WINNIPEG IS THE TRUE HEART OF CANADIAN MUSIC: THE WEAKERTHANS

by Jayson Stewart and Kris Dickson

Toronto may be the brain of the Canadian music industry but there is no denying that Winnipeg is its heart. Joining ‘peggers Neil Young, The Guess Who and Chantal Kreviazuk, post-punk indie rock pop band The Weakerthans have been racking up awards and fan accolades for almost fifteen years.

In 2005, Chart Magazine listed The Weakerthans Left and Leaving as one of the top ten albums of the year. Over the past five years, the band has crisscrossed the world on tour while releasing new material. They just recently finished a live record and concert DVD on the Epitaph Records label. Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre is slated to be released on March 23rd, 2010.

Spartan Youth Radio rock reporter Kris Dickson had the audacity to wake up band spokesman Stephen Carroll early in the morning for a chat.

Hit hard by the effects of internet downloading, Carroll remembers when it was much easier to be a financially-solvent band in Canada.

“People have so much trouble selling records. People are struggling to make a living as it is.We kind of emerged when people were still purchasing CDs so it’s been difficult [to adapt] and it forces bands to tour a lot more, which is hard on them. But it’s the path we’ve chosen and we just have to deal with it.”

Despite the erosion of what pays their bills, the Weakerthans have never been stronger.
Though they haven’t yet headlined in huge arenas, they have opened for the Tragically Hip and their audience has been growing. Of course, the size of the audience doesn’t matter if their fans are rabid for the music.

“After a couple thousand people you can’t tell anymore because the lights don’t stretch out that far. We play all sorts of venues now. We’ve gotten a little bigger in Canada and a little bigger in some cities across the world. We play some pretty nice venues sometimes but we still play dive bars and tiny little clubs with a hundred people.”

Touring is a necessary evil for all bands from the prairies.

“I think there’s a double edged sword to living in Winnipeg You’re far away from the major metropolis’ of the world and you’re pretty far from the music industry. The benefit is you’re so isolated and you have to travel far to find audiences and so, right away, we started touring. Through that we’ve found an international career.”

Another benefit is that “it also creates insulation from the buzz and the dark side of the business, so it lets you just do your work.”

One reoccurring belief that has been plaguing the band for years is that they hate Winnipeg. The 2003 release of “One Great City” on the Reconstruction Site album generated controversy with the line “I….hate….Winnipeg.”

Though he admits he and his band mates share a love-hate relationship with their hometown, they still have a soft spot in their hearts for Winnipeg.

“We love it. Tongues in cheek in that one, expressing a sentiment that all Winnipegers have who live here and endure. There’s a bit of an endurance that has to take place for one to stay.”

If it takes endurance, relative isolation and cold weather to create great bands like The Weakerthans, the next big Canadian rock act should certainly come out of Espanola.