CMW 2007: Peter Elkas

03/02/07 4:30pm

by Shannon Whibbs (CHARTattack)

Hometown: Toronto, ON
Official Website: www.peterelkas.com
Members:
Peter Elkas (vocals, guitar)
Doug Friesen (bass, vocals) )
Jeff Heisholt (keyboards, vocals) )
Gavin MacGuire (drums. vocals)

So, you're about to play the big industry event that is Canadian Music Week. What's the most shameless thing you've ever done to promote your band?
This is when I should come up with something that's not real. Um, let me think. It's so boring, but I guess just shameless shmoozing, like walking around with a bunch of demos. That's really such a boring answer, though. I should come up with something a little different. How about wearing my own merch and pretending it's laundry day?

Have you really done that?
I think so, yeah.

What's the hardest part about being an up-and-coming band?
That you're up-and-coming.

Describe your best and worst gigs ever.
Worst gig ever is easiest to remember. It was with Joel Plaskett, solo gig for the Alone And Together tour at Big White in Kelowna, a ski resort. Playing for 80 drunk snowboarders who couldn't give a flying hoot that we were there. I would rather have been booed off the stage than ignored. That was pretty rough. And being hired to play two nights but splitting in the morning of the second day, regardless of the consequences. Best gig ever... the same gig?

Why's that?
Because we had such huge laughs about it. I can actually probably think of a gig that I would have enjoyed more. Probably something else from that tour, we had some pretty cool gigs. You know what, it was Sudbury the last time I was there with the Elkas band and Two Hours Traffic were opening. And our drummer cut his butt cheek open on a pile of broken glass in the band room.

Why does that make it the best gig?
I don't know, because a cut-open butt cheek is funny.

How important is it for your band members to "circulate and flirt" with the audience before or after the show?
Very unimportant.

What about for yourself?
Also very unimportant. What a weird question. Do they give you these questions?

Yep.
This is talking about CMW, right?

Yep.
It should be more important, I guess, than it is, but it's very unimportant.

Have you ever stolen from someone else's rider? If so, who was it and what did you take?
The answer would be cans of Boost beverage from Sloan.

Isn't it like that Ensure stuff?
Yeah, it's exactly like that. An enriched meal-supplement drink.

From Sloan?
More specifically, Jay Ferguson.

Well, he is kind of a little guy. I can see him needing the extra nutrients.
For a while that's all he ate.

Have you ever been graded before according to ChartAttack.com's Rock 'n' Roll Report Cards?
I have, yeah, a couple of times.

Do you remember what you got?
No. [laughs]

You got 70 per cent in 2004.
That's pretty bad.

How did the grade make you feel?
Well, I didn't remember it, so I guess it didn't impress me one way or another, I suppose. It wasn't memorable.

Have you done anything new or interesting this week?
Yeah! I slept in minus 15 degree Celsius weather because the furnace exploded. Which I think was payback for having to spend two weeks in Mexico.

Pete Elkas plays the Horseshoe Tavern on Friday, March 9 @ 9 p.m. as part of the annual Chart/Horseshoe/Canadian Music Week showcase.