"Just Like Me or You."
(A look into the music that OLP have made and continue to create)
From as early as I can first remember I have always had a deep connection and feeling for music. It is one of those things that my whole life revolves around and has shaped me as the person that I am today. The first real band I got into as a big
fan was Nirvana. For the first time in my whole life I could hear passion and loved the experimentation, but after Kurt Cobain�s tragic suicide I once again became lost.
I then heard a song by a Canadian band, the song was called "Superman�s Dead", and for the first in what had seemed a long time I became very excited about music again. I went and bought �Clumsy� soon after it got its UK release. I sat i
n my room for weeks just being amazed by the depth of the music. It�s so dynamic and theirs so many layers to listen too. Once of the things that really drew me to the music was the way that front man Raine Maida did not just sing, but he
used his voice as an instrument. The day I started listening to OLP was the day that I stopped using my ears to listen to music but my heart.
Living in the UK and being a OLP fan has been very difficult to balance. For one at this present time the only real things available here are the Clumsy album and the Superman�s Dead single and a hand full of small articles on the ba
nd. After waiting almost a year to see the band my dream came true and I saw / met the band on June 9th at London�s Borderline club. I had made a lot of effort to get to the show, I had my final A-Level exams around that time, had to buy a train ti
cket to London and find a hotel as close to �Euston� as possible, hell I even got Mike a birthday card.
I have seen many bands but even half way through the first song they played one thing became very apparent, just how professional and clean cut this band was. I mean I could have been listening to my CD at home because of the accuracy with which t
hey played the music. But hearing it live took it to another level to me. Being a musician myself I am always listening to different types of music and listening for new ideas, I have never ever seen a band that can compare to what I saw on that night. I
was no more then 4 feet away from Raine the whole night and seeing those expressions he pulled on his face. The man is a genius, he wasn�t just singing, he was actually living what he was singing in his head. With the other 3 members each adding their own
diverse touch to the music, I just felt like a small kid in a candy shop, its so exciting and fresh. The whole band functions as one finely tuned machine.
One thing that OLP have said themselves in their interviews is that the music is going to progress. We have already seen that between the two albums Naveed and Clumsy. Of course we all have our own opinions abut those two albums but
to me I see Naveed as being a much darker album, with the lyrics applying to a whole magnitude of situations. When I listened to Clumsy I felt that it was easier to connect with the songs, I think that a vast variety of people could quite ea
sily understand the meanings behind the songs. One of the things I like most about Clumsy is the album cover, all the colours. I think it basically sums up the album, because it�s so colourful to listen too. There�s a whole rainbow of ideas in ther
e and no matter how many times I listen to each song I always manage to hear something I didn�t hear last time I listened to it.
OLP have grown very quickly in their home country of Canada, and in early 98 played around the country in arena venues. Shocked at the growth of the fan base they used this opportunity to push their music out to more people and give existing fans the c
hance to see something new in the songs. Using a variety of short films they had made which were projected while the music was playing they brought the colour in there music to real life. Living in the UK I was not lucky enough to see anyone show but seei
ng them in London was a whole different experience. It was quite shocking to see 250 fans in a small club. I think Canadian music is mostly disregarded here even though US bands are very popular. The truth being that whether you are 2 feet away from the b
and or 2000 feet, the music is still the same and still hits you in the same way.
But what can we look forward to in the future? I for one am looking forward to the new album that the band is currently writing for their new album. I think that we should expect another big change, fresh ideas and lots more songs with a deep sens
e of passion. Unlike most bands, OLP are not in it for the money. They�re in it for the music and to bring it to their fans, when it all comes down to it there just ordinary people like you and me. They don�t need to dress differently, act stupid, do drug
s, smoke or drink to be cool. With OLP its what you see is what you get. Again this is one of the things that draw us to the music, they don�t try and raise themselves above anybody else.
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