CHALKEDUP:First, why the roster change?

SHAMMYDOER:Since the Doers' first show in May 2003 the roster has
always been changing. Back then, Kathy Dub� helped out
on the mic, and after that John Cow played a second
guitar here-and-there and toured with us. I believe we
have had over 30 'Other Doers' in the past
three-and-a-half years. We have been very lucky to
play with such a variety of wonderful people who have
helped diversify the Doers style and artistic hoo-hah.

CU:The Doers have jammed/gigged with a lot of different
drummers in
their days- is Shawn M. going to be a permanent
fixture for the band
or is he just passing through?

SD:I think the concept of membership is an archaic
concept that should be saved for older bands like
Sting and Dinosaur Jr. We have plans with Shawn to
write/record an album together and then tour. It's
very much permanent in the moment which is about all
one can expect/ask of themselves, let alone anyone
else. Our friendship with Shawn goes back nine years
(before Jerf and I even met) and we are all very much
excited to be working together and the first few jams
have been very exciting.

CU:Can you recount for me, the craziest night on tour
the Doers had this
spring/summer?

SD:Well, I would say that the night I discovered I prefer
Labatt 50 beer to a green bottle import (I believe it
was Stella Artois in Edmundston, NB) was pretty crazy.
I was trading my fancy beers for my friend Mitch's
50's. Ok, that's boring, so off the top of my head one
of the craziest tour stories was on the tour before,
with Run Chico Run, where Barry ran their van out of
gas on the 17 in Northern Ontario. In that part of the
country there's no gas stations anywhere and it was
getting dark. Needless to say we missed our gig in
Thunder Bay and needless to say, we pulled the drums
out of the back and set them up in front of the van.
We partied (hard) on the side of the freeway until
about 2am when Mr. Plow drove out from Thunder Bay
with a jerry can. Plow gassed us up and we slept in a
Petro-Can truckstop.

CU:What kept you busy on this summer break from The Doers? Are you guys feeling re-pumped?

SD:I have been doing tons of visual art. I have an
artshow next April with Andy Dixon and a bunch of
other stuff, including a book I'm making. This summer
involved a lot of relaxing,and yes, we are feeling
re-pumped. Barry went on tour with Joel & The Last
Of The Neighbours to Newfoundland and back while
I stayed at home and drew pictures.

CU:Your last tour sounded kinda grueling (ie: robberies,
back injuries,
parties, etc.)--are you somewhat weary about heading
back on the road again and do you find you can still
summon the energy to pull off the uber-exuberant Doers
shows?

SD:The uber-exuberant shows come from the love and
passion we have for performing and playing music. We
absolutely love touring and we love our van. We've
been traveling further south as of late and there's a
lot of untracked territory down there for us so that
excitement keeps the energy up. Even when the energy
reserve is low we somehow come up with efficient ways
to use what's left to put on an exciting show.

CU:Have you guys recorded any new tracks this summer? if
so, any plans
for an album? are you still recording with Jesse
Gander?

SD:We will be recording with Jesse before the end of the
year and always will record with Jesse.

CU:How was Red Cat as a label and what avenues for
distribution are you going to seek now that they're
wrapping up that side of the business?

SD:Red Cat was one of the only record labels that I have
had contact with that had the right idea about what
the roles of a record label should be and how to
properly go about it. They wouldn't let creativity be
compromised by business. We have great friendships
with those folks as a result of working together and
that's the best part. We will continue to work with a
wonderful label out of Edmonton called Reluctant
Recordings, who put out 'Whatcha Doin'?' on vinyl
earlier this year. Evan over there does it all himself
and's got the skills with screen-printing and the
whole craft of making records.

CU:It seems in this city everyone's either played with
the Doers, is
going to soon, or is best friends with someone who
has--why are he
Doers such a broad community?

SD:That's a hefty part of what the Doers stand for -
supporting each other. Artistic communities are always
overlooked in the pursuit of fame and fortune. I've
said this before but I believe artists and musicians
have a job to do by standing up and speaking out.
Strong artistic communities do not need the help of
booking agencies and other douches that gouge everyone
involved, take percentages, and in turn, destroy
communities. We make good art and good music for good
people and have fun doing it with other good people.
That's why.