Lady boys

Everything finally seems to be coming together for Canadian quartet Our Lady Peace. With a slicked-over sound and the addition of a new guitarist, the Toronto-based alternative outfit are starting to turn as many heads here as they have across the pond. Following the release of their fifth album Gravity and years of tireless touring throughout North America, OLP are ready for the next step towards worldwide domination.

“We’ve just been going hard and touring a lot and now it’s time for Europe,” says lead singer Raine Maida, an impassioned frontman with a Jim Morrison-esque stage presence. “It feels like we’ve kind of conquered America and Canada and the fan base we have there is so strong that we can really spend time over here. It finally feels like we can start achieving what we’ve always been meant to do.”

Formed in the early ’90s, Our Lady Peace went through a series of changes during a career that has spanned five albums and six members (Maida and drummer Jeremy Taggart are the only two originals). As nifty as they are on recrod, it’s live where the band come into their own.

“I don’t know if we write big hit songs like a lot of bands do, so we don’t get as much radio play or sales as Linkin Park or bands like that,” Raido resumes. “But our fan base in terms of the crowds that we play to are bigger really than our record sales, which to me is kind of amazing, especially these days.”

Gravity is their biggest seller yet having hit number nine on the Billboard charts. Maida credits much of the band’s recent success to their maturation, much of which came as a result of working with producer Bob Rock in his Maui studios.

“It was so pure; it was like no stress and all music,” says Maida describing the band’s Hawaiian sojourn. “Just knowing that we were going to be away from our families, friends, record company people, management and really even television for that matter, we could just focus on music for the first time. Even now, more so, it’s going to be a huge asset to us to be away.”

OLP is also drawing inspiration from the masters. Maida admitted that listening to old Led Zeppelin and Who albums helped the band to realise their musical ambitions in the studio.

“I think this new record is really going to define what this band is capable of,” he says. “Even in America and Canada where we have solid fan bases, I think this will show what the band’s been trying to do for the last five years.

“It’s amazing that we’re in this position right now. I’ve never been so excited about music.”