Riding Shotgun With the High Dials
Canada has become the new black, musically speaking. Many a great band has emerged from the Great North over the past few years, and the High Dials are certainly one of them. I love them because they list the La's, Teenage Fanclub, and the Jam as influences. You'll love them because they sound like a retrotastic lazy Sunday afternoon. Read on to see how singer Trevor Anderson feels about the Beatles, Oakland, and his favorite High Dials merchandise (pucker up!). The High Dials bring their highly-recommended Canuck psychedelia to DC9 for a BigYawn show Sunday, April 9 ($10). Support comes from the Positions and whoever we are able to find as a replacement for the Burnside Project.
Touring is: blurry, freeing, tiring.
Our first gig together was: well, a month ago for this line up.
Our favorite venue to play is: the big empty amphitheatre at Pompeii. Haven’t played there yet.
Hygiene on a tour is: uh, compromised.
Our favorite thing about touring is: this week? Cracker Barrel. It’ll get old soon.
And the least favorite: the back bench of the van.
City with the best audiences: Vancouver? No, Seattle.
The band member most likely to disappear after a show is: George. He will disappear completely into the Dears soon.
The tour bus/van smells like: a homeless man asleep in a dumpster wearing lots of cologne.
Laundry is: a) washed regularly, b) washed irregularly, c) we go shopping a lot: d) rarely acknowledged or discussed.
Who controls the music in the touring vehicle? And what are you listening to at the moment?
We take turns. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, the Dears, Cat Power, the Black Angels, Gorillaz, Black Mountain, Spoon, Television...
Your new favorite watering hole after being on tour? And/or the best place to get greasy, hangover-curing food?
I like Verres Sterilises on Rachel. La Belle Province always wins for junk food, even though it’s an obvious choice for a Montrealer.
Most amusing memory from your current or most recent tour? Our brilliant April Fool’s Day prank on Rishi.
Favorite tour activity (other than the gigs themselves): Filthy humour, stupid voices and clever insults.
Are there any bands you've played with that you'd like to tour with again? Or bands that you have yet to tour with that you'd like to?
I want to open for the Beatles. I’ll settle for the Stone Roses.
Please name the city you wouldn't ever play in again? Or, if not a particular city, which venue makes your skin crawl?
Jackson, Mississippi. Oakland, California.
Apart from the obvious cd, what's the merch item of yours you think people should shell out for? Kisses from Ted our tour manager (1$ each).
Have you been to the top of the Washington Monument? No.
You come to D.C. a lot. What's your favorite part of playing here? The crowd is brilliant. I had a good roti last time, too.
What would you like people to be saying about the High Dials in 50 years? They were the first band to play on the moon.
What's your favorite High Dials song ever (consensus favorite or individual favorites), and why? Probably “Your Eyes Are a Door” for me, because it was a very spontaneous recording and is full of quirky elements.
Please recite a line of poetry: "The silver apples of the moon, the golden apples of the sun.”
And finally, it's BigYawn's round. What's your poison? Guinness and/or vodka on ice.
Need more? Of course you do. Go to www.thehighdials.com, or www.myspace.com/thehighdials for even more High Dials goodness.