The New Pornographers' John Collins: The New Gay Interview
John Collins (Who I think is on the bottom left) will be joining the rest of The New Pornographer's this Saturday, the 27th, at the 9:30 club. Doors open at 8.
Bassist and producer John Collins got his start playing with Canadian indie band The Evaporators, but he is best known in this country as a member of The New Pornographers, the "don’t call them a supergroup" pop outfit widely loved for their surrealistic lyrics, sticky hooks and the sometime inclusion of Virginia native Neko Case in their lineup.
All eight members of the band will be present and accounted for tomorrow at the 9:30 Club. Though the show sold out soon after it was announced in August, the lucky few who got tickets in time (this writer included) might appreciate Johns musings on the state of the band, the new Guns N' Roses lineup, and Neko Case being a natural redhead.
The truth will shock you.
Though Neko is New Porn's most famous member, fellow carrot top (and Zumpano member) Carl Newman writes most of their songs and is generally regarded as the merry troupes' leader. Destroyer's Dan Behar generally contributes three songs per album, and the five other members, Collins included, do various vocal and instrumental duties when not attending to their main projects.
The bands newest album, "Challengers," is by far their calmest. Though it boasts one balls-out rocker in "All The Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth," the rest of the album varies in tone from slightly upbeat to more down-tempo and introspective.
Will this spell the end of power-pop for The New Pornographers? Read below and find out.
The New Gay Zack: Are you excited to come through D.C.? What are your impressions of the city?
John Collins: I've been through D.C. several times, with this band and other bands. The first time I went I didn't know what to expect, but I found it an amazing place to be . The Smithsonian, the whole free museum mall and all that junk. Its actually quite an amazing thing, not to mention the music scene which has always been as good as it gets
TNG: What kind of set will you be playing?
JC: We're trying to play more tunes from [Challengers], but because we have a few other ones we're trying to play a few of the old hits too, they're kind of aces in the hole so its hard to walk away from them. And we've got all eight [band members] on for this, so it makes sense to do a bunch of dance songs, and Neko songs, and all that kind of stuff.
TNG: Are you doing anything special for Halloween Saturday?
JC: [Laughs.] In New Orleans, its basically mandatory to wear a costume, but I don't know if anyone realized that was when Halloween would happen in D.C.
TNG: The New Pornographers have been around for a good amount of time. How do you think the band has grown since [first album] Mass Romantic?
JC: It's changed. People have left the country and have moved around, there's lots of people living in other places, so we're kind of assembling things a bit more on the fly, When we first started we'd just do the classic rock thing and arrive at a place at the same time and play music in a room at the same time. Our first record was pretty bombastic, we've done that a few time, the high BPMs, the stacked vocals, we don't want to leave that behind, but I think it was apparent that we broaden our horizons a little. it seems that a lot of bands we admire, and we always cross-check our influences, have tried to make a brand new sound and style every time, this time we tried to explore more ballad-y and mellower things, more longer songs that were more epic in tone. It's an exercise to see if we could pull it off and make something different
TNG: Speaking of, how do you respond to criticism that "Challengers" represents a kinder, gentler New Pornographers?
JC: That's not necessarily something I would say is a negative criticism, although it does have the implication that Challengers is kind of packaged and watered down, but that's like saying George Bush Sr. was kinder and gentler [than his son.] In terms of us trying a softer thing, we're really looking for certain songs to slow things down and make things that were beautiful and pretty while still being interesting.
TNG: What is your favorite song from Challengers?
JC: Either "Myriad Harbour" or "All The Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth."
TNG: I've heard you sometimes open "Heaven and Earth" with "Classical Gas." Will you be doing that in D.C.?
JC: Either "Classical Gas" or the theme from the "A-Team" will open "Heaven and Earth." "Classical Gas" is so great and so dumb at the same time, it makes you smile. We like Mason Williams, he's a conceptual artist who made good in the pop world with a really cool song.
TNG: Your songs have such obtuse lyrics that it can be hard to find the person or the life experiences behind them. Do Carl or Dan's personalities come through in your songs?
JC: From a not necessarily objective point of view, but an educated one, yeah, what you're hearing is some seriously distilled Carl Newman, even if they don't seem lucid. And Dan's lyrics, I think they're brilliant. Both fellows write lyrics that are so sonorous that even if you don't know for sure what they're about, and I'm sure sometimes they don't know either, they work as lyrics because you can hum them to yourself and you get these images that come along. Obtuse or not, you find yourself fascinated by them.
TNG: How has it been as Neko's solo career has taken off throughout the states? Do you as a New Pornographer ever feel eclipsed?
JC: Since we started playing she's always been the main draw for the heavy-duty fans, but our band is our band. She's in our band, but every time we play with Neko its a given that there will be a lot of people there that really idolize her. She's a star, and she was before she made a single recording. Its not a competition, she's on our side and were rooting for her too.
TNG: How do you feel about being so widely labeled a supergroup?
JC: I used to insist that we were a huge supergroup and that everyone should take notice of us, and its worked because six years later I still get asked that question. There's a lot of personalities in the band, people have a lot of outside interests, There's a lot of cross-pollination between what we do inside and outside the group. It worked for Cream so we want to hang on and maintain it.
TNG: What are your other favorite supergroups?
JC: I'm not sure I have a favorite. The new Guns N' Roses with Tommy Stinson and Buckethead?
TNG: I don't know if there's anything super about GNR these days.
JC: I have high hopes, but we'll see. I don't even know if there's anything super about us, that's why I thought it was amusing for people to use that title. We're just another band, like the new Guns N' Roses with Buckethead, just trying to make a name for ourselves by whatever means necessary.
TNG: Do you think it's unusual to have two such talented redheads as Neko Case and Carl Newman in one band?
JC: I'm not sure Neko's carpet matches her drapes, but we'll leave it at that.
TNG: So Carl's carpet matches?
JC: Oh definitely.
TNG: How do you know?
JC: I'll take it as a given.
TNG: I see. Do you have a non-New Pornographers favorite musical redhead?
JC: Toyah Wilcox, she was a star in the '80s in London. She had really brutally artificial red hair.
TNG: So what's next for the band? Where do you think your sound will go?
JC: There's two ways to go- heavier or more mellow. I would think that by the time we make another couple records we will cover both those bases. As for what's going to come down the pipe, I don't know. When we play live shows we're always rocking out anyway, I don't think we're going to lose that. We'll always have a bit of an edge.
TNG: Finally, how much more output can we expect from The New Pornographers? How long will you guys be around?
JC: That's a good question, we signed a three-record deal with Matador, and at this point we're committed to completing this contract. I'd like to see us make great records till I'm seventy.
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