they will hook you up. And we highly suggest contacting organisers, because…on the menu…Country Pâté with Green Apple Jelly & Toasts ($7) House-Made French Sausage (Or shell poached egg) with Lentils du Puy, Potted Cabbage & Hearty Bread ($12) and Pear Panettone Pudding with Crème Anglaise for ($6). How’s that for a Friday night? DO IT!
Friday, February 10 | 7pm | Secret location…through a Main Street back alley | Contact ludzuxiexie {at} gmail.com for details

MEET | If you’ve ever walked around the new Woodwards complex in Gastown you’ve likely noticed Stan Douglas’ translucent photo mural, Abbott & Cordova, 7 August 1971. It’s pretty awesome, as is Douglas’ revealing book of the same name (published by Arsenal Pulp Press). It details how he came to create the scene from the 1971 Gastown Riot (fascinating), and also takes both the riot and his work “as points of departure to discuss the legacy and implications of this tumultuous time, not only for Vancouver but for all urban centres where dissent and conflict based on class, lifestyle, or other issues arise, and where the role of authorities is contested in the form of public demonstration” (learn more about riot and the work here). The official launch goes down on Friday, February 10th at the Charles H. Scott Gallery (Emily Carr). Stan Douglas will be in attendance and signing copies. Be sure to check it out.

TUNES | The Secret Chiefs 3 and Dengue Fever play the Rickshaw Friday night. If you haven’t heard of them, The Wiki doesn’t help. They perform a “wide range of musical styles including surf rock, Persian, Arab, Indian, death metal, film music, electronic music, and various others”. Wha? What the hell is that? In cases such as these, it’s often best just to hit play on the Youtube and cut to the chase. That’s what I did (plus I read about them on the Zulu Report last week). Looks like it’ll be a solid show.
Friday, February 10 | 7pm | Rickshaw Theatre | $20 | Details

MAKE | Anyone can buy a box of chocolates for their Valentine (and it’s a tradition we fully support), but how many among us can claim to contribute to the making of those chocolates? Intrigued? Find someone that you like enough to share chocolate with and hook up with Adam and Jessica over at BETA5 this Saturday night to learn how to hand-paint chocolates. Each participating couple will hand-paint and take home their own box of 24 chocolate. Yes, the $125 is a little on the steep side, but that’s only $75 each and you’ll be treated to some amazing chocolate and taking 24 of them home. This event also happens Tuesday, February 14th!
Saturday February 11 | 8:30pm | BETA5 Workshop (413 Industrial Ave) | $125 per couple

PARTY | Gastown’s Artspeak is having a 25th Anniversary Celebration this week. Twenty five years is a big deal for an arts organization, so help them celebrate by attending this party. It’ll cost you $100, which includes “Friend” level membership and admission for you and a guest. There will be a silent auction featuring works by: Aaron Carpenter, Stan Douglas, Geoffrey Farmer, Janice Kerbel, Mark Lewis, Kyla Mallett, Judy Radul,Marina Roy, Kathy Slade, Mark Soo and Althea Thauberger. The event is presented with the support of Nelson the Seagull, Six Acres, Beta 5 and Soirette Macarons and goes down at Old Faithful. So it’s a bit of a steal, really. For further information or to purchase a Friend membership please contact Artspeak at 604.688.0051 or info@artspeak.ca.
Saturday, February 11 | 7pm | Old Faithful Shop, 320 West Cordova | $100 | Details

ZINERY | Sad Mag is a quar­terly magazine that celebrates independent art and culture in Vancouver. Sad Mag is entirely volunteer-run and in order to raise funds for printing costs associated with their 9th issue (due out in April), they’re holding their 3rd annual comedy show at The Cobalt this week. There will be a riotous lineup of comedians, a photo-op kissing (and crying) booth, DJ’s cheap drink,s and the general charm that you have come to expect from The Cobalt. Cover is $10 and includes a year’s subscription, plus admission to comedy show and dance party.
Thursday, February 9 | 8pm | The Cobalt (917 Main St) | $10 | Details

LIGHTS | Illuminate Yaletown goes down this weekend. The neighbourhood’s buildings and streets will come alive with interactive, innovative, and interesting light art exhibits on Friday and Saturday night. Not only will ‘cutting edge and power smart’ video and lighting technology spill from every corner of the historic area, but the streets will also be full of performers and musicians. It can get crowded. Don’t forget to bundle up.
Friday, February 10 + Saturday, February 11  |  6-10pm | Yaletown | Free | Details

IMPORTANT NOTICE: HEADS-UP ABOUT BILL YOU MURRAY ME

A while back we ran across a poster advertising an art exhibition dedicated to Bill Murray. We thought it was a great idea. Apparently so did a lot of our readers. So many people wanted to take part that organizers have had to find a bigger space and bump the show opening up by a week. Guests are still expected to don red toques and housecoats and accessorize with pipes and beards. And there will still be cheap drinks, great music and tons of excellent art.
New date/location: Saturday, February 18 | 7pm-2am | The Fall Gallery is located at 644 Seymour

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended Bond University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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THE TRACK

SISKIYOU Where Does that Leave Me

There’s very good reason why Vancouver’s enigmatic Siskiyou rarely perform around town – they are simply just too busy! Chief songwriter Colin Huebert is currently prepping for his residency up in the Yukon and the Dawson City Music Festival. Then when he returns, they plan a pretty jet-set lifestyle and are penciled in on some of 2012’s best festivals including All Tomorrow’s Parties (by invitation of Mogwai) as well as a show at Barcelona’s prestigious Primavera Pop. Actually, maybe they are just not really into playing clubs, after all this video shot a couple weeks ago captures them tucked away down a cobble lane near London’s Bishopsgate station. Yes, the natural reverb and ambience of the field recording creates a very cool feel to the performance… Hmmn, perhaps when they get back we can coax Colin and co. into Blood Alley for a few songs in front of Judas Goat!

THE PLAYLIST

THE WAR ON DRUGS Brothers

Having just jammed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with help from Questlove on drums, my favourite dream rockers from Philadelphia are on a serious good time roll. This creepy new video is a pleasant surprise, and one that perfectly captures the brooding energy of the muchachos in the band. Spoiler Alert: they shoot out the lights at the Biltmore in March!

HOODED FANG Vacationation

Three months ago these guys were playing Saturday afternoons in public libraries in Toronto. Now they are on the eve of four shows in Jolly Olde London’s ultra swank rock clubs! Somewhere in the CBC Radio a red light is flashing announcing that the next ultimate awesome Canadian indie band has been found.

KATE BUSH Eider Falls At Lake Tahoe

As the season of desultory weather is on us, we suggest a trip with the kids to Urban Source on Main Street. Find as much recycled scrap gems as you can, grab a crisp white sheet, your camera, and indulge the creative imagination of the next generation. Or simply just watch this gorgeous Kate Bush shadow animation!

GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS Easy Come Easy Go

Any video with this degree of direction over one long continuous shot is already a winner by default. Also, I applaud Tony Dekker’s goal to riff on Brecht’s ‘breaking down the fourth wall’ – exposing the performance for the construction that it actually is. And I’ve always been curious about how Canadian’s would approach fake snow. Great song, my man!

WILCO Dawned on Me

Eat your greens with Wilco and your life will instantly be better. I imagine this video is in high rotation right now and it is great to see the classic Elzie Crisler Segar character back in action! Did you know that psychologists speak about people reaching their ‘the popeye point’ – the instant at which a person (you, me, we) decides to break out of an imprisoning life situation and asserts his or her own interests. 99% superhero!

BEIRUT Santa Fe

I guess it really is a perfect day for a Bananafish… Or is it? Of course I am alluding to the famous J.D. Salinger short story of a day at the beach that goes wrong for the Glass family. The protagonist of this video from Zach Condon a.k.a. Beirut ponders the same outcome in the face of grief and loss… I see a PhD coming!

ARCTIC MONKEYS You And I (Featuring Richard Hawley)

Who are the current British bad boy rockers out there? The Oasis brothers have pretty much covered all the brooding ground. You don’t hear much about Pete Doughty anymore and new faces The Maccabees haven’t got much bite yet. Richard Hawley is an underrated old school bad-boy not to be trusted with the keys to the liquor cabinet, and no, the E-type is not a rental.

THE GIG

SECRET CHIEFS 3 & DENGUE FEVER – RICKSHAW THEATRE Friday February 10th

How familiar are you with Cambodian psychedelic rock from the 1960’s? What about music that fuses traditional Persian elements with Death Metal? Expand your horizons on this epic night at the Rickshaw with two bands that have not only an immense sonic palate but an almost cult-like following of loyal fans! Secret Chiefs 3 is the banner under which multi-instrumentalist Trey Spruance has explored a wide range of musical styles including “suprasensory surf”, Turkish electro-folk, horror film inspired soundscapes, dark metal funeral dirges. Performing in cloaks, the Chiefs are the headliners and a spectacle that will blow your mind and your ears. On the undercard, L.A.’s Dengue Fever bring an equally dazzling sound to the stage – imagine fuzzed out pop songs sung in Khmer featuring drones coming from an amplified Mastadong! Hopefully they will dig deep into the songs from their classic Escape From Dragon House release which explores a bit of the Cambodian dance house sound and has enough deep bass groove that even the most composed ethnomusicology students in attendance should cut loose!

The Glance

Thu Feb 02 DOLDRUMS – WALDORF
Thu Feb 02 THEE SILVER MT ZION – RICKSHAW -
Fri Feb 03 NO SINNER – BILTMORE
Fri Feb 03 LOS CAMPESINOS! – ELECTRIC OWL -
Fri Feb 03 THE TOASTERS – IRON ROAD STUDIOS
Fri Feb 03 DIRTYLOUD – ELECTRIC OWL
Fri Feb 03 BRODINSKI – CELEBRITIES
Sat Feb 04 JOACHIM GARRAUD – GINGER 62
Sat Feb 04 CHARLIE WINSTON – COMMODORE
Sat Feb 04 JEREMY SOLE – REDROOM
Sun Feb 05 KAI SKY WALKER – ELECTRIC OWL
Sun Feb 05 WILCO – ORPHEUM -
Wed Feb 08 TWIN SISTER – MEDIA CLUB -
Thu Feb 09 LMFAO (DJ SET) – GOSSIP
Fri Feb 10 SECRET CHIEFS 3 & DENGUE FEVER – RICKSHAW -
Fri Feb 10 JAYHAWKS – COMMODORE
Fri Feb 10 ALESSO – CELEBRITIES -
Fri Feb 10 3D – SHARK CLUB
Fri Feb 10 TANYA STEPHENS – HUNGARIAN CULTURAL CENTRE
Fri Feb 10 YACHT – MEDIA
Fri Feb 10 HEY OCEAN! – VENUE
Sat Feb 11 D-BRIDGE – W2
Sat Feb 11 COLD CAVE – ELECTRIC OWL
Sat Feb 11 KO – VENUE
Sat Feb 11 MIDNIGHT CITY / OMAR S – WALDORF
Sat Feb 11 DOGGIE WOGGIEZ! POOCHIE WOOCHIEZ! – BILTMORE
Sat Feb 11 BENNY BENASSI – CONVENTION CENTRE -
Sat Feb 11 THE BE GOOD TANYAS – VOGUE
Sat Feb 11 D-BRIDGE – W2
Sat Feb 11 DJ HEATHER – FORTUNE

We ran across the above poster over the weekend and love the concept. An art exhibition dedicated to Bill Murray. So great. The only thing that would make it cooler is if every Bill Murray loving Vancouverite could contribute some quality art work to the show. Yup, the organizers are looking for quick and dirty work of all sorts that honours “…this peculiar, hilarious and often sad man…From Caddyshack to Broken Flowers…Classics such as Ghostbusters, Lost in Translation or every Wes Anderson film. We want your inspired art on our walls. We are open to any and all interpretations (paintings, drawing, mixed media, film, knitting.. anything)”.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday. If you have some original Bill Murray work or think you could whip something cool up overnight, get in touch with the creative folks running the show at billmurraylove [at] gmail [dot] com. The show will go down at The Toast Collective on February 11, 2012 (648 Kingsway in Mount Pleasant). Guests are expected to bring red toques, housecoats with pipe in hand and be bearded. There will be cheap drinks, great music and tons of presumably excellent art.

Honour Bound details the many cool things that we feel honour bound to check out because they either represent Vancouver exceptionally well or are inherently super awesome in one way or another.

by Daniel Colussi | Have you ever heard C86, NME’s 1986 cassette compilation of English jangle-pop bands? It’s a curious thing because although the majority of bands featured on the cassette are long since forgotten (sorry Bogshed), the term “C86 band” persists as a style of reverb-heavy, primitively-performed, 60s-indebted shamble-pop. It’s a style of music still very much in effect, and I’d wager that there are more C86 bands today than there were in 1986. Veronica Falls are one such band; able masters of the perfect 2 minute morbid love song. They’ve got the vibe down solid, and they come across as perfectly English in the way that they humbly and stoically embrace the hype surrounding their band. Hey, they’re just as surprised as anyone! Amidst a hectic schedule of recording sessions and touring the globe, drummer Patrick Doyle talks shop and gently chides me when I accuse the band of being Glaswegian. Read on, and why not listen to the original C86 while you’re at it?

What are your day jobs? What goes down in Glasgow these days? Are there still gangs of roaming, disaffected adolescent footballers terrorizing the city every night? We all do odd bits and pieces here and there, but we’re spending the majority of our time writing and recording at the moment. We live in London so not sure what’s going down in Glasgow…

What was the vibe like when you played at David Lynch’s club Silencio in Paris? Did you get to meet with him? What was the scene? It was pretty nice. I didn’t see David Lynch but James saw him. We saw Metallica there and apparently Lana Del Ray was there too. We were pretty drunk by that point though. Needless to say, the cocktails are the best bit about that club.

I’ve read that at least one member of Veronica Falls was a fairly amateur/unschooled musician when the band was starting out. Nowadays you guys are touring extensively around Europe and North America. So what has that transition been like, to have the band’s platform as a live entity expand so significantly? Marion hadn’t played an instrument before the band, but that was important to us when we were recruiting as we wanted somebody who could play simple, minimal basslines without getting bored (as more experienced players might). I’d never played drums before we started this band, so I guess keeping the rhythm section minimal was a pretty important part of our sound.

The connections between Veronica Falls and C86/twee English music has been much talked about. But whenever I talk with bands, they’re usually into a broad spectrum of music.  So what kind do you guys listen do that doesn’t fall into that aforementioned category? I think we are all aware of the C86 stuff but wouldn’t count it as an immediate influence. I think we’re probably more influenced by the stuff that influenced the C86 bands, like Joe Meek/Phil Spector bands, but we’re probably more influenced by American indie rock from the 80s and 90s. Basically, all music is what I’m trying to say. I think it’s too hard to name direct influences when you’re constantly listening to different things.

Something I see so much in music writing today is the concern that current music only looks backward – it only focuses on referencing the past. Is this of concern to Veronica Falls? Does it matter if bands today want to look to the past for inspiration? Is pop music at a point where there can’t really be anything new? Where else are you supposed to look? I think the most interesting pop music is created when bands try and copy other bands but get it wrong.

I saw this photo of you guys hanging with Ronnie Wood. What was the deal with that? We saw him having lunch at the airport when we were catching a flight and thought it would be funny to start putting pictures of ourselves on Twitter with famous people. He was really nice about it. We also have a picture of ourselves with the singer of Kasabian, which is pretty funny. Hopefully we’ll build up some more this year.

How much does a love of Lawrence/Felt figure in to what you do? And have you caught wind of the Lawrence documentary that’s just come out, Lawrence Of Belgravia? We’re all pretty big Felt fans. My Physics teacher at school lent me all their albums when I was about 13 so they’ve always been a big part of my musical upbringing. Yeah, I saw the Lawrence film last month with James. It was hilarious.

What’s on the horizon for the band? A lot of touring. We’re recording a new single next week and trying to finish writing a new album in between the aforementioned touring!

Veronica Falls and Bleached play the Media Club Monday February 20th. Tix still available at Zulu and Red Cat.

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Zulu Records veteran and tunage aficionado Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine.