When they’re on stage, Peter Van Helvoort and his brother Jeff are two-thirds of Teenage Kicks, a Toronto-based indie band. They’ve been touring the country since mid-March, and they’re making their second-last stop in Ottawa on April 12. The Charlatan‘s Sarah Spitz sat down with lead singer/songwriter Peter to chat about the tour and the band’s upcoming album, Spoils of Youth.
The Charlatan (TC): What can we expect from your upcoming Ottawa show?
Peter Van Helvoot: A much better band after three weeks on the road. I think we’ve finally found our way after going through a lot of lineup changes. I think we’ve finally had enough time to adjust to playing as a three-piece properly. The last time we played in Ottawa was about three weeks after we had to lose a member.
TC: So who’s in the band now?
PVH: Technically just Jeff and I, and then we hire drummers. We’d like to have another drummer in the band but the problem is drummers want to get paid [laughs], and so we’re kind of taking people as we go. I hope that the guy who is coming in now will be a permanent fixture, but no guarantee.
TC: As you refine your sound do you find you have any specific influences?
PVH: I find that nothing necessarily influences the way the songs sound or the way I sing—whatever that is ends up being subconscious. Generally speaking, I get more into what a band stands for and how a person carries themself. So I’m actually quite influenced by a lot of female singers and songwriters especially in the last three or four years. I really like Feist and St. Vincent. My music doesn’t sound anything like that but for some reason I’ve always identified with them, and then I really like people like Neil Young and Eddie Vedder but I don’t think my music really sounds like Neil Young or Pearl Jam—I just really like those people.
TC: We’re going to get a chance to hear what your music sounds like in your new album. What’s the inspiration and the message behind that?
PVH: Getting through. Just trying to make it happen. Not quitting. That’s probably the biggest inspiration was just how much bullshit are you willing to take before you throw in the towel.
TC: That sounds like a good album to listen to during exam time.
PWH: [laughing] That’s a good idea. It’s pretty angry. But we made it out, and we probably made a better record from having been so angry.
TC: What happened when you were recording to make you so angry?
PWH: If something bad could happen it did. Anything from guitars breaking, to having to make the record twice, to losing members, to issues with managers, agents, labels.
I mean, the last day we spent in the studio doing drums and bass we had that flood that happened in Toronto, and it was the first time that Metalworks had ever flooded.
We were in the studio the same time as Drake was, so at night Drake was coming into our studio to listen to mixes and they were asked to make sure they didn’t touch anything. And for some odd reason the last day they went around and fucked up a bunch of knobs—they were just literally flicking shit on and off. So we came in on the morning of the last day we were supposed to be there and they had to recall all of our settings from iPhone pictures. If something funny could happen to us it did.
Despite some setbacks in recording, Teenage Kicks’ new album Spoils of Youth will be released April 29, and you can catch them in Ottawa April 12 at Pressed Café.
