PI - The main focus of my interview is songwriting. So are there songs you are writing now that would not have come out in Moxy Fruvous?

G - Excellent question. It's perhaps ironic that Moxy Fruvous prides itself on being a band of 4 songwriters; democratic, very consensual; operate as a collective, and it's almost been the bain of our career that we've been as eclectic as we have, in the sense that you know we have never been able to be pigeonholed, are we a rock band; are we a jazz band…and that comes from a place of ostensibly allowing ourselves creative freedom, but the truth of the matter is there are certain songs for a variety of reasons, I would never be able to bring to the band. I am learning that more now in retrospective, now that I am doing the solo thing, than I would necessary than I would truly recognize doing a Fruvous record, in the sense that, in two ways: in one way, you're operating in a band and if you do have a bunch of writers, I mean, I'm coming from a group that is very much not one guy directs everything, you know, creatively at least, which would be a different experience. If you're in a group like mine, where it's a musical give and take, a negotiation at times, a creative negotiation, I think there's a certain degree of…this is a strange way to put it maybe, but there's a certain degree of self censorship that happens within the creative process, on the basis of what one anticipates the other guys are going to say, so you kind of go, "I'd really like to go from the major to the minor here, which I do in so many of my songs, like the Beatles thing, but I know Murry's going to call me on it, so I'm not going to do that. I mean that's literally the way… or I've got this song about how there's more cutbacks, but I know this guy in the band is sick of me writing these political songs. That kind of thing. So that's the one way.

I think the second way, though, is I write very personal songs. I write from a very personal perspective. I always have, but I'm finding now that there is a creative voice in my solo incarnation for songs that certain couldn't bring to Fruvous. I mean that just I wouldn't feel as comfortable bringing.

P - Could you give an example of one of those songs?

G - Yeah. I can give you an example of two of those songs. Have you got my little six-song teaser? Because, it's Lousy Boy, for example. It's a very personal song about me and my gender issues, or whatever, you know. It's not that the Fruvous guys would necessarily say "You can't play that song. Are you kidding?" But it's more just the notion of me singing that with the three guys on stage…There's almost a certain detachment that one has to have when you're presenting yourselves as a collective, you know? It doesn't mean you don't sing about important things. It doesn't mean that it can't be personal, but in many ways you're speaking as "we." Even in some of our songs it will be "we" or we'll use an example. Whereas a song like that, Lousy Boy, it's very much this is Gian singing about Gian. This isn't transferable song in the same way as another woman singing certain Dar William songs or Ani DeFranco songs would song disingenuous somehow because they are so personal to that person. So I think that's an example.

P - It's interesting that you bring up Lousy Boy because it is one of my favorites on the disk and many of our friends whom we played it for, it's one our favorites, in fact, my friend Nate, when he heard you up at Falcon Ridge, said, Paul, you've got to hear this Gian song, Lousy Boy, and when I did, I related to it very strongly, mainly because of my gender issues, and today to this day, I feel I tred between masculine and feminine lines. And now you've already answered the question I was going to ask you, is it autobiographical in any way.

G - Entirely. I mean, my sister did put me in a dress. She did have a friend named Leslie. That's just me speaking the truth. It's almost; one of the things I have to get used to is a whole new level of revealing myself. I mean, a lot of songwriters talk about this. All of these new songs, The Trudeau one, is a very personal song. It's about my dad, and our immigrant background.

P - And I caught this line in there; you said that you respected him that he kept the ______________

G - Trudeau was at the forefront of rights of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, which is very important and that was just another reason.

P - I did not know that about him.

G - As Justice Minister he did that, and he opened the doors to mass immigration.

P - Some more songwriting, just generally, do you have any general regimen of songwriting that you say, I'm going to set aside this time to write; or are you just going to wait for inspiration?

G - I always feel like I don't employ enough of my time for songwriting.

P - You're wearing a lot of hats.

G - I am wearing a lot of hats, and yet, I am not convinced that if I were actually sitting there with a guitar ten hours a day, or a piano, that I would write more. It seems to me that my writing is very reactive; it's very –not reactionary—but reactive and very like it's really a cathartic process for me, so again, my songs are like in some way, a codependent relationship. This is me getting peppered sprayed at Quebec City. That's where I find my expression. Usually in crisis, usually something dark something…I have a song I don't really know what the title is yet, but it's called September 11th that I will be playing tonight.

P - I've heard you really_________

G - Yes, again, it was more out of a compulsion to express myself that way. It comes when it comes.

P - Well since you mentioned the cathartic thing, I will ask this question, don't take offense, but I just wonder that since you say a lot of your songs come out of this cathartic need, if you're writing out of catharsis, does it really matter if anyone the hears the song?

G - Right. No, I don't think it matters if anyone hears the song. But, well, actually, let me rephrase that. It's a good question. I think part of the cathartic process is writing it for others to hear it. Because my songs ultimately seem to have a message that; I mean the hope with all this stuff, like as a political activist for example, is that I somehow empower other people. So I am out here on this tour, and I am speaking..that September 11th song for example—in some ways it might be easier for me not to be playing that song. It's a very personal song, it's a cathartic song, but it's also a song that has a pretty direct political message, which I also speak about before it, which is, "This was a horrific sad event in our lives, and let's not seek retribution by dropping bombs." That's a pretty contentious thing to say in this country, you know right now. But, I draw my power from people like Michael Moore, who somehow has the courage the next day, just to get up and say, "I love this country, and I believe in America. I believe in the people of this country, and I think the bombing of Afghanistan is fucking stupid." He does it like that in four lines. I read that the next day, and I am so empowered, I have said "Wow! It's okay to say that? You can say that?" And I feel that way about songwriters. I feel that way about Billy Bragg singing about Thatcher, or whatever. And it almost, it ultimately makes you go "Wow, It's okay. I can hold those opinions." So if I can do that for anyone else—If Lousy Boy can make some kid out there who is having issues about not being macho enough go "Hey, he gets to play in front of a bunch of people, and he's not that macho…" then I win.

P - let's talk about politics now. A lot of your songs are political. How do you walk that fine line between artistic and being preachy in a political kind of song?

G - Well I think that Fruvous has actually been a good training ground for not proselytizing, because we always had this agenda of thinking that our message would be stronger if we don't always hit people over the head with it. So we have a song, like the Rush Limbaugh song for example. So instead of singing "This man is dangerous; he really wrong; you've got to stay away from him; don't listen to him; boycott him a lot!" We sing this song about how he's the greatest man in America. That's so absurd, and goes to such a degree that the audience ultimately gets it. That we think the guy is a jackass, right? So you know, I try and walk the line. At the same time, I think that there is times when things should be called what they are. When I need to have the courage to stand up and say," This is what I am singing," and hopefully do it in an engaging enough lyrical and musical way—hope that people enjoy the music enough—that I don't just sound like the old union organizer, singing some song that people are saying "Oh God, when's he going to be done?" Yeah, the political guy cliché. But again, that's been another line for me to cross in my solo incarnation because people are coming to the shows and in some places a little surprised that the show is going to be quite political. Like Rochester for example, where Moxy Fruvous has a really big following, Moxy Fruvous has a really big following because we get played on an alternative rock radio station that all the college kids listen to . So they know us because they've heard three hit songs on the radio station. They don't know us…there is a kind of development in that fan base as where they have seen us at the folk festival singing __________ which isn't to say that all of them don't care about the politics; it just means to say that a couple of nights ago I was cognizant of the fact that there were people in the audience going "So is this what he's going to be talking to us and stuff?" But that's what I do and that's who I am, and I have the liberty to do that more again outside of the concerns of worrying about what the other band members thinking of me…saying something that they might not be totally ____P - Do you think that you will still be writing humorous songs?

G - I want to be. I am having trouble with that. I'm not in trouble with that; I'm just not trying to do it right now. But I'd like to be able to continue to work in satire. I mean some people think Lousy Boy is funny. Just like, you know, there's a line in a song I wrote with Dar Williams called "We Left it All to You." It's about the whole Starbucks thing. I will play it tonight. There's a line in it that goes, there's some cheeky lines like –when you write a song—like "Turn the Bookstore into a Bookstore Restaurant." You have stuff like that; I don't mind working that it. I don't want to be some morbid overly serious…

P - What about—Fruvous was pretty famous for writing good humorous songs, so there's a bulk of them; maybe half… You always try to write at least one humorous song--Everybody wants to do that little bit of released tension to add something to your set; not all dark songs. Do you have any tips or tricks for writing a good humorous song?

G - Yeah, well we still do it. We're writing songs for—we're currently doing two projects. One for kind of a Discovery Channel type science film An educational science film, and we're writing funny songs about genetics. It's a good question. Let me see if I can synthesize. I would say one of the things every once in a while absolute absurdity. First of all, language is really important, like funny words. You know, the name of a funny cheese. Sometimes you just say a word, or use the word "zeitgeist" if you can, when you want to describe a political gem, say "zeitgeist." And outlandish characters. The more fantastical you can get is usually the better. Something that will seem absolutely stupid. Like currently we've been writing this thing, on a totally separate project, musical theatre, like a musical. And Mike and I came up with the original idea, and we've all contributed some songs to, about fish. A run away mackerel. I mean, he's like a fish. He's like Nyeahh…He wants to be human and he is always getting pissed off. He walks into a bar and he walks into a copy place. He's a fedora on, like he's a fish, a mackerel. He walked up to counter and he's like,[uses falsetto voice] nyaahhh, give me a coffee. The person says, "Yes Sir, would you like a…" and then sees that he's a fish, and he's like "What the fuck are you looking at? You've never seen a mackerel before?" And then he's got..

P - Is this going to be a film project?

G - No this is potentially for a musical, but he's got this Uncle Turnpike who is like…he'd like to turn the fish again, he's like "One way to get up the corporate ladder and societies…cod stocks in the Indian Ocean…he turns against his own fish…it's a very melodramatic story and he sees his ex-girlfriend at one point [INAUDIBLE] and he realized the folly of what he's done and he realizes he's become a human in the negative sense. But any way, my whole point is it's so fantastical, and that's the point. Get up and start singing about a fish wearing a fedora who talks and all of a sudden people are like, "This guy is zany; I like this."

P - The other thing our songwriters are always looking for is working on their melody writing. Where do you find your melody inspiration? Usually are you a word guy first?

G - I am totally a melody guy. I really don't enjoy writing lyrics. It's very hard for me. And melodies just come out my ______I have always got a melody. I don't know why. I don't know if it is why, some Beatles, a Stevie Wonder thing, I am just overcome with melodies. But I never have any issues with melody. Lyrics are more difficult for me. Almost every song I've ever written, I've written the melody first and let the lyrics come.

P - Usually a capella, or at an instrument?

G - I have a melody in my head and I put chords to it.

P - One of the problems I have, and I am similar to you, I have those pop influences, and I have a steel trap mind too for melodies, and I'll start writing a melody and then I'll realize, Oh No! That's In My Life from the Beatles, or it's this or that. Do you come up past that?G - Yeah. I would soldier through. Because…[they're sound checking without me].

P - We're almost through.

G - What I mean is, I think the most dangerous thing, what you've just described, and I've been there too, is to start to edit or become self conscious at the moment of creation. It's so incredibly important to let it happen, wherever it goes. Review it later and decide that it sounds too much like IN My Life. It's been a big challenge for me because all my life, it was more because I came out of alternative music; I always liked the Beatles, but I also liked this dark stuff that I listened to when I was a teenager. OR even like Tom Waits, like cool guys you know? So I always felt like when I was writing for many years I would go to a pretty major chord and I'd be like, "I can't do that. That's not really cool; I've got to something…" It was only the last two or three years I Will Hold On, Sad Girl Pride, these songs where I kind of went, "You know what? It's okay to have a pretty melody. Piss off!" It's very simple. There's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't have to be cheesy.

P - Did you know you'd be editing as you go along?

G - Sometimes I decided that a melody is…that's the other thing—there's so many little—it's like a thruway.. I really enjoy manipulating these melodies.

P - I won't keep you any longer. Give me five good reasons I should move to Canada.

G - You want serious reasons? OR you want funny reasons?

P - Both.

G - Well, water. Americans have been trying to steal our water for a long time.

Healthcare. Quebec. A really cool place. Trying to avoid my own Canadian Clichés. I was going to say "good hockey" but I will say, "Good Beer." If you like good beer, this country can be a real drag to tour in. You're country I'm talking about. And really good donut shops. There's a real proliferation of donuts. You guys don't really have the donut shops we have.

P - Just a quick closer. Do you have any advice to impart to our songwriters in our group?