HOW DID YOUR NAME ORIGINATE?
Rob : My father passed away at the age of 56. It was shortly after that I created Dearly Beloved as an outlet. The idea was to make music with friends that also needed to make music for fun and enjoyment and that name, all things considered, made sense to me at the time. Still wish I had chosen The Beloveds, but hey, that’s life.
WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST GIG AND HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE THERE?
Niva : Our first gig was a Puma party in Toronto and it was a lot of fun. It was in a loft space, not an actual venue, and because of the generosity of one Sheila Roberts we didn’t have to worry about footwear for a while after that. Hard to say how many people were there, it was Puma’s party and they’re a big shoe company that had connections to the music industry at the time but I can say with confidence that it was well attended. Maybe 150 people or something like that? We’ve definitely played many, many shows for fewer people than that since. We feel pretty to lucky to have such a fond memory of our debut.
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WHEN WAS YOUR LAST DAY OFF AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH IT?
Rob : A week ago I had an entire day at home alone in my house and chose not to work on anything except for the wellbeing of a rescue sparrow that lives with us. Her name is Bruce Lee and she fell from her nest as a hatchling, and despite the odds, has survived and thrived to become an amazing and independent miniature dinosaur that rips around our home from 8am until 4:30 pm, like clockwork. She appears to be a very happy and healthy sparrow that enjoys hanging out with us, eating almost anything we eat, cuddling, swimming and sleeping relentlessly in her aviary. She is spectacular and it has been an amazing experience. You can follow her @bruceleebeverlyhillsbird , if you are so inclined. Spoiler alert : it’s some of the cutest shit you’ll ever see.
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WHAT IS SOMETHING APART FROM YOUR WALLET OR PHONE THAT HAS TO BE IN YOUR VICINITY AT ALL TIMES?
Niva : My glasses
Also rolling papers
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WHICH SONG BY ANOTHER ARTIST DO YOU WISH YOU HAD WRITTEN?
Rob : Most recently, Raging River by Sebadoh. We did 21 dates with them in Europe recently to celebrate the release of our new album and that song slays me. Jason and Lou are both monstrous songwriters. Touring with them was pure inspiration.
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WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST SURREAL FAN MOMENT?
Niva : Well Larry Mullins, (Toby Dammit) drummer for Iggy Pop, Nick Cave etc came to a show in Berlin. There was a drum issue happening during our set and Toby jumped right up on stage to help us out. We were just excited that he came to see us play a show, to see him on stage to tech the drums mid-set was surreal.
Another time, we played the Jack White afterparty at Cherry Cola’s in Toronto - Commissioner Gordon showed up (Gary Oldman), which was cool, but the surreal part was seeing Jack White rocking out at the bar to our song Candy Coated.
Mike Watt emerging from his dressing room to lean on a monitor wedge and watch Rob play every bass note of the set during a weekday opening slot in the UK for Mike Watt and the Missingmen was beyond surreal - more like one of the greatest things to ever happen.
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