Trike

Kristen Cudmore talks with Vancouver band Trike about perogies and their new dance – the Trikey, and other important topics.

Trike has to be the best name I have ever heard what made Trike come to mind?

Stephen: the old version of trike was all sitting around on the dingy floor of a rehearsal space. we had scads of names written down on a big sheet of paper. there were a million options and a million possibilities. jeff, the uber-experimental guitarist/trumpeter was dead set against names with too many syllables. being a fan of 'lush' and 'cud' and bands with single names, i wanted a name that was simple and had playful, childlike connotations, and trike sprung to mind. truth is, there was another band called trike on mp3.com. i wrote and asked them if I could use the name... they handed me the reins and trike was born...

What are your fondest childhood memories involving music?

Stephen: my mother playing church tunes on the organ at home. hearing slim whitman in my dad's car as it lay on its side after my dad rolled it (i've been in three car accidents thanks to his careless, tempermental driving style) with pink kool aid powder all over my lap. the theme to three's company. hearing 'teddy bear's picnic' in kindergarten. sherri lewis.

Wes: i had a general electric tape recorder and a few tapes my Aunt made for me; the beatles and elvis. i was four. also, my dad whistling along to country radio in his workshop.

I have tried this thing at your live show called "The Trikey" could you please give Left Hip readers a quick tutorial?

Stephen: left leg forward, right leg back.

Stephen & Wes (in unison): shake your hips wiggle that ass.

What is the best aspect to your live show other than "The Trikey?"

god... and jesus makes an appearance on the first... so i hear, anyway.

When I hear your music I think of electronic Morrissey, what do you think?

Stephen: my girlfriend's in a coma so i can't really answer that.

Wes: that's fantastic.

Trike = Stephen Taylor and Wes Knight, how did Stephen and Wes meet, tell me about the first time you laid eyes on each other.

Stephen: we were at a cafe that shall remain unnamed, and Wes asked to use my geetar. i was about to go on stage and pump out a few tunes. a cute nineteen year old was sitting next to me. a cute nineteen year old was sitting with him. there was something intense and familiar about his eyes, a look that told me that he was intriguing and perhaps slightly insane. we exchanged numbers. the rest is history. the irony is that we tried to get a gig as trike at the cafe, which starts with an 'm' and sounds like pontpartre, yet the french owner dismissed us completely.

Wes: i think he hung up on me. i'm sensitive.

Stephen: so am i.

If you could let all of Canada hear one of your songs, which one would it be and why?

Stephen: bulimia, because it represents our collective desire, as a country, to purge ourselves of all unwanted toxins. i read once that canada is like the hole in the doughnut, and bulimics, although interested in the doughnut, ultimately end up with nothing, in the end, except, perhaps, the hole. some people have thoughtlessly written off this song as a silly, comedic tune. they are, in fact, dead wrong, and i wish they'd shut up. sorry jazz. love you, bro.

What are some subjects that you use in your compositions?

teenage pregnancy, unrequited love, pepper spray, music journalists, myspace people, club owners who rejected us, skinny dippers, bikes, girls, rejection, rejection by girls, kissing girls, saliva, smooching, teenage high school paper editors, jealousy, longing, adventure, romance, body politics, bodies, nasty things, loneliness, backseats, thighs, the "trikey", electropopaltfolkcanadiandutchcrunchcore, crying girls, girls we made cry, crying over girls, crying in general, purging, live shows, zack kasta, oh, and god.

What do you think about the scene in Vancouver?

Stephen: vancouver's alright. i find the scene insular and people too self-conscious, cold and guarded. the scene is chock full of boring scenesters. i don't get on too well with scenesters. i can't be that fake. i don't really care for much of the uber-overdone, over-baked conceptual art scene, but the music scene is interesting. i think the city is on the verge of a music explosion. i've heard "the next seattle" a handful of times by now. i also really like the whole art-bike scene... now we need an art-trike scene to compliment it. hell, i just want an adult-sized trike, truth be known.

Wes: i'm quite new to vancouver, but i've found there is alot of opportunity here. people i've met here whom i admire most are passionate, self sufficient and beautiful. when i first arrived i found it difficult to get involved with anyone, musically. i guess i struck a small well of flakes. that can be discouraging. it can be intimidating to approach a crowd of people who appear to be 'tuned in' to something really good, being a social circle or a preference for pastels. but you have to ask yourself.. do i care?

Trike has a creative way of showing the masses a live Trike show, which was your most creative attempt?

Stephen: the back alley show hands down. playing in the forest for bikers was fun, but it wasn't our brainchild.... therefore not 'our' creative attempt, but someone else's. thanks jim.

Wes: i guess it would be the alley show. an act on impulse really.

How can people get their hands on your music?

email us: trike@trikeaband.com ... we'll hook you up. trike loves you.

What are your plans for this summer and onward?

Stephen: this summer? sweat a lot. after this summer? eat perogies... lots of perogies. no, i'm not ukranian. i just like perogies.

Wes: i'd like to get married pretty soon, get myself a mortgage, maybe a bmw. i'd really like to get my life on track you know? if we don't get a major record contract soon, i'm not sure what i'm gonna do, because i have some serious goals i need to attain, like a house in kits and a little pink dog.

http://www.trikeaband.com

Kristen Cudmore