PHOTO : COURTESY OF BEDLAM MUSIC MANAGEMENT PHOTO : COURTESY OF BEDLAM MUSIC MANAGEMENT PHOTO : COURTESY OF BEDLAM MUSIC MANAGEMENT
DALLAS GREEN TRACKING GUITARS FOR OTHERNESS
VOCALIST GEORGE PETTIT TRACKING VOCALS
ALEXISONFIRE RECORDING OTHERNESS ( L-R ): BASSIST CHRIS STEELE , DRUMMER JORDAN HASTINGS , GUITARIST / VOCALIST DALLAS GREEN , AND LEAD GUITARIST WADE MACNEIL
versa , was an important cornerstone for Green in creating Otherness .
In Green ’ s eyes , he ’ s experienced too much with his bandmates to not have at least taken a shot at revisiting Alexisonfire .
“ We ’ ve been through so much together and were kind of put through the wringer as young kids with this real topsy-turvy , up and down version of what you would call ‘ success ,’ where it was a lot of great highs , and a lot of really crushing lows , and a lot of perseverance , and a lot of this and that ,” Green says . “ I think when we started writing the songs and demoing them , it just felt like we were a different band . I don ’ t mean that in a derogatory way to the old version of us . It just felt like we had pushed past a lot of bullshit to find this really beautiful place that we could exist in with one another .”
When the band speaks about their new material or the footing they ’ ve found in their careers now , there ’ s no mention of any of the difficulties that bogged down Alexisonfire as a young group trying to find their way and navigate a level of success they didn ’ t feel ready for . It ’ s obvious they are enjoying working together these days in a way they never did before .
“ Since we started writing , the whole process of writing and recording was really beautiful ,” says Green . “ If I think back about it from October 2020 into the end of February 2021 , it was just this explosion of creativity and joy and positivity and uncovering new versions of ourselves .”
It was essential for Alexisonfire to be able to continue creating music they could be proud of , and as Green says , he had no interest in reuniting if they couldn ’ t be an even better band than they were before . He remembers showing his mom some early cuts of the new material , and her response to hearing it .
“ She was like , ‘ Fuck , you guys still got it ,’” Green laughs . “ And my response was , ‘ I know , we keep trying not to have it , but we ’ ve still got it .’”
Another driving factor in making sure Otherness was the best album Alexisonfire could possibly make is the fact that the band never wanted to be seen as an oldies act that only relies on the classics to appease fans . Being a band many grew up with , and an important part of adolescence for those fans , the band wanted to continue taking that journey and not halt their own growth .
“ We ’ re certainly proud of what we ’ ve done as a band , but I don ’ t want to lean into nostalgia in any capacity ,” says MacNeil . “ We ’ re celebrating the 20-year anniversary of our first record , and I have a fondness for that , but I don ’ t want to be about that ; I want it to be about what the band is now .”
It wasn ’ t just about wanting to come back better than before — that newfound confidence Green alludes to made the musicians understand that they had what it took to pull off a successful comeback .
“ I do think that Alexisonfire defies a lot of logic ,” admits Pettit . “ We were kind of one of these bands that felt like they had their heyday in the mid- to late-2000s . And then we broke up for a long period of time and now we ’ re coming back with a record and we ’ re playing shows again . I don ’ t think that the average trajectory of a band doing that is that they make a really great record , and they play better than they ever were , and for some reason , it worked for us .”
Pettit goes on to say he and his bandmates throwing themselves back into Alexisonfire came with the need to push through a lot of doubt , and though he ’ s grateful to see his band bigger than ever in many ways , he ’ s very aware of the “ lunacy ” of the situation .
“ When it came time to come back , as a band , I think you expect people to go away because you haven ’ t been touring , you haven ’ t been making music ,” he says . “ So , you expect people to just kind of move on to the next thing , move on to a different band . When we did come back , there were more people , and it was bigger . So , it just seemed kind of bizarre and effortless in that regard .”
It was about a year after completing the record and having been able to listen to it , sit with it , and process all their feelings about it , that Alexisonfire finally put out their new music into the arena of public criticism , as Pettit says . There were moments the singer felt vindicated by the thought that he and his bandmates managed to pull off a record they were proud of , but it was difficult to take a step back and look at the album from where fans would be standing .
“ People need to be able to look at it and pick it apart and talk about what they think of it ,” he says . “ Because at the end of the day , it doesn ’ t matter what my mom thinks about it , it matters what people think about it .”
Green , an avid sports fan , remembers signing off on the final mixes around the time spectators were allowed into sports arenas again . He ’ d bought a Blue Jays ticket and had a seat right behind home plate , but as families began to sit down next to him , he realized he wasn ’ t ready to be in such proximity to so many strangers , as it was his first time really out in public since before the pandemic . He walked over to centerfield where he was able to sit by himself in a section of empty seats .
“ I sat and I listened to the whole record , mixed , in the centerfield of the SkyDome ,” he says , making sure , like a good Canadian , he ’ s on record calling the stadium the SkyDome , and not the Rogers Centre , as it ’ s now officially named . “ I felt very good about what we had made .”
Green admits that he too felt apprehensive about the idea of the world hearing the first Alexisonfire music in such a long time , but it ’ s not for the reason one might assume .
“ I don ’ t want you to think that we were
36 CANADIAN MUSICIAN