Fifteen years, four impeccable albums and countless tours later, the band has become a staple in many a record collection. Ahead of their trek to our shores for UNIFY 2017, Beat had a chat with founding member and all round good bloke, George Pettit.
“Australia is a very easy place for us to come to,” says Pettit. “Not getting there – getting there is actually a bit of a bollocks – but once we’re there it’s the easiest place to tour for us,” says Pettit. “We always have the best possible time. I think there’s some sort of weird, brother from another mother scenario between Canadians and Australians.”
Pettit’s words aren’t surprising given the band’s epic touring history, which has included more than a few cheeky Aussie jaunts. “We both have this gigantic country, without a lot of people in it,” he says. “People are friendly and in for a good time. There’s something very similar about coming to Australia for us.”
This is a pretty huge compliment from someone like Pettit, who’s music has taken him to most corners of the planet. “There’s a lot of really wonderful places in the world,” he says. “As far as being wildly different from anything western or English speaking, Japan is a very awe-inspiring place to go to. It’s so different from any other city. But there are lots of cool cities around. We always enjoyed going through Europe and even across Canada. Our country is so big, even getting to the other side is very different.”
Despite Alexisonfire’s enormous following these days, Pettit still remembers the times they were decidedly grimier, creating music in their first rehearsal studio. “It was an insulation factory in St Catharine’s and we had a room in the back of it,” he recalls. “There were all these chemical smells – it was just a dingy back room in this place. But you could make a lot of noise and it didn’t really matter.”
Pettit also has a few tales to tell on the touring side of his band’s history. “We’ve done all sorts. We’ve done a lot of dirty stuff. A lot of sleeping in the van. The first US tours we would do, we’d ask people on stage, ‘If anyone could put us up that’d be great,’ ” he says.
One can only imagine the kind of reaction this would elicit at a show these days. “You’d go to the crowd and see who seems the least crazy, or judge who had the best living arrangement. Then you’d go and stay with them. And we did that for a long time, because you’ve got to save money on the road, you know?”
It’s safe to say however, Alexisonfire’s impending visit to our shores will be nothing short of colossal. Pettit is looking forward to playing all kinds of stuff, from the band’s short but sweet discography. “I get excited for all of them, and now especially,” Pettit says. “There was a period toward the end of the band, we were playing so much, that I could have those sorts of opinions. But now it’s that I play so little with Alexis, that just getting up on stage again feels really good.”
These days Pettit enjoys a decidedly more chilled lifestyle. When he’s not playing in other bands, he can often be found attempting to school his son on the virtues of punk music. “I’ve done my best to shelter him from top 40 pop music,” Pettit says. “But he goes to daycare and he goes to school, so he hears the Frozen soundtrack. For a while though he was doing pretty good, and into stuff like The Velvet Underground and Suicide – all this weird stuff that his dad likes.”
Remembering his own parent’s music taste from when he was young, Pettit hasn’t totally given up hope. “I remember a lot of long car rides with my parents listening to Roy Orbison, and wanting to jump out of a window. Now I love Roy Orbison. I really do, more than Elvis. He’s incredible.”
There’s also a particular Australian musician Pettit looks up to. “I am among many people who find Nick Cave to be one of the greatest artists of our generation.” Joining Cave among Pettit’s favourites are some seriously legit punk and garage bands. “X, Razar, Boys Next Door, The News. I traded some rare Alexisonfire records to a gentlemen online once for a copy of Ball Power by The Coloured Balls. You’ve also got Eddy Current Suppression Ring, My Disco, Royal Headache. Those are the kind of bands that resonate with me the most, but I’m sure I’m forgetting something.”
By Bel Ryan
