20 Questions with Land Of Talk

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Things are going pretty well at the moment for Liz Powell… Not only is she the latest of a long line of Canadian musicians to be invited into the Broken Social Scene family (see Feist, Emily Haines, Amy Milan) but her band Land Of Talk have finally gotten around to releasing their eagerly awaited debut album Some Are Lakes. It was worth the wait too it seems.. Being greeted by some highly favourable reviews including here at TLOBF, the album has also garnered further attention by the fact it was produced by none other than Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. We caught up with Liz a few weeks back to give her the 20Q treatment..

1. Describe your sound in 3 words.
Unfettered, rad, and magical.

2. What was the first record you ever bought? And where did you buy it?
I was just thinking about this the other day. It was actually my mom who bought me Beatles “St. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”

3. What’s the best cure for a hangover?
Heroic doses vit-B complex, “Emercen-C” packets, LOTS of WATER (carry a proper reusable bottle with you at all times).

4. What’s on your rider?
Socks, berries, San Pelligrino, Hummus and pita, marzipan, water wings, post cards from the city we’re playing.

5. How do you get ready for a live show?
20 minutes of ridiculous vocal warm-ups, stretches, and a 2min hand-stand to get the blood flowing.

6. What’s your favourite song to play live?
A song off the new album called Yuppy Flu. The bridge section is 30seconds of awesome for a three piece.

7. What’s your guilty pleasure?
Producing really bad hip hop on my laptop.

8. Who would win in a fight, a stoat or a goat and why?
My boyfriend would bet on the stoat due to it’s lower centre of gravity. I didn’t know what a stoat was which is why I asked him.

9. Who’s your favourite new band at the moment? Tell us a bit about them.
School of Language because Sea From Shore is a great album. If you listen to it you will know what I mean. Other favourites are a Montreal band called The Luyas and I’ve been in love with The Dodo’s Visiter since it came out.

10. Who would play you in a film based upon your life?
Bill Murray

11. Dead or alive, what 5 acts would you have play with you at a festival?
See above favorite new bands, plus Dirty Projectors, and Amy Winehouse.

12. If push comes to shove, what is your all-time favourite album?
Mary Margaret O’Hara: Miss America

13. What’s your most memorable on the road story?
It involves people who would rather not be mentioned which would defeat the purpose of telling the story altogether. I know. Frustrating answer. Sorry.

14. If your life flashed before your eyes, what would be the highlights?
The unmentionable story (see above), family moments, falling in love, having made a life of music.

15. What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and did you take notice?
My dad gave me this piece of advice: “Always try and make it (your life) better, but at the same time you don’t want to loose the uniqueness of the original structure (in other words you keep some of the key features like a door frame or a stair railing ). Like concrete you don’t want it to set too fast for it might crack. Instead, you want it to cure slowly so that it gains its full strength and can withstand much more stress and strain over a longer period of time. It is also a balancing act. You can get a little more cynical about people and their motives, but shouldn’t get too cynical, it may destroy you…”

16. If you had to leave a body part to science, what would it be?
All of it.

17. What’s the best book you’ve read and film you’ve seen in the last 6 months?
Terrence Malik’s “Days of Heaven”

18. What three things could you not live without?
Food, water, friends and family

19. Tell us a fact about yourself we probably don’t already know.
If I stop moving I fall into a deep sleep.

20. And finally, we’d like you to make us a mix-tape.
1. Pixies – Digging for Fire
2. Broken Social Scene – Fire Eye’d Boy
3 .Sparkle Horse – Spirit Ditch
4. Will Oldham – You Will Miss Me When I Burn
5. Bruce Sprinstein – I’m On Fire

bonus tracks:
The Breeders – Metal Man
The Motion Picture Soundtrack to David Lynch’s “Fire Walk With Me”

Land Of Talk on MySpace