The Paperboys catch fire at last after just 17 years

Friday, May 09, 2008

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past few years, you'll have noticed that something funny has been going on down Canada way.

It's funny-peculiar, however, not funny-ha-ha, as for the first time in this writer's memory, the country known to many as "the bit that's attached to the US" has been making a real impact on the world-music stage.

Arcade Fire, Tegan and Sara and The Dears, to name but three, have been leading the charge and now we can add a new name to the growing list — The Paperboys.

The only problem with that of course, is that the Vancouver-based five-piece have been going for 17 years, so they're not exactly a new band. All of which begs the question — why the hell have people only started noticing them now?

"I really don't know," laughs main man Tom Landa. "We just spent our time building everything from the ground up, and continue to build things up. I guess if you keep touring, keep writing good music and playing to lots of different people then someone, somewhere, is going to notice, right?"

Quite a lot of people are sitting up and taking notice of The Paperboys, actually. While not exactly the sort of band who would suit the sweat-drenched surroundings of an indie gig, the five-piece (featuring flute player Geoffrey Kelly, bassist Brad Gillard, drummer Matt Brain and Kendel Carson on violin) have a more worldy-wise sound that encompasses everything from Irish traditional, folk, roots, bluegrass, Mexican and everything in between.

Having such a varied mix inevitably means that wherever you live on planet earth, there'll be something about The Paperboys that will hook you in, and that couldn't make Tom any happier.

"We try to keep as much variety in our music as possible," he offers. "Everyone in this band has links outside of Canada and I really think the world has become smaller due to people being more open-minded, more willing to travel and having access to the internet.

"I think music fans are much more at ease with the idea of hearing different sounds and maybe that's why we're finding success with what we do."

Born and raised in Mexico to a Canadian mother (with Irish ancestry) and a Mexican father, Tom spent his youth absorbing as many styles of music as he could. He later moved to Canada and in 1991 formed The Paperboys with the sole intention of writing some great songs. It didn't take long for his ambitions to be realised as each of the band's six albums (1995's Late As Usual, 1997's Molinos, 2001's Postcards, 2002's Tenure, 2003's Dilapidated Beauty and current album The Road To Ellenside, which was released two years ago) were nominated for the prestigious Juno Award with Molinos ultimately triumphing in the Roots and Traditional Album of the Year category.

"It's nice to be nominated by your peers, but for me the most important thing is the song," says Tom. "I know we get a lot of press about our roots, folk and Mexican influences, but for me, if there wasn't a good song there when you strip it all back it means nothing. Personally speaking, acts like Van Morrison are just a huge inspiration and he is a genius. But you don't need me to tell you guys in Northern Ireland how good he is, do I?"

Readers will be pleasantly surprised to learn that it's not just our musicians that Tom adores — he also enjoys something of a love affair with Northern Ireland and has visited our shores time and time again. Just to give you an idea of his fondness for NI, not only was he was here in February this year for a Paperboys appearance on Ralph McLean's popular music programme the Blackstaff Sessions on the BBC, this week the band are playing no less than five dates throughout Ulster. We're thinking he must be hooked on the soda bread.

"I love coming over to Northern Ireland," he smiles. "I'm so happy that the music scene where you guys are is opening up to our band and we love flying over as much as possible.

"We've got a really amazing booking agent at the moment called Andy Peters who finds us all these great places to play and he's so great to work with as he does it all because he loves music, not money."

As you might expect with nearly two decades in the business under his belt, Tom has seen more than his fair share of industry sharks. While researching for our interview, this writer had a quick look at his MySpace site where he had posted up a quote by Hunter S Thompson which read: "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

All of this begs the question, does the good-natured singer sometimes get sick of the falseness of the inevitably corporate side of the business?

"I'd say that compared to when I first started out, I'm still 80% enthusiastic," he confesses. "I absolutely love what I do, but you have to be on your guard with some people. Here's an example for you. In the early days I would have done anything to play a gig. It didn't matter if we had to travel all day, play in a place with only three people and then sleep on someone's floor, I would do it. These days I don't agree to those sort of shows and thankfully, I don't have to.

"Touring can also be a double-edged sword," he continues. "I love visiting new places and playing for people, but the travelling and hanging around in airports can suck. There are some days I just wish I could wake up in my own bed and drink my own juice from my own fridge instead of going down to another hotel lobby to take someone else's.

"I think if I could go home for a day and then get back in the van that'd be perfect."

If things continue to grow for the Paperboys, he'll have to kiss his home life goodbye for the foreseeable future, however, as there's that small matter of a new record, tour and one last visit to Ulster on the cards before 2008 draws to a close.

"I've got most of the music for the new record already written," concludes Tom. "Hopefully we'll get to make it soon and this time I want to bring in a producer. In the past, I used to do it all myself, so a fresh pair of ears will help. After that, we'll continue on the road and of course we'll come back to Northern Ireland again if you'll have us."

The Paperboys play the Black Box in Belfast this Sunday, 3pm, as part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. Tickets 90246609/ www.cqaf.com. The band also play Londonderry on May 14, Omagh on May 15, Rathfriland on May 16 and the Ulster American Folk Park on May 18. Box office details on www.myspace.com/thepaperboys .