PHOTO : COURTESY OF BEDLAM MUSIC MANAGEMENT PHOTO : COURTESY OF BEDLAM MUSIC MANAGEMENT
ALEXISONFIRE IN THE STUDIO WORKING ON OTHERNESS
WADE MACNEIL TRACKING GUITARS FOR OTHERNESS
worried that critics weren ’ t going to like it or any bullshit like that ,” he asserts . “ I think we just really wanted to make sure that the people who have allowed us to continue doing this band — because it ’ s them , it ’ s not us ; it ’ s us , but it ’ s those people that have continued to listen to us , and all the people that got into the band after we broke up , those are the people that allow us to make this noise with one another , and I think that I really wanted to make sure that we made a record that those people would love . And I think we did .”
Green is right — he and his bandmates have noticed an overwhelmingly positive reception to the album , with its cuts going over so well with live crowds that they ’ ve found themselves adding more and more of them into their sets , for their own enjoyment , and at the fans ’ behest .
“ There ’ s certain songs we still haven ’ t played live yet ,” says Pettit . “ And I ’ m just chomping at the bit to get those going .”
As Alexisonfire ’ s popularity has grown , the band has always remained a uniquely Canadian export , and have always kept home close — even this summer headlining two of four nights of the Born & Raised concert event in their hometown of St . Catharines , with City and Colour headlining the other two nights . The festival also featured the likes of Billy Talent , Sam Roberts Band , Broken Social Scene , PUP , and more .
“ I would not want to come off , necessarily , as being patriotic or anything like that ,” says Pettit . “ I think it ’ s less about Canada and maybe more about independent culture and things like that , like the scenes that kind of built us growing up within music in southern Ontario , meeting your contemporaries , becoming friends with bands , booking your own shows , that sort of stuff . I think that that gives me a real sense of pride .”
For MacNeil , there is at least some sense of obligation to give back to his community , given that it isn ’ t common for a band like Alexisonfire to come from a small , working-class city like St . Catharines and reach the career heights that they have .
“ I think the fact that we have a platform , I feel like that means we should speak to the stuff that ’ s important to us , we should let people know what we think , we should try and have bands playing with us that we think are important and that other people should find out about ,” he says . “ The fact that a band from St . Catharines can go on and have the career we ’ ve had and be able to bring a bunch of bands to our hometown that would never go there for any other reason , is like , well , we can do this , so we should .”
Green remembers getting a text from Steve Sladkowski , who plays guitar in PUP , apologizing because he ’ d left the show before Alexisonfire had finished playing — he was headed overseas the next day and hadn ’ t packed — but in the text , he also thanked Green for everything Alexisonfire had done for heavy music in Canada .
“ I just don ’ t think that we ever thought about that ,” says Green . “ And maybe now we can think about it , because it ’ s been 20 years and here we are .”
It ’ s an understatement to say Alexisonfire ’ s career trajectory is an unlikely success story . Their style , whether you call it screamo , post-hardcore , or anything else , has never been one that affords many acts mainstream success . But it ’ s a disservice to call Alexisonfire mainstream — they ’ ve always been odd and unconventional , and have found their place in a community of people who seek out the strange . This is something the members fully embrace ; it ’ s even where the new album ’ s title comes from .
“ Otherness isn ’ t necessarily about being alone ,” Pettit explains . “ It just means being different . And that that can mean the same thing if it ’ s accepted by everybody . There are moments in my life where I am doing something impossibly mundane — I can be sitting there doing my taxes or something like that , and deep inside of me , there ’ s something profoundly different . That nagging inclination of being ‘ other ’ is what leads me to the type of culture and art that I partake in . It attracted me to places where I would meet people like Dallas Green and the rest of the guys in the band . Literally all of my friends have that same sort of quality to them . They have this sense of being different .”
It ’ s not so much that Alexisonfire is trying to be weird , and more that they ’ re allowing themselves to make the music they can make , simply because that ’ s who they are .
“ I think the fact that five of us have made this type of music for this long and have never once made any decision just to try to be popular , or just to try to be known — I think that the fact that we have just continued to be ourselves , the way we made [ Otherness ], just a bunch of us in a room , throwing ideas at the wall , with no real care about what was going on outside or who was going to like it , and the fact that we can make a record that can resonate with this many people and can fill a room with a bunch of people that agree with us — I think that is the absolute definition of otherness ,” adds Green . “ I guarantee you there ’ s not another band , at least in this country , that ’ s doing that .”
In short , it doesn ’ t matter how wide of an audience embraces Alexisonfire ; the band will always still be outsiders . As MacNeil says , “ I still feel like a fucking weirdo , which I ’ m quite happy about .”
They may have grown up and matured to preserve the longevity of their band and friendships , but in some way , Alexisonfire has never changed and never will — at heart , they ’ ll always be the kids they used to be , no matter how much changes in their lives , careers , and relationships with each other .
“ We ’ re still very much these reluctant rock star types ,” says Pettit . “ We can play these massive shows , but we ’ re all still the kids that came from the local independent record stores and the 200-capacity clubs .”
Speaking to Alexisonfire now , it ’ s clear to see what had to change for the band to return and continue , but it ’ s refreshing to see that the core of what has always made this band what it is , is still intact and not likely to ever change .
“ It ’ s been really , really remarkable playing in this band ,” says Pettit . “ I hope it continues to defy logic .”
Manus Hopkins is the Assistant Editor at Canadian Musician .
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