Alexisonfire: Slow burn

Canadian export Alexisonfire heats up U.S.

By Brock Radke

You'd think if a Canadian hardcore band named after a lactating contortionist had played Vegas before, you'd have heard about it. Right?

"No, we've been through there a couple of times, and it's great," says Alexisonfire vocalist George Pettit. In this case, vocalist means "screamer." On his band's website, he lists his instrument as "larynx." "I mean, Vegas is always great, for obvious reasons. But we all appreciate Liberace. Last time we were there we drove past the Liberace museum and I was really excited about it. Maybe this time I'll get a chance to go."

In the rapidly homogenizing world of hardcore music, it's getting increasingly impossible for young bands to set themselves apart--especially since most of them seem barely interested in stepping outside the freshly formed clichés. Alexisonfire (that's "Alexis on fire," not "Alex is on fire") has been busy carving out its niche for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is its name.

"That's always been our name. No one's ever asked us to change it, except for her, the real Alexisonfire," says Pettit, politely addressing the bizarro-porn performer. "In the beginning she contacted us somehow and told us to stop, but we found out she didn't have a copyright on the name. So we didn't stop. And I guess she's had some hits on her website since then."

As the band's notoriety continues to grow out of the Ontario underground from whence it came, the original Alexisonfire is sure to reap the web-hit benefits. The group, also consisting of singer/guitarist Dallas Green, guitarist Wade MacNeil, bassist Chris Steele and drummer Jesse Ingelevics, is only beginning to break through to audiences in the U.S. but is more established back home in Canada and the U.K. Why? Lazy alternative media.

"The (U.S.) is a little slow compared to other places," Pettit says. "It's been hot and cold so far. We've had better press in other places. The U.S. has such a huge population but the media is fairly conservative with what they want to cover. In the U.K., you've got hundreds of little magazines devoted to one type of music, and like 15 music channels. American media is much more centralized."

It's true. We are too busy writing about which snack food Britney Spears is favoring this week to detail the visceral, cathartic sounds produced by Alexisonfire. An uneasy mix of pretty melodies and ugly aggression, the band's music could be inserted into the aforementioned metalcore clichés, if not for its odd tendencies and high acclaim among independent outlets. Pettit says the band's first CD was released on a fledgling Canadian record label, of which there are a bunch. Alexisonfire soon captured the attention of Equal Vision Records, home of breakthrough comic book metal band Coheed & Cambria.

"We sent them a CD, a few weeks later they came to a show, and a few weeks later they sent us an offer. It was that easy," says Pettit.

Distribution deals with seven other companies have given the band global coverage and resulted in lengthy tours to just about everywhere. After a run through the states with Rise Against, there will be a short spring engagement before Pettit and his mates will return to the studio to record the follow-up to last year's Watch Out!, considered one of the more technically raging hardcore records of 2004.

"I don't expect our next record to be anything like the other two, sonically," says Pettit, who usually teams up with Green to write lyrics once the guitarists have laid down the foundations for a song. "I think there's a lot of difference between our first two records and I'm sure there will be that difference between the second and third. It's always been our intention not to repeat ourselves."

For a young band that has already crafted a reputation for bucking the musical establishment, it shouldn't be a difficult feat.