White Lies: Top 11 Things We Like About Canada

Brilliant UK alternative band White Lies toured Canada last spring as part of a double bill with bonkers cowbell clubbers Friendly Fires. Youngsters Harry McVeigh (mighty voice), Charles Cave (mighty lyricist) and Jack Lawrence-Brown (mighty social) made friends and influenced people.

One of the stops was in Vancouver at the now-defunct Richards on Richards, where I interviewed the overly earnest Charles Cave and then sent the band off to one of my fave Vancouver diners, The Templeton where Jack and Charles later told me they’d utterly stuffed themselves and could barely stand up straight.

The BackstageRider caught up with the lads just after the holidays and asked them for a list…

….because in rock, when you’re on ten on your guitar, where can you go from there? Where? OUR LIST GOES TO ELEVEN.

White Lies Top 11 Things We Like About Canada

1. Maple Syrup
2. Niagara Falls (Canadian side is better)
3. The Stills (first album)
4. Insane Chinese Dancing Man (who was at The Mod Club in Toronto when we DJ’d)
5. Crystal Castles when they take us for Mexican food.
6. Nardwuar
7. Winter Olympics
8. ‘It’s Christmas In Canada’ (South Park Episode)
9. Big lakes and forests
10. McVeigh’s Irish Pub in Toronto
11. Richards On Richards (R.I.P.)

I love McVeigh’s Irish Pub too – I remember wiling away hours with Chris Hooper from the Grapes of Wrath there in the very early 90s, before smuggling him past fans at the backstage door of Massey Hall. Good times.

White Lies begin a tour of Russia and Europe in February if you happen to be in either. Check out their wunnerful, moody nu-wave on Myspace. Album To Lose My Life is out now, and is rather quite excellent. \m/

White Lies photos by Brittney Kwasney.