Nova

Greg MacPherson is no stranger to the Canadian music world. Based out on Winnipeg, this singer-songwriter has been steadily growing his fan base for the last decade with six solo albums on some of Canada’s most well respected indie labels such as G7 Welcoming Committee and Smallman Records.

Always dedicated to supporting the local scene, and community as a whole, MacPherson is a force of positivity, working towards making the world a generally better place – be it through music or any other type of community development. Having just started a brand new record label called Distintegration Records, we exchanged emails with MacPherson as he wrapped up his first tour of Western Canada with his brand new band Nova in support of their album Midnight.

Read on to find out more about Nova, Disintegration Records and some Winnipeg musical tidbits.

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You just finished a short Western Canadian tour – how did it go?

It was excellent. Our first tour as a band and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

How have the recent touring dates compared to Greg’s solo dates in the same cities?

Smaller shows, different music, smaller venues for the most part and some longtime ‘Greg MacPherson band listeners’ were probably a little surprised at the aesthetic shift. People seemed to like it.

One bio for Nova that I read dropped Gang of Four and Low as musical touchstones. Do you agree with the comparisons? Do you feel that fans of either of them will be drawn to Nova?

Comparisons are weird. Gang of Four is one of the most interesting and innovative bands of all time, I don’t think we sound like them beyond maybe having a similar loyalty to heavy rhythms and angular guitars… We certainly are fans of music that deconstructs status quo notions of what rock music should sound like but we’d prefer our own work be considered at face value. I know comparisons help people frame music that is new to them but it can be a slippery slope toward name-dropping, which feels more like exploiting the hard work of other artists than offering context.

Greg has established himself as a successful solo artist in Canada, touring hard with a backing band from coast to coast. Is touring with two females different?

I’d say that the gender of the musicians involved in a music project should make no difference to the outcome. Nova is a very different project than the Greg MacPherson band but touring is touring.

When I have interviewed female artists in the past they have mentioned difficulties touring with males, such as flatulence in a small van. Are there any unexpected difficulties?

As long as people are respectful and compassionate with one another, differences of any kind can be addressed. Nova works because we’re all good people, friends first and we’re as committed to building strong, healthy relationships with one another as we are to the art of making and performing music.

How has advance reactions to the album been?

People seem to like it. Some folks have stiff, conservative ideas of what music should sound like and what musicians should look like, more out of an urge for conformity than any personal sense of aesthetic or possibility. I generally find that tendency to be disappointing but not unexpected.

Were there a lot of returning fans or does the side project bring in a larger portion of new listeners?

No numbers have been crunched at this point so it’s hard to say… though, to tell you the truth, we’re in this to make music and not as a business so we could care less about where listeners come from.

The song West End, which appeared on Greg’s solo record Mr. Invitation, was originally written as a Nova song – when was it transferred over to the solo project?

Nova was more of an experiment back then and we hadn’t considered the possibility of actually making a record together so the thinking was, put West End on Mr. Invitation or it may never see the light of day.

Do songs often switch between the two?

There have been songs that start out with Nova and end up elsewhere or vice versa. Just the natural consequence of one songwriter being in a few different projects.

Even though I am based out of Edmonton, I have long considered Winnipeg to be the musical mecca of Canada, with so many amazing bands per capita and such a diverse yet close knit scene. Do you feel the same way?

It’s funny, we’re all very proud of the musical legacy of Winnipeg and of our vibrant artistic community but it’s been a tough year for our city. Many live-music venues have closed and some good people have left town… a sign of the times I suppose. Still Winnipeg is a special place, I’m sure we’ll be alright.

Is the music community as close knit as it appears from the outside?

I’m still not sure how it appears from the outside… it’s definitely a small town and there’s probably 2 degrees of separation, pretty tight I guess. 

What is it that makes Winnipeg the thriving music mecca that it is?

I think this is a city founded on conflict and slow change. The seasons are slow, the rivers are slow, they flood in the spring, the prairies are expansive and harsh. The legacy of colonization is present and you can feel it on every street in town. We have a strange and beautiful city that makes being creative necessary and helpful, if not frustrating.

Are there any up and coming Winnipeg bands that people need to check out?

Rob Crooks, Pip Skid, Jared Ozuk, Right Through

Like many, I first heard Greg’s music through following Propagandhi and G7WC, both of which were firmly rooted in left wing politics. Like John K Samson’s post-Prop work, Greg’s music has tended to focus more on personal rather than political. What led you in that direction?

Chris Hannah (Propagandhi) is a great spokesperson who studies current issues at an academic level and can react in real-time to debate-style questioning without missing a beat. I can’t speak for JKS, but I am not gifted in that way. I try in my life to tread lightly, to push for positive change, I’m deeply involved in community development here in Winnipeg’s inner-city and I’m considerate of my privilege as an educated white male in this world of inequality. I also recognize that music is inherently positive and that the beauty of art can have as much power to inspire or soften hearts as well articulated political statements… sometimes more so.

Are you politically active off stage or more focused on your art?

Day to day? Molly is on every non-profit board in the city and works as a policy analyst for Manitoba Health, Jackie runs the West Central Women’s Resource Centre and I work for a community development organization. 

Can you tell us a bit about Disintegration Records ?

What kind of crazy person starts a record label in this day and age? Cam Loeppky, a well known local recording engineer, and I thought it would be good to help raise the profile of some of our favourite local artists by formalizing our little music community under the auspices of a record label. So far so good. Expensive and sometimes frustrating but good.

I have literally had dreams about eating at Mondragon. Do you ever slip down there to have a bite? Mmmm

Mondragon is a local worker’s owned and run co-op restaurant housed in a building at 91 Albert St called the Autonomous Zone. This is a very special place that I visit as often as time allows.