BACK TO MAIN
BACK TO ARTICLES
By Aaron Brophy - ChartAttack.com
"We didn't get screeched, but did I mention that we got hammered?" says Prevail, part of the Swollen Members crew and proud recipient of a new 2002 Juno Award for Best Rap Recording.
And while there was no kissing of fishes going on during the music awards weekend in St. John's, Newfoundland, Prev was happy to report that a merry time was had by all, b'y.
"I think it was the best Junos ever. And I've been watching since I was a kid," he says excitedly, before breaking into laughs when it's pointed out that, duh, of course it was the best ever — he won.
Still, Prev says the experience on the East Coast was entirely rewarding, from how friendly the locals were to the enjoyably plentiful number of bars the city has.
"Everyone was so friendly it was off the fucking hook," he says. "Everyone was stoked to be there."
Considering the extended pre, during and post-Juno celebrations Prev and mates Mad Child, Moka Only and Rob The Viking got up to, they still managed to spend a couple hours rehearsing, performed a show on Saturday night at Club Atomique ("Everyone was hammered — including us.") and Prevail also appeared on a special episode of TSN's Off The Record being held in St. John's.
That's not to say the reveling wasn't in full effect, though.
On Saturday, Prevail had his first drink around 1.p.m. and the rock 'n' roll sodas continued flowing until around 5 a.m. After the victory on Sunday the salutations kicked into high gear.
"Sunday got a little berserk because we were celebrating our win," says Prevail. "We saw our [acceptance] speech on repeat. That was cause for another round of shooters. I didn't sleep until the plane ride in the morning."
Of course, one of the other big bonuses of being at the awards show was being able to get to hang with virtually all the heavy hitters in Canadian music all in the same room at the same time for one evening. Considering hip-hop's uphill Canadian climb, Prevail can't stress enough how supportive the atmosphere was.
"Everyone in Canadian music — CEOs, managers, artists — were just having a great time," he says. "It was incredibly positive realizing everyone was there partying, talking about music, having a good time.
"It was a double-fisted meet 'n' greet. Generally, everyone was having a party. It lifted the preconceptions about everybody." Considering the jerk-free environment, Prevail was able to notch up the rolodex of connections. He says the guys from Default were great, as well as Glenn Lewis, David Usher and Sum 41. Deborah Cox got marks for having the most style and the Barenaked Ladies were "fucking hilarious. The freestyles were on point."
Still, S&M weren't entirely inter-connected. Despite their best efforts they missed meeting Ms. Hands Clean.
"I wanted to meet Alanis. Moka and I looked around but didn't get to meet her."
April 16, 2002 [ChartAttack.com]