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“Farmcore” A New Genre Made for Carpenter (Interview)
“Farmcore”
A New Genre Made for Carpenter
An Interview With Dan Sioui of Carpenter
by Diego Silva & Tanya Tonon
CLICK HERE for photos of Carpenter’s performance @ Sneaky Dee’s 11/06/09
Dan Sioui is a man of obsessions, both with farming and John Cougar Mellencamp. That combination has been the inspiration for the creation of Carpenter, a Vancouver based band who has been categorized as “Farmcore”. The band was in Toronto on November 6th at Sneaky Dee’s with locals Clothes Make the Man. Dan, singer and founder of Carpenter, sat with us for drinks and an interview, where we discussed the band’s ties with farming and the anticipated new release coming in 2010. Hopefully this leaves you asking as many questions as I had for Dan. Read on for all the answers:
BBtBB: How’s the tour going?
Dan Sioui: It’s going really well. We made it from Vancouver to Halifax in one week, which was heavy duty. We played Halifax Pop Explosion, two shows. Then we flew to Florida to play the fest in Gainesville and then we flew back here and we’re playing tonight in Toronto! It’s been a pretty crazy whirlwind but it’s been a lot of fun.
BBtBB: That sounds hectic! Any bad experiences on the way?
DS: No, it’s been fine. We had a long stretch, we played one show in Canmore, Alberta and our next show was in Thunder Bay, Ontario. That was a bit of a stretch driving but we made it. I think we did something like 26 hours of straight driving.
BBtBB: That’s insane!
DS: Most people think we’re crazy. Anyone that doesn’t play in a band thinks the idea of touring Canada makes no sense.
BBtBB: Everything is so far apart…
DS: Yeah, it’s crazy. We’ve toured with a few American bands and they’ve done it once. They usually end up saying, “You guys are crazy, this makes no sense”.
BBtBB: You guys have been playing in the U.S too as part of this tour?
DS: Just the Florida dates on this tour but in the summer we did a month in the States. We had a really good reception. The power of the Internet is amazing. The shows we just played in Florida were packed and everyone was singing along, it was just mind blowing! We’re literally from the opposite end of the continent and we had tons of fans so, it was awesome. It felt good.
BBtBB: Right on! Law of the Land came out June 2008, any plans for new material?
DS: Yeah, we’re recording in February so there will be a new record in late spring or early summer of 2010. We’ve got about half the album written and after this tour – we get back near the end of November – we’re just going to work on writing the album for the whole winter. We did a lot of touring this year, which has been great, but it’s time to come out to work on some new stuff.
BBtBB: Where do you get your biggest influences when writing your songs?
(At this point the both of us take a break to order up a couple rye and gingers)
DS: It really depends. I like to tell a story so it usually has something to do with an experience I’ve had that I’ve jarred up and then wanted to talk about later.
BBtBB: Where does the whole farmcore theme come from?
DS: I guess it started because I really wanted to be a farmer for the last ten years. Part of it was to escape the city and a real appreciation for a simpler way to live. With technology and everything, we’re sort of getting away from what’s important in the world. I think farmers know what’s up. I really respect that. I was lucky enough to buy a farm in Ontario last year!
BBtBB: That’s amazing. So, your plan is to live here in Ontario?
DS: Right now it’s leased out to other farmers in the area but I was there for two months, in between tours, living in a trailer with no power. I was with my dog and I loved it. It was really cool.
BBtBB: Did you grow up on a farm?
DS: No, I’m a full city boy. I don’t know anything about farming! (laughs) All my farmer neighbours think I’m crazy. One, you can’t really make much money farming these days, and two, they want to know why this musician or punk rock kid wants to be a farmer. They’re awesome though, really nice and helpful.
BBtBB: So you’re learning a lot?
DS: Yeah, they definitely like to teach me. I think they’re just really excited that more young people are getting excited about farming. For a long time, I think it’s an industry that people have been trying to get away from and now there’s a movement by a lot of young people to get into it.
BBtBB: Is there any specific message that you would like to push out to people about why it’s important?
DS: Be conscientious about where your food is coming from. We’re spending so much money and time building condos and building the urban sprawl wider and wider that we’re running out of fertile land. With a growing population, we all need to eat. It’s not like we can afford to not eat. I guess the big thing is to support your local, independent farmers. Buy local and try to help people in your area that are doing their best to grow food that is healthy for you.
BBtBB: Are there any organizations that you guys are affiliated with?
DS: Not officially but Canadian Organic Growers is one organization we support. There’s a group in Vancouver called Farm Folk/City Folk and they work really hard at bringing together farmers and the urban population. Basically, they get people to buy directly from the farmers and educate them about it. There’s no middleman so food isn’t sitting in a truck two days before you get it. It’s all fresh.
BBtBB: What do you have growing on your farm?
DS: Right now I’ve just got hay and alfalfa. There’s a lot of pastureland for cattle but eventually I want to have diversified crops of fruits and vegetables. There are a lot of apple trees there already. Food that I can eat that will keep me alive!
BBtBB: How does that tie into the music?
DS: I don’t know? It sort of seems like different worlds but the more I think about it, I think that a lot of musicians and artists are conscientious people that are very good at looking at the world around them. Figure out what is right and what’s important, for me that involves living off the land and living a simpler life. My big problem right now is it seems that whenever something breaks, people just throw it in a landfill instead of fixing it. It seems that companies are building things that way because they know people will buy a new one and I’m guilty of that. Now I want to actually fix things instead of going out and buying a new one.
BBtBB: That’s cool. I definitely like the message. It’s inspirational because I think that what you’re saying is something a lot of people can connect with. Where do you think you have more influence when it comes to fans and getting your message out?
DS: It’s hard to say because I’m always surprised at how many people in urban areas are a really supportive of the whole farming thing. You expect it more in the Prairies, and we do have a lot of fans in the Prairies that are very appreciative of the message, but it seems that in the big cities I have people coming up to me and telling me what they’re doing in their lives because of something we said. It doesn’t get any better for us than to hear that. It seems that people everywhere across Canada are so much more conscientious about the food industry and trying to help the little guys. That’s what we’re all about. It’s always good to help your neighbours, right?
BBtBB: Yeah! There’s one last question that we ask everyone. If you weren’t a musician, what would you be in jail for?
DS: I would be in jail for trying to liberate a bunch of chickens or cows from a factory. I’d be one of those animal liberation people, wearing a ski mask, breaking into places in the middle of the night. (laughs) Those guys get crazy! They go to jail for years.
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