November 2, 1994

by Jason Kurylo

The Toronto band One is hitting
* the Commodore Ballroom on
November 19, bringing their funky
brand of reggae-rock along with them.
I recently had the chance to speak with
lead singer Chris Taylor, who phoned
while on vacation in Minneapolis.

An example of the frontman’s
sense of humour: when told this would
probably end up being a quarter-page
enterprise shot to introduce people to
the band, he requested that I “throw a
few ‘fucks’ in there, that usually gets
people’s attention. In big, bold type:
FUCK! I can see the quote: ‘Chris
Taylor says, FUCK FUCK FUCK from
Minneapolis.’” When asked if he would
like to incorporate any “shits” into the
interview, he declined, saying, “no, I
don’t really like that word...”

Here are some snippets from that
conversation, as transcribed from my
chicken-scratch notes...

Jason Kurylo: Okay, I'll start with
a mainstream question: What, in your
opinion, is the coolest thing about the
Canadian music industry right now?

Chris Taylor: I’d have to say the
success of independent bands, forcing
the big companies to turn around and
re-examine who they sign and how they
sign them. Bands like Base is Base, us,
and Lowest of the Low are seeing some
success, which they might not have a
few years ago.

JK: Okay, how about the shittiest
thing about the Canadian scene?

CT: Hmmm. Our reluctance to sign
anything new; we’re always following
the U:S. I think we [as Canadians] think

who: Dish

where: The Hungry Eye
when: Oct 19

review by Holly Keyes

Ever read the magazine Sassy?
There’s a section in there called Cute
Band Alert and Dish would fit in
perfectly. They played the Hungry Eye
'. on the 19th to an almost empty house.
It’s too bad because they were great.
(Actually, with so few people standing
in the way the experience was that much
better.)

The lead singer is this cute, little
girl type who played on her looks to get
the audience (the male half, anyway)
~ energized. She danced cute, moved
cute, tried to talk cute and was generally
so cute you wanted to puke. After a
while her act (hopefully it was an act)
got tiring and repetitive.

The music sounded great but it was
too loud and drowned out the singer.

by Jason Kurylo

On Sunday, October 23, several
thousand fanatics gathered outside the
Fabulous Commodore Ballroom on
Granville Street in Vancouver.
They were part of a huge
conspiracy, actually. They all wanted to
donate food to the food bank. They all
wanted to mill about outside the club
for long periods of time. They all
wanted to see the Cult for free.
That's right; the band that has such
classics as She Sells Sanctuary under
their belt liked their recent stay in

 

we need to sound American,
which is too bad. Because of it,
there’s a lot of bad acts out
there that are signed, and a
lot of good bands that
aren’t.

JK: So, how many
units of your demo
[Matter of Truth] did
you sell to make the
record company go,
‘Hey, who the heck
is One?’

CT: Well, we
sold about 8,000
copies, but I think it
was actually our live
show that sold us.
The president of
Virgin saw us live,
and that made him
say, “Whoa, who are
these guys, and what
have they done before.” Then he would
have seen our numbers, but it was our
live show, mainly, that sold us.

JK: Now you’re starting to get
some media exposure, what would have
to be the dumbest question you get
asked over and over again?

CT: “How did all you white guys
get to playing reggae?” We play this
music because we love it. What else can
you do, really? You hear the reggae, you
like the reggae, you play the reggae. I
really think it’s an unnecessary
question. It doesn’t matter what colour
we happen to be, we play what we want
to play. We’ve had a couple of black
guys in the band at certain points, and
that was always an insult to them, I
think. Right now, we happen to have

 
 
 
  
 
  

Dish easy on the eyes
Local band looks good to Holly

From the little bits we could hear, the
lyrics seemed funky and witty, maybe
even cynical. They seemed to be having
problems with the sound mixer guy,
they bantered back and forth during the
set but the sound from the singer’s mic
was still too weak.

I loved the song the drummer sang
and played. He beat out that tune with
emotion I saw lacking in some of the
other songs.

These guys show promise and last
I heard they were working on a record
deal which is really great. They can play
a mean tune and may go far if they work
on their stage presence a little. I liked
that the lead (singer, that is) tried to talk
to the audience inbetween songs. She
seemed kinda witty and could do a good
standup-like thing between pieces.

Keep an eye on Dish, with their
record deal maybe they’ Il have albums
named Broken, Pasta or Side!!

(...not to mention "Satellite" and
"Dirty..." -Ed)

Cult followers raise hell for food bank
_ Commodore site for furious generosity spree

Vancouver so darned much, they wanted
to give something back. They offered
free admission to the first thousand fans
to show up to the concert with a
donation for the food bank.

The Cult recorded their latest
album, currently in stores and simply
entitled The Cult, here in Vancouver.

$684 and 3211 pounds of food
were collected.

Just a side comment: you know, the
Cult were huge when I was in high
school. Was it just me, or did everybody
have Sonic Youth and Electric?

The Other Press

The right One, baby...

- Jason interviews a guy from Toronto who happens to be
in a really cool band that happens to be coming to town.

Chris Taylor (foreground, with fingers) and
One bring their Wide Load to the Commodore
November 19. Answer our 2-part trivia
question below, and you could win tickets and
a copy of their new CD Smokin' the Goats.

eight white guys in the band, but that
could change at any time... it doesn’t
matter anyway.

JK: If you don’t mind me asking,
what the heck does ‘Smokin’ the Goats’
mean?

CT: It’s along the same lines as
how the Doobie Brothers came up with
their name... that’s the short version
answer. I know you’re looking for
sound bites here, so I'll leave it at that.

JK: Okay, on to the weird
questions.

CT: Good, I like those. It’s great
to get questions you've never been
asked before...

JK: Well, that’s why I ask ‘em.
What's your favourite character from
the Muppet Show?

 

 

 

 

CT: Oh, wow, cool question... I
like the bear, what’s his name? Fozzie.
Fozzie Bear. He’s the consumate
professional, always searching for the
perfect performance. I like that bear.

JK: Okay, now a harder one.
What's your favourite John Travolta
movie?

CT: That is a tough one... It’s
definitely not the one with Jane Fonda.
Um, I'd have to say my favourite is
Blow Out. It’s about a murder. He
listens to this recording of a tire blowing
up, but he can hear a gunshot just before
it; that'd have to be the one.

JK: Do you have any words you’d
desperately like to. share with the people

of Douglas College?
CT: Sure. Where the fuck is it?

Okay, so there it is, folks. One
plays the Commodore on November 19.
We’ ve got some tickets and a bunch of
copies of their major label debut,
Smokin’ the Goats, to give away. Drop
your name, phone number, and the
answer to the following goat-testing
question off at our spacious resort-like
offices, in room 1020.

And the two-part trivia question
is...: What is the name of One's new
album? and What is Chris Taylor's
favourite Muppet? (read the
interview, trust me.)

 

 

pcoming shows

 

Jann Arden
November 11, Vogue Theatre

D.O.A. / 12 Eyes

November 5, Town Pump

One

November 19, Commodore Ballroom

Material Issue / The Pretenders
November 22-23, Commodore Ballroom

Rymes With Orange
November 25-26, Town Pump