Meeting Cary For the First Time
I met Cary in Montreal on July 30th, 2007. Actually, I met Priscilla Ahn first then I met Cary. He was playing Cafe Campus with Priscilla and Stars of Track and Field. I had made an appointment to interview Cary and Priscilla. Meeting Priscilla is another story worth telling. I promise to tell that story another time... After interviewing her, she accompanies me around to find Cary. That's how great she is. She is another gem. Finally, she says “there's Cary” and I look but don't see until he's practically in my face. He doesn't look like the few pictures I've seen. He's totally unassuming in jeans, cons, long sleeve blue t, a tuque and a scruffy beard. He looks like any other guy walking up St. Laurent. At first glance he doesn't look like the hunk-of-man that women swoon over. Trust me, that first impression, dissolves quickly.
We walk around the corner of Cafe Campus for some candid shots with Priscilla and then solo. Right behind the building is a sign in a brand new driveway, “Ne pas uriner. Peine d'amande.” It's particularly funny because it translates to “Do not urinate. Penalty under law is an almond.” Priscilla finds it amusing and pretends to be peeing next to the sign. Cary can't help himself and pretends to be peeing on... the picture tells all. I can barely hold my pee in as I'm guffawing and trying to click away. Cary then proceeds to climb into a trailer right next to it then joined by Priscilla. He thinks he's standing on/in poo, so he climbs out and we do a few more candids on the street. BTW, it's not poo at all, it's clay dirt probably for the building owner's garden otherwise I would have noticed. My nose is very sensitive to bodily functions. The two of them had me in stitches. They completely won me over. If a person can make me laugh, my wall starts to crumble.
We proceed to the bus, to a quieter place to do the interview. If I knew Cary then as I do now, I would have been a nervous wreck and completely star struck. Luckily for me or should I say very rude on my part for not being. Having spent the last twenty minutes laughing, he had me completely at ease. He does that. A person who is sure and comfortable with themselves can put others at ease with them. That's a talent you can't learn. Either you are or you aren't. Cary is.
This is where everything gets hazy because I lost part of the audio of the interview. So unprofessional of me! I know... Crazy week, running around, can't find my muvo, grab my camera and run. I had my pocket pc phone which records memos so I figured I would actually use it. Should have tested it out before because even with a 1 gig card in it, it doesn't hold 2 interviews. *sigh* My bad and now Cary knows too. BUT I'm good now, I bought a 4 gig Zen that I won't be losing any time soon.
My first impression of Cary. Smart and grounded. Honestly, I wasn't totally clued in on how much of a rock star he was until I got back to Montreal after my whirlwind 2 weeks. I'm glad, I didn't know who he superficially was because my judgment wasn't clouded. Cary the person, is easy going and extremely likable. The kind of person you want to kick back with, watch a movie, have a beer (if I “drank” I would) and shoot the breeze. All the nice things. He's unassuming and he doesn't put on any airs. He just is. The more he talks to you, the more comfortable you get and the more you like the guy.
Most of all he speaks TO you. You actually feel like you're as important as he is. After meeting enough musicians (and other “celebrities”), these people start to believe their own hype and you feel the distance and impatience. Cary is none of that. After seeing him a few times, he never turns into that kind of “celebrity” and you believe he never will. He really impressed me. Even regular people, especially pseudo intellectuals (trust me there are plenty out there with “yellow fever”), talk to you sideways and all you want to do is shove the spoon down their throat a little farther. Back on point... Cary talks TO you. He pays attention to what you're saying and you feel like he gets you.
The interview didn't feel like ask question, get answer, pause, next question, next answer. It really was a conversation. I felt I was making a new friend. Notice that I'm using the word “feel/felt”. Trust me, this guy has friends and he has fans and he has... so I am not delusional at all. He has more than his share of people to know and I know he's smart enough to triage them too. He's just so genuine that you just don't know where you've been triaged to and he makes you feel like you're in tier 1. In the end, it really doesn't matter because he makes you feel significant when you're standing in front of him and in that is “greatness”.
Of course what he says is important too... he was proud to be making a living as a musician and being successful at it, as he should be. How he likes smart musicians who “speak” aside from singing or playing like the Dixie Chicks whom he would have probably not paid attention to if they hadn't made a stand. We both agree the last album is good. These are the kind of things that stand out for me. He answered and threw in a few facts about himself that you can read in other interviews with him so I won't be redundant.
I enjoyed the concert. Read about it here. The best part was to see the guy walk off the stage, stand next to it and watch fans form a line in front of him. He introduces himself and asks for their names. He personalizes each CD. Really, he just got off the stage and he says “Hi, I'm Cary, what's your name?” I don't know if that's because he used to be the opener so he has to remind people who he is and got into the habit of introducing himself. Regardless, it's really nice that he's so unpretentious and unassuming. This is how he validates you AND he stays until the last person leaves which was me. I waited until everyone else got a chance to meet the guy because I already had my chance but I really wanted a signed album too. He left me a cute personal message. “Sweet Eva... Thanks for taking a picture of me in poop... Cary Brothers.” He wins me over every time even with bodily functions!
BTW, Did you see the album? It's gorgeous. Michael Muller is a genius. Albums just aren't the art pieces they used to be. Kudos to Cary for finding a way to make art out of his album. Everything he does is intentional and thoughtful. Who does that anymore? They usually slap their face on it so big that you can see into their nostrils to their bellybutton. Mind you the picture of Cary inside is unflattering and you can see his nostril BUT it has artistic merit. It's just not how I see him. For me, he's much kinder and fun. That picture is almost evil like he's cackling. I really hope that's not the real him...