thePULSEBy Tine Roycroft
They’ve been through the best of times, they’ve been through the worst of times. But the Canadian band Our Lady Peace has, since 1992, surfed the stormy seas of the music industry and has proven their mettle beyond a shadow of a doubt.
As a band, vocalist Raine Maida, bassist Duncan Coutts, percussionist Jeremy Taggart, and guitarist Steve Mazur have sold over 5 million albums worldwide, won four Juno awards and ten Much Music Video Awards. From the early days of Naveed to their latest 2012 album, Curve, they’ve shared the stage with legendary greats like Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, The Rolling Stones and Van Halen. And the band is still hungry for more.
Pulse caught up with Steve Mazur while he was in Los Angeles, packing for the recent Our Lady Peace shows in London.
Pulse: Can you tell us a little bit about Curve?
Steve Mazur: We’re pretty proud of it. We worked with a producer named Jason Lader and he was a great guy to have involved. The album before this, called Burn Burn, we produced ourselves and it was just the four of us the entire time. And while that was good, it’s a lot of responsibility for four people.
Pulse: Your band is known for its raw passion. Will Curve continue this tradition?
SM: On Curve, it’s a little more of an artistic endeavor. I love the record Burn Burn ~ but it seems now like it’s a record of ten songs. Curve, on the other hand, the focus of the entire album is much stronger. I’d say it’s a more emotional record. There’s a bit more to this record, more depth.
Pulse: Which do you love more ~ studio or live?
SM: They’re like apples and oranges. They both have their challenges, they’re very different worlds. There are complete and total moments in both.
Pulse: How about a crazy show story?
SM: On this last tour we did, we were in Portland, Oregon, and we were playing “Heavyweight” off of Curve. Raine uses a bullhorn in that song and the power of the PA just went out in the middle of the song. And the guitar amp was still powered up but all of the microphones were completely dead. We were just going into the quiet part of the song and Raine, without missing a beat, picked up that megaphone. It ended up being this amazing moment. After the show, people even asked us if it was planned. It could have been a disaster but it ended up being a very special moment.
Pulse: You’re heading back to Canada for the Festival d’Ete de Quebec (www.infofestival.com)in mid-July. Excited?
SM: You bet. In Canada, there’s such a tradition of seeing live music and in the summertime, it feels like those concerts in the late 60s. So it’s pretty hard to beat.
For more info on Our Lady Peace and their upcoming shows, go to www.ourladypeace.com.
Very special thanks to Larissa Souline and Mélissa Brisson
