Alterna-Pride: Dancey post-punks The Torrent speak out on gay politics
The Torrent play Buddies in Bad Times Theatre as part of the Keith Cole Experience Friday July 9
After much controversy, Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) marched in the Pride parade yesterday, but not all feathers were left unruffled in the gay community, and musicians were a big part of that.
One band withdrawing from Pride was Toronto dark pop outfit The Torrent, slated to play the Alterna-Queer stage before Diamond Rings and Katie Stelmanis Sunday. John Caffery of Kids on TV and Tomboyfriend also withdrew from performing as organizers’ banned the phrase, and thus the group, QuAIA from marching the parade. The ban was reversed, but the bands decided not to jump back on the bill.
“We sort of moved on,” says Cameron Groves, who fronts The Torrent (makers of “dark dancey art rock with metal and post-punk undertones”) with Hidden Cameras member Michael Barry and a former metal band drummer Steve Karges.
“It was really the fact that they banned language that made us not want to take part. That’s huge for this organization that started very grassroots and community-oriented. That’s really important to artists as well – if they come along and say ‘you can’t use this or that word in your song’ or ‘you can’t get up on stage and say this or that’ – that’s huge.”
He says his position isn’t necessarily that they support QuAIA but that they withdrew due to censorship. In response to allusions that free speech can turn into hate speech, Groves says our laws would decide.
“The organization they were looking to exclude is a legal organization. It’s not a hate organization. Canada has laws about that already prohibiting hate speech and so on, so that’s why Pride Toronto is overstepping their prerogative,” he says, adding there are precautions made on every level of Pride. “There are police on hand to deal with anything controversial, like say during the Pride parade. You know, like the naked guys.”
Groves suspects the huge crowds and corporate sponsors have something to do with the watering down of Pride.
“Pride started out pretty small, and it used to be very community oriented and more of a forum for people to say whatever they want. I moved here 10 years ago (to get his PHD in Medieval literature) and I’ve associated it with a spirit of real diversity… Any community can march in the parade and say that they exist. I don’t know any of the people in the committee personally so there could be personality politics involved for all I know but I think a lot of people are not happy that because it became so big and so popular, it became more corporate,” he says. “I think that has a lot to do with the pressure put on the committee to ban this group.”
Despite The Torrent’s political statement, would Groves still be partying this weekend?
“Well ya! I don’t need to do a personal boycott at this time. I’m not into big crowds so I won’t be at the parade, but if there are alternative events, I’d be more into those and I know a few. I’m excited to get away from the more corporate events. That’s why so many people turned their awards back in, some of them felt it had gotten too far away from the values I started with in the first place.”
Catch an alternative to Pride this Friday July 9, as The Torrent play the Keith Cole experience, a variety/cabaret show, alongside Tomboyfriend at Buddies in Bad Times (12 Alexander) July 9. They also play the Imperial Pub (54 Dundas East) July 10.
Videos for the band are made by Groves (he is also a film maker and actor) . The Torrent is recording a follow-up to its LP, Leonora Moreno, and have singles on Blocks recordings Building Blocks volume 1 vinyl comp. Also they have two free downloads here.
- Marsha Casselman
