00:00:00:13 [Music]
00:00:04:13 And then I guess your parents would have
00:00:06:15 exposed you to the majority of the music
00:00:08:01 when you were young kind of thing?
00:00:09:15 Oh, yeah, there was Church Service every Sunday.
00:00:11:15 So the Church I went to,
00:00:14:26 half of the sermon which was an hour long was singing,
00:00:17:28 that was the music that I listen to you know I have.
00:00:19:28 It was just like, it was worship music
00:00:21:28 and singing with other people.
00:00:24:01 I didn't know about bands like the Rolling Stone.
00:00:25:28 I think the first time I heard of the Sex Pistols
00:00:27:29 when I was like 17,
00:00:29:20 it was all Christian music, like Hymns and Gospel songs.
00:00:32:13 When you turned 15, it was like a backlash,
00:00:34:12 it was like a massive backlash?
00:00:36:05 There was like that entire world of music
00:00:37:24 that I've never heard of.
00:00:39:09 -The floodgates opened -And I was just like,
00:00:41:09 I want to learn about this, so yeah, my dad,
00:00:44:04 my dad did sit down with me for a few things,
00:00:46:21 and we listened to songs together,
00:00:49:04 and we talked about it, like...
00:00:51:27 Like a Velvet Underground Song 'Heroin'.
00:00:53:13 Yeah sure, yeah of course.
00:00:55:15 Like he didn't... he didn't ban it,
00:00:57:07 he was just like let's be opened about what this is about
00:00:59:20 and what he is singing about, which was really cool,
00:01:02:00 and yeah, I sort of thought about music
00:01:04:13 from maybe a different perspective than I would have,
00:01:06:28 if I didn't have that opportunity with my parents.
00:01:08:28 That's great,
00:01:10:08 you had the parents that had the savvy to do something.
00:01:12:14 It did take away my Alice in Chains record.
00:01:14:16 Really?
00:01:16:03 Yeah, because he heard the singer say,
00:01:17:14 "That they were like Satan's deck."
00:01:22:20 That's why it's like, that's not in our house.
00:01:24:28 I heard your dad met Roy Orbison?
00:01:27:00 This is what he tells me.
00:01:28:12 I have no proof, so I'll say it's true.
00:01:31:03 So it's true, it's like that Tony Wilson quote,
00:01:33:20 if you have the choice between printing the legend
00:01:36:13 and printing the truth, you print the legend.
00:01:38:28 It doesn't matter.
00:01:40:12 -Okay, this is the legend of my father. -Okay, the legend.
00:01:42:26 He was a Chaplin at the University of Alberta.
00:01:45:23 And I don't know why, but for some reason,
00:01:50:05 Roy Orbison was in the hospital, say like on...
00:01:53:04 on his death bed.
00:01:54:17 I think they were doing something like last minute hard
00:01:56:28 stuff that was only available at University of Alberta,
00:02:00:23 back than it was like in 80 something, '89 or '92.
00:02:07:00 And yeah, he went in and go to hangout with Roy Orbison.
00:02:09:27 That's pretty wild?
00:02:11:14 Yeah.
00:02:13:12 Yeah, I can't even imagine.
00:02:14:24 Roy Orbison is like one of those just like massive voices that
00:02:17:16 I had like, I remember from like going up North with my parents,
00:02:20:14 like they did have like the Roy Orbison cassette,
00:02:23:10 and now when I listen to it, like, of course yeah,
00:02:25:05 same sort of thing, like you turn 18 and then you like,
00:02:27:25 I love punk and everything, hey, and I am pissed off,
00:02:31:04 and then like you get a little bit older, and you kind of come
00:02:32:28 back for those thing. -Yeah, totally.
00:02:35:11 Like I imagine seeing Roy Orbison's eye,
00:02:38:10 like something intense.
00:02:41:16 Yeah seriously, they are always hovered with shades.
00:02:45:00 Just looking at you, and just like,
00:02:46:15 it would be awesome if he talked like he sang too,
00:02:47:28 we are going to be fucked up
00:02:49:16 if his talking voice was like really, really different.
00:02:51:21 Yeah, completely different.
00:02:53:19 Yeah, completely different, yeah, yeah.
00:02:56:12 He was a quite talker or something?
00:02:57:21 So when did The River,
00:02:59:06 like The River didn't start in Toronto obviously, because...
00:03:01:03 No, no, The River started in Vancouver.
00:03:05:04 I wanted to record an album with the band.
00:03:06:23 So I just put together this band
00:03:09:08 for the record that I recorded.
00:03:11:12 Started getting us to play shows,
00:03:12:25 because people started hearing the record,
00:03:14:11 and one of the band play,
00:03:15:22 that's the only reason why The River actually started.
00:03:18:29 Were you like straightened like the bars,
00:03:20:13 or was it like halls or was it...
00:03:22:12 Always bars at that point.
00:03:23:21 Okay.
00:03:25:00 Yeah, yeah, I was... I think at that point I was 20.
00:03:29:04 When the River started I was 20-years-old.
00:03:32:03 So yeah, I was bars.
00:03:33:17 Was it still kind of that like Indie kind of folk like scene,
00:03:37:03 or was it like a mixture of like Lumberjacks in like,
00:03:39:22 I don't know,
00:03:41:14 I have this purely stated typical view of Vancouver.
00:03:44:03 Oh yeah.
00:03:45:11 It was everything from like Punks,
00:03:49:08 like the leather stud Punks
00:03:51:10 and it's like little skinny like cardigan kids.
00:03:54:28 Yeah.
00:03:56:15 Yeah, that's the think about Vancouver scene, this is like
00:03:58:17 pretty inter-mixed, all types.
00:04:02:25 Yeah, I get that feeling when I was moving out there recently.
00:04:06:02 There were like,
00:04:08:15 we were talking to Mr Guy who was like playing his punk band,
00:04:10:28 and basically just saying how Vancouver is like...
00:04:13:03 it doesn't matter, like everybody is at the same shows
00:04:15:18 kind of thing, there's not that kind of like fierce divide,
00:04:19:00 as much of a fierce divide as I find there on places like,
00:04:22:03 maybe like Southern Ontario,
00:04:24:10 where like certain crowds don't mix as well, kind of thing,
00:04:27:03 Like almost Fist-a-cuffs.
00:04:28:13 Yeah. What can probably move you to Toronto?
00:04:31:07 A girl.
00:04:32:21 -Yeah, straight up. -Straight up, huh?
00:04:34:21 It was a crazy time,
00:04:36:28 because we are just recorded a proper studio album after a year
00:04:41:26 of playing together as a band in Vancouver,
00:04:45:03 and the day it was released,
00:04:48:15 like the release date, is when I moved.
00:04:51:27 Broke up the bass.
00:04:53:14 Just broke the band right up.
00:04:55:11 Yeah, yeah, it was like, see you guys.
00:04:57:28 You know, like art has it's reasons, huh?
00:05:00:19 Yeah, and everything worked up for the best, I mean,
00:05:03:16 Ladyhawke got to playing like a year...
00:05:05:21 The original lineup was comprised like...
00:05:08:07 The Original River was Steve Hubert on bass,
00:05:12:12 who did the artwork on my new album,
00:05:17:27 Ryan Peters on drums, Darcy Hancock on guitar,
00:05:21:29 and Nick Krgovich on Piano,
00:05:25:18 No Kids, he was on keyboards,
00:05:28:00 a bunch of people, and they are like keep going.
00:05:29:29 And was it difficult like to get to Toronto reforming the River,
00:05:32:10 like was that kind of difficult?
00:05:33:28 The River never was a consistent like form group,
00:05:38:17 it's just kept changing,
00:05:39:27 like people would join, people would leave,
00:05:43:12 really like three or four constant members,
00:05:45:12 but it will go like between like 6 to 8 people.
00:05:49:13 [Music]
00:05:51:02 From the ashes of the old, I am George Pettit
00:05:53:17 and this is Strange Notes