Mac DeMarco’s former Makeout Videotape bandmate Alex Calder steps out with solo sound
Alex Calder cannot understand how anyone can dislike The Beatles. He’s kind of a fascist when it comes to their music. When I tell him I would rather gorge on Yoko Ono’s complete discography he loses it.
“You’re insane man” he says in disbelief. “There is just too much music they’ve made for you to not like them. You have to. For me I can always listen to them. I have nothing else to say.”
Calder probably won’t lose sleep over my opinions on his favourite band ever. He’ll do enough of that on his first real North American tour. Despite releasing his debut solo EP Time back in April on the widely adored Captured Tracks label the Edmonton-bred now Montreal resident is still pretty green.
“I haven’t been to Edmonton since Christmas” he says with astonishment. “It’s sorta weird to visit Edmonton when it’s not Christmas because everyone goes home for the holidays and it’s the most fun since everyone’s back. You don’t really notice how many people are gone until you go back at a different time. I’m excited to go back because I’ve never actually played a show there under my own name. I haven’t played in Calgary either.”
Before going solo Calder drummed in Makeout Videotape a band that famously included indie heartthrob and Captured Tracks labelmate Mac DeMarco. Like his former bandmate he went east for the city’s rich music scene.
“All of my friends live in Montreal now so I just kinda went there too” he says. “Edmonton used to be really sweet. When I was 18 or 19 it was crazy. There were all of these awesome older bands like Whitey Houston that I looked up to. They’re still there I just think they’ve toned down playing music. But everyone my age ended up moving away to Vancouver Montreal or Toronto. Montreal is awesome.”
For this tour Calder will be supporting his new friends Montreal shoegaze party animals No Joy who also hired his bassist for the tour.
“I had planned on touring regardless of this tour” Calder says. “And my bassist actually was asked to join No Joy for this tour. I haven’t met any of them yet but we’re gonna meet up and do it all together. We like to party too so it’s gonna be real fun.”
As a former member of Makeout Videotape Calder has no doubt experienced fun on tour before. If there is one artist that exemplifies fun these days it’s Mac DeMarco whose yuckster rock routine is becoming the stuff of legend. Calder says that although “it was great playing in a band with Mac” there were some moments he’d like to erase from his memory.
“There was a lot of stinkiness going on” he says. “Mac has a really stinky butt. He used to wake me up in the mornings with his bare butthole right in my nose. I remember the first time he did that I threw up all over his sink because it was just the worst tangiest shit smell ever. That was the worst part.”
You could say that all that work sniffing Mac’s butthole paid off for Calder however. It was the good word of Mac that got him signed to Captured Tracks. Which leaves us to wonder when he expects his delayed album to see a release.
“The album is I want to say it’s almost finished” he says. “I’ve got to do some more stuff but I don’t know when it’s gonna come out. It was originally going to come out in September but I didn’t get it done fast enough. I’m away from home for a bit but I’ll finish it when I get back in October so definitely a 2014 release.”
