Wheel arrived at the Sirius stage of Toronto's Harbourfront Centre in the hopes of teasing out revelations of an insurgent, pop-ironic manifesto from this Casio-presetted group of alt rock émigrés. But apart from the odd expression of irreverence (no doubt ironic), we were a little disappointed to discover that Holy Fuck are a sweet bunch of guys. Far too polite to complain about being squeezed into the narrow category of a burgeoning Toronto electro-pop scene, they simply want their audiences to have fun, dance, and maybe start a band of their own.
By Ted Niles
If I said there was something Dadaist about HF, would you laugh in my face?
Brian - Not in your face, exactly –
Graham - With your face. Which one was Dadaism again?
Marcel Duchamp? Hans Arp? You know, “readymades?” The upside-down urinal? Sticking it to the Bourgeoisie?
G - Oh yeah. I’ve got the book. But I haven’t read it yet.
B - I don’t think that’s anything we initially tried to do and I don’t think anything would be different if I hadn’t gone to the museum that day. HF was born out of an innocent concept.
Matt - Our concept could even be a non-concept.
You guys tend to get lumped in with the electro-pop scene in Toronto: Thunderheist, Crystal Castles, Junior Boys. Does that seem right to you?
B - It's right on one hand because the audience is going to make its own associations regardless. And I can't personally visit everyone and say “well, I'd rather you think of it this way.” Yes, it has an electronic or dance-y element, and we are from Toronto, so naturally those things are going to come together. But I don't know if we'd include ourselves in that category. And that's not an insult – Graham played a Junior Boys song last night and I really liked it. But –
M - We just wouldn't put ourselves in any category. Like the Dadaist thing, it's trying to explain music with words. Talk is cheap.
HF doesn't have any vocals. Unlike all those other bands.
B - It wasn't anything deliberate.
M - And that doesn't mean that we won't. Maybe there'll be, like, a choir someday.
And there's nothing pointed about your refusal to go digital – again, as distinct from all those other bands?
B - No. And things might change. Initially, part of the fun was to use things we had around the house, but we still want to grow. I don't think we'll ever have laptops though. It's not fun to pound away on a laptop. I'd go back to guitar before I'd go down that channel.
G - Starting out with the super-crazy low-fi stuff allowed us to explore the concept of less-is-more. And creating these ‘instruments’ of effects brings a spirit to the song-writing process. Now that we've established that spirit we can bring, say, a sampler in and get the same result.
Has the name become tiresome? There was a scandal in Calgary just recently wasn't there?
G - The name causes more problems for other people than it does us.
B - We don't want people to be upset. I mean, it's just a silly word but sometimes you'll be somewhere and some nice old man will come up to you, and you find yourself cringing: aw, what am I gonna tell him? But sometimes they go “ah!” and they love it.
M - If you think about it, it's a bad word in how many countries in the world? Like, two? [closer to seventy - ed.] Who gives a shit? It's a word! Hopefully also some dude saw one of our gigs and then started a band. You know?
B - Yeah, fucking is one of my favourite things to do. It's awesome. And if anyone out there hasn't tried it, I strongly recommend it. Seriously.
Influences? Apart from Suicide.
M - Bay City Rollers. James Gang.
What are you listening to now?
B - The new Mos Def record - and that's current! Usually we wouldn't say anything current.
M - Most of the newer music we've heard that's inspiring is almost always hip hop. For me, it's the most forward thinking stuff that's happening.
Your song Lovely Allen was used in a Jeep Chrysler commercial recently. Any upset teenagers accusing you of selling out?
M - Only me.
G - Yeah, only that upset teenager. Everyone's been pretty good about it. I think times have changed and people are more open-minded about that sort of thing.
When can we expect your next album?
B - Hopefully early this year. We pushed it back a little because we have been on the road for nearly two years straight.
Is HF evolutionary or revolutionary?
G - Any music is evolutionary because you're always striving for something. It's always a path. Like, if you created the perfect record then what's the point of making more?
B - I think more than any project I've been in before, HF is a demonstration in evolution. If you see us one night and then come back the next night, the songs will have evolved that quickly. Whereas with rock bands it’s a matter of getting a song you’ve written pretty tight then taking it to the stage. For the most part, it's done the moment you share it with an audience. But with us, it's not that at all. Everything is changing. 
Photo gallery of Holy Fuck's gig at Scala, London
More Holy Fuck
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