An explosive argument almost ended Canada’s You Say Party! We Say Die! in the streets of Berlin. Under clearer weather than their 2007 European tour, keyboardist Krista Loewen spoke with me outside her Vancouver home. Excited about a U.S tour next March for their new album XXXX. I found the post-punk band dedicated to staying together.
Formed in 2004, You Say Party! We Say Die! features lead singer Becky Ninkovic, keyboardist Krista Loewen, bassist Steven O’Shea, guitarist Derek Adam and drummer Devin Clifford. Hell-bent on carrying their music from the Vancouver suburb of Abbotsford to the rest of the world, the band tours relentlessly. They racked up their ninth Canadian tour last October. Add a couple tours of Europe, and one of Asia, and you find a band willing to push themselves. However, You Say Party! We Say Die! have notoriously driven themselves into trouble in the past.
The dark seeds that grew into XXXX planted themselves while the band was promoting their second LP Lose All Time. Performing four continuous months, first in Canada then Europe during the fall/winter of 2007, the frequently bespeckled Loewen recalls, “The album Lose All Time was representative of that time. We were all feeling lost touring. We didn’t even know what time it was.”
In charge of the group’s expenses, she found the tour stress growing from an extreme lack of money. The European trip had started well, traveling with U.K. friends Los Campesinos!. The five members of You Say Party! We Say Die! squeezed into one hotel room and drove a station wagon. As the months lurched on, anxiety rose from not much sleep and too much alcohol and caffeine. Ninkovic’s voice deteriorated to a mere whisper during interviews. Loewen remembers, “ It’s not just when you spend four months scraping by. When no one’s really looking after their needs it’s really wearing down on you.”
Then things exploded. A dispute between group members following their Berlin concert ended with Ninkovic charging at drummer Clifford. After two huge Germans dragged them out of the club, the band almost split up. Their manager convinced them to finish the last month of tour dates. No Technicolor sunbeams and smiles, but they felt a connection between each other.
“That tour and the post tour was a huge turning point for us. We’ve come through that and become a family more than anything else. We’ve been good friends for a very long time. Devin and Derek have known each other since birth. We’re all more like brothers and sisters now. We can talk about stuff and really work through things because we all that we love each other. We all want to keep doing this and stay together. We’re committed to it,“ said Loewen.
.jpg?t=20120209092158)
Article comments