Pretty girls make graves makes concert
Also makes album with heady French title
TIMOTHY BROWN STAFF
PHOTO: COURTESY OF BEGGARS GROUP/PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES
How to describe Pretty Girls Make Graves? Derek Fudesco, the band’s bass player confidently describes them as “a musical train wreck.” Whether this is true or not, their music has always been enjoyable and now is your chance to see them live: this Friday, Oct. 27, they’ll be playing at the Albert.
I had a chance to talk with Derek Fudesco last week about Pretty Girls Make Graves, their new album, and touring through Canada. Their new album, Elan Vital (which translated means vital force), isn’t just some random French title to make them sound smarter (though it does make them sound smarter): it’s actually a hypothetical force that is thought to cause the development and evolution of organisms. It is a philosophical idea that has been the band’s primary focus for the past two years.
With that in mind, the album Elan Vital can definitely be considered an evolutionary step for Pretty Girls Make Graves. “We kinda decided to scrap our formula of writing which has always been to collaborate. We decided to take a new approach and sort of let people come in with their own songs and their own ideas and sort of see their visions through, rather than dissect and pull apart and everybody throw their stamp on it,” explained Fudesco.
If you are familiar at all with Pretty Girls Make Graves, you might know that their band name is actually a reference to a Smiths song of the same name, the title of which was itself originally taken from a Jack Kerouac novel. When asked why they chose that name, Fudesco replied, “It’s hard to name a band. Andrea (Andrea Zollo, lead vocals) and I were listening to records and that record was out . . . and we were like, Hey, that’s kind of a neat name for a band.”
The band formed in 2001 in Seattle, Washington and released their first full-length album, Good Health, in 2002 to critical acclaim. It was followed up by The New Romance in 2003. Since then, Pretty Girls Make Graves has mostly just toured. Now, with the release of Elan Vital back in April of this year, they’ve decided to come to Canada to show off their new songs and new member, Leona Marrs. This is the second time the band will have made its way through Canada (including Winnipeg) “I loved it . . . I don’t remember being disappointed at any of the Canadian shows when we did the tour,” said Fudesco.
When asked what his favorite part of touring was, Fudesco told me, “Food. I’d have to say being able to eat in some of my favorite cities.” Naturally, for any band, while there are positive aspects to touring, there also negative aspects. “It’s always hard to be in a van and on the road for an extended amount of time.”
As we can’t always predict what will happen with evolution, the same can be said for Pretty Girls Make Graves. When asked what the next step for the band was, Fudesco was unsure. “I don’t see a direction at all. I don’t. I see that we’re doing the next tour. Beyond that, I have no idea.”
With the evolution of music always lurking in the realm of uncertainty, it is best to live in the moment, instead of holding out for what might happen next. So take hold of the moment and do yourself a favour: go see Pretty Girls Make Graves this Friday Oct. 27, 8 p.m., at the Albert.
