GREAT AUNT IDA and CHRISTOPHER DIGNAN at the Press Club (850 Dundas West), Friday (March 9), 10 pm. Free. See listing.
Great Aunt Ida’s stellar third album, Nuclearize Me (Zunior), is so focused and thoughtfully arranged that it sounds like singer/songwriter Ida Nilsen spent the five years since her last one honing her craft in concentrated contemplation.
Turns out that wasn’t the case. Read our Q&A below.
What prompted your move to Toronto?
At the time, I felt like having to close the Sugar Refinery [a live music venue and café Nilsen ran in Vancouver] had broken my heart in a certain way. So much of my identity had been attached to it that I felt a bit lost. I’d been spending a lot of time in Toronto and there seemed to be so much more of everything I liked there.
But perhaps mainly I left because I felt like I could see my future in Vancouver, and while there was nothing wrong with what I was seeing, I still found it disturbing. I wanted to have a period, however brief, where I had no idea what was going to happen. At first I was fascinated with Toronto. I certainly have no regrets about coming here, but my interest has waned. I’ve developed a collection of complaints. Torontonians talk too much.
Have you noted any major differences between Toronto’s and Vancouver’s music scenes?
A few things come to mind. When I was first getting into music in Vancouver there was a lot of reverence for who had come before. Respect for your elders, in a sense, a lot of whom had made their lives in music without trying to please everyone and kiss a lot of ass. People promoted themselves by being good rather than talking themselves up and trying to be in the same room as someone who could make them more famous. I felt like music was the primary motivation.
What I see around me in Toronto leads me to think that’s not necessarily the case here. I don’t know if that’s a fair generalization but it’s how I feel. There’s so much happening here that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. And while that’s just life, it feels less genuine to me somehow. To be clear, though, I think Toronto is kind of amazing. Just not really for me.
Can you talk about the challenges of making this new album? Why the five-year delay?
Honestly, I just wanted into it. I have to work harder here to survive than I did in Vancouver, and I spend a lot of days off downloading free TV shows and eating ice cream. I felt like I had the best bunch of songs I’d ever had prior to making a record, and it took a long time to figure out how to finish them since I wasn’t putting my full energy into it. I was also nervous about going back into the world of figuring out how to promote it, especially as I had become so allergic to everyone and their dog doing that all around me.
What were you up to in the meantime?
Lots of road trip exploration on this new side of the continent. I got married. I became a way better restaurant server than I been, and I found a great place to work.
What were you aiming to do anything in particular with Nuclearize Me?
I wanted it to be more fun than my previous records. To use some takes that were more spirited and less perfect. To lose a little control. Embrace some guilty pleasures. Be open to using some pop clichés.
Tell me about the recording process in Ottawa with Dave Draves.
It was fun. We recorded bed tracks there and then later returned to the studio with a pile of overdubs done in other places and edited and mixed everything together. I like Dave’s instincts for sound, and he has a great sense for when something is right. It was great to do parts of the record away from home. I think it made it easier to concentrate.
Does the album signal a new commitment to playing music, touring – the whole shebang?
That’s hard to say. I love playing but how I feel about the rest of it goes up and down. I certainly have some renewed energy compared to how I’ve felt over the last few years.
What can we expect from the live show?
There’s a full band, though not always featuring the same people. There’s some variance from show to show, which I enjoy. It keeps things interesting.
Who is the hairless cat on the album cover?
I found the photo when I was image searching the word “nuclear.” I had another idea in mind, which included my face superimposed over an exploding nuclear bomb, but I needed some more ideas for the package. Then I saw the cat photo and everything changed. I contacted Adam Baron, who took the photo, and he gave me permission to use it. I thought it was creepy and cute at the same time, and the cat’s expression reminded me of my own sour face.
I’ve often wondered where your band name came from…
I have a Great Aunt Ida who I don’t know at all but who I love hearing stories. When I was first thinking about using the name I put it into search engines and discovered that “Great Aunt Ida” was used as a kind of euphemism for a fuddy-duddy old lady. And I like old things: people have been telling me for years that I dress like a gramma. And I think I was about five years old when I started reminiscing about the old days.
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