Mr. Something Something make cover of Echo Mag.

[Schwa.]

A Little Something Something to Move You

By Denise De La Franier

With horn riffs as catchy as a fall cold, beats as primal as your

pulse, and a message that speaks to the good in all of us, Mr.

Something Something has caused quite a stir of late. And it’s time

to put on your dancing pants, folks, ‘cause they’re coming to

town.

Mr. Something Something is Johan Ivar, Todd Porter, Liam

Smith, John MacLean, Paul MacDougall, and Larry Graves. They’re

playing tonight – yes, TONIGHT!–at Vinyl, with the very digable,

highly groovable What The Thunder Said warming the floor.

The Somethings have played over 200 shows, sharing the

stage with celebrated artists including Sarah Harmer, Joel Plaskett,

and The Trews. They’re racking up accolades like it’s goin’ out of

style, and are on par with any other Afrobeat outfit on the scene

today.

Founding members and childhood friends Graves and

MacLean were inspired by Fela Kuti, the visionary largely

responsible for the Afrobeat sound, and felt that the dance

rhythms of Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, and Ghana were “the most

natural gathering place for elements that would ultimately make

up the Mr. Something Something sound.â€

“Obviously, Fela Kuti's Afrobeat stylings have had a large

influence on our music,†says Graves, “but what many people

don't realize is that before John or I had even really checked out

Fela's greatness, we had been listening to all sorts of traditional

West African music.â€

After 20 years of playing and traveling, the two focused in

on expanding the boundaries of the genre, adding western

instruments and improvisation. The vocals also extend the music

beyond the limits of Afrobeat, with the lyrics sung by the

electrifying Ivar urging the message: “fight for change, fight for

inclusiveness, fight for compassion, fight for self-empowerment,

fight for intelligence and ecstatic release, but don’t forget the joy

of the life you’re fighting for.â€

While pushing the boundaries of the Afrobeat sound, the

band is also gaining a reputation for pushing the boundaries of

the live performance. They like to travel through the audience

Pied-Piper style, getting the crowd worked up for the dynamic

onstage shebang. And sometimes it’s the crowd, not the band,

which blurs the boundaries.

“At our first show in Vancouver,†Ivar recollects, “this little

guy wearing a bicycle helmet climbed up on stage and pointed his

finger at our bass player Liam. He just stood there for the longest

time with a strange grin on his face, pointing and staring at Liam.

One time, a woman in a Mexican wrestling mask jumped up on

stage and tackled our bari sax player. She probably didn't know

that this rarely makes a good impression on guys who have ten

thousand dollar horns sitting on stage. “

“A man in Winnipeg,†adds Graves, “who we thought was a

sound tech–– by his attire and the fact that we had been having

sound problems–– appeared on stage, managed to get in front of

the lead vocal mic and began singing at the very point where the

verse would usually begin for our song ‘The Powernarcotic’. He

had never heard us before. He was asked to leave the stage. “

“Then, of course, there are the injuries,†laughs Ivar, “like

earlier this year when I tore a ligament in my knee while jumping

around and singing…on the opening night of a two-week tour. I

collapsed like a sack of potatoes in front of a packed house in

Ottawa. I think people thought it was part of some crazy antics

but I had to hobble around like an old man for the rest of the

tour.â€

While the band’s stage show leaves a lasting impression,

their recordings expose their audience to an equally engaging

musical experience. Mr. Something Something’s 2004 self-titled

debut was a revelation for critics, listeners and dancers alike,

delivering “a little something for the body and a little something for the mind.†The all-important follow-up, “The Edgeâ€, with its

solid, seasoned sound, is shaping up to have a comparable

impact. This album, says Graves, “has more of everything that was

good about the first one.â€

“It's more mature and more lyric-driven, and I think it offers

more surprises and diversity in terms of the sonic goodness,â€

elaborates Ivar. “The first album is a snapshot of us as a very

young band. This is just another snapshot of us as individuals

and as a band, but over a year and more than a hundred shows

later.â€

Released in early October, the production of “The Edgeâ€

ventured outside the box, quite literally, as portions of it were

recorded outdoors.

“The neighbours must have thought we were crazy, setting

up mics and banging on scrapmetal in the back yard,†laughs Ivar.

“John almost worked himself to death recording and mixing the

album under extreme pressure. I don't think he was horizontal for

about a month but fortunately he has developed the skill to fall

asleep shaving or waiting for the bus.â€

Sleep-shaving aside, snapping the photos for the sleeve art

also put the band members in a precarious situation. “We wore

these boxes on our heads for the photo shoot and created quite a

scene in downtown Toronto. It was dramatic at times; the six of

us were standing on a crosswalk in Chinatown [unable] to see a

thing when poor Toddy, who wouldn't hurt a fly, got punched

right in the gut by a 4 foot tall old lady! And the craziest part is

that our videographer caught the whole assault on film.â€

“In our live performances,†continues Ivar, “it's our ambition

to break down what in theatre is known as ‘the fourth wall’ and

blur the line between performer and audience. The cover art is,

among other things, an extension of that ambition and an

interpretation of Mr. Something Something as ‘Mr. Anybody’. So, instead of doing our best to look good, we took a bunch

of headshots, some of them pretty silly, blew them up to a natural

size and made four-sided masks with four different ‘faces’.

“The depth created in the cover art by photographs of

photographs of poorly disguised men is meant to raise questions.

Hopefully the album art reflects the mix of humour and sincerity

which characterizes the live show.â€

And in the end, it’s the live show–– the catharsis of allowing

the body to move, the power of togetherness, and the hope that

somehow, the world can be made better - that will make you a

Something fan for life.

“I've had people come up to me after shows all sweaty and

glowing after hours of dancing, using the word 'healing' to

describe what they've just been through,†says Ivar. “This kind of

experience, this synergy is so powerful that it can change our

values so that our priorities shift towards self-discovery, healing

and creativity, and move away from the meaningless and wasteful

consumption of goods that is slowly but surely making human life

on this planet impossible.â€

The band believes that by reaching out to their audience

during performances––by fuelling a positive and invigorating

experience––the good vibes and messages of social

consciousness will “bleed into other aspects of their lives.â€

According to Graves, “change through positivism and solutions

instead of politics and condemnation†is what it’s all about.

“Music is social change when we come together around

music that inspires us to create a space where things are allowed

to change, where we feel safe enough to explore and express

ourselves.â€

[Deeps]

Congrats to Mr SS.

Last Thursday's show was a great success with 200 people in attendance.

Fun times.

Deeps

[Jay Funk Dawg]

good work doods

[shainhouse]

fantastic work as well Denise! What a wonderful writer she is! Good band too to write about.