The great slighted north
Canadian musicians aren't simply panderers or low-rent imitators of American stars – but getting them over the border is another question altogether.

By Ken Taylor

A FEW MONTHS ago, long after the SARS epidemic had blown through Toronto, the Canadian government, in its effort to both inject some life into the city's suffering hospitality industry and continue its ongoing war against American media domination, found an unlikely shill in Late Night's Conan O'Brien. For the hefty sum of CAD$1,000,000, O'Brien and his crew brought their show to Toronto to boost the city's image and tell a friendly joke or two. But rather than simply taking a joke, Canada became one.

Aside from the fact that the country's image took a weeklong stereotype-filled shit-kicking, the worst part for me wasn't that America might think I'm a beer-drunk hockey player who polices on horseback and lives in an igloo, so much as it was the assumption that I might actually enjoy the music of the Barenaked Ladies. Goofy humo(u)r at the expense of a group of people? Fine. Unsavory barbs thrown in the direction of French Canada by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog? Par for the course. But the choice of showcasing music like BNL and Nickelback was an abomination in the most un-Conan like manner. Remember, this is the only late-night TV show to host Superchunk, Burning Brides, and numerous other independent artists actually deserving of the broad exposure the show offers. This was a chance for the Canadian government – its money, its say, right? – to really capitalize on what its countless culture-building programs were made for, yet it embarrassingly dropped the ball simply to play it safe with Middle America's conservative tastes.

It's typical of Canada, actually. And because I'm Canadian, I can say this. For years we've had such a tough time developing and defining our own cultural identity, often in the hulking shadow of American mass media (that we admittedly lap up), that when America gratifies our existence on a large scale, we wet our pants on the spot. Any publicity is good publicity, eh?

However, there's always been a small but vital coterie of Canadian artists who aren't simply panderers or low-rent imitators of American stars. And because of it, they've garnered much appreciation in the American indie scene. The list is getting pretty long these days with bands like Royal City and Hidden Cameras signing to the U.K.'s Rough Trade, the Weakerthans to Epitaph, and Hot Hot Heat and the Constantines to Seattle tastemaker Sub Pop. In fact, Sub Pop has long been a staunch supporter of Canadian acts. When Halifax, Nova Scotia's indie pop scene exploded in the wake of grunge, the label signed four of the city's bands.

At the same time, not too far away in the sleepy rural town of Mount Uniacke, N.S., a young Rich Terfry, now known to a worldwide legion of fans as Buck 65, was plying his trade in the even smaller Canadian hip-hop scene. For years Terfry, who performs at Cafe du Nord April 8, worked his ass off, touring and self-promoting as much as he could. While it wasn't necessarily easy to get noticed in America, it was even harder at home. "Canada, for a long time, just didn't have the distribution networks," he explains by phone from Montreal, moments before heading down to Austin, Texas's South by Southwest showcase. "Whereas in the U.S., I could call up one of hundreds of independent distributors who sold to niche markets and send them all of my stuff [to sell]." The Bay Area's Anticon was one company that answered his call. Terfry fostered a tight friendship with the label, and his first records with them are undoubtedly a part of Anticon's early success.

Canadian hip-hop seemed to be relatively quick to catch on down south, actually. Montreal's Kid Koala and Sixtoo, who hit Mezzanine as part of Ninja Tune's ZENtertainment Tour USA this Friday, were also able to tap into the already tight network of hip-hop fans, promoters, and artists preaching the gospel. And now with the support of Ninja Tune – the London-based label whose North American offices are in Montreal – they've been able to avoid the stress of performing illegally, often a given for those desperate to penetrate the American market.

To do it legally, "it's pretty ridiculous," Terfry reveals. "You have to apply for the work visa six months in advance, and it's expensive. No bands have their tour schedule set out that far ahead. In my case, if I got booked for a show, I was usually doing it within a month.... I was lucky for a long time because doing hip-hop, you can pack pretty much all of your stuff into one bag and not get noticed." A few years ago, though, his luck ran out and he was nailed at the border without a permit. "It made things a lot harder for every other country I wanted to play, having black marks on my file," he remarks.

Unicorns lead singer Nicholas "Neil" Diamonds is dealing with the horrors of immigration right now. Today he's particularly despondent, and it's obvious I've caught him at a bad time. "I hate America right now," he tells me, referring to the Unicorns' border issues. The fact that at this moment his band is missing scheduled American shows, stranded in their Montreal home, actually overwhelms our conversation to the point where Diamonds just gives up, apologizes, and hands the phone to bandmate Jamie Thompson to finish up. Thompson seems much more hopeful about making their show here on Saturday at Cafe du Nord and keeping their immigration dealings on the up-and-up.

But the rather arbitrary nature of border enforcement yields varying results. It led Destroyer singer-guitarist Dan Bejar – who graces Bottom of the Hill in May – to not bother with touring at all early in his career. Instead, he focused his sights on record sales and word-of-mouth promotion. "It was actually kind of easy," he claims. Years back Brooklyn's tiny Catsup Plate label had been mining the talents of Kelowna, British Columbia, bedroom producers and happened upon an EP of Bejar's. Soon Bejar, a Vancouver native, was releasing Destroyer's second LP, Thief, with the label. And shortly after his next indie release on New York's Misra label, Chapel Hill stalwart Merge picked him up. They released his last two records, including the recent Your Blues, still with minimal tour support. "It never occurred to me to do that before," Bejar says. "The first time I did a real tour was for This Night, my first record on Merge." That Calexico-supporting trip was partially funded by the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records, a grant organization that backs indie-level touring in an attempt to help bands across Canada's vast geography and lessen the damaging exchange rate when venturing south of the border. "You have to document every last thing, and you have to prove that you're operating at a loss, which isn't always easy," he says with a laugh. But the program can make things much more pleasant, ensuring that bands stay in the occasional hotel and eat a healthy meal every once in a while.

"Some [Canadian] bands bust their ass and book their own tours, but I'm not really that keen on touring in the first place, so I wasn't about to do that," Bejar says. "Canada especially seems a bit daunting, doing these massive drives to play to 40 people." He's right. Even with grants, most bands that dare it end up broke, dejected, and hypnotized by the kilometers of endless highway. "We actually got a grant just to tour the [Canadian] East Coast," Steve Lambke of Toronto's Constantines explains. "The cost of touring Canada and the fact that there are almost no places to play is really discouraging. And since we're a bigger country, with a tenth of the population [of America], it's difficult to feel connected," he says. Still, the Cons are committed to getting themselves known in Canada, but it's their constant American touring – they're currently at SXSW and are making their way to S.F. in May – that's really paying off and making their label, Sub Pop, proud.

While America seems a particularly obvious place to start, many Canadian artists disgruntled with the lack of home support end up taking their show to Europe. And if they've got established border issues with America, sometimes it's their only option. Peaches, Gonzales, and even techno artist Richie Hawtin found their first success there, and Terfry, following in the footsteps of his heroes Tom Waits and David Lynch, settled in Paris two years ago to take advantage of the city's strategic placement in the European market.

Not surprisingly, within a year Terfry had a contract with Warner Music Canada, which released his latest, Talkin' Honky Blues. Now he has lawyers to take care of his visas and management that tries to get him on Late Night Toronto specials. "When we heard it was gonna be Barenaked Ladies and Nickelback, we were like, 'It figures ...' There's no one in America that doesn't know about them already. Taking myself out of the equation, I would have loved to see Broken Social Scene or someone like that. Even [Canadian indie gods] the Tragically Hip or Sloan," he says. "So yeah, that was pretty lame."

O Canada
Notes on upcoming Canadian shows in S.F.

Buck 65 plays with DJ Signify April 8, 9 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, S.F. $12. (415) 861-5016.

Constantines play May 8, 9 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, S.F. $12. (415) 861-5016.

Destroyer plays with Mountain Goats May 26, 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $12. (415) 621-4455.

Metric play April 14, 8 p.m., Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell, S.F. $12. (415) 885-0750.

Peaches plays May 14, Fillmore, 1805 Geary, S.F. Call for time and price. (415) 346-6000.

Unicorns play with Beans and the Natural History Sat/27, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m., Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market, S.F. $12. (415) 861-5016.

ZENtertainment Tour USA, with Kid Koala, Amon Tobin, Bonobo, Blockhead, and Sixtoo, plays Fri/26, 10 p.m., Mezzanine, 444 Jessie, S.F. $20. (415) 820-9669.