JB-  You’re playing Toronto, you’re travelling the country.  What can people expect at your shows?

Meck-  People can expect a rock show with a cool band with amazing chemistry; who are sort of riding a high; we take no prisoners when we play live; we always bleed and sweat when we play; and always try level any place that we’re playing.

Dave-  The music we write is not just about music, it’s also about our lyrics, that’s what we believe in deeply.  You’re going to get our beliefs, good, bad or indifferent, you’re just going to hear three guys that are going to give you everything that they have.  I think if anyone comes to the show I know they see that.  Love us or hate us, at least they can go, “Well holy shit, those guys are sweating up there.”

JB-  But before the show, a lot of artists have a pre-show tradition.  What is something that The Populars do before they go out on stage.

Meck-  Before we play every show we shake hands.

JB-  Is anything said during that?

Meck-  Nothing beyond, you know, “Have a good game.  Keep your stick on the ice,”… little things.  The handshake is the most important.  The whole story of this record is the idea of the three of us against the world.  We felt that probably because of our own design and isolating ourselves in this small town, we’ve become our own country.

Ernie-  We’re very comfortable on stage and we’re excited because it’s a privilege.  We’re lucky to be doing what we’re doing.  And we don’t take that for granted.  We play every show like it’s our last.  Very cliché, but in our cases it’s true.

JB-  What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened at one of your shows?

Meck-  The one that sticks out immediately to me was we were playing in Toronto when we were first starting.  We like to through a couple of covers into our set of our bands that we like.  We were doing “Heart of the City” by Nick Lowe and this lady was just hammered and wanted to sing the song with us.  So she came up on stage and sang the song with us.  It may not have been very good or cool or whatever but it was sure funny.  (laughing)

Dave-  We’re playing, and I’m up there and I look beside me and I see this blond and she looks like she might even be a “working girl”, I’m thinking.  She was (rocking out) and just loving it and she was just totally out of her mind.  Sure enough I’m like… uh, shit!

JB-  Kind of scared?

Dave-  A little bit.  Everyone’s watching and wondering what my reaction is going to be.  And she comes up on stage and, no word of a lie, and I’m like “This song’s for you!” to her.  She gets up on stage and, honest to God, she takes a verse and she f***ing nails it!  She could barely walk or stand and so we sing this song as a duet.  She kind of just went on and sang her song and fell down and then walked back out on the street.

Ernie-  After years of playing there’s a couple other cases where that’s happened.  Everyone was like “I don’t know how you guys handled that so well.”  Well, it’s like, “It ain’t the first time and it’s probably not going to be the last time.”

JB-  Spontaneity is a good thing.

Meck-  Absolutely.

Ernie-  There’s usually someone that’s so over the top and completely blown away and there always seems to be one person that is instantly a fan for life.  There’s always one guy that’s gonna open right up to us…and tell us his life story…and it’s pretty cool.

JB-  Is interaction with the audience something you incorporate in your shows?

Meck-  In some ways we do.  We try and engage our audience every time we play.  When we play live basically it’s the energy of playing that we’re most interested in.

Dave-  I’ve seen guys totally duke it out, bashing each other’s faces in right in front of us as we’re playing.  We’re like the music for it, you know, like in a movie.  And I’ve seen guys just kind of stand there and look at us and kind of move to the beat… and I look and he’s standing in a puddle of his own piss.

JB-  Geez, I thought the story was getting romantic there for a second, but…

Dave-  (laughing)  There’s been all sorts of things.  We’ve had cowboys swinging guitars.  You deal with all sorts of characters, man.

Ernie-  I think it’s pretty funny at the end of the day.  I just love everyone’s reaction.

JB- Your website www.thepopulars.com is laid out in an interesting format.  What is that all about?

Dave-  Yeah, we’re really happy with it.

Meck-  There are a lot of different avenues of thought that we went down when we were creating The Vindicator LP.  The first one of them basically was this idea of having isolated ourselves from the cool scenes like Montreal or Toronto and moving to a town called Prescott.  We did it fully consciously that we wanted to do this sort of thing that the band did in Woodstock, didn’t want to be involved in Toronto or Montreal because it’s just not what we’re...

JB-  It’s typical and that’s just not you.

Meck-  Yeah, exactly.  We’re not interested in being a part of any scene except our own.

JB-  You’re not a manufactured group, you’re real.

Meck-  There’s a feeling that the three of us were trying to make a really big noise and trying to make people notice but not in a way that was a typical tactic of most rock and roll bands.  The website (and) design of the record, comes from the science fiction and military fetish that we sort of have and love.  (It is) the idea of the three of us fighting against the world.

Dave-  That’s why all the imagery.  We feel musically that we are fighting, you know, just trying to find the money for the next gig – just for the gas to get there.  It’s a fight to make people aware of this art that we’ve created.  In this business it takes a leader to start something…because everyone else follows.  It’s like pulling teeth to try and get on radio.  Because we don’t sound like a flavour of the week, but we don’t want to be.

Whenever I’m in New York I have this coffee shop I go to and I’ll sit for two hours and just listen to people’s conversations.  I find it wonderment – like what makes them tick?  What’s that guy’s story?  I just love that.

I guess the moral of the story is that if you believe in something and you stick to your beliefs long enough that sooner or later people start to see your point of view.

We’re pretty easy to please.  If someone came here and bought us...a slice of pizza that would make our night.  Little things like that, you know? (laughing)  Going home and my mother cooking a great Alberta steak and her...stuffed potatoes.  If I get that, I’m OK for a week.

JB-  You mentioned that you’ve travelled through Canada and the U.S., where is the best place to be when you’re performing?

Meck-  On stage.