INTERVIEW: Torquil Campbell of Stars

STARS are one of Canada’s biggest musical exports, and have been since the late Nineties when they - and fellow indie idols Broken Social Scene - set the pace for an entire genre. One act has leapt from strength to strength and continues to woo the world’s most revered tastemakers and indie-pop connoisseurs; the other has not.

TORQUIL CAMPBELL, the enigmatic vocalist of Stars, has inside knowledge of both acts and recently spoke with Purple Sneakers about the differences between the two. What else did we talk about? The harsh realities of life on the road and the difficulties of booking an Australian tour (despite being in constant international demand).

You’ve implied on your website that you’ll be heading to Australia after your European tour [wrapping up in December] and I have to ask - can you drop anymore hints about when we should be expecting STARS on our shores?

Oh, we’d absolutely love to come to Australia! The unfortunate thing about it is, though, that it’s so bloody expensive to get there. To make an Australian tour viable you really need Triple J to play your music and put your forward for festival lineups. Then, you need to make the festival lineups in order to have that “start-up”; that advantage.

Obviously your European tour is a big commitment that won’t be finishing up until December - what are your survival tips for a huge touring schedule like that?

Honestly... I wish I knew. I don’t. It used to be, you know, “drink a lot”. Travel, play a show, get drunk and then travel some more. But now that we’re older and we have families, that’s lost its appeal. It’s not really a pursuit that’s high on our list of priorities.

It’s a sad reality of the job that there’s a great number of hours everyday when you’re touring where... Well, you might as well not exist. You just feel like the most insignificant person in the world, and you’re away from your family. And it is a job, you know.

Every job has its great aspects and then its aspects that aren’t so great. For me, when I play a show every night to a crowd, that’s the great part of my job. That’s what makes all the hours that came beforehand worth it - that, and meeting the fans after the show, and talking with them, and hearing how you’ve touched other people’s lives.

You’ve shared and swapped band members on tour with a number of other big name acts including Broken Social Scene - which I believe you’re still a part of - and it seems like you’re constantly collaborating with other acts to make your music. Why is collaboration so important to you?

Well, actually, I’m not really a part of Broken anymore... No one is.

Oh no, don’t say that!

No, honestly... You know, there are a lot of people who don’t want to admit it but we have to face facts and at this point, Broken Social Scene is no more. Broken was broken. There were a lot of things that weren’t done right from the business end of things that ensured that Broken couldn’t function creatively as a group. It wasn’t working, and it wasn’t going to work unless there were some really serious changes to the way the group was operating.

To answer your question, of course collaboration is important to us. I think it can really help you to take a step back and gain a perspective or direction that you maybe didn’t have before - that’s always important.

Do you think it’s important to expand and grow as an act, or is your focus on staying true to the history of who you are as a band and the music you make as a group?

Both are equally important, of course. But I think, when we first started out... We weren’t really good enough to make the kind of pop music that we wanted to make. There’s a certain structure to truly good pop music; it requires a lot of skill and practice and experience. I think now, with more experience, we’re finally good enough to make the kind of ponce-y music we’ve always wanted to make...

Wow, that’s going to look great in print...

From the perspective of an artist who’s really been around the block and risen to the challenges of a dynamic, constantly changing industry, how can artists change their game and ensure that they’re not left behind?

Never be afraid of new concepts, or technologies, or ideas.

With Broken, there were so many people involved, and there was no clear direction. Everyone had their own motivation, their own direction, their own agenda, and none of the business was ever discussed in detail - “who gets what”, “who makes the decisions”, that sort of thing, you know?

And naturally, there are people investing a lot more time; people who are more dedicated than others. It was too messy.

Is STARS run more democratically, then?

I would say so. We tend to operate in a system whereby, you know, we all have an equal stake in the band. We each get a vote in band business, and majority rules. So, you come up with your ideas, you talk to the other band members, you form your alliances and make your votes. If you’re not successful - well, you tried your best. Better luck next time. Two-votes-to-three wins.

‘The North’ has already been called a masterpiece and a lot of people are saying that this is the album they’ve been waiting for from STARS. How does that praise make you feel?

[Chuckling] As flattering as it is to hear that, at a certain point, you need to leave everything else behind - forget the reviews, forget the critics - and just make music for the people who listen to it. For yourself, as well.

I know that in the past, people have written reviews about our work that I knew, in myself, was fantastic, and that the fans knew was fantastic, and they’ve ripped it apart and written it off. On the other hand, there’s been crappy songs - well, maybe not crappy, but songs that I’ve thought, “we could have done that better” - and critics have just praised it.

Words by Cheryl Billman, check out her street at POSSE.COM