There’s something to be said for a good beard.  After all, it takes real dedication to cultivate a well-developed facial-coif—that or an absence of mirrors (my excuse is a lack of power outlets in my bathroom).  Of course, in the world of indie music looking disheveled and aloof is almost a prerequisite.  In that regard, if street cred is to be measured by the formidability of one’s beard, then Brendan Canning is on top of the pile—and let me tell you, press photos do not do Canning’s barb justice in the least.

How did I come to get an up-close glimpse of the healthiest beard this side of ZZ Top? Gather round the magic carpet and let me explain:

Around 10:30 on the morning of July 25 I hopped on my bicycle to make my way downtown.  It was hot and I’d forgone the comfort of shorts in favour of the casual respectability of jeans, but there was just enough of a breeze to make it bearable. My good friend Luther Mallory was waiting for me a short ride away. He’d been charged with writing the cover story for Canadian Musician and the magazine had arranged for him to interview Brendan Canning.  Being relatively unfamiliar with Canning’s work in Broken Social Scene, Luther had asked that I join him.  I’m far from an expert, but agreed to come as moral support.

I met a freshly-coiffed Luther downtown (he had just gotten a haircut) and we pedaled our way to the interview.  Sadie’s Diner was the venue of choice, as it turned out that the BSS co-founder was also scheduled to meet for lunch with friend and film director, Jamie Dagg. Dagg is set to direct the upcoming video for “Churches Under the Stairs,” from Canning’s BSS presented solo outing Something for All of Us…, and it looked as though they were meeting to discuss the project.

We arrived shortly before Dagg, who seemed pleasant and easy-going, but wouldn’t reveal any details about the upcoming music video. Luther and I asked various questions relating to his film career and I was awestruck at the cost of the sort of cameras he works with ($300,000! Sure beats the Canon I’m using). He sat two tables over while the three of us waited for Canning to arrive.

Strolling in a short while later, Canning sat in the vacant table between us. He explained to Dagg that he was meeting people for an interview, at which point the film-director pointed to Luther and myself as we clumsily made our presence known.  I did my best to stand and shake his hand, but the close proximity of booth-bench to table made it more of an awkward crouch.

There we sat, somewhat comically with each party at a different table near the Diner’s entrance.  Luther and I offered to make room at our corner booth, which had ample space, but Dagg moving to sit with Canning was the most consolidated we’d get.

Neither Luther nor Myself had any extensive experience conducting interviews, so we weren’t really sure what to expect. We tried our best to play it cool, but probably failed miserably. I for one couldn’t help but steal glimpses at Canning’s impressive beard.

Check back next week for the second part of this little story, as it was getting too long for a single post.

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Brendan Canning - Hit the Wall

Hear more at Canning’s Myspace page or grab a digital copy of Something for All of Us here.