Too Loud

Photo by Michael Otero

In school I was never afraid of the jocks or the pretty kids because I knew that they’d never amount to anything. I was always scared of the drama kids and nerds, because they weren’t afraid of anything. Every nerd kid I knew then is now either a politician or a rich web designer or in Hot Chip. While you were busy trying to play sport or learning how to smoke weed, Katie Stelmanis was taking vocal lessons and probably writing an opera when she was 12. The last time I saw her play, it was in front of 300 hardcore punks who couldn’t deal with it. She was singing so gracefully that I started to blush, and she was still laughing in everyone’s face. Katie isn’t afraid of anything. Her first album is called Join Us, and I would really like to. It is full of the deepest and most punishing vocal ranges, paeans to things I will never be able to understand, and this rippling poise that forces me to re-evaluate everything I’ve ever done in my (I’ve now realised) pathetic life. Vice: You play really serious music, but you seem like a total joker. Katie Stelmanis: I guess I can’t really talk about my music in a serious way because then it becomes cheesy. I mean, you have this really intense voice on stage and then between songs you’re just cracking wise. I used to perform without much stage banter, and I found that it isolated us from the crowd. It was a lot for people to take in at once. I like to try and break up the intensity to make it seem more accessible. It’s a conscious effort. How would you prefer people get into your music then? Eventually, I want the performance to be a massive visual spectacle where I wouldn’t need as much banter. Who is your ideal listener? I only want to know about people who LOVE my stuff, I don’t care about people who are mediocre about it. I also like it when people detest my stuff too—I hate anything mediocre. As long as people are responsive I don’t care who they are. Have you read any bad reviews? Yeah, really bad ones. At first I’m always disappointed, but you have to learn to appreciate them. Most bad reviews focus on my voice and how it’s too loud. That’s the best part! The worst one was from Chart Magazine who basically said I was the worst act they had seen in a while, and that I would never find success. They said things like, “I didn’t like it and I could tell the people around me were off about it too”. It was really harsh. But the thing about that show was that I thought it was great, and the audience totally seemed into it, so eff Chart. MIKE HALIECHUK
The album Join Us is out now on Blocks Recording Club. A split seven-inch with Fucked Up is also out now on Matador. myspace.com/katiestelmanis