Corduroy magazine

Though he’s known for his anthemic rock songs as lead singer of Our Lady Peace, Raine Maida’s solo venture finds him in a more subdued and comtemplative mood. Mixing elements of spoken word and folk, the artist known for moving crowds of people to get on their feet and sing, is now asking them to take a second to pause and think.
Corduroy asked musician and actor Val Emmich to interview Maida for this issue and longtime OLP fan gladly agreed. Here, in an excerpt from their email conversation, Emmich and Maida talk about the process of making a solo record, finding new sources of inspiration and whether music still has the power – or relevance – to bring about change.

Emmich: I’m a longtime fan of Our Lady Peace, starting from when I first hear, “Naveed” over the airwaves growing up in New Jersey. So often, solo records sound too similar to the band the member is from. [But] “The Hunters Lullaby” doesn’t sound like a solo record from the singer of Our Lady Peace but rather a new and singular artist. Was this a conscious effort or just a natural progression once you were separated from the band dynamics?

Maida: Great pedigree coming from New Jersey, Val. I saw Springsteen a couple months ago in Anaheim and was blown away by the man; real songs, real stories and he seems to be very close to completing his metamorphosis to Bob Dylan. I’ve always thought of myself as more of a writer than singer. Easy on with OLP I would try and smash my poems into lyrics, but I quickly learned that the confines of pop music are quite strict. I also hit a point where I was really feeling let down by modern music. It had seemed to lose its relevance. Spoken word had picked up that slack. You get poetry, venom, message and beauty all for the price of one song and a catchy beat. I think that influence, along with the respect I hold of OLP’s career kept me at a safe distance musically speaking. The guys in OLP are my friends and I would never want to undermine what we have achieved.

Emmich: This separation between Raine Maida, the solo artist and Raine Maida, the singer of OLP, seems most apparent in the singing. Again, was that something that you strove for or just something that happened organically?

Maida: It’s really a product of the music and arrangements. I’ve listened to a lot of Leonard Cohen over the past five years. I fell in love with the simplicity of the production on his early records. The sparseness on my record allowed me to sing in a way I’ve only hinted at previously. In those instances you can really experiment and enjoy exploring the subtleties of your voice.

Emmich: You are a Canadian transplant living and raising a family in California. How did California look from a distance to you compared to how it looks as a current citizen of the town?

Maida: It’s ironic that Los Angeles has always seemed slightly perverted to me, yet I ended up here. Being here on and off for the last ten years has helped me appreciate its good points. There is a progressiveness that I admire here and the weather doesn’t suck. The element of ambition is by far the least attractive and most destructive trait of this city. I’m sure you understand this being from the east coast. People simply possess a different social fabric there. I think this is even compounded further if you throw Canada into the equation.

Emmich: you criticized Neil Young on your MySpace blog for losing faith in music’s ability to bring about tangible change in the real world. Where do you think this belief in the power of music comes from in you?

Maida: OLP recorded a version of “Needle and the Damage Done” for a Neil Young tribute record a while ago. I sang “Rockin’ in the Free World” on stage with Neil at Live 8 and I grew up in Canada. Safe to say, Neil is somewhat an icon to me. When I read that Neil had lost faith in music I was baffled. I witnessed Joni Mitchell become bitter with the industry and music, but never thought it could happen to a man with such conviction as Neil Young. In my idealistic fantasy, music does have the power to influence a generation. The reality may be that music has never changed the world, but simply changed people. As far as Neil’s statement, I’ll assume Neil simply smoked some bad weed that day.

Emmich: Your music has some very political and social overtones. How much of this was influenced by your discontent with the current political situation and concern about raising your children in the modern world?

Maida: I’m probably as freaked out as any other parent. The choice to have children was difficult enough. Now to be thrown into the fire of raising them is overwhelming at times. Emerson has a great quote, “As soon as there is life there is danger.” This could never be more true, but out ego tell us we gotta try. I agree. During my trips with War Child to Darfur and Irag, I witnessed some unspeakable sadness. But the children in those conflict regions somehow had hope. If they do, how can we not?

Emmich: The album ends with only your voice asking the question: “have we lost the fight?” If you had to answer that question today, what would you say?

Maida: I would contend that we are losing the battle. It’s really a question of ego: one’s religion trumping another; a planet stripped of its natural resources without any foresight into the future; the privatization of everything. All those hippies from the 60s are ones driving around in $100,000 Range Rovers. Any constructive form of counterculture has eaten itself alive, not to mention the fact we refuse to learn from history. I’m no Marxist, but Democracy doesn’t seem to be working so well right now.

Emmich: How has the solo experience been so far?

Maida: It’s been supreme. I won my masters and have complete control over my career. Music never felt so free. I feel like a 15-year-old picking up the guitar and playing “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2 for the first time. That nervous, insecure feeling should never be lost. It’s what are is all about.

Emmich: Great chatting with you Raine. Thanks for your time.

Maida: Thanks Val.

Val Emmich is the kind of guy who wear a beat-up messenger bag on his shoulders and his heart on his sleeve. It’s a perfect combination for a singer-songerwriter, though admittedly less ideal when it comes to building a career.
In 2003, the folk rocker scored a major label record deal, but it quickly turned sour when he didn’t deliver a “smash hit”. Faced with the choice of collaborating with a team of “hit-makers” or writing his own songs, Emmich ditched the label and went the indie route, recording an entire album in a friend’s converted garage. The New Jersey native credits the DIY method with helping him stay focused, even as he scrambled to make ends meet.
But his patience is finally paying off, with a new album in the can and a plum role on TV. Though he booked small acting gigs and commercials, Emmich caught a break when he landed a role on ABC’s Cashmere Mafia. The show was cancelled, but network bosses were impressed with the charismatic actor and quickly cast him on hit series Ugly Betty.
The whirlwind journey may have caught most observers by surprise, but Emmich says it proves he was right to follow his gut. “I can’t fake how I’m feeling,” he says. “If I don’t like what I’m doing then I’m going to be miserable. But if I keep working at it and I do it my way, eventually I’ll succeed.”
He pauses for a second and feigns a worried look. “I probably shouldn’t be saying that huh? That doesn’t always equate to good business.”