Show Alert: an interview with Krief


Sat., Sep. 22
Phog Lounge ~ Windsor
With The Exotic Pets 

What do you know about Krief?

You probably know he's Patrick Krief, virtuoso guitarist for The Dears for almost 10 years. You may know his other band was Black Diamond Bay, now Krief. You may have heard he released  his first full-length album as Krief, Hundred Thousand Pieces, earlier this year. (You can stream all 10 tracks on his CBC Radio 3 profile page.)

What does Krief think you know? "I don't know what people know," says Krief, in an interview from Regina. "They've probably heard all sorts of rumours, crazy shit that's completely false. I'm a very simple person. It's easy to define what makes me happy."

Those things include good food, a good night's sleep, exercise, and of course, making music. The struggles and self-doubt that come with making a living at making music are a main theme of Hundred Thousand Pieces. "It barely scrapes the surface of how hard it is," says Krief. Does it ultimately deliver a message of hope? "The fact that I'm out here touring" is a pretty good indication, he says. "I didn't pack it in and go the other way."

Lucky for listeners, because Hundred Thousand Pieces (Pirates Blend) is beautifully crafted, heartfelt musical art. "One of the things that has been the biggest success, is that everything the album has been acknowledged for, the lyrics, the arrangements, is what I hoped would be acknowledged," says Krief.

Although Hundred Thousand Pieces was largely a DIY project-- Krief plays drums, piano, keys, bass, guitar and percussion on the album-- he's touring with a full band, composed of Roberto Piccioni on keys, Denis Paquin on drums, Jakub Zapotoczny on bass and Vincent Pelletier on guitar.

This is Krief's second show at the Phog; they were last there in April. What brings Krief back to Windsor? "We had a great time," he says. "It's always an easy room to fill, and it has a good vibe when it's full. The level we're at, we're perfect for Phog."