Interview with Chris Adeney of Wax Mannequin

*You’ve been quite busy this tour, are your creative juices still flowing? 
I’m usually ready to burst with juice. I actually just got a new guitar. I’ve been having fun with that… It’s hard for me to finish songs while on tour, but I get lots of ideas that I record into a little device. Then I finish things when I get home. 

*What has been your favourite city and/or concert so far? 
I just played a neat little gig in Ymir. We performed in an weird old school house. It was a pretty spooky building and half of the town came to the show. People got drunk and screamy by the end. 

*Have you played in Edmonton before? If so, what was it like? 
I play in Edmonton a few times each year. It’s usually pretty fun. I like smaller venues, but I’ve been playing at the New City lately. They’re really nice to me and the decor in there is fuckin crazy. I’ve heard good stuff about the Haven. It seems like the right size of room, and they treat people fairly there. I played at the Haven before it was the Haven—the Black Spot. That was a deluxe little activist commie place. It had the right kind of thing going on there. Hopefully the Haven has tapped into some of that craziness. 

*You mentioned you were touring with a lot of people on your website, how 
has this experience been so far in comparison to your other tours? 
Yea. I traveled east with Rich Laviolette and the Burning Hell. Two really deluxe acts. I really like the camaraderie that goes along with that sort of travel, but there are logistical issues with getting from place to place, sleeping, eating and whatnot. I like the fact that we all suffer together. Solo is more painful, but I make more money. I prefer the poor, rambling caravan tours that I’ve been doing lately. 

*Do you prefer a band backing you over performing solo? 
I used to like playing solo better, but now I like them both in completely different ways. My band is fucking incredible. Aidan and Mark are supremely talented fellows. 
When I play solo, I get intimate with my machines. That’s nice too. 

*Carl Wilson of the Globe and Mail called your performance “Un-Canadian,” 
what are your thoughts on this statement? Have you changed your performance style since then? 
I don’t know. I think that what I do is very Canadian. I’m not quite sure what Carl meant by that, but he’s a nice guy none the less. I think that I represent all of the things that this Country is afraid to admit about itself. They’re not bad things at all… just scary things. 

*How would YOU describe your performance style? 
Scary and funny. Dancy and sombre. 

*What was your goal after the success of your third album The Price? Have 
you succeeded at accomplishing this goal? 
I just keep making stuff. I really enjoy the things that I do. I think it’s more about the road than the destination. 

*What is the music scene like in Hamilton and/or Ontario in comparison to 
Edmonton and/or Alberta? British Columbia and/or Vancouver? 

Hamilton is gritty and explosive. Edmonton is attentive, drunk and dancy, Vancouver is awesome fights on the inside until you can’t afford the rent and you move someplace cheaper. 

*What is your connection to animals in relation to your music, song titles 
and lyrics? 
I wrote a few songs about the animals. I seem to have moved on from it, but it felt really right at the time. It turns out a lot of people are writing songs about the animals. I just try to do things that feel right. I like that animals are funny and scary at the same time. Right now I’m watching a cat scouring a kitchen counter for old bits of tuna. It’s cute and fairly gross. 

*Do you miss the days when it was just you and a computer recording your 
music? Or have you embraced the studio recording process? 
No. I used to record with a four track device. I did miss playing my classical guitar. An ex-girlfriend of mine smashed my last classical guitar when we broke up. I finally bought a new one on this tour. It’s bringing back all kinds of old juice. 

*Are you watching the Olympics? 
No, but I’m listening to people arguing about the Olympics on the radio. I think that the Olympics in themselves are fairly stupid, but I’m fascinated by all of the politics that surround them. 

*What’s YOUR favourite song on the radio right now?  
I hate the radio. I have satellite radio now and mostly listen to the news. Sometimes I listen to music stations. I heard the new Spiral Beach on there the other day. That was fun. 

*Any thoughts on the upcoming show at the Haven Social Club? 

It’s going to be nice. There are a lot of people in Edmonton that I’d like to re-connect with.

*****August 15th, 2008

Note: I haven't been posting a lot because I have two jobs and it's kicking my ass. I thought I would include something I'm working on right now for the Haven Social Club. It's a brand new live music venue in Edmonton, Alberta and I'm in charge of promotions and all that jazz. For more information go to www.thehavensocialclub.com or check us out on Myspace and Facebook! I am done my advertising for now, more posts to come when my ass is not getting kicked.

Day One of the musical orgasm

It was like a Jewish concentration camp...in reverse.
I entered the grounds of the Pemberton Festival via a bus, after a long drive from Edmonton to Pemberton through the Lillooet road. We had camped overnight in a parking lot near the entrance, and the next day after the tickets were dealt with, we were waiting for a shuttle bus to pick us up.
Three buses came fairly quickly within half an hour, but apparently the day before some people were waiting for over 8 hours for a bus and some gave up and started marching to the entrance in the dark.

After packing in our bags and packing into the stuffed bus, we all started cheering and singing "This is the song that doesn't end" for one round only. People were running along the road beside the bus frantically trying to throw their packs in. We were happier than pigs in shit: all we had left to do was set up our camp, which was a lot more difficult than it sounds.

We were dropped off at the entrance of the gate, but our campsite was a 10-minute walk away because all the closer campsites were already taken by people who arrived the day before. It was hell dragging all our crap to the site, some people simply wrapped up everything they had in a tarp and dragged it along the road.

Within minutes I knew that we had a serious case MERRITT MOUNTAIN FEST LEFTOVERS.

















After we set up our camp I headed straight to the main stage because mother fuckin' Metric was opening!!!!!! I was there two hours early, and one hour before the Festival was to officially start the guards opened up the gates and all die-hard Metric fans rushed to the stage hoping to get a front row spot.

And I did!!!! I nearly soiled myself, I wasn't expecting it to be sooo easy to get to the front row.
Waiting for the set to start it was obvious some in the crowd were already wasted. We started singing the national anthem and chanting "Metric" until some drunk-o yelled "FUCK CANADA" and each head turned in his direction.

Metric's set was more than amazing, and I was inches away from Emily Haines. She looked a lot different than I expected her to look, and was probably pushing 40, along with the other band members. For the last song Haines stated how much she enjoyed us singing the National Anthem, and then asked us to sing along to "Metric's national anthem" ("Live it Out"). They played an awesome slower version and I proudly belted out each word of the song. Emily then left the stage as the rest of the members sang the outro, and then surprised everyone in the front row by running along the front of the stage.

Although Metric's crowd was pretty big, Wolfmother drew most of the drunk hicks to the stage. I stuck in there in the front row and was completely blown away. Lead singer Andrew Stockdale was nothing what I thought he would look like, and I couldn't believe that amazing voice came out of such a tiny guy. I was told beforehand that Stockdale was an asshole who was known for throwing temper tantrums during concerts, but he seemed like a humble guy who was enjoying himself as much as we were. He was constantly looking over the sea of faces in the crowd and made eye contact with us several times. (yay!)

But the bassist was superbly lame and thought tilting the keyboard over while he played it was "cool."

Next was Serj Tankian, I'm not a huge fan but I was excited to see the lead singer of System of a Down so close in the flesh, so I decided to stick around in the front row. I was disappointed to say the least. Serj is creepy, not freaky like in his SOAD days. He chose possibly the worst song to open up with and merely moved his arms around and smiled this creepy smile. All his band mates were wearing black top hats, but not Serj of course, he was wearing white (how original). Honestly, I left after the first song, and was walking away while he started singing "Empty Walls" but I don't regret it.

I took a break from getting squished in the mosh pit and came back to watch half of Interpol's set. and this I regret. The energy was amazing and the crowd was started to grow past the main stage area and back near the concession stands. People were dancing and sitting far back from the stage and watching the big screen, and I had no choice but to stand amongst them because I couldn't push my way closer to the stage. I was truly blown away even though I have been told many times how awesome Interpol is. The lead singer would constantly look at the scenery of the mountains behind the crowd and you could tell he was impressed.

And then...Nine Inch Nails took the stage. It was FUCKING CRAZY. I tried to get up close, but I almost broke my wrist. I barely even remember those minutes of standing near the stage because it was such a blur, I was concentrating hard on trying to see Trent Reznor while getting shoved around like a rag doll. The lights and the sound were more than impressive, since they were the headlining act for Friday. Although it was a great show I was disappointed at how fat and sober Trent Reznor looked, and that he didn't play "Heresy." Shame on you, Reznor.

Coming soon...Day two of the musical orgasm