Music
NXNE Questionnaire: Dany Laj and the Looks on why they're the real deal
by Mark Teo
June 12, 2013
There’s a studious quality to Dany Laj’s music: It’s clear that he and his Montreal trio, The Looks—rounded out by Jeanette Dowling and Lewis Handford—own record collections that put most of ours to shame. And that’s because their music unequivocally recalls U.K. power pop of yesteryear—in Laj, you’ll hear bits of Nick Lowe’s rough-and-tumble melodies, Dr. Feelgood’s razor-sharp energy, and Elvis Costello’s early-game snarl. Indeed, Laj’s 2012 LP, the Boppa Do Down-released Telepathic Voices, recreates that corner of British pub rock so authentically—he doesn’t veer into the harder-edged power pop of The Boys or the jangle of the dBs, for example—that it’s hard to believe that yes, he’s Canadian, and no, he wasn’t born sometime in the 1950s. It’s a wonder, really.
We quizzed Laj on his favourite Toronto memories, his favourite local record finds, and the significance of 799 Queen St. W.
AUX: So, tell us: What’s 2013 been like for the band, and what are your plans for the rest of the year?
Dany Laj: It’s been quite the year so far. We’ve been everywhere in the east coast of Canada touring [and] we’ve met a bunch of new people and made some really great friends. We settled in Montreal in January so we’ve been discovering another amazing city this country has to offer. We’ve played tons of shows and kept our eyes on the yellow line. We’ve taken risks and kept ourselves open to a lot of situations which has helped us more than anything.
We have a full length record in the can and have been shopping it around. We’re hoping to have it out in the fall. As far as the rest of the summer goes, we are going back to the Maritimes and doing a southern Quebec tour with our New York friends The Above…. We are also planning to get down to America and check things out over there. Playing shows all the time is what we do. But who knows, really—maybe we’ll have our own comic book.
That’d be excellent. You’re evidently familiar with the city, if we’re to believe “799 Queen St. W.” So, what are you most excited to do in Toronto?
Well, [NXNE is] the first time in a while that we’re spending more than a night and a day in Toronto this year. It definitely seems like a nice visit/vacation. It’s rare that we get to spend so much time in a city while on the road.
We’re super excited to spend time in record shops, visit our old friends and, funnily enough, grab some of our stuff out of storage. We’re known to be seen at the Magpie, The Cameron House, Squirly’s, Graffiti’s, and The Press Club for drinks. We made reservations at the Bristol Yard to eat so we’ll be there for sure. Lewis often frequents toy shops so he can get gadgets for his son. That kind of thing, y’know.
You shout out 799 Queen St. W., which is the old location of Hits and Misses (RIP), in one of your songs. It was a pretty legendary record store around these parts—did you pick up any particularly memorable finds there?
Jeanette and I are Toronto ex-pats—we both lived in Toronto for years. We lived upstairs of Hits and Misses during its last year of existence in Toronto, so [the song] is a tongue in cheek take of me looking onto Queen from my window, observing what was going on the street that day. I loved living up there, and Pete Genest, who owned the store, became a really good friend of mine; I guess I wanted to make the song a time capsule. As for records, we found a bunch of amazing ones—I mean the selection was one of the best in Canada, if you ask me. Off the top of my head, I could mention a Pumphouse Gang re-issue on Sing Sing Records, and The Meeting of Important People’s self-titled record on Get Hip. There’s a ton of stuff we got from there.
Let’s talk NXNE. Who are you most stoked to see this at the festival?
I’m really excited to see Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet [at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 14 at the Pearson Airport] and The Superfriendz [at 11 p.m. on Friday June 14 at the Great Hall] this year. They were two of my favourite bands of the ’90’s that I never had a chance to see.
Considering you’re travelling from Quebec, can you recommend us any awesome Montreal bands who are playing NXNE?
The Muscadettes, Red Mass, The 222s and The Normals. All great bands, you should try and see as many of those as you can. [It’s] a really great slice of Montreal from the ’70’s punk scene to now.
Having spent so much time here, who are your favourite Toronto bands?
The Nature Boys, Pow Wows, Dodge Fiasco, Rattlesnake Choir, Dani Nash, Sam Cash, Alun Piggins,The BB Guns, Taylor Knox, Pink Wine, Planet Creature and Beams. We are playing with our friends Shbti for their record release party. And we will be playing a matinee with John Borra and Sam Ferrara.
Tell us why your shows are the shows that everyone should see.
We’re the real deal. That’s why.
Can’t argue with that. Do you have anything else to add?
Our hearts go out to the untimely passing of Chris Levoir of The Mark Inside. He was a very close friend of ours, and for us, his death is absolutely devastating. We’re going to rock out extra hard in his memory.
Catch Dany Laj and the Looks at NXNE on the following dates:
