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Spotlight on local music: Animal Nation

Names: Steige "Tall Man" Turner (a.k.a. Garnet Clare); Mike "Armadillo Slim" Armitage Hometown: Whistler, and Bellingham, WA. Mike has dual citizenship, so he was able to move up to Canada for his last year of high school.
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Names: Steige "Tall Man" Turner (a.k.a. Garnet Clare); Mike "Armadillo Slim" Armitage

Hometown: Whistler, and Bellingham, WA. Mike has dual citizenship, so he was able to move up to Canada for his last year of high school.

Pique: Is music a full-time gig for you, or do you also have day jobs? If so, what are they?

Garnet Clare: I work at a photo shop in town, and Mike's a bartender at the Bearfoot Bistro. I make the memories, and he erases them.

Pique: When did you first get to the Sea to Sky region, and what brought you here?

G.C.: I was born and raised in Whistler. Mike's lived here for nine or ten years now. We still don't ask for a local's discount.

Pique: How were you introduced to hip hop?

G.C.: The first CD I ever bought was Ace of Base. I think my third CD was BIG - Ready to Die. After that I was pretty into hip hop, but it wasn't until I heard Eminem that I thought it was actually something I could do. I remember the first time I heard him, and thinking, "I can relate to giving a girl too many mushrooms way more than I can relate to slanging crack in the ghetto." Eminem definitely changed the way I heard music. After that I was into anything with good lyrics. From hip-hop to folk, if you're saying something worth listening to, I'm in. That being said, Wu-Tang and Biggie are still a couple of my favorite artists because of their amazing story telling skills. They make you relate by taking you into their world.

Pique: A (brief) history on Animal Nation, please:

G.C.: Back in '83 both our parents probably got a little too drunk one night, and... Eventually we met somehow - probably over drinks - and then we drank a bunch of beers and wrote a couple raps. Then we played our first show when someone told us they'd give us some free drinks to come sing a couple songs. In short, booze. Booze is how Animal Nation happened.

Pique: I understand you two are currently on a West Coast tour to promote your new album. Where have you been, and how have the gigs been going so far?

G.C.: I'm writing this on the way to our first show tonight in Regina! After that we'll be playing Saskatoon, Canmore, Golden... err... a bunch of other places, then, most importantly, Whistler on May 20th! Then Vancouver on the 21st, Kamloops, and finally Nelson. We did a similar tour loop last year with the same band we're touring with, Jiminy. They're all amazing musicians, and more importantly, they're all really cool guys. They're easy to get along with, and they all like to indulge in the occasional beverage, which definitely makes for a very good time.

Pique: How are your lyrics and sound received outside of Whistler?

G.C.: People everywhere are generally pretty friendly, as long as you're friendly too. Especially the girls. Never do it without your Fez on.

Pique: Now, tell me a bit more about this latest album...

G.C.: The latest album is called Understanding More About Nothing Than Anybody Ever Thought Impossible or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Music. We wanted to make an album that was easy to listen to. I find that sometimes even my favorite albums can be hard to listen to all the way through if the whole album sounds too similar. We wanted to make something that you could throw on at work, but also play in your headphones, or in the middle of a house party, or anywhere. It has a really good flow to it from start to finish, and we've definitely stepped up our lyrics. There are some really good lines in there. "They say that eyes are the window to the soul, but I dunno, 'cause my soul's more open when my eyes are fully closed." That's one of Mike's lines I like. That's actually the first line on the first track of the CD.

Pique: What are your thoughts on Whistler's hip hop scene?

G.C.: There are a few other hip hop cats around town. They're mostly nice guys. Nobody Really is a genuinely good guy. The Ump is nice. Then there's a few cats that keep forgetting they live in Whistler, and keep rhyming about how gangster they are. I don't get it. You live in one of the most beautiful places in the world... why are you acting like that's a bad thing? I think that as long as you're being honest in what you say, people will be able to relate to that. You don't need to try to be something you're not. It's way easier just being.

Pique: When you aren't on stage, where can people find you hanging out?

G.C.: I spend a lot of time alone. Mike's the exact opposite. He's the life of the party. I'm so cheap, though, I'm always trying to save money. I like to read and re-read my Kurt Vonnegut novels down by the river. Ha ha.

Pique: Hit shuffle on your iPod - what are the first three songs you come across?

G.C.: Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven, Rolling Stones - Sister Morphine, De La Soul - Potholes In My Lawn.

Pique: What's been the most memorable performance of your career?

G.C.: Definitely this year's Telus World Ski and Snowboard festival. Ali Milner recorded the chorus for one of the tracks on our new album, and she came on stage and sang it with us... We got super-jazz-pianist Cameron Chu to come on stage and play organ for a bit, we had animal mascots, we switched it up and rapped over house beats while Dre Morel spun a couple songs. The weather was great. It was awesome, really fun.

Pique: What musician (alive or dead) would you like to jam with?

G.C.: I like jamming with people I know. It's fun to jam with friends, even if they have no idea how to play anything. Especially if they have no idea how to play anything. Beers and guitars are always a fun combination! I'd love to be a part of a Broken Social Scene recording sesh though. It would be awesome to watch them put together 100 layers of 18 different musicians putting down tracks.

Pique: Aside from this new album, you guys have also been chosen to travel to Ottawa to represent Whistler on Canada Day as part of the Cultural Capital program. What's that all about?

G.C.: It's all about awesome. We're going to show the nation of Canada the Nation of Animal, and try to make Whistler look good in the process. We're really excited to travel to Ottawa for Canada Day. It was unexpected, and it's ridiculously flattering, and it puts a big smile on my face whenever I think about the fact that we were chosen to do this when there are SO MANY amazing musicians in Whistler.

Pique: The new album drops here in Whistler on May 20 at the GLC. What do you have planned for that party?

G.C.: The party at the GLC is going to be ridiculous! Animal Nation shows are always a good time, and Jiminy just bumps the level of rad up by a thousand. They get us stoked, and we get them stoked in return. They're a six-piece funk/rock/hip-hop band with all sorts of horns, guitars, keys, and a freakin' rapping drummer. Wayyyy too fun! And it's only $5.

Pique: Anything else you'd like to add?

G.C.: I think I'd like to add 1 + 1 and get window. Make sure to check out the new album at http://myspace.com/animalnation , as well as our weekly artist interviews at animalnationdoesntknowanything.blogspot.com. Rad.