FIVE OLD FRIENDS ARE BACK TO MAKE A RACKET
Band has been mostly dormant, but they’ve missed playing together and their unique comaraderie
The lads prefer not to call it a “reunion,” but four-and-a-half years on from what looked to be the last Alexisonfire gig ever, at Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum on Dec. 30, 2012, the St. Catharines punk powerhouse has a suspicious habit of getting back together — or reuniting, if you will — for a few shows now and then.
AOF has four booked in Toronto alone, all going down at the Danforth Music Hall on Dec. 11, 12, 14 and 15. These dates, fans might recall, were announced the day after the band made a surprise mid-set appearance during pals Billy Talent’s performance at the Air Canada Centre last February and were supposed to happen in June at the same venue, only to be postponed at the last minute due to an illness in the band. Summer’s disappointment has turned into an early Christmas present, then.
As has been the case since their first . . . er . . . “non-reunion” tour in the summer of 2015, the band — whose members all have other things on the go these days, the most notable being Dallas Green’s hugely popular City and Colour outfit — insisted, in a five-way-online chat earlier this year, that it’s all very low-key and friendly and that there’s no new music brewing.
What was the one thing you missed the most about Alexisonfire while Alexisonfire wasn’t a band?
George Pettit: At the risk of turning this into some sort of “I love you, man” bromance thing, the thing I’ve missed most about Alexis is the guys. Band and crew. It’s a fun group of people to be around. Hard laughs always. The endless chirps.
Dallas Green: Obviously playing the songs that are such a huge part of my life would be first. But I would have to say just the strange sense of humour that we all seem to share is a close second. I think that’s what truly kept the band going and what allows us to still enjoy each other’s company today. It’s what kept the van rolling for all those years.
Wade MacNeil: The energy of the shows. I don’t think there’s a greater feeling in the world than that.
Chris Steele: The one thing I’ve missed most while Alexisonfire wasn’t a band is embracing one another’s bizarre hijinks while traversing the corners of globe. When abnormal becomes normal while treading the same wave of absurdity, you’re certainly in a sweet spot that money can’t buy. A strange bubble of existence would encapsulate us and collectively shed a malformed identity that only prevails when you live in unison with your best friends through a seemingly numberless era. Such a comfortable bubble and place to be.
Jordan Hastings: I have missed the camaraderie . . . We all have extremely different personalities but when we’re together something clicks, our true selves seem to come out, our unique AOF sense of humour shows up and we laugh our asses off.
What was the one thing you missed the least about Alexisonfire while Alexisonfire wasn’t a band? Pettit: The thing I miss least is probably the relentless touring. Touring is
fun, don’t get me wrong, but slogging it out for eight months a year is a bit like eating ice cream for every meal.
Green: I mean, there were many trials and tribulations that I would care not to revisit. But that’s part of being in a band: working through the sour to get to the sweet. It’s not always diamond-plated helicopters and champagne supernovas, you know.
MacNeil: Sleeping on the floor of airports.
Steele: The one thing I’ve missed the least while Alexisonfire wasn’t a band is the upside-down hours in which we would consistently operate. Physical and mental health was at stake as the gritty grind of the long road eventually swallows you whole. Trying to find a toilet at 4:30 a.m. on the outskirts of Leipzig, Germany, sucks! Hastings: Everyone’s stupid faces. Ha! Kidding. Running ourselves ragged. That was our downfall in my opinion; we toured ourselves into oblivion. Any touring band, at any level, needs to take a break and time to unwind, first with yourself and then with friends and family. There were years that we simply did not take time for ourselves.
Do you recall a specific moment of “epiphany” wherein you went: “All right, I’m willing to give this Alexisonfire thing another go”? And if so, tell me about it.
Pettit: Alexis had a few opportunities to come back before we finally did. I think we broke up extremely well and there was some comfort that our legacy was encased in amber. The band members were all on pretty good terms, so when the offers came down the pipe for the summer festivals I think we all had a chat and decided that maybe we were cherishing our breakup a little too much.
Green: Not really. I think when the idea of Riot Fest Toronto started getting thrown around and everyone was home and available to do it, it just made sense. We didn’t break up because we hated each other. Life just got in the way.
MacNeil: I walked by a kid wearing a bootlegged Alexisonfire shirt when I was in Bangkok. That was a pretty wild reminder about how many people we’ve reached with our music. It really made me want to get back onstage with my friends.
Steele: Epiphany? I was in the depths of Myanmar toward the latter months of a long two years of world travel. Playing more Alexis gigs was the last thing I would have thought of at this juncture of my life. With personal healthy lifestyle changes and a long bout of exploration in solitude, the thought of reuniting overjoyed me.
I was walking in a new pair of shoes in essence and looking at things differently. I couldn’t wait to get back to doing the thing I love with my best mates. Hastings: I do. It was the lack of pressure that I noticed and was relieved by. We had been apart for years and were all working on different things. I was launching my barbecue/hot sauce company, Dine Alone Foods, and working with my band, Say Yes.
I remember having a convo with the Mighty Joel Carriere, our manager, about a possible AOF reunion. There was zero pressure. It was a nice feeling. I remember saying if everyone is into it then count me in!