Pheaturing Dean Povinsky From Wildlife

Hello, and welcome to another entry of the Phile on a Wednesday. I feel like shit, am tired as hell, but I still find time to do this little thing. Why? For you, my friends, for you.  Now I said that, with major heartburn, today is apparently Pancake Day. I have no idea what the hell that is, but there's some inspirational poster that was released for it. Let me show it and get it over with.

I don't get it at all... the photo and the meaning of pancake mix.  Moving on... Congratulations to both Mitt Romney and President Obama. They both won Emmys for their performance on "60 Minutes" Sunday night. Obama won for acting as if everything has gotten better over the last four years, and Romney won for pretending to care about that other 47 percent. The president's re-election campaign slogan is "Forward," which is also his policy on paying for stuff.  A woman in Tampa, Florida, who is in danger of being foreclosed on, put a giant sign on her roof reading, "Obama, please save my home." To which Obama said, "Hey lady, I'm trying not to get thrown out of my own house, okay?"  Mass riots broke out among 2,000 workers at the factory in China that's making new iPhones. This is what happens when third-graders don't get a nap. They get cranky.  Did you see the footage of that call last night on "Monday Night Football"? I haven't seen people this upset over a piece of tape since that anti-Islam film came out. The replacement refs made a very controversial call that many people felt cost Green Bay the game. Well, thank God fans in Green Bay don't take their football that seriously. Those refs are blowing more calls than T-Mobile. There's a new NFL rule. You can catch the ball by catching the guy who caught the ball.  Season 15 of "Dancing With the Stars" premiered Monday night. Is it really the 15th season? Seems like just yesterday I wasn't watching the first season. Actually, I've never seen it. If they get Kelly Clarkson on the show I might watch it. What am I talking about? If they get Kelly I will watch it.  So, I just mentioned the bad call the refs made at the Green Bay game. If you don't know what I am talking about, here is a screen shot from that game.

Alright, yesterday The Avengers came out on DVD and Blu-ray. I don't have my copy yet but I found out there was a deleted scene. I have a shot of it right here.

Disney and Marvel are doing everything they can to plug this release. Take a look at this store display I saw.

Okay, let's see who bought a pine condo.

Andy Williams
Dec 3, 1927 - Sept 26, 2012
Tomb River.


As I mentioned, this past Sunday was the Emmys. I didn't see it, but a friend of the Philes did, so I thought I would invite him here to give us a run down on what we missed. Please welcome back to the Phile, our very own...

Me: Adrian, welcome back. So, tell us about the Emmys. What do we need to know to be in the loop?

Adrian: All you need know is that Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story" is divine, "Dexter" deserves the awards and "Homeland" is the best show ever. But next year all the fellow Emmy contenders better step it up because "The Newsroom" will be available to win and that is the BEST SHOW ON TV.  "Newsroom" is so smart and amazing and current. Jeff Daniels is fantastic his character is so fresh yet I can see why people say it reminds them of Keith Olbermann. And "Walking Dead" got screwed... it deserved more nominations.

Me: What about the fashions?

Adrian: Who cares?

Okay, so, a young Democrat wanted to come on the Phile and talk about something important to do with the elections here in Clermont, Florida. If you are not from Clermont, and not from Florida you might want to tune out or skip ahead. Please welcome to the Phile for the first time... National Field Director for Obama for America... Jeremy Bird.

Me: Hello, Jeremy, welcome to the Phile. So, what is happening?

Jeremy: Jason, I can barely believe this...

Me: Believe what?

Jeremy: The first voter registration deadlines of this election are less than two weeks away.

Me: This is a big weekend coming up for you then, right?

Jeremy: If we want to make sure as many people as possible are ready and fired up to support President Obama and other Democrats, this weekend is huge.

Me: So, what's happening then?

Jeremy: Well, that's why folks are getting together in states like Florida for a national weekend of action.

Me: What are you gonna be doing?

Jeremy: We'll talk to voters at their doorsteps, in their communities, and over the phones about the choice in this election. No matter where you live or where you're pitching in, this race is getting down to the wire, fast... so we have to get to work now.

Me: What do you think is gonna happen with this election?

Jeremy: This election is going to be close.

Me: So getting out there this Saturday is important.

Jeremy: It will in a great way will have a big impact in the last few weeks. If you've thought about getting more involved, do it this Saturday. 

Me: Well, this Saturday I work, but if anybody else wants to get involved...

Jeremy: Just let us know that we'll see you out there.

Me: And as the Phile is based in Clermont you want to mention where the event is here on Saturday, right?

Jeremy: Yeah. What: Weekend of action in Clermont.  Where: 836 West Desoto Street in Clermont, Florida.

Me: What time, Jeremy?

Jeremy: Saturday, September 29th. Shifts start at 10:00 am.

Me: Okay, I will be at work, but good luck. What about people that don't leave here? I have readers all over the world, y'know.

Jeremy: Cool. Your readers can go to barackobama.com/day-of-action.

Me: Thanks, Jeremy. Any last thoughts?

Jeremy: Let's win this! Thanks, Jason.


Okay, and now for...

Me: Hello, Jeff, welcome again.

Jeff: It's great to be once again on the Phile.

Me: So, what was the big NFL news this past weekend? I think we know, and I mentioned it in the beginning of this entry, but tell us anyway.

Jeff: The biggest news is the disaster of the replacement referees. They messed up so bad that even President Obama tweeted about them. No pressure what's so ever there! Because of their calls the Patriots are under .500 for the first time since 2002.

Me: Jeff, only three teams have remained undefeated so far this year... the Texans, Falcons and Cardinals. Do you see any of these teams continuing this streak?

Jeff: Even though there are three undefeated teams, I think by Week 6 there will be no undefeated teams left. I think the Falcons will be last team to be undefeated but that's about it.

Me: Okay, so last week you were winning by two points. How did we do this weekend?

Jeff: I went 0-3 this week, with Steelers losing. You went 1-2 with the Giants winning so now you leading by a single point!

Me: Yeah, I am in the lead!

Jeff: Good job.

Me: Alright, so, let's get on with Week 4's picks. I say Panthers are gonna win by 9, the Tebow Jets might win... LOL... by three, and Chicago will win by 5. What do you say?

Jeff: For Week 4 I'm picking Washington over Tampa by 3, Seahawks by 3 as well. Finally Minnesota by 7 points.

Me: Very good, Jeff. I will see you again next week here. Keep up the good work.

Jeff: Good luck, Phile.

The 25th artist in the P.P.A.G. is Jeffro Kilpatrick, and this is one of his great pieces.

Jeffro will be a guest on the Phile a week from today.

Okay, today's pheatured guest is the lead singer and guitarist from the are a Canadian indie rock band Wildlife. The band's debut LP "Strike Hard, Young Diamond" is available now on Bandcamp and they will be next appearing at Mitchell Hall St. Georges Church Guelph in Ontario on October 17th. I hope I got that right. Please welcome to the Phile... Dean Povinsky.

Me: Hello, Dean, welcome to the Phile, man. How are you?

Dean: I'm well. Super well. How are you?

Me: Not quite so well. Your manager Travis said you you are the man to talk to. Are you the lead singer for Wildlife?

Dean: Yes.

Me: I have to ask you about the band name, Dean. When you Google the word 'wildlife' you get all this stuff about animals and crap. And there's an American band called Wildlife as well. Do you find that a problem?

Dean: Well, I think people put an amazing level of importance on the "internetability" of a band's name. The point of our name was to be ubiquitous. I didn't really want to cram 3 ridiculous words together and call it a name. That name has meaning for me, and came up with it a few years ago when everyone was coming up with animal names. I thought it was funny to use the more generic / archetypal word. It's not really a problem for us. If you're ever having trouble googling something just add another word to your search. For our name I recommend the word "band". Oh, and I think the American band is called The Wildlife and they have a DJ in it or something. We don't have a DJ.

Me: Who came up with the name? Are you guys into wildlife?

Dean: I did. There were a bunch of reasons I guess. I was home at my parent's house the other day and realized I was obsessed with pretty much two things as a kid: animals and weapons. There's still a giant framed poster in our basement entitled "Canadian Wildlife". It's right beside an old Doors calendar from the 90's and a "Star Trek: The Next Generation" picture. My friend liked "Star Trek" and I liked Star Wars but his mom bought him the same picture for his birthday so we took it home. No matter how much you pretend, that spaceship will never look like the Millenium Falcon. So yeah. things were pretty wild. And our bassist has a cat names Lucy.

Me: I have a sister named Lucy. Why don't you tell the readers who is in the band with you?

Dean: Graham (guitar), Dwayne (drums), Derek (bass) and Tim (synth).

Me: You're guys are from Canada, right? What part?

Dean: Graham, Dwayne and I are from Oshawa. Derek is sorta from Thunder Bay. And Timmins. We got him on Craigslist way back. Tim is from Kingston. He's Graham's cousin.

Me: I discovered you guys through the band Dark Mean who I also interviewed for the Phile. Are you good friends of them? They're label mates, right?

Dean: They are the best. I met the guys from that band in University in Kingston. I hung out with Billy and Mark a lot then. Sandy I knew less but I know him a lot better now and he's rad. Since then our two bands have become friends, we've toured together. We recorded our album at the same place they did there's. Mike Keire who owned that studio plays drums for them and co-produced our record. Billy actually played keyboard in the first version of Wildlife. Dark Mean's album is going to be just incredible. They have two EP's out that are free. Get them!

Me: I have a tradition here on the Phile, Dean. Everytime I interview a band from Canada I always ask if they are a fan of one of my favorite bands who are also from Canada, Barenaked Ladies. Are you a fan of them?

Dean: I have two ears and a heart, don't I? Sex, drugs and children's albums. What's not to love?

Me: I looked for your album "Strike Hard, Young Diamond" on iTunes but it's only on the Canadian version. I did download the album, and really liked it. Will you guys be putting it up on the U.S. version of iTunes?

Dean: Ya, it'll be up there soon. Our thing is that if people want to get it, they can get it. People comment that they think its hard to get our music sometimes, but that's only ever from the States I think. Everywhere else in the world seems to pick it up pretty easy. But go to our Myspace or Bandcamp or any number of other places and its there. We're just figuring out all the legal aspects of doing stuff in the states. Real rock n' roll shit.

Me: I have to ask you about the title "Strike Hard, Young Diamond", is that a baseball reference? No, you're from Canada so I doubt it. What does it mean?

Dean: Dude. We totally have baseball in Canada. I didn't have a mullet growing up for nothing. You are correct though. It's a Kerouac quote flipped around. His was "old diamond". "Strike Hard, Young Diamond" pretty much embodies the character and themes on our record.

Me: Also, explain the album cover. It's looks like Brighton in England.

Dean: It's a beach in Westerland, the Northernmost town in Germany, on an island called Sylt. I loved the idea of hundreds of flags strewn about, conflicting and snapping there in the wind. It has the definite feeling of the aftermath of a war, this weird romantic nationalism that's pretty disconnected from the people walking around in tuxedos. Which is funny because the image is from the 1890's, before Germany went totally bananas for a few years. I actually worked for a long time coming up with ideas for the cover, and this just sort of felt like exactly what I was going for: It vibrated all the emotions that we dumped into that record, sort of shared the same feelings.

Me: Being from Canada I guess you play a lot of shows up there, Dean. Are you guys planning, or have played the rest of North America? Ever been down here to Florida?

Dean: I'm pretty sure 79% of Canadians born in the 1980's have been to Florida. 7% of all Canadians born in the 1980's play in bands. True facts. We've never played there. I went a few times because my grandfather and his wife lived in a trailer in Clearwater during the winter. They chose Clearwater because it was beside Dunedin, the winter home of the Toronto Blue Jays. They had balls and signed photos and shots of her standing beside pretty much EVERYONE on the team all over the place. One of the games I went to, Michael Jordan was playing a season with the Yankees. That was cool. And on my 11th birthday there was a serious hurricane and we spent the night awake with the mattresses against the trailer walls. But yeah, we are coming to the States really soon, possible to New York and Chicago and some other places in the spring. Later this year we hope to be down there as much as we can.

Me: Dean, what is next from you guys? Are you already planning your next album?

Dean: Next up is to keep on the arc that we've been traveling on. It's been really exciting the last few months, we've had the chance to play a lot and do some great shows, meet some really nice people. As far as the next record goes, we're always writing new songs. That kind of stuff is always on my brain. It's tough because the points between starting production on an album and when it gets released are fairly far apart. So I've been having a huge itch to get back into the studio and record because their are a silly amount of songs to work through. But that's only one aspect of making a record. So I think the "planning" stage for the next thing we put out is going to be a little more drawn out, because on "Strike Hard, Young Diamond" we pretty much had all the songs and concepts flushed out and ready to go by the time we got into the studio.

Me: Dean, man, thanks so much for being on the Phile. I wish you guys the best of luck, and come back when your next album comes out, okay? Take care, and all the best. Tell the other Wildlife guys I said hello.

Dean: You are very welcome, sir. Thank you. Beware the dark side. Follow your dreams.

That about does it for this entry. Thanks to Adrian Bram Giannotta, Jeff Trelewicz, Jeremy Bird and Dean Povinsky. The Phile will be back Sunday with Clo Floret from We Are Enfant Terrible... and Kal Penn. Yep, him. The Phile will be off on Monday as I will be at Epcot for it's 30th anniversary. Next Wednesday it'll be Jeffro Kilpatrick. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.