Though he was introduced to many as the sensitive-sounding vocalist in post-hardcore troupe Alexisonfire, Dallas Green has had no trouble finding success as City and Colour. Alexisonfire put an official end to their run with a farewell tour at the end of last year, and now Green has turned his full attention to following up 2011's Little Hell. Recorded in Nashville, The Hurry and the Harm sees Green rebuilding his sound in an unfamiliar city with an entirely new cast of supporting musicians that includes impressive guests from the Dead Weather and My Morning Jacket. But he's not aiming to impress anybody else. "I don't write music for other people, I write it for myself," he says. "People get too caught up in wanting to be the biggest and the best and wanting everyone to like them, but that's not reasonable. We're human beings, we all like different stuff. So the success is if I can listen to it and say that I'm proud of it."
What are you up to?
I have a new record coming out called The Hurry and the Harm and that comes out in June, so that's everything right now. Just promoting it, going on tour.
What are your current fixations?
Sports. I'm a huge sports fan and right now the Jays are playing and the Leafs are in the playoffs. It's also the basketball playoffs, so I'm fixated on sports.
Why do you live where you do?
I live in North Toronto because my wife's family lives all around us and I'm not home that much, so we live where she can be close to her family.
Name something you consider a mind-altering work of art.
Well, none of mine are. That's a tough one. Oh, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!
What has been your most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
The most memorable gig right now that I can think of is Alexisonfire playing in Brazil just recently, in December. It was just the craziest experience. It was like 130 degrees inside and people were flying all over the place, everyone was bleeding, shirtless. It was crazy.
What have been your career highs and lows?
Career highs are just the fact that I get to keep making records and playing. Lows? There are good and bad days, some days on tour you feel horrible. You feel like you don't want to do it anymore, but it's the highs that allow you to snap out of that.
What's the meanest thing ever said to you before, during or after a gig?
I don't really know, I don't really take what people say seriously. But I don't know that anyone's ever said anything horrible to me. I'm sure somebody's said "you suck" or whatever, but I don't really care.
What should everyone shut up about?
Twitter. I hate it. I hope to god there's a Twitter backlash soon.
What traits do you most like and most dislike about yourself?
I guess I don't like the fact that I'm a control freak, I don't like that, but I think that I'm very loyal.
What's your idea of a perfect Sunday?
Watching basketball or going to a Jays game with the dome open on a Sunday afternoon.
What advice should you have taken, but did not?
Don't tattoo your hands. Some days I regret having half of my body tattooed, just because it's like wearing the same shirt every day for the rest of your life. Sometimes you want to change it. But you can't.
What would make you kick someone out of your band and/or bed, and have you?
I don't know. That's a tough question. Just being an idiot, I guess, in general.
What do you think of when you think of Canada?
I think of home.
What was the first LP/cassette/CD/eight track you ever bought with your own money?
Alice in Chains Dirt. It was a CD, and I still love it. I bought it at Sunrise Records and Tapes in St. Catharines.
What was your most memorable day job?
I used to work at a movie theatre in St. Catharines at the Penn Centre. It was great because I got to see movies for free and eat popcorn. Yeah, it was great.
How do you spoil yourself?
I don't necessarily spoil myself. I mean, I like clothes. I like boots and blue shirts and hats [all of which he is wearing at the moment], so occasionally I'll buy myself a pair of new boots or a hat. But I don't go nuts. I don't have a gold-plated helicopter.
If I wasn't playing music I would be…
Trying to play music.
What do you fear most?
That's a tough one because I fear a lot of things. I think I just fear the idea of failing myself. I don't fear failure, I just fear letting myself down.
What makes you want to take it off and get it on?
My wife? That's the right answer, right?
What has been your strangest celebrity encounter?
I met Bryan Adams and he was really weird. Basically, I couldn't tell if he was mad at me or not. It was at the Junos a couple years ago. I got a weird vibe from him. I gave him my phone number, he asked me for my phone number and I haven't heard from him or talked to him since. I kind of like that I haven't seen him or heard from him, I don't think I want to. I want to leave it at where it was.
Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?
I have a thing where I don't really want to meet anyone that I really like because I don't want them to be a dick, or it turns out that I just don't like them. So my ideal dinner guests would just be my wife and I, because that's who I have dinner with all the time and I enjoy it. We do barbecue a lot. There's this thing we've been doing lately where we take a bunch of heirloom tomatoes and put them in a pan and sprinkle salt and pepper and olive oil and just roast them. And then you make some pasta and then once the tomatoes are roasted, you just mix them up and that becomes the sauce. And I'm not even a vegetarian. But we've doing that a lot and it's just delicious. So that's the only thing I can think of right now, that's what's in my head.
What does your mom wish you were doing instead?
Nothing. She loves it. She got me guitar lessons when I was a kid. This is exactly what she wants me to be doing.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
I don't want to have one. There's a song I wrote called "Body in a Box" which is about that. I just want people to cremate me and don't worry about it. Move on.
What are you up to?
I have a new record coming out called The Hurry and the Harm and that comes out in June, so that's everything right now. Just promoting it, going on tour.
What are your current fixations?
Sports. I'm a huge sports fan and right now the Jays are playing and the Leafs are in the playoffs. It's also the basketball playoffs, so I'm fixated on sports.
Why do you live where you do?
I live in North Toronto because my wife's family lives all around us and I'm not home that much, so we live where she can be close to her family.
Name something you consider a mind-altering work of art.
Well, none of mine are. That's a tough one. Oh, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!
What has been your most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
The most memorable gig right now that I can think of is Alexisonfire playing in Brazil just recently, in December. It was just the craziest experience. It was like 130 degrees inside and people were flying all over the place, everyone was bleeding, shirtless. It was crazy.
What have been your career highs and lows?
Career highs are just the fact that I get to keep making records and playing. Lows? There are good and bad days, some days on tour you feel horrible. You feel like you don't want to do it anymore, but it's the highs that allow you to snap out of that.
What's the meanest thing ever said to you before, during or after a gig?
I don't really know, I don't really take what people say seriously. But I don't know that anyone's ever said anything horrible to me. I'm sure somebody's said "you suck" or whatever, but I don't really care.
What should everyone shut up about?
Twitter. I hate it. I hope to god there's a Twitter backlash soon.
What traits do you most like and most dislike about yourself?
I guess I don't like the fact that I'm a control freak, I don't like that, but I think that I'm very loyal.
What's your idea of a perfect Sunday?
Watching basketball or going to a Jays game with the dome open on a Sunday afternoon.
What advice should you have taken, but did not?
Don't tattoo your hands. Some days I regret having half of my body tattooed, just because it's like wearing the same shirt every day for the rest of your life. Sometimes you want to change it. But you can't.
What would make you kick someone out of your band and/or bed, and have you?
I don't know. That's a tough question. Just being an idiot, I guess, in general.
What do you think of when you think of Canada?
I think of home.
What was the first LP/cassette/CD/eight track you ever bought with your own money?
Alice in Chains Dirt. It was a CD, and I still love it. I bought it at Sunrise Records and Tapes in St. Catharines.
What was your most memorable day job?
I used to work at a movie theatre in St. Catharines at the Penn Centre. It was great because I got to see movies for free and eat popcorn. Yeah, it was great.
How do you spoil yourself?
I don't necessarily spoil myself. I mean, I like clothes. I like boots and blue shirts and hats [all of which he is wearing at the moment], so occasionally I'll buy myself a pair of new boots or a hat. But I don't go nuts. I don't have a gold-plated helicopter.
If I wasn't playing music I would be…
Trying to play music.
What do you fear most?
That's a tough one because I fear a lot of things. I think I just fear the idea of failing myself. I don't fear failure, I just fear letting myself down.
What makes you want to take it off and get it on?
My wife? That's the right answer, right?
What has been your strangest celebrity encounter?
I met Bryan Adams and he was really weird. Basically, I couldn't tell if he was mad at me or not. It was at the Junos a couple years ago. I got a weird vibe from him. I gave him my phone number, he asked me for my phone number and I haven't heard from him or talked to him since. I kind of like that I haven't seen him or heard from him, I don't think I want to. I want to leave it at where it was.
Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?
I have a thing where I don't really want to meet anyone that I really like because I don't want them to be a dick, or it turns out that I just don't like them. So my ideal dinner guests would just be my wife and I, because that's who I have dinner with all the time and I enjoy it. We do barbecue a lot. There's this thing we've been doing lately where we take a bunch of heirloom tomatoes and put them in a pan and sprinkle salt and pepper and olive oil and just roast them. And then you make some pasta and then once the tomatoes are roasted, you just mix them up and that becomes the sauce. And I'm not even a vegetarian. But we've doing that a lot and it's just delicious. So that's the only thing I can think of right now, that's what's in my head.
What does your mom wish you were doing instead?
Nothing. She loves it. She got me guitar lessons when I was a kid. This is exactly what she wants me to be doing.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
I don't want to have one. There's a song I wrote called "Body in a Box" which is about that. I just want people to cremate me and don't worry about it. Move on.
