Chewing Bubblegum and Kicking Ass: An Interview With The Bicycles

Posted in Canadian Content, Current Faves, Interviews, Music, The Summer |

Popshifter: Do you ever find yourselves inspired by anything non-life-related? Movies?

Andrew Scott: Oh, movies for sure.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Matt Beckett: You know that movie The Umbrellas of Cherbourg? We got really into that movie and the director [Jacques Demy], who made a bunch of other movies that are awesome.

Andrew Scott: A girl at my work today was singing some Bob Fosse. . . garbage. And I told her to see that movie. I thought I hated musicals until I saw that movie.

Matt Beckett: Demy’s movies are so real.

Andrew Scott: It’s not strictly musically reflective, but. . .

Drew Smith: One song is named after a character in a Jacques Demy movie.

Andrew Scott: . . . The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has a pretty bummer ending. It was just sort of a realization—not in the strictest sense but sort of a parallel—our first album was super-poppy and had sort of a happy ending, so to speak. But that movie taught us that we don’t have to have a happy ending.

Drew Smith: Well, it’s not that sad of a record.

Andrew Scott: That’s what I mean about a roller-coaster, though. Depending on how we sequence the songs it could very well have a happy ending.

Drew Smith: Or it could go down and down and down. . .

Andrew Scott: (laughs) Or we could start high and get worse.

Matt Beckett: Well, there’s a whimsy to it that appeals to us. Like a romantic. . . but not a romantic comedy.

Dana Snell: Comedic romance.

Matt Beckett: Even if it’s a bummer—and I think that’s one of the lessons you learn—even if it’s a bummer, it’s still a joy to be in love and to watch people in love.

Andrew Scott: We talked early on in the process about how this is a very personal pronoun-y record.

Drew Smith: We rhymed the word “I” a lot.

Dana Snell: (laughs) Frequently.

Andrew Scott: “Me” works well; you can rhyme “me” with a lot.

Dana Snell: I think in my song, in the chorus, each line begins with the word “I.” We’re turned inward.

Andrew Scott: Yeah, we definitely turned inward. I think we turn outward at the end, though.

Popshifter: What kind of feedback did you get from your board game? I was at the release party and it was really cool. I assume you were all fans of the Nightmare game? Or maybe not?

The Gatekeeper: “MAGGOTS!!”

Dana Snell: It was definitely inspiration for our game. I played it; did you guys play it?

Andrew Scott: Well, we were there, but that doesn’t mean I was a fan.

Dana laughs.

Matt Beckett: I like when he yells at the oldest person.

Andrew Scott: We totally ripped that off.

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Click to read more from The Bicycles on. . .

Their upcoming album
Jacques Demy
Board games
Back to school
Old Man Bolton
Plans for the summer

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