I have no idea who made this picture, but it wasn’t me. It’s very pretty, though; so good job to whoever did it!

I’ve been a fan of the Hidden Cameras for a good long while. They were one of the first bands I got into in college thanks to a mixture of WRFL and random internet downloads. As such, I was pretty excited for the release of their 2009 album In the NA. It’s a great addition to their catalogue and contains one of my favorite pop songs of the year.

MP3: The Hidden Cameras – In the NA

After a month or so of soaking in the new record, I called up Canadian record label Arts & Crafts, who handed the phone over to Joel Gibb, lead singer of the Hidden Cameras. We chatted about the new record, the unfair way gay musicians are treated when they write about sex and sexuality, and things in his songs that he’d just rather not explain.

Interview with Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras

Picasso: Well, I’ll start at the beginning for me. I first go into the Hidden Cameras by hearing your song, “Ode to Self Publishing” when I first came to college five years ago and it seemed– at least at the time– that it was kind of about the fear of creating something and putting yourself out there, but as I progressed through the rest of the songs that you had written at that time, it seemed not to be something that you yourself had wrestled with. I was wondering if that has ever been the case with you? Were you ever afraid to put something into a song, out into the world?

Joel: Well, I dunno about afraid but I know there’s a lot of people that have a certain sort of inhibition about that kind of thing. Yeah, I guess I don’t have crazy inhibitions about that. But I think every artist– even the most seemingly-confident artists– probably grapple with that. You make yourself quite vulnerable when you put stuff out like that.

Picasso: So, as far as the new album– I love it and listen to it a lot. But one thing I haven’t really been able to decipher, is probably the most basic. What is the meaning behind “Origin Orphan?”

Joel: I don’t know. Is there supposed to be a specific meaning?

Picasso: I don’t know. I figured if it was the title it might have some bearing on you or the project.

Joel: I think its evocative of all sorts of things. I think it conjures up all sorts of images. If you pair that with the song and the lyrics of the song it adds another dimension.

Read the rest of the interview after the break.

Picasso: I read back in 2005 that you said that European audiences seem to connect a little bit more with your music than North American ones, or at least that’s where you were getting really good audience responses. Does that still seem to be the case and did that play any role in your moving to Germany?

Joel: Oh, I don’t think I’ve played America since I probably said that. So, we haven’t played America in three years.

Picasso: Yeah, I guess that explains why I have yet to see you guys.

Joel: No, we’ve never played Kentucky before.

Picasso: No, that’s no exactly a hot spot for concerts.

Joel: What’s the closest town to where you live that we’re playing?

Picasso: I dunno, I usually wind up driving like three hours to see bands that don’t tour that often.

Joel: Where?

Picasso: Like to Nashville or in Ohio or something.

Joel: Oh, well we’re not playing there. We’re playing Atlanta.

Picasso: Yeah, that’s six hours away.

Joel: Oh. That’s not too far. I’m driving five hours to see Diamanda Galas tomorrow.

Picasso: Oh cool. Where are they?

Joel: Pop Montreal.

Picasso: Yeah, I’m pretty jealous of the lineup for that one. That’s great. Well at least compared to Canadian audiences, is Europe still very receptive?

Joel: Yeah. We’ve played there quite a bit.

Picasso: And does the rest of the band still live in Canada?

Joel: Yeah. I mean Canada, London, Saskatoon, Northsfork, all over.

Picasso: Wow. Whenever you were recording the new album, where exactly was that recorded?

Joel: Mostly in Don Kerr’s studio in Toronto. Overdubs were done in other studios in Toronto and in Berlin, and some of the lead violin parts were recorded in Cockney in London, England.

Picasso: So, there wasn’t really a need to get everyone together at one specific time. How long did the whole recording take?

Joel: Uh, our last record was out in 2006. Well two songs, “He Falls to Me” was actually the first few couple tracks like the drums and some of the guitars and stuff were recorded during Awoo actually and “Colour of a Man,” which was actually out on Toronto Island in 2005. The album is very much a pastiche of different songs from different times in my life and they were recorded in different ways at different times as well. And so the process of making the record was a lot more broken up and its just more varied, you know?

Picasso: Yeah, I was gonna say– I had split them up that way actually– there’s a lot on the album that sounds like previous records, like “Color of a Man,” and then there’s a lot it seems that you flip a switch and its a new sort of direction for you all. Like “Do I Belong,” the next track. So that’s interesting to know they were written at different times. The ones that do sound a little bit different like “Do I Belong,” those sound like a studio difference rather than a sound writing difference. Were you taking any liberties or experimenting a bit with the recording and production on those?

Joel: Um, I just got this really cheap keyboard in a thrift shop and made the song when I got home with it, and then recorded it in Berlin.

Picasso: You also directed the video for “In the Na,” correct?

Joel: Yeah.

Picasso: Where was that done? That’s a very beautiful wooded area.

Joel: Yeah, tit’s a producer’s parent’s friend’s property in Orono, Ontario outside of Oshawa. It’s like an hour outside of Toronto..

Picasso: Very cool. And you’ve directed one video prior to that, right?

Joel: I’ve made four.

Picasso: Wow. Which were those?

Joel: “Golden Stream” and “Mississauga Goddam,” and “Believe in the Good of Life” and “In the Na.”

Picasso: I don’t think I’ve seen the first two.

Joel: I’m trying to get that on YouTube. I’ve asked my old distributor to do it , and I’ve been asking Arts and Crafts to do it to no avail. I’d like both the old super 8′s I’ve done to be on YouTube so people can actually know about them.

Picasso: Do you have a copy of them?

Joel: Yeah, of course. But people have issues about converting DVDs to digital. People don’t know how to do that for some reason. And then when I get off the phone with you I can go bother them again.

Picasso: Well tell ‘em there’s at least someone else out there that wants to see them too. Speaking of “In the Na,” pretty much as soon and I heard it, quickly became one of my favorite songs of yours. I also think I understand it the least of my favorite songs of yours. “Hypnotized by the na/ take each na as my own…” What exactly is the “na” and am I supposed to have been able to figure it out?

Joel: “Na” sort of….I hate explaining things too much. But “na” is like a variable like x, y or z so the song itself is sort of about meaning and its sorts of rebelling against that because you don’t want to always be explaining, I dunno. I like having my songs speak for themselves and I also really like people interpreting them in their own ways. There’s a multitude of meanings that you can have from one piece of art. So that song is sort of about that. You can replace “na” with something else in each line. But in a way its sort of about my creativity, or my specific style of songwriting or my specific outlook on life. Everyone has their own thing. So, its sort of an homage to that as well, as well as many other things.

Picasso: Speaking of putting things out there and letting people read into them as much as they want or are able, people really like to read int o your songs, especially your early ones. A lot of that has to do with the sexual imagery and everything and I apologize for keeping up the tradition for everyone who interviews you asking a related question. I’ve talked to some of my friends about this and some gay musician friends about this and had lengthy discussions, so I thought it would be unfair not to ask you as well.

Basically, the question is, do you think people focus on the sexual or shocking imagery that is in your songs mostly because you’re gay or is it just a case of “well, some of those things are meant to provoke a reaction regardless of what your preference of my preference is.”

Because a song like “Underage” could totally be re-written as like a country song, like “oh let’s pretend we’re young and run off and do it like we did back then.” But then again there is this element of “pretend your six and I’m seven,” that is a little bit shocking.

Joel: It’s seven and eight actually.

Picasso: I’m sorry, seven and eight.

Joel: How is that shocking?

Picasso: Well, up until then the listener hears “underage,” and thinks like 14 when you’re young and have lot of passion and then the song cuts that age in half.

Joel: Well, fourteen and fifteen doesn’t sound as good in a song.

Picasso: Yeah, it’s a little harder to rhyme and fit in. Do you know what I mean? Basically, do you think that people react the way they do, mostly because you’re a gay musician writing about experiences?

Joel: Yeah, I guess people aren’t used to that. I see a lot of sexual content in music, if you take hip hop or other genres. Extremely sexual, much more sexual than anything I’ve ever said. The lyrics are sort of shrouded in poetry, they’re not graphic. A couple lyrics are, but I dunno.

Picasso: I think a lot of times people are now expecting things to be far worse than they are. I’ve read a lot where people think that the song “Golden Stream” is about people peeing on each other. I’ve read a couple of times where you’ve said, “that’s not quite right.”

Joel: That’s not at all. Read the lyrics. Read them! You know, I print them in the CD booklet for a reason. And people still don’t actually appreciate what I’m doing. It’s really actually quite annoying, you know? They say a song is about piss sex, and its like “actually if you read the lyrics, where does it say anything about piss sex?” It doesn’t even say anything about pee in that song. It’s an abstract song, you know?

Picasso: It’s just strange and weird. I read a lot of interviews prior to today and there was one by Queerty, the homosexual website, and they seemed to read into everything more than anywhere else that I’ve read. It’s like it’s kinda coming from both directions and I just wanted to know if I was the only one seeing it that way.

Joel: No, everybody sees it that way.

Picasso: Yeah, anyone that pays attention I guess.

Joel: Yeah, I dunno.