where are you right now?
Right now I'm in my front room in Calgary where my laptop's set up. It looks out onto the street of my neighbourhood, and people are walking by on their night-time dog walks.

how did it feel to be nominated for the 2009 polaris prize?
It didn’t really sink in right away. It was a few days later, when someone was pointing out just how many amazing people with great albums didn’t get onto the list that it kind of hit me what it all means. And the fact there’s no industry folk involved in the voting is pretty great. The other fact that there’s four Calgary artists listed out of 40 is also pretty exciting.

any highlights from current tours?  favourite cities or venues?
We just got back from another trip overseas, and did our first tour of Ireland. The Roisin Dubh in Galway knows how to take care of their bands, and the people in the city are amazing.

any new material in the works?
Our next album called Die Stadt Muzikanten is in mastering in Montreal, and that comes out January 2010. We’re finishing up a split EP with Chris Smith, a new signing to Boompa Records from Vancouver, and that’s called Trouble. I did some recording in Sweden a couple of weeks ago and finished a nice song there. To be honest, we’re pretty much recording a few months out of every year.

who should win the prize this year?
So, wait. Essentially your question is who should win $20,000.00 and all the critical props that comes with Polaris instead of Woodpigeon? Well, seriously, I don’t have any illusions about the prize, and it’s truly great to have even made the long list, but it would be quite a thrill for someone from Calgary to take it home this year. Maybe they’d let us touch the plaque.

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