gettin' it done...
(fritz tha cat and birdapres, winnipeg, july 2006)
i've know birdapres (nee dane goulet) for about ten years now. he's from vancouver. we've done shows together. we've drank together. we've gone record shopping together. we've eaten chinese food together. he's crashed on my couch and i've crashed on his. he's been rapping as long as i have, probably longer. and he's good. real good. i used to tell him that he was like the white, canadian equivalent of ice-t. the way he rhymes with authority. the way his voice seems to say "shut up, sit there, and listen, or else," without any attempt at forced aggression. or it used to. i think he's mellowed out a bit. sometimes it still does. i saw him this summer, we played a show together in winnipeg, where he's now living. he told me about his new album. it's done. you should buy it. he's got a video out now too. you should watch it. it's good. really good. this dude is overdue. he's paid enough dues for a whole crew, and he's rolling solo. i asked him a few questions so you could all get to know him a little bit better...
fritz tha cat: what's up bird? how you doing?
birdapres: things are good, and by that i mean they're not bad. not bad at all.
f: cool. so what's been going on?
b: oh, you know, i got this new cd, get it done, out now. getting ready to tour canada. enjoying life to the absolute fullest, basically.
f: so tell me about the album, who worked on it with you, how's it getting out there?
b: it's sort of my unofficial first solo record, at least that wasn't a homemade cassette or cd-r. i had mcenroe produce the majority of it, except two tracks. "harsh words" was done by darko and "we need new shoes" was dj rkv. a gang of my friends came through to rap including evil, moka only, mcenroe, and jaykin and werd.
f: you made a dance song? seriously...
b: yep. i made it cause i thought it would be kind of funny to call out a bunch of moves. i did it in a way that nobody would be able to do them, over a slowish, not super danceable beat. it's a tribute to the steve martin and all that 80s shit really. the label ended up really liking it, so we shot a little video on the cheap. sometimes i just bug out a bit, otherwise things get boring for me quick.
f: you're living in winnipeg now. that's that treating you, compared to your experiences in vancouver and toronto?
b: winnipeg's cool. it's a huge change and feels a little isolated for me, but i definitely have love for this city. i'm not looking forward to the impending winter though, that's gonna be rough.
i grew up in vancouver, so it's always gonna be home for me. it's a shiny city with a really grimy side, hidden just barely out of sight.
as rappers, i think me and my peers influenced a lot of what goes on in vancouver now, and we dodn't always get credit for that. i seem to get more love in other places, but i definitely have a core of fans and supporters that keep me coming back.
my toronto experiences, in terms of living there? times were pretty tough. ichiban noodles for days. carrots and rice. i think that city had a really positive effect on me though. i learned through living there, and i love playing toronto. on a recent visit, the city seemed like it was about to come into it's own as a creative center. and of course, the women are beautiful.
f: speaking of travelling, are you planning on touring this new album? and do you have any good tour stories to share?
b: yep, me and john smith, with dj hunnicutt. as far west as vancouver and points east to be announced. hell on wheels.
all my tour stories are really embarrassing, but i'll share one. we played this really dead show in saskatoon, and the bar wsn't really covering my tab too hard. they felt bad i guess, so they started giving me drinks at employee prices, and pouring me triples, unbeknownst to me. i have a sort of slow metabolism, so when the liquor kicked in i was completely shmammered. the project was a success, as we like to say. i started harassing the few women that were there, and got back up on stage to do my set for a second time. alone. possibly with no music. i had to be carried out, at which point i feel asleep on my homie's front lawn, in the snow. it was really cold, too. eventually my boys carried me inside. like i said, my stories are all embarrasing. and a little boring, come to think of it.
f: how do you think you fit into the rap scene, in canada, and in general?
b: i don't really. don't get me wrong, i'm feeling a lot of music people make, but i don't really have a crew of anything. i'm very different than the other acts on my label, and the other acts i've worked with in the past. i'm not much of a scenester, and i don't go in for that pack mentality. my music reflects that. i can do songs with people an shit, but i definitely stand out as an individual. i make tunes with gangsters, style focused guys, and underground cats. it's my nature. i guess that's where i fit in.
f: i heard you bought a house. are you growing up?
b: that's an unsubstantiated rumour. and no, i've proven time and again that i haven't grown up.
f: is the golden section ever going to come out?
b: when it's good and ready to, it will probably see some sort of limited release. me and moka have talked about it, and in some ways it's better to keep people's imaginations at work. i'll say eventually...
f: we're getting old, man. you think you'll ever quit?
b: bb king is old. the rolling stones are old. to be honest, i think about quitting every day i don't work on music, (and) some days when i do. i'll probably quit pushing to be some kind of careet artist, but this rap shit is in my blood now. that's me, and i can't quit that.
f: any last words and shout-outs?
b: be kind to old people. download my record if you don't buy it, you'll dig it. if you download it, and don't come to the show when i play your town, we're no longer cool. don't ever talk to me again. shouts to my whole unit... me. i roll thick.
okay kids, there you have it. if you want to check out birdapres' stuff, check him out in these internerd locations... his label, peanuts and corn. his myspace page. and if you want to get a sneak preview of this new album, you can download mp3s of "do that dance" and "pace yourself" here.
and bird and i have been talking about doing a birdapres/fritz tha cat collaboration for the longest... so maybe one of these days we'll rock a song called "cats and birds" and it'll be dope.
posted by ryan somers at 4:39 PM
2 comments
