Pearl Jam Vs. Arcade Fire: Nardwaur interview

halvhalv Posts: 675
edited January 2008 in The Porch
This is an interview Nardwaur did with two members of Arcade Fire. Near the middle he compares their live set to Pearl Jam. You can hear the whole interview by clicking on the link at the bottom.

Nardwuar the Human Serviette vs. Arcade Fire 2007 !
Nardwuar: Who are you?J
eremy Gara: I'm Jeremy.
Nardwuar: From?
JG: From the Arcade Fire.
Nardwuar: And Jeremy, who do you have beside you?
JG: I have Sarah with me.
Nardwuar: From?
Sarah Neufeld: The Arcade Fire.
Nardwuar: What nicknames do you call Jeremy?
SN: Um, J-Balls.
Nardwuar: J-Balls?
JG: Yeah, that's a current one.
Nardwuar: That deserves some clarification.
SN: No.
JG: There's J-Balls. There's J-Lrlmy because I took a plane one time and they replaced all the Ees in my name with an L.
Nardwuar: But why J-Balls?
JG: I think everyone in the band has a "balls" name.
SN: Yeah. You just abbreviate. Like, you'd be N-Balls.
Nardwuar: Oh, thank you. I feel honoured. Who'd be A-Balls?
SN: Isn't it cute though? N-Balls? J-Balls?
Nardwuar: So actually, with that in mind, could you introduce the rest of the Arcade Fire, who are not present right now.
JG: By their balls name?
Nardwuar: Balls and reals.
JG: There's R-Balls and Regine, R-Balls Richard and W-Balls Win and W-Balls Will and T-Balls Tim. T-Balls is the original. And then we have some extra people with us now, Kelly K-Balls, Colin C-Balls, Maurika M-Balls... I think I got it.
SN: I think you got it.
Nardwuar: I like C-Balls.
JG: C-Balls is good. T-Balls is good, too, because...
SN: C-Balls is my boyfriend also. I like that you like C-Balls.
Nardwuar: I like C-Balls too, because it sounds like cheeseballs.
SN: Uhhh...
JG: I like T-Balls because of the sport.
Nardwuar: I like cheeseballs because they're cheesy and I understand there is a theme of cheese on this new record that you guys put out.
JG: I have not heard that yet.
Nardwuar: Yes, there's a big cheese theme. Do you know that, Sarah of the Arcade Fire?
SN: Well, I know about the cheese theme backstage.
Nardwuar: What is the cheese theme backstage?
SN: A lot of cheese.
JG: There's a lot of cheese.
SN: Especially with Regine. I mean, after the show she likes cheese. It's like her nightcap.
Nardwuar: We all love cheese. However, I think the songs actually relate to cheese and that made me really excited. The song "Lighthouse," I understand, has a bit of a cheese reference.
SN: [Sarah makes a perplexed face.]
JG: I'm gonna make the same face. I dunno.
Nardwuar: Was it not based on some sort of allegory about a wolf and a fox?JG: That is a good point. The fox who jumps in the well looking for cheese because he thinks the moon is cheese, but it's the moon. And he jumps in. Nardwuar: Bring on the cheese!
JG: Could be.
Nardwuar: And Sarah, is it time to bring on the chocolate fountains?
SN: Perhaps.
Nardwuar: What is the deal with chocolate fountains and Arcade Fire? You talked about chocolate fountains?
SN: When did I talk about that? OK, we only ever had one chocolate fountain, but it was really good. It was great. It was at the Grammys. It was one of those things where we were at all these crazy parties and we all kept huddling by the chocolate fountain because, because... it was a great time. It was great chocolate. There was fresh fruit...
JG: The booze!
SN: I mean, I wanted to talk to Pamela Anderson 'cause we're from the same town, but I couldn't, I was just busy by the fountain. Nardwuar: The chocolate fountain!
SN: That's the sad truth. I would have been, like, "Uh, hi Pam."
JG: We really wanted her to talk to Pam because they're from the same city and we heard she was really nice, but Sarah was just like, "Noooo."
SN: It was four in the morning and I was full of chocolate and probably a little on edge from the chocolate. I'm not good at those things.
Nardwuar: Sarah, you're not very good at those things, are you?
SN: No, I'm not very good at those things.[Jeremy's giggling in the background.]
Nardwuar: You're not very good at approaching celebrities are you?
SN: No, I'm not.
Nardwuar: Evidence #1. We have a picture, if you could hold this Jeremy, what is happening in this picture here, Sarah? [Nardwuar hands Sarah a picture]JG [laugh.]
SN: There is me and my friend Jess, and there's a celebrity. But we do all... Drew(Barrymore) is very friendly.
Nardwuar: Drew Barrymore!
SN: She is the kind of celebrity that approaches you and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You don't have to go up to her and be all like, "Hey, I really liked your..." She just comes up to you.
Nardwuar: So you're afraid of Pamela Anderson, but not afraid of Drew Barrymore?
SN: If Pam would have come up to me I would have been, like, "Sweet." I would have offered the information. I just can't make the first move. I don't like to make the first move.
Nardwuar: But this photo, does this symbolize backstage life, Jeremy?
JG: This is pretty symbolic, it's true.
SN: I like that picture of Jess (Girl to the right in photo) too, because she comes to all our shows in New York and she's the happiest.
Nardwuar: I love how you're looking almost pseudo-embarrassed that Drew Barrymore was there.
SN: No, that's just a me face. I'm like, ah-ha-ha.
Nardwuar: That's a "Drew Barrymore is behind me" face, isn't it?
JG: It could be. Probably not.
SN: You're reading way too much into this.
Nardwuar: Jeremy, do you cause problems for the band?
JG: No, not at all.
SN: The opposite.
Nardwuar: What does Jeremy cause?
SN: He's the opposite of problems. He's the get-along guy.
Nardwuar: Sarah, could you tell me the story of how Jeremy put $50,000 in a paper bag and carried it with him on tour?
SN: But that was like in a red cosmetics bag.
JG: But then we put the red cosmetics bag inside a paper bag so that it didn't look like a bag full of money.
Nardwuar: Yeah, so could you explain a bit about that, Jeremy? Here's Jeremy of the Arcade Fire, carries around a paper bag with $50,000 in it.
JG: I don't think it was 50, but it was definitely 30-ish.
SN: And it was only like that for a couple days because we couldn't get to the right type of bank account.
Nardwuar: Only for a couple days! Fifty thousand dollars in a paper bag!
JG: We were on tour and we hadn't deposited any of the income of the band on, like, most of a U.S. tour because all the banks were coastal and we were in the middle of America and by the end of it, it was just like, "Oh, the money bag." So I carried it with me everywhere and then played with it onstage, underneath my drum seat because I was so scared.
SN: There was a lot of, like, "Who's got the bag?!" "OK, he's got the bag."
JG: Not the best move we've ever made, but it makes a good story. Nardwuar: Are your parents proud of the Arcade Fire, Sarah?
SN: Yeah, sure.
Nardwuar: Now why would they be proud? Why would a parent be proud of the Arcade Fire? What achievement do you think might make a parent proud, Jeremy?
JG: My parents have always been happy with me playing music, but this is the first time I can play music and not borrow money from them. Like, I can pay my own rent and almost pay off my credit card bill.
Nardwuar: So the money connection. What about yourself, Sarah? Saturday Night Live, does that win your parents over?
SN: No. My parents, well, I'm sure they watched it this time, but they're not big TV people. Actually, they're press suckers. Every time something's in a Vancouver paper they're like, "Oh yeah!" They know about the other press too, but they're not as in touch with it. Every time there's a Vancouver thing, they're really happy.
Nardwuar: How about Saturday Night Live combined with you being on Time Magazine, the cover of Time Magazine?
SN: You know who loved the Time Magazine? My grandpa, because he saw it in the dentist's office and he, like, it made his day. And that's what we were afraid of happening, but then it was kind of nice. We were like, "We don't want the dentist's office thing to happen," but then you get a call from your grandpa being all [faking an old man voice] "This morning I was at the dentist's office..." That's pretty nice.
JG: That's awesome.
Nardwuar: Do you feel like you're up against the big boys, Sarah?
SN: What do you mean by that?
Nardwuar: Well, you know, the Arcade Fire #2 on Billboard. You're playing big gigs. Do you feel you're up against the big boys?
SN: Up against like... who got #1 when we got #2 in the States, but he's dead? Biggie Smalls? We're up against Biggie Smalls and he's not even alive. Nardwuar: Even bands that are alive. For instance, I have some quotes here: "When we saw Pearl Jam play last year they played 50 different songs in two nights. Whereas the Arcade Fire, when they played two nights..."
JG: ... played probably 15, tops.
SN: We play 15 a night, yeah.
Nardwuar: So compared to Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam can do it, so should the Arcade Fire. You're up against the big boys.
JG: I think that's what we're up against, the "so should they," which we try not to do.
SN: Like that question, which you're asking.
Nardwuar: It continues on as well, "Like the Grateful Dead and Phish before them, the Arcade Fire..." You're getting compared to Phish and The Grateful Dead...
SN: Are an amazing jam band.
Nardwuar: What does it feel like to be up against Pearl Jam, up against Phish, up against The Grateful Dead? Because now you're in the big leagues, you're getting compared to these bands.
SN: You know that's not a useful thread. You know what I mean.
Nardwuar: It's hilarious, though. Check this out. Check this quote here: "Who is Will Butler and why did Phish pass him the torch?"
JG: That's weird.
Nardwuar: Now, speaking of Phish, didn't a Phisher come to one of your gigs in Central Park?
SN: I don't know.
Nardwuar: A Phish guy watching sidestage?
JG: No, but we met Trey Anastasio at, uh, is that his name? Did I say that right? We were at the Grammys and we were starving. We were at the Grammys because we were trying to see if that was something that we wanted to do.
SN: We had to eat hot dogs in the arena.
JG: Trey gave Regine a chocolate bar. [laughs] That's possibly the nicest thing I've ever seen.
Nardwuar: That's amazing! I love the Phish!
JG: It was so nice. Like, I think he's been at other shows. He's really lovely. Nardwuar: Jeremy and Sarah of the Arcade Fire, you played the United Palace in New York, for one of your gigs in New York.
JG: Totally.
Nardwuar: I saw some clips of that and there was like a stage invasion going?SN: Yes [laughs]. It was the worst.
JG: Yeah, it was awful.
Nardwuar: Why was it an awful stage invasion? Didn't you invite the stage invasion?
JG: Win made this, "C'mon everyone, let's have fun onstage" thing and...
SN: He forgot that people turn into wild animals when they get up onstage.
JG: It was not... I mean, it was fun and nobody got hurt except for a security guard who went to the hospital...
SN: ... and I got hit in the face...J
G: Oh yeah, and Sarah got elbowed...
SN: ... and hit with a mic stand.
Nardwuar: That's what I was curious about. How much in trouble do you get if you're a famous band for inviting people up on stage. Did you get in trouble for inviting people up on stage? Did you get in trouble for having that big stage invasion?
SN: Some trouble, but nothing terrible actually happened.
JG: We might not even know. We could have been fined and not even know about it. I follow the rules. I'm not a rule breaker. And when that kind of stuff happens I get really uncomfortable.
Nardwuar: What theatres have you played? You played a theatre in Chicago that looked really, really interesting, really decorated. What sort of neat theatres have you played?
JG: It's just called the Chicago Theater and last time we played there, two years ago, we played the Riviera Theater.
SN: This one in Sweden that we just played was really beautiful and that was on this crazy island and it was called Circus. And the island was all weird museums and kind of circus-y buildings. It was super, super, super beautiful. That place was gorgeous.
Nardwuar: Is this true that Win likes duct-taping people together?
JG: Will's done that a couple times just because there are a few songs where people have their hands free and then it's sort of unpredictable what people are going to get up to. I mean, Will specifically gets up to some trouble sometimes.
Nardwuar: Have you guys got duct-taped together at all?
SN: Yep. Nardwuar: And Sarah did you grow up in Merville on Vancouver Island
SN: Yep, that's true.
Nardwuar: Did you go to any Vancouver gigs growing up? Or did you go to any gigs? What kind of gigs did you remember from B.C.? Like, what are the influences possibly on you?
SN: Yeah, I grew up in Courtney and it was pretty easy to get over here. Like, I came over to Vancouver as much as the next guy on the island, but there was... I mean, the Roots Roundup were huge in our town and I actually played with them once and they were so fun because they were like this touring band and they were super, super sweet and they totally had me up and played a show with them and I was like, "Oh, I want to be in a band." Well, I was in a band - but we weren't as good as them.
Nardwuar: Roots Roundup were amazing. They did a tour a tree planter tour of Northern BC and stuff like that. A tree planting tour!
SN: For B.C. they were... yeah. Nardwuar: And they had cool ska elements as well.
SN: And that was the early '90s. They were perfect for the time and place. Nardwuar: Did Win's dad work for Dick Cheney?
JG: I have no idea.
Nardwuar: Yeah, his dad worked for Dick Cheney.
SN: I have no idea either.
Nardwuar: Halliburton!
JG: No idea.
Nardwuar: His dad worked for Cheney's old company Halliburton. And another question I wanted to ask, Regine's great, great cousin, did he fight with Castro?
SN: I don't know. I don't know.
JG: There's some connection to Castro in there somewhere.
Nardwuar: Great, well, thanks so much for your time. Keep on rockin' in the free world and doot doola doot doo...
JG: Doot.
SN: Doo.
To hear this interview visit http://nardwuar.com/vs/arcade_fire/
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