Music

HIGH FIVES: Saint Alvia

by Sam Sutherland

Every week, High Fives asks five bands five themed questions over five days. This week, we’re preparing for the Great Holiday Onslaught by talking about holidays, why the rule / don’t rule, and how great it is to talk about them, all the time, while they’re happening.

The first time I met Ben Rispin, he ended up staying in a hotel room rented by my work, smoking all night (it was a non-smoking room, natch) and somehow finding a way to buy beer on the streets of Montreal at 4 a.m. I immediately could tell that he was the best. Along with his band of 905 punk rock all-stars, Saint Alvia (members of Jersey! Grade! Boys Night Out!), Rispin has, in one band or another, been touring North America for longer than I’ve known how to push-mosh. Saint Alvia’s two full-length records, along with their prodigious singles output, paint a picture of a band steeped in punk history but ready to move on, crushing out late-era Clash-sounding tunes with the sonic experimentation of Big Audio Dynamite. Four years ago, the band organized a weekend-long tour of their hometown, a joke dubbed “Burly Calling”, designed to help raise money for an upcoming tour. The weekend was such a success, they did it the next year. And the next. And now, we’re looking down the barrel of Burly Calling 4, a multi-day, multi-venue festival that sees some of Ontario’s best punk bands descending on Burlington’s downtown core this weekend. Featuring the Lucky Ones, the Reason, Sector Seven, and a reunion from 905 punk favourites Cutoff (along with a slew of other acts), the weekend is an impressive testament to Saint Alvia’s hometown pride and pure punk work ethic.

Do you celebrate any holidays during The Holidays?

Yes I do, I celebrate X-Mas. And I prefer to call it “X-Mas.” Partly because it’s more like X-Men, and partly because the ‘X’ to me is non-denominational.

Do you have any particularly fond childhood memories from this time of year?

I really liked getting toys. Now having nieces and nephews, I only buy toys for them. I want to be the cool uncle. X-Mas is a time to enjoy kids being kids and grown ups getting fatter together.

Do you have any particularly awful childhood memories from this time of year?

Not childhood, but when I was a teenager, somehow the local church in Carlisle, Ontario knew that me and my buddy put on our own shows. They strong-armed us into doing the sound at the nativity scene, an outdoor play they were doing in the parking lot. The minister thought he knew more than us about sound and kept fucking with the levels, in turn we got feed back galore, then all these whacked out Christians started yelling at us because they could not hear the stupid dialogue. I got in an argument with the minister and just about everyone involved. Never been back to a church since, with the exception of weddings and funerals. What a way to celebrate the invention of Santa Claus.

What’s the best holiday film?

It’s a four way tie between Die Hard, Gremlins, Home Alone and Scrooged.

What’s the best food that’s only available this time of year?

Clementines.

Did you cringe when you were sent questions about the holidays?

Big time, especially because I wanted to plug Burly Calling, a website and event everyone should take a look at.