Simon Pius grew up in Oshawa, Ontario and is the lead singer of Toronto-based power garage punk rock band the Exploders. Their debut album, New Variations, is out now on Teenage USA Recordings.
Current fixations:
We The People, Arzachel, Skullflower, Sensational, The Blossom Toes, boogie-rock, children's board books, Irvine Welsh's Glue, Times Square, 70s porn film or Victorian porn literature, cults, taboos, the voluntary submission of will.
Mind-altering work of art:
Earth's Earth 2 record. When this came out, I sort of felt like I'd found "the record" for me. For over two years, I listened to it every single night as I went to bed. I was completely obsessed with Earth 2 and it definitely altered my mind. One time I was on acid at a party and listened to it twice in a row but by the end I felt like I was cracking up.
Most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
Back in high school there was a group of these bizarre guys who'd just emigrated from Poland and who put on a show in the auditorium as this one-time band called Atrocities Malevolent. They only played one song - it was called "Flames Of Sex" - but in that time they broke just about every rule the school had and got in tons of trouble. They didn't care at all though and it was a big inspiration for me to play music.
What has been your career high and low?
High: A deaf girl once told me after a show that she could hear me scream.
Low: Falling off the stage at Lee's Palace and going face first into the floor. Still finished the song though.
What should everyone shut up about?
Garage rock being a fad.
I would drop everything to play a benefit for:
Edumacation.
What trait do you like and dislike most about yourself?
Shooting lightning out your fingertips is great, but it's always a drag when innocent people get hurt.
What would make you kick someone out of your band and/or bed, and have you?
Being really late all the time is a bad idea. I suppose I have, yes.
When I think of Canada I think:
The fact that we're losing the things that make us great, and we should take an active interest in doing something about it.
What is your vital daily ritual?
A bowl and a view.
How do you spoil yourself?
Milk and cookies.
What was your most memorable day job?
Working on the line at GM for three summers has given me the kind of scars you just can't see.
If I wasn't playing music I would be:
Listening to other people play music.
What is your greatest fear?
To wake up in a small metal box suspended from a crane high above the ground, and to slowly die from starvation or exposure to the elements.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
To play guitar like Jimi Hendrix. Or to turn invisible. To do both at the same time would be the ideal.
What makes you want to take it off and get it on?
Reggae, candlelight, being drunk, being bored. Most anything really.
Music and sex: Is there a difference? Why?
If you whip out your music in public and play, you make money. If you whip out your sex in public and play, you get fined.
Strangest brush with celebrity:
Years ago I was lucky enough to attend a Breath And Energy Orgasm workshop with the divine Annie Sprinkle and about 20 other people. By the end of it, after the "Big Draw," folks were laughing, crying, a lot of moaning...I had visions of angels above my head. It was pretty intense.
Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?
Cleopatra. Oysters.
What does your mom wish you were doing instead?
Cleaning the car.
Current fixations:
We The People, Arzachel, Skullflower, Sensational, The Blossom Toes, boogie-rock, children's board books, Irvine Welsh's Glue, Times Square, 70s porn film or Victorian porn literature, cults, taboos, the voluntary submission of will.
Mind-altering work of art:
Earth's Earth 2 record. When this came out, I sort of felt like I'd found "the record" for me. For over two years, I listened to it every single night as I went to bed. I was completely obsessed with Earth 2 and it definitely altered my mind. One time I was on acid at a party and listened to it twice in a row but by the end I felt like I was cracking up.
Most memorable or inspirational gig and why?
Back in high school there was a group of these bizarre guys who'd just emigrated from Poland and who put on a show in the auditorium as this one-time band called Atrocities Malevolent. They only played one song - it was called "Flames Of Sex" - but in that time they broke just about every rule the school had and got in tons of trouble. They didn't care at all though and it was a big inspiration for me to play music.
What has been your career high and low?
High: A deaf girl once told me after a show that she could hear me scream.
Low: Falling off the stage at Lee's Palace and going face first into the floor. Still finished the song though.
What should everyone shut up about?
Garage rock being a fad.
I would drop everything to play a benefit for:
Edumacation.
What trait do you like and dislike most about yourself?
Shooting lightning out your fingertips is great, but it's always a drag when innocent people get hurt.
What would make you kick someone out of your band and/or bed, and have you?
Being really late all the time is a bad idea. I suppose I have, yes.
When I think of Canada I think:
The fact that we're losing the things that make us great, and we should take an active interest in doing something about it.
What is your vital daily ritual?
A bowl and a view.
How do you spoil yourself?
Milk and cookies.
What was your most memorable day job?
Working on the line at GM for three summers has given me the kind of scars you just can't see.
If I wasn't playing music I would be:
Listening to other people play music.
What is your greatest fear?
To wake up in a small metal box suspended from a crane high above the ground, and to slowly die from starvation or exposure to the elements.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
To play guitar like Jimi Hendrix. Or to turn invisible. To do both at the same time would be the ideal.
What makes you want to take it off and get it on?
Reggae, candlelight, being drunk, being bored. Most anything really.
Music and sex: Is there a difference? Why?
If you whip out your music in public and play, you make money. If you whip out your sex in public and play, you get fined.
Strangest brush with celebrity:
Years ago I was lucky enough to attend a Breath And Energy Orgasm workshop with the divine Annie Sprinkle and about 20 other people. By the end of it, after the "Big Draw," folks were laughing, crying, a lot of moaning...I had visions of angels above my head. It was pretty intense.
Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what would you serve them?
Cleopatra. Oysters.
What does your mom wish you were doing instead?
Cleaning the car.
