Amy Millan live @ Harbourfront
The Singing Lamb: So you have a new album coming out! Tell me about it!
Amy Millan: It’s very gentle. There’s a lot of times where you have these very fun epic nights and you go to the bar and you’re out and the music’s pumping and you’re dancing, you’re having such a great time with your friends and then you end up back at somebody’s house for the after party – there’s just kind of this time that’s right before you’re supposed to go to sleep but you kind of want to have one last little party or something – it’s kind of for that time. I just imagine listening to it at three o’clock in the morning would be the best. And also for my friends who just had children who are breastfeeding. So it’s for three o’clock in the morning or breastfeeding!
Ha! You should put that as a warning label on your CDs!
Ha yeah!
So is there any relevance between the first and second record?
Well Dan Whiteley is heavily showcased so he was a big person on my last album. I was very confused between kind of my love of old country music and pop music and so I think what happened was I ended up merging to have it become one. So the gentleness is there but it’s not really country and it’s not really pop. I was really scared when I made my last record because it was my first record and I had never done it but for this record I felt that I was really going to utilize the people around me. So some horn sections and some string sections…it’s a lot more layered, I think.
Is this record as country as the first one?
There’s one straight up country song; it’s the very last song on the album. Kevin Drew was like, “I’m really glad you have it because it’s like, ‘I’m still here.’” It’s still a part of me but it’s hard to explain…it’s gentle.
How has your time with other successful bands such as Broken Social Scene and Stars influenced your solo work, if it has?
Well I think when I made my first record I had written a lot of songs leading up to that and I hadn’t been in a pop band so I had this need to make pop music. I didn’t have that on this record. I didn’t need to make a song like “Headsfull” for instance. I don’t know if “Headsfull” was perfectly fit on that record; it feels kind of loud and like the ruckus but I kind of had anxiety that if I didn’t have a little bit of ruckus something would be missing, and I lost that anxiety for this record because I have two massive pop bands that I’m in, like big bands. And they’re quite loud so that squashed…or I should say quenched? It quenched my thirst for pop music so I was really able to dedicate myself to the softer side of music that I love.
Speaking of Stars, what’s the update on the band? How are you guys?
It’s great! We’re back in the studio, writing. Torquil just had a baby!
Yes, congrats to Torquil!
Yeah, she’s just going to be two months in August! The boys have been back at it; Patty, Chris and Evan have been writing some great music and we actually have four songs recorded and finished. Kind of exciting! The record should be out in the spring.
I also hear that you used to be in a band called Edith’s Mission with Emily Haines?
That was our first band ever! If you’ve seen the book (This Book is Broken), there are some pictures of us playing in the band. Are you trying to get some secret copies of music? She’ll kill me, I can’t! You have to ask Emily, she’s the only one. They’re pretty buried! But it’s interesting because there are songs that we used to play like “Combat Baby”. We actually sang a form of that song together; that was one of the songs that we sang onstage together at the Horseshoe one night but she changed it and it became “Combat Baby” so it’s interesting that a lot of the songs that we had both written had started in Edith’s Mission and they just gradually morphed into different things. There are a lot of things that I hear in Metric that we had done together. We did win a contest; we entered this Q107 thing, we were in the top 10 – so if you’re going to search, that would be the way to go…
I’ll do some digging!
That would be the way to dig!
Do you get asked a lot for a Feist/Emily/Amy all-female trio?
It was such a great idea and I always thought that that would be something that we’d do when we’re older, you know kind of how Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton came together when they were like fifty. I just think we’re all so busy right now that it’s incredible that we even got together for five seconds for that Broken show was an unbelievable lining of stars. But you know, she sings on my record – Leslie Feist – she came and sang on my album. More importantly, I would like for us three to be on the next Broken record and I’ll have a song with the three of us on that album. I think that would be something spectacular.
How’s that going so far? Recording for the next Broken Social Scene record…
Well they just started, right. They just started writing and Kevin’s going to mix down some of the stuff and he’s going to send it to all of us and I think that show that we just had two weeks ago really reignited something for him about the core members of the band and how important it is, our chemistry and how we are together, and I think it definitely made him excited to bring it all together again. It’s just defeating sometimes when everyone’s so busy all the time but I think he was very happy with how he felt after he played that show.
I think everyone was happy!
Yeah it was really special! So hopefully that’s how it’s going to happen. There are euphoric ideas about the perfect way to live your life but it’s difficult sometimes. That’s why I think communes don’t really work. We’re as close to a commune as you’re going to get and I don’t know…the thought of it is so exciting to me that I will be truly disappointed if it doesn’t work. But we’ll see what happens!
So you’ve know Emily Haines and Kevin Drew since high school. What were your first impressions of them and do you still feel the same towards them today?
Well I met Em on the first day of school. I think that’s in the book, I met her on the first day of school going to music class and what was great was that we were both new and we started this high school in grade 11. It’s always weird when you go to a high school and then because people have already developed their friendships but luckily we went to the biggest nerd, geek-freak high school on the planet!
Etobicoke?
Yeah ESA, so it’s not like there was a lack of people being nice to us. It wasn’t some kind of nightmares, Heathers-kind of school or something. When I first met Kevin, he was quite a bit younger than me. You know at that time, when you’re that young, the difference between being in grade nine and grade twelve was pretty expansive so to me, he was a kid. He actually still calls himself ‘the kid’ which is hilarious because he’s like, “The kid needs a spoon!” and I’m like, “Dude, you’re so not a kid anymore but whatever.” But they’re magic people and I remember hearing Em sing for the first time on the second week that we met; we were in the practise rooms and she was playing piano. They’re just very, very, very funny. They’ve gotten better; it’s pretty great. Forgiveness, man! Because there are so many things – that’s the thing about friendships – is that people don’t realize that if you don’t forgive your friends, you’re going to end up lonely and we’ve done so many things to each other that could’ve destroyed our friendships and that should’ve destroyed each others friendships but we gave each other the benefit of the doubt and were like, “You’re hilarious, I don’t want to break up with you.”
How do you feel about the book being written about the band then? Because some have been pretty vocal about disliking the idea of This Book is Broken. Do you think it’s a good idea? And would you ever do something like that with Stars or yourself?
Well Stars is in that book, the book is about everyone. I mean I’ve definitely thought about writing a book about my experiences with Stars but it wouldn’t be the same as the story of how everyone came together. It would be more like road stories and the insane things that happen to you when you travel all over the place but…because there’s some good gossip in the Stars camp, believe me! I just might be at the heart of it…but anyway! What do I think of the book? I think it’s a little bit premature; I think that there’s a lot of stuff that’s not in the book that people didn’t foreclose…is that the word I’m looking for? You’re the writer…
Sure!
They didn’t come forth with a lot of information, a lot of the meaty stuff was kept quiet by me and a lot of people in the book and my favourite part of the book is the last thing that Kevin says which is that you can’t ever understand from a book. It’s pretty great from the photographs and it’s awesome to be in a book; it’s kind of cool, kind of a compliment. That’s the thing with Andrew, he’s a very eccentric person and he doesn’t give a shit about any of that stuff; he isn’t a nostalgic person. But I’m not a nostalgic person; I never want to be somewhere in the past. I’m always excited about what’s in the future but it’s a good story and I think it was done well…it sort of feels weird. You kind of look at it and kind of feel like you’re dead or something. I kind of wished that they may have waited a bit longer but that’s the thing that happens with Broken; Broken is this crazy machine that no one has the reins of. But all of a sudden Stuart said, or his brother said, “You know, we should do a book!” and they’re like, “Yeah, yeah that’s a good thing,” and all of a sudden Kev says it’s a good idea but he doesn’t realize how things are actually going to happen. Like he wouldn’t even do an interview for the book till the very last day that Stuart was writing the book! It’s just this kind of chaos that somehow pulls itself together.
Wow. So I hear that you used to hitchhike? What was that about?
I hitchhiked once on New Years Eve. I was 18 and we wanted to go to the bars because you’re old enough to drink in Montreal. It was very strange, first off it was hitchhiking in the winter – not always the best idea – but we had no money and we were very broke and I remember telling my mom, “Oh yeah, a bunch of us are just going to drive…” So then we met on the 401 it was called “thumbs up road trip” and it was me and two females and two guys and they’re very good friends and we’d split up and we didn’t even have cell phones so we were like, “Okay, let’s meet at Licks in Kingston and see how we do. The next day we ended up in Montreal! The best was coming home because we went and it was crazy; crazy Montreal times and when we were coming home we had no money left. We had nothing. I basically hade 75 cents to try and get on the subway because I was like, ‘”I’ve got to be able to get on the subway when I get back to Toronto!” We weren’t actually outside of Quebec yet and I don’t know if you know but Ontario’s pretty close, it’s about an hour before you get into Ontario from Montreal but we weren’t even there yet and this guy pulls over and he’s got his low-riser car, he’s got the dice in the mirror, he’s got this big hippie knit hat, he’s got dreadlocks and was like, “Hey where are you guys going?” and we’re like, “We’re going to Toronto!” and he says, “Me too, I’m going to Spadina station, get in!” We couldn’t believe our luck! He was telling us how he went out with the woman Susan, that Leonard Cohen song was written about and he was like “That woman, Susan, she was my girlfriend, she was a wild woman!” and telling us all these stories and he had weed and was like, “Wanna smoke some weed?” and he bought us all lunch in Kingston so…not that I’m saying hitchhike, because I would never do it now and if I had children, I’d kill them; but we got lucky.
Ha! That’s a good story. Could’ve been in the book…
Ah, see what I mean! Well what are you going to do! Emily said things in the book that I didn’t know she had said until I read the book and I was like, “Why didn’t Stuart ask or say, “Emily said this, do you have any comments?” because we didn’t know what everyone else was saying so it was like what are we all divulging here? How much info are we all giving away? So it felt like Stuart could’ve probed a little bit more. But maybe its better that the secret stays.
Well it’s a surprise too for you too when you read it then.
Yeah but there’s even more surprises. Maybe we’ll tell the real story in another ten years!
Hopefully! So this is you second time playing Harboufront Centre. What is it about the venue that you like?
I think it’s the best. It’s the best thing about Toronto. Toronto’s had such a shitty summer; the weather’s been terrible, the garbage strike’s been on, the ferry strike’s been on so it’s actually kind of the last vestige of something positive going on in the city to me right now. It’s a magical place and to be able to look out at the water and not have the stress of selling tickets and you know, it’s just free! And no Toronto guestlist nightmare and you’re like, “No, its just free!” Anybody can come and it’s great. For Broken it was a bigger deal because they cancelled the island show and blah blah blah, but a lot of people might not know my solo stuff so it’s a chance for people to just wander down to the waterfront, the beautiful waterfront and hear some songs they might not have otherwise heard.
You’re originally from Toronto but you live in Montreal now. Anything you miss here?
My mom’s house! I miss my family and I have lots of really great friends here; I miss having eggs with Kevin and calling my friend Cathy and walking her dog. It’s people more than specific places. And the language barrier is a little bit difficult so its easier here. If I have to find a sink or something I can call Johnny at the Jet Fuel and I know he’ll set me up with the coolest sink maker in the country. But I absolutely love Montreal. Evan and I just bought a house we’re renovating it right now so it’s completely gutted and pretty exciting. Building our little French home!
How did you feel when you first moved there?
I kind of enjoyed not knowing what people were talking about on the street. When I’m on the streetcar here in Toronto, I hear, [imitating the voice of an annoying teenage girl] “Oh my god, that Susan came home and she had this purse and it was so ugly!” and you’re trying to read the newspaper. But when I’m there its like [mumbles fake French] and you can imagine that they’re talking about the most romantic thing ever rather than hearing about someone’s bad date or something. Chris is trying to take French lessons. I used to be fluent when I was a kid so it’s in there somewhere but it’s pretty generous with the language, you know if you’re struggling most people will help you out. Everybody’s trying to work it out. I just want to get a piece of chicken…poulet. poulet sil vous plait!
At least you have a buddy now; Andrew [Whiteman] just moved there!
Ohhh I know! Isn’t that amazing! It’s a coup! I feel like it’s such a coup because I set him up with my girlfriend and now they’re getting married!
Aw, that’s so sweet!
I was like, I’ll introduce him to this girl and then he’ll move here and it’ll be totally amazing and then we’ll have him and then we’ll play bridge until we’re 80 years old.
It’s worked out so far!
Totally.
So on a different note, I just wanted to let you know that you have a very dedicated base of fans…
Well that’s nice!
Definitely! And they’ve kind of created something called the “Church of Amy Millan”.
What would Amy do! Ha! Well that’s very unbelievable; that’s nice to know. I’ll think of that when I’m lonely and depressed.
Well now you know someone’s praying to you every night!
That’s nice! That’s incredible and I don’t take it lightly. I hope I deserve it.
Well you do!
Thank you, Melody!
Okay, second last question: favourite drink?
Well I love wine. If I was to tell you a specific wine…it all depends on what I’m eating because to me, wine isn’t a drink, it’s also food. So if I’m having an Italian meal, if I’m having a big spaghetti or something, I want an Italian wine. If I’m having maybe something like a fusion of French like having a steak or something I can pull out a Californian wine. The best thing about drinking wine is that there’s so much to learn and there’s so much going on in the world of wine and so much to experience. I actually don’t really drink it on the road anymore because it’s a sacred time for me; this is a wonderful sacred moment I’m having with you! Mondovino! If you want to learn about wine, it’s a documentary it’s called Mondovino and it’s about the politics of wine and what’s happening with new world and old world wines. There’s just such a history and it’s an incredible, expensive habit that I’d love to get into but I’m lucky I have a sweetheart who enjoys it with me.
Aw! Okay finally, if you were a singing animal, what would you be?
Well it’s funny, you now when you do that with your friends, like if you were an animal what would you be – singing animal, we never really do but we do play that game. My best friend Sheila Malhurn who I was hitchhiking with that time in Montreal, we were talking about what animals and I was like, “What about me? What animal would I be?” and she looked at me and was like, “well I think a skunk.” and I was like, “A skunk?!” and she said, “Skunks are cute, Amy! There’s nothing wrong with skunks!” So I guess I don’t know…a skunk?
But I was thinking if I can hear any animal sing, the coolest one would be a giraffe! What do you think it would sound like? To take from its heart to its throat, like the sound would travel up that crazy neck? I would love to hear what a giraffe would sound like singing but I don’t think I’m anything like a giraffe; my neck is really short and I don’t really have a chin.
For more Amy Millan,
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/amymillan
If you missed out on her recent show at Harbourfront Centre, be sure to catch her when she returns on October 14 for a show at the Mod Club with Bahamas! Tickets on sale now for $15.00!
Amy Millan: It’s very gentle. There’s a lot of times where you have these very fun epic nights and you go to the bar and you’re out and the music’s pumping and you’re dancing, you’re having such a great time with your friends and then you end up back at somebody’s house for the after party – there’s just kind of this time that’s right before you’re supposed to go to sleep but you kind of want to have one last little party or something – it’s kind of for that time. I just imagine listening to it at three o’clock in the morning would be the best. And also for my friends who just had children who are breastfeeding. So it’s for three o’clock in the morning or breastfeeding!
Ha! You should put that as a warning label on your CDs!
Ha yeah!
So is there any relevance between the first and second record?
Well Dan Whiteley is heavily showcased so he was a big person on my last album. I was very confused between kind of my love of old country music and pop music and so I think what happened was I ended up merging to have it become one. So the gentleness is there but it’s not really country and it’s not really pop. I was really scared when I made my last record because it was my first record and I had never done it but for this record I felt that I was really going to utilize the people around me. So some horn sections and some string sections…it’s a lot more layered, I think.
Is this record as country as the first one?
There’s one straight up country song; it’s the very last song on the album. Kevin Drew was like, “I’m really glad you have it because it’s like, ‘I’m still here.’” It’s still a part of me but it’s hard to explain…it’s gentle.
How has your time with other successful bands such as Broken Social Scene and Stars influenced your solo work, if it has?
Well I think when I made my first record I had written a lot of songs leading up to that and I hadn’t been in a pop band so I had this need to make pop music. I didn’t have that on this record. I didn’t need to make a song like “Headsfull” for instance. I don’t know if “Headsfull” was perfectly fit on that record; it feels kind of loud and like the ruckus but I kind of had anxiety that if I didn’t have a little bit of ruckus something would be missing, and I lost that anxiety for this record because I have two massive pop bands that I’m in, like big bands. And they’re quite loud so that squashed…or I should say quenched? It quenched my thirst for pop music so I was really able to dedicate myself to the softer side of music that I love.
Speaking of Stars, what’s the update on the band? How are you guys?
It’s great! We’re back in the studio, writing. Torquil just had a baby!
Yes, congrats to Torquil!
Yeah, she’s just going to be two months in August! The boys have been back at it; Patty, Chris and Evan have been writing some great music and we actually have four songs recorded and finished. Kind of exciting! The record should be out in the spring.
I also hear that you used to be in a band called Edith’s Mission with Emily Haines?
That was our first band ever! If you’ve seen the book (This Book is Broken), there are some pictures of us playing in the band. Are you trying to get some secret copies of music? She’ll kill me, I can’t! You have to ask Emily, she’s the only one. They’re pretty buried! But it’s interesting because there are songs that we used to play like “Combat Baby”. We actually sang a form of that song together; that was one of the songs that we sang onstage together at the Horseshoe one night but she changed it and it became “Combat Baby” so it’s interesting that a lot of the songs that we had both written had started in Edith’s Mission and they just gradually morphed into different things. There are a lot of things that I hear in Metric that we had done together. We did win a contest; we entered this Q107 thing, we were in the top 10 – so if you’re going to search, that would be the way to go…
I’ll do some digging!
That would be the way to dig!
Do you get asked a lot for a Feist/Emily/Amy all-female trio?
It was such a great idea and I always thought that that would be something that we’d do when we’re older, you know kind of how Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton came together when they were like fifty. I just think we’re all so busy right now that it’s incredible that we even got together for five seconds for that Broken show was an unbelievable lining of stars. But you know, she sings on my record – Leslie Feist – she came and sang on my album. More importantly, I would like for us three to be on the next Broken record and I’ll have a song with the three of us on that album. I think that would be something spectacular.
How’s that going so far? Recording for the next Broken Social Scene record…
Well they just started, right. They just started writing and Kevin’s going to mix down some of the stuff and he’s going to send it to all of us and I think that show that we just had two weeks ago really reignited something for him about the core members of the band and how important it is, our chemistry and how we are together, and I think it definitely made him excited to bring it all together again. It’s just defeating sometimes when everyone’s so busy all the time but I think he was very happy with how he felt after he played that show.
I think everyone was happy!
Yeah it was really special! So hopefully that’s how it’s going to happen. There are euphoric ideas about the perfect way to live your life but it’s difficult sometimes. That’s why I think communes don’t really work. We’re as close to a commune as you’re going to get and I don’t know…the thought of it is so exciting to me that I will be truly disappointed if it doesn’t work. But we’ll see what happens!
So you’ve know Emily Haines and Kevin Drew since high school. What were your first impressions of them and do you still feel the same towards them today?
Well I met Em on the first day of school. I think that’s in the book, I met her on the first day of school going to music class and what was great was that we were both new and we started this high school in grade 11. It’s always weird when you go to a high school and then because people have already developed their friendships but luckily we went to the biggest nerd, geek-freak high school on the planet!
Etobicoke?
Yeah ESA, so it’s not like there was a lack of people being nice to us. It wasn’t some kind of nightmares, Heathers-kind of school or something. When I first met Kevin, he was quite a bit younger than me. You know at that time, when you’re that young, the difference between being in grade nine and grade twelve was pretty expansive so to me, he was a kid. He actually still calls himself ‘the kid’ which is hilarious because he’s like, “The kid needs a spoon!” and I’m like, “Dude, you’re so not a kid anymore but whatever.” But they’re magic people and I remember hearing Em sing for the first time on the second week that we met; we were in the practise rooms and she was playing piano. They’re just very, very, very funny. They’ve gotten better; it’s pretty great. Forgiveness, man! Because there are so many things – that’s the thing about friendships – is that people don’t realize that if you don’t forgive your friends, you’re going to end up lonely and we’ve done so many things to each other that could’ve destroyed our friendships and that should’ve destroyed each others friendships but we gave each other the benefit of the doubt and were like, “You’re hilarious, I don’t want to break up with you.”
How do you feel about the book being written about the band then? Because some have been pretty vocal about disliking the idea of This Book is Broken. Do you think it’s a good idea? And would you ever do something like that with Stars or yourself?
Well Stars is in that book, the book is about everyone. I mean I’ve definitely thought about writing a book about my experiences with Stars but it wouldn’t be the same as the story of how everyone came together. It would be more like road stories and the insane things that happen to you when you travel all over the place but…because there’s some good gossip in the Stars camp, believe me! I just might be at the heart of it…but anyway! What do I think of the book? I think it’s a little bit premature; I think that there’s a lot of stuff that’s not in the book that people didn’t foreclose…is that the word I’m looking for? You’re the writer…
Sure!
They didn’t come forth with a lot of information, a lot of the meaty stuff was kept quiet by me and a lot of people in the book and my favourite part of the book is the last thing that Kevin says which is that you can’t ever understand from a book. It’s pretty great from the photographs and it’s awesome to be in a book; it’s kind of cool, kind of a compliment. That’s the thing with Andrew, he’s a very eccentric person and he doesn’t give a shit about any of that stuff; he isn’t a nostalgic person. But I’m not a nostalgic person; I never want to be somewhere in the past. I’m always excited about what’s in the future but it’s a good story and I think it was done well…it sort of feels weird. You kind of look at it and kind of feel like you’re dead or something. I kind of wished that they may have waited a bit longer but that’s the thing that happens with Broken; Broken is this crazy machine that no one has the reins of. But all of a sudden Stuart said, or his brother said, “You know, we should do a book!” and they’re like, “Yeah, yeah that’s a good thing,” and all of a sudden Kev says it’s a good idea but he doesn’t realize how things are actually going to happen. Like he wouldn’t even do an interview for the book till the very last day that Stuart was writing the book! It’s just this kind of chaos that somehow pulls itself together.
Wow. So I hear that you used to hitchhike? What was that about?
I hitchhiked once on New Years Eve. I was 18 and we wanted to go to the bars because you’re old enough to drink in Montreal. It was very strange, first off it was hitchhiking in the winter – not always the best idea – but we had no money and we were very broke and I remember telling my mom, “Oh yeah, a bunch of us are just going to drive…” So then we met on the 401 it was called “thumbs up road trip” and it was me and two females and two guys and they’re very good friends and we’d split up and we didn’t even have cell phones so we were like, “Okay, let’s meet at Licks in Kingston and see how we do. The next day we ended up in Montreal! The best was coming home because we went and it was crazy; crazy Montreal times and when we were coming home we had no money left. We had nothing. I basically hade 75 cents to try and get on the subway because I was like, ‘”I’ve got to be able to get on the subway when I get back to Toronto!” We weren’t actually outside of Quebec yet and I don’t know if you know but Ontario’s pretty close, it’s about an hour before you get into Ontario from Montreal but we weren’t even there yet and this guy pulls over and he’s got his low-riser car, he’s got the dice in the mirror, he’s got this big hippie knit hat, he’s got dreadlocks and was like, “Hey where are you guys going?” and we’re like, “We’re going to Toronto!” and he says, “Me too, I’m going to Spadina station, get in!” We couldn’t believe our luck! He was telling us how he went out with the woman Susan, that Leonard Cohen song was written about and he was like “That woman, Susan, she was my girlfriend, she was a wild woman!” and telling us all these stories and he had weed and was like, “Wanna smoke some weed?” and he bought us all lunch in Kingston so…not that I’m saying hitchhike, because I would never do it now and if I had children, I’d kill them; but we got lucky.
Ha! That’s a good story. Could’ve been in the book…
Ah, see what I mean! Well what are you going to do! Emily said things in the book that I didn’t know she had said until I read the book and I was like, “Why didn’t Stuart ask or say, “Emily said this, do you have any comments?” because we didn’t know what everyone else was saying so it was like what are we all divulging here? How much info are we all giving away? So it felt like Stuart could’ve probed a little bit more. But maybe its better that the secret stays.
Well it’s a surprise too for you too when you read it then.
Yeah but there’s even more surprises. Maybe we’ll tell the real story in another ten years!
Hopefully! So this is you second time playing Harboufront Centre. What is it about the venue that you like?
I think it’s the best. It’s the best thing about Toronto. Toronto’s had such a shitty summer; the weather’s been terrible, the garbage strike’s been on, the ferry strike’s been on so it’s actually kind of the last vestige of something positive going on in the city to me right now. It’s a magical place and to be able to look out at the water and not have the stress of selling tickets and you know, it’s just free! And no Toronto guestlist nightmare and you’re like, “No, its just free!” Anybody can come and it’s great. For Broken it was a bigger deal because they cancelled the island show and blah blah blah, but a lot of people might not know my solo stuff so it’s a chance for people to just wander down to the waterfront, the beautiful waterfront and hear some songs they might not have otherwise heard.
You’re originally from Toronto but you live in Montreal now. Anything you miss here?
My mom’s house! I miss my family and I have lots of really great friends here; I miss having eggs with Kevin and calling my friend Cathy and walking her dog. It’s people more than specific places. And the language barrier is a little bit difficult so its easier here. If I have to find a sink or something I can call Johnny at the Jet Fuel and I know he’ll set me up with the coolest sink maker in the country. But I absolutely love Montreal. Evan and I just bought a house we’re renovating it right now so it’s completely gutted and pretty exciting. Building our little French home!
How did you feel when you first moved there?
I kind of enjoyed not knowing what people were talking about on the street. When I’m on the streetcar here in Toronto, I hear, [imitating the voice of an annoying teenage girl] “Oh my god, that Susan came home and she had this purse and it was so ugly!” and you’re trying to read the newspaper. But when I’m there its like [mumbles fake French] and you can imagine that they’re talking about the most romantic thing ever rather than hearing about someone’s bad date or something. Chris is trying to take French lessons. I used to be fluent when I was a kid so it’s in there somewhere but it’s pretty generous with the language, you know if you’re struggling most people will help you out. Everybody’s trying to work it out. I just want to get a piece of chicken…poulet. poulet sil vous plait!
At least you have a buddy now; Andrew [Whiteman] just moved there!
Ohhh I know! Isn’t that amazing! It’s a coup! I feel like it’s such a coup because I set him up with my girlfriend and now they’re getting married!
Aw, that’s so sweet!
I was like, I’ll introduce him to this girl and then he’ll move here and it’ll be totally amazing and then we’ll have him and then we’ll play bridge until we’re 80 years old.
It’s worked out so far!
Totally.
So on a different note, I just wanted to let you know that you have a very dedicated base of fans…
Well that’s nice!
Definitely! And they’ve kind of created something called the “Church of Amy Millan”.
What would Amy do! Ha! Well that’s very unbelievable; that’s nice to know. I’ll think of that when I’m lonely and depressed.
Well now you know someone’s praying to you every night!
That’s nice! That’s incredible and I don’t take it lightly. I hope I deserve it.
Well you do!
Thank you, Melody!
Okay, second last question: favourite drink?
Well I love wine. If I was to tell you a specific wine…it all depends on what I’m eating because to me, wine isn’t a drink, it’s also food. So if I’m having an Italian meal, if I’m having a big spaghetti or something, I want an Italian wine. If I’m having maybe something like a fusion of French like having a steak or something I can pull out a Californian wine. The best thing about drinking wine is that there’s so much to learn and there’s so much going on in the world of wine and so much to experience. I actually don’t really drink it on the road anymore because it’s a sacred time for me; this is a wonderful sacred moment I’m having with you! Mondovino! If you want to learn about wine, it’s a documentary it’s called Mondovino and it’s about the politics of wine and what’s happening with new world and old world wines. There’s just such a history and it’s an incredible, expensive habit that I’d love to get into but I’m lucky I have a sweetheart who enjoys it with me.
Aw! Okay finally, if you were a singing animal, what would you be?
Well it’s funny, you now when you do that with your friends, like if you were an animal what would you be – singing animal, we never really do but we do play that game. My best friend Sheila Malhurn who I was hitchhiking with that time in Montreal, we were talking about what animals and I was like, “What about me? What animal would I be?” and she looked at me and was like, “well I think a skunk.” and I was like, “A skunk?!” and she said, “Skunks are cute, Amy! There’s nothing wrong with skunks!” So I guess I don’t know…a skunk?
But I was thinking if I can hear any animal sing, the coolest one would be a giraffe! What do you think it would sound like? To take from its heart to its throat, like the sound would travel up that crazy neck? I would love to hear what a giraffe would sound like singing but I don’t think I’m anything like a giraffe; my neck is really short and I don’t really have a chin.
For more Amy Millan,
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/amymillan
If you missed out on her recent show at Harbourfront Centre, be sure to catch her when she returns on October 14 for a show at the Mod Club with Bahamas! Tickets on sale now for $15.00!
