February 22, 1999
We're Watching the Watchmen
By Lancelot 2020
Revolver
Canadians are a funny mob. They like Ice Hockey, beer, smoked meats, fishin and Canada. Fiercely patriotic (even though half of them want to be French)...them Canadians sure talk funny. I know two Canadian twins...one of which refuses to let go of her accent even after 15 years living in Australia. I know another girl, who although she was born here, seems to pledge loyalty only to her parents homeland. Her dad keeps a fridge full of beer and dried meats, and a garage full of caps and hockey jerseys. He likes combie vans, fly fishin' and traumatising the dog with an old leather glove tied on to a string. He goes to great lengths to get himself to the nearest hockey rink where he has his head promptly broken open every fortnight by much younger men (like his son). He amuses his daughter by planting messages reading "Help me. I'm stuck in a Fortune Cookie factory" inside fortune cookies. Recently he has given up beer for German non-alcoholic malted beverages. He is also a nuclear engineer.
Our phone-line is clear and crisp as the driven Canadian snow: "I think that patriotic thing happens more when Canadians are on the road. If they're in Australia or Europe or something... then they're All Canadian". So says Daniel Greaves, a Canadian prarie boy who sings and plays piano with a bunch of other Canadian prarie boys called The Watchmen
"A lot of the philosophy of this record is knowing when not to play".
I immediately respect Daniel for two reasons: simply being Canadian (I sure dig those goofy little bastards), and because Adam Kasper produced the Watchmen's new album Silent Radar. Forget work with REM and Soundgarden...Adam Kasper produced BOTH Rock Collection by Pond and Pinkerton by Weezer, perhaps my two favourite contemporary albums.
"The good thing about him is that he doesn't bring the Adam Kasper sound to a band, he just
tries to bring out the band sound. That's the real sign of a good producer. The sound of our album
isn't like other album's he's produced. I just think the sounds are very real and organic and
powerful. He leaves the humanity in".
"Does he play hockey?"
"No".
Two months later...and I am watching a video of Daniel and Ken (bass) of the Watchmen perform
their single Stereo on Hey Hey It's Saturday. On the screen next to this, I am watching the same
two men engaged in a live interview in a Kings Cross hotel room...with a boy who they THINK is
Lancelot 2020. Truth being, that in order to avoid revealing my identity, I sent some skinny
punk wired with a microphone, a tiny camera disguised as a button, and an earpiece to receive my
instructions which I'm yelling at him. It's expensive state of the art stuff that I borrowed from
my Brother-in-Law, who is a Fed. Goddamnit if they weren't just wailing on the poor little prick.
KEN: "Danny...your editor, was at our showcase gig last night reading your latest article out in the
middle of the pub to anybody that would listen. He was quite enamoured with your rant...you're
anti-publisher, anti-record company, andti-everything, I'm the best and you're all areseholes rave."
[Punch him kid! Punch the bastard] "All last night I was thinking about fucking with you." Ken is
very tall and has wild punk rock hair. The kid is sweating.
THE KID: "I really don't agree with anything that guy writes." [I give him a dose of feedback
for his insubordination]
KEN: "I think Danny was a wee pit pissed...but so was I."
THE KID: (reluctantly) "Why the hell wasn't I invited to this showcase?"
KEN: "Gee...We don't usually let underlings come to these things. I thought they were for anybody
who's anybody. Why the hell are we talking to this guy?"
THE KID: (meekly) "I'm just not allowed to go to anything since the time I stripped in front of all
the squares at the Palladium one night. Fuckers."
On Silent Radar, their fourth album, The Watchmen have gone for the 'less is more' approach : less
glossy production and less musical clutter. According to Dan "A lot of the philosophy of this record
is knowing when not to play". That is a good philposophy. My only philosophy is 'Don't mix the grain
and the grape'. The kid is now standing out on the sunny balcony with Ken, and my monitor is blindingly
bright. I can just make out The Domain and a fat lady sunbathing below. [Hey look kid] I yell, [It's your
mum.]
"I loved working with Adam" says Ken as he watches two men in their underwear on a roof-top, who are haning
out clothes. "He made me realise that I can actually play the bass. Whenever I've gone into the studio
before, I end up running over the same bridge for 4 hours straight until it's not perfect. With Adam, he was
like 'Yeah...sounds great'. So my confidence came back".
The kid smiles politely.
"On out third record, Brand New Day, we got a little cocky I think. Our second record In The Trees was a
big hit in Canada, and we got a little experimental with the third one. It was a record we really enjoyed,
but from a pop-sensible stand-point it was probably a dumb thing to do - for Silent Radar it was natural
for us to go back to our rock feel and embrace what we knew best."
Ken jumps back as The Kid, on my instructions, yells "HELLO SYDNEY!! ARE YOU FUCKERS READY TO ROCK?!?!"
The men in their underwear nod.
Yes...they were ready. Verrryyy ready!
The Watchmen's Silent Radar is available this week through EMI.