LEMURIA with PRINCE and JUNIOR BATTLES at the Garrison (1197 Dundas West), Wednesday (December 17), 9 pm.$14. NT, RT, SS. Receive a free tour exclusive with online ticket (Northern Tickets).
Since its inception a decade ago, hooky, sweet indie punk power trio Lemuria have amassed an impressive catalogue of singles, split 7-inches and compilation appearances to supplement their three full-lengths, which include last year’s The Distance Is So Big (Bridge 9).
“For albums, we strive for songs that go together a little more,” says singer/guitarist Sheena Ozzella. “So if there’s one-off weirdos that we like, they will definitely be on the 7-inch.”
Case in point: a couple of years in the works is the band’s latest 7-inch, Turnstile Comix #3: Lemuria, out on Silver Sprocket. It’s a special collaboration between the Buffalo-bred, now tri-city band (drummer/singer Alex Kerns is still based in Buffalo, bassist Max Gregor in Austin, Texas, and Ozzella in Washington, DC) and artists Mitch Clem and Nation of Amanda, whose 40-page comic accompanies it.
“Lyrically, the songs have nothing to do with the comic,” says Ozzella.
Instead, the Turnstile series tells different bands’ stories, and Lemuria’s tale unfolds during an eventful and eye-opening 2011 tour of Russia.
“Before they spoke to us, we said, ‘What are we going to talk about?’ We are so awkward,” says Ozzella. “But when we got on the phone together it magically clicked. We talked about our Russian tour experience for over two hours.”
Some of the band’s “and then this happened” anecdotes touch on crooked cops expecting bribes, a plethora of stray dogs and run-ins with neo-Nazis.
“We were telling these intense stories but had to be lighthearted about it,” says Ozzella. “There are parts that are slightly exaggerated, but for the most part everything that happened in the comic book actually happened on our tour.”
This isn’t the first time Lemuria has appeared in a Clem comic. In fact, the artist recently apologized for his lack of sensitivity in a circa-007 distasteful page from his web comic Nothing Nice To Say in which one character teases another about his crush on Ozzella.
“I applaud that he even thought about it,” says Ozzella. “We all have that kind of stuff everyone says dumb shit, and you learn from it. It takes some people longer to realize that some minor stuff is actually not so minor.”
These days Ozzella says she’s focused on helping transgender people feel more comfortable at shows.
“I haven’t forgotten about the fact that women feel uncomfortable at shows sometimes and in the music industry, but that’s made me think about other people and how it might affect them, too.”
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