Kim Churchill goes head-to-head with Koady Chaisson from The East Pointers on who does it best, Australia or Canada.
We got Kim Churchill from right here in Down Under and Koady Chaisson from the terrific Canadian band The East Pointers to interview each other, and the results were hilarious.
Together they discuss Winter, Vegemite, Maple Syrup and the art of slang. Check it out below!
Listen to ‘Wintergreen’ by The East Pointers
You’ve just come off tour in Canada. What do you love about touring there? What sux? Would you rather tour Australia or Canada in Winter and why?
Kim – Hahaha! What a loaded question. I love the people the most. The energy of Canada and the gentle sense of calm I feel always makes it a dream! It’s like I sit back and realise, as a person, I’m just fine exactly the way I am. Canadians make me feel that way. It’s so lovely. Especially when I’m playing music each night on stage. The sucky part would be the travel. It gets kinda draining and sabotages any attempts at a decent night’s sleep. Especially in snowstorms and the like. Also, the coffee is a bit shit (I know, I know I’m sorry – we just do it very well here). 100% rather tour Australia in the winter. Think of your summer just after the really hot bit in the middle. It’s like that basically…
Koady – First of all, shout out to Kim Churchill. He’s such an amazing artist and an amazing ambassador for Australia around the globe. It’s an honour to go head to head against you! Here we go! The crowds are very diverse in Canada, little pockets of dullness amongst what is mostly pretty crazy energy. I reckon the east coast, where we’re from, has the wildest audiences. It’s funny – we don’t play rock and roll by any stretch of the imagination but you would swear that we did sometimes out east, it’s hard to hear yourself on stage with the screaming.
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It’s what we want though, energetic crowds, letting loose and having a time. What sucks is the weather, from late October right through until the end of April it’s always hit or miss whether you’re going to be able to make a gig because of storms. We thought we’d be fine this time around with a tour that started early November but we still hit a few crazy long sections of white-outs (pretty much zero vis). It’s full-on, but that’s Canada.
Cold Christmas vs Tropical Christmas? Give us the pros and cons of each and what you’d ultimately choose!
Kim – Never done a cold Christmas so I don’t know… tropical Christmas is pretty dreamy though. Just sit on the beach, swim and get incredibly dehydrated drinking champagne and eating Pavlova. I shall have to come for a cold Christmas soon to compare.
Koady – This’ll be my 6th tropical Christmas in a row and I have to say that I’m starting to miss the white Christmases back home. There’s something about the hot drink on the freezing cold day with the snow and the Christmas lights that is just hard to miss. That being said, I did see Santa surfing at Moffat Beach a couple of years ago and that was pretty mind-blowing.
Listen to ‘Dark Horse, Acoustic’ by Kim Churchill
Vegemite or Maple Syrup? Big Brekkie (bacon, eggs, sausage, hash brown, mushroom, roast tomato) or Smoked Salmon Benny? Smashed Avo or Maple Bacon Doughnut? Who does breakfast better and why?
Kim – Ummm… I’d say I like Vegemite more, but use maple syrup more.. so that’s tricky. I’ve started really enjoying using maple syrup in cocktails. Smoked salmon benny for sure – especially on the west coast! Holy shit… smashed avo I gotta say. I eat one of those doughnuts and I will dedicate my life to eating every other one in existence. I have a terribly addictive personality ;) brekkie is a tricky one.
Canada’s breakfast is more comforting and decadent. Australia’s breakfast is more extravagant and expensive. To be honest, take coffee out of the equation and I’d say they’re on par. But it is a lot easier to find good breakfast in Aus. Lots more places. The cafe culture here is nuts! But, as I say, as long as you do your research you can find places just as good in Canada! Especially Quebec. They nail déjeuner!
Koady – Hard to choose between Vegemite and Maple Syrup, and as a Canadian it would be blasphemous to choose vegemite BUT I’m going to do it anyway. Vegemite is my life in Australia, I eased into it – a light dusting – when I first started coming to Australia. I reckon that’s the way to do it, I’ve upped my ‘ratio of vegemite per slice of toast’ a considerable amount since then. Believe it or not, I’ve also become a bit of a supplier in Canada with my group of friends, I’ve got quite a few of them hooked! Oh, and I hate Marmite, just thought I should throw that in there ;)
The band are all vegos and I think with the fresh fruit and veg in Oz, you have the breakfast competition locked up, combine that with the
coffee and it’s a no brainer. Champs!
You’re embarking on national Aussie tours this summer. What do you love about touring in Australia? What do you hate? Would you rather tour Australia or Canada in Summer and why?
Kim – I love Australian tours because of the ease of getting around. We mainly fly here and when we drive there’s lots of beaches to swim in and little towns to potter around and the drives are normally a bit smaller. I also love the amount of interesting outdoor venues we have. Having said that, Canada completely transforms in the summer and it is absolutely magical! I’d say touring Canada in the summertime is about the most incredible touring the world has to offer. The place is so vibrant and alive and every day some wonderful event is happening out in the sweet spring air! The lakes and oceans are gorgeous to swim in and the mountains are absolute paradise! There is nothing I’d trade a Canadian summer tour for! It’s the best thing ever.
Koady – Perpetual summers. It’s nice to be able to extend the summer vibes. Wintertime in Canada, although really pretty, is super cold and touring can be a gamble. Being able to dodge that and get in for a swim every day and drink the very best of coffees while Canada freezes is pretty awesome! Hmm, I’d have to say Canada in the summer but mostly because Prince Edward Island, where we are from, really comes alive in summer – really long days and you can actually have a refreshing swim. Having it as a home base for touring in the northern hemisphere means we actually get to go home and sleep in our beds between festivals. The beaches on PEI are really beautiful as well, look them up! We run a festival there that’s going into its 44th year, it’s called the Rollo Bay Fiddle
Festival (it’s not just fiddle though) and happens in July, come and hang! We’re talking to you Kim – and anyone reading this.
Listen to ‘Halfway Tree’ by The East Pointers
Whether you’re barking up the wrong tree or chucking a U-ey, when it comes to slang, us Aussies reckon we take the cake! What are your favourite Aussie slang words?
Kim – Well… how’s this one?! ‘We’re not here to f*#k spiders.’ Pardon the language but it’s one expression I love to share because it’s just so outrageously nonsensical. No one would ever, not even in their wildest dreams, be in a place to do that sort of thing with a spider. It basically means ‘let’s get on with what we’re here to do. I love it because I think it reflects Australia’s crass ironic absurdity quite well. We love to take the piss and this phrase is the ultimate example! I also really like ‘sticky beak’ which basically means to have a look around.
Koady – Avo, defo, heaps, arvo (insert eye roll) servo, brekky, barbie, togs, thongs, mate, coldies, swimmers, bogan… the list goes on. Too many to even get into. It was something that took a while to get used to here and there are still some people that I just straight up don’t understand, but it’s started making its way into my daily life. I’ve recently gotten into the whole Kath and Kim world, and a lot of things are starting to fall into place.
What are your favourite Canadian slang words?
Kim – I love ‘toonie’ for a two dollar coin and love the word ‘took’ for a hat! We call it a ‘beanie’ oddly. My friends’ dogs name is ‘Timbit’ also which I think is hilarious.
Koady – We have a few, we’ve been mocked by our neighbours to the south for saying EH, turns out I’ve heard it here a lot so there’s a sense of camaraderie between us there! We say rig instead of car, a lot of us on the east coast say slippy instead of slippery, we use greasy to describe shady people, double-doubles are coffees with two cream two sugars (gross), we say pop instead of soft drink, on the east coast we would say ‘that Kim Churchill is some good, he can really give’er on that guitar’!
Cram as much Aussie/Canadian slang into one sentence for us!
Kim – Soz for the stitch-up, but we need to bar Glenny from getting any more schooeeys cos he’s maggot and taking the piss on the pokies. Which equates to – Sorry for the burden, but we need to cut off Glenn from drinking any more beers because he is drunk and spending too much money on the poker machines.
Koady – Bys if you’re heading out in that blizzard, for god’s sake put on your warmest toque and mittens, the Canadian tuxedo, get a double-double from Timmies and keep the rig between the ditches, she’s some slippy out there, eh!
Listen to ‘After the Sun’ by Kim Churchill
To catch Kim Churchill on her Australian Tour, you can find Tickets Here.
To check out The East Pointers travelling across Australia, you can find Tickets Here.
