Armed with his electric mandolin, drum machines and other non traditional rock instruments, Nash would open for some of the some of the top Alternative acts of the early 80’s, but he would do so alone. He was backed up by no one, performing everything himself while utilizing visual mediums to create unique performances. By this time, his signature look of performing entirely in bandages (he developed it in 1978 as a reaction to the Three Mile Island nuclear crisis) was already in place and music fans were certainly taking notice.
Already standing out with his sound and look, Nash was also a favorite among fans for his interviews. He never took the politically correct approach, and could always be counted on for a distinctive candor. Even music fans who may not have appreciated his musical style would enjoy him in interviews and if there is anything that young music lovers respect it is the genuine article. This would allow Nash the Slash (who had rejoined FM in the mid 80’s) to receive a pass of sorts as FM had ventured off into commercial Pop songs. While they did create some catchy pop tunes, it was a style that historically has a limited shelf life and while can sell records rarely remains in the public consciousness. This stylistic change would again see Nash leave FM to go back to his own musical endeavors.
We had the opportunity to chat with the Canadian icon who remains as candid as ever with his thoughts on his career, playing in Canada and today’s music scene in general.
In the early 70's, the Canadian Government enforced content regulations on Canadian radio forcing a percentage of Canadian music to be played on the radio. As a Toronto based musician coming up through the ranks, this likely helped you and your peers reach a National audience and simultaneously helped the local scene grow as musicians now had a path that did not have to begin in the U.S. or Europe. Did this impact you as a member of the Toronto scene and give you hope that you could reach a National or International audience?
The Canadian content rule did absolutely nothing to promote new Canadian artists. It did help me expand my College Radio exposure but mainstream commercial radio, then as now, simply played a hell of a lot more Guess Who. The other useless thing about mainstream is that they always play the SAME Guess Who songs. The same applies to The Tragically Hip, BTO, Bryan Adams and Arcade Fire. Commercial radio gets its revenue from selling advertising. Their value in the marketplace depends on how many listeners that station has. The music on mainstream radio is nothing but filler in between the commercials. If that music has a constant appeal to the listeners, then the advertisers have a chance to reach a larger audience. That's why the music HAS TO BE commercially popular and that’s why the radio programmers take no chances and constantly play the same songs day in and day out.
My music has always been independent, and without the support of a major record label, I have no chance of getting played on mainstream radio.
Although you are a Rock Star, you do not play what is considered "traditional Rock instruments". As someone with a completely unique take on the Rock genre, did you find this opened doors or did you find this hurt you when gaining acceptance?
I've always been the 'weird guy with the violin'. I'm not trying to compete with other rock acts but I do what I do and I do it very well. I had the opportunity to be the opening act for most of the major artists in the early eighties.
The Stranglers, Iggy Pop, Gary Numan, to name a few. Their audiences really liked what they heard coming from a one-man band. I'm the only opening act to survive a Tubes tour. Most quit. Lester Bangs, a famous rock journalist for Rolling Stone said in one review, 'Nash the Slash is the kind of opening act that makes the headliner work twice as hard to overcome'.
You are a musician who embraces the visual arts. This is not just from your signature bandages but also from your outfits, use of art and other aspects of the visual medium while on stage. Few have combined visuals and audio as well you have. You have brought audio to visual (Scoring silent movies) and simultaneously brought that art to your stage shows. Can you discuss how that has evolved through the years?
When I first started performing live in 1975, I used a 16 mm film projector to show black and white silent movies as I created the sonic noise. I then moved up to video projection and it was better because it was smaller and I could also stripe the music onto the video so it was coordinated with the film. I now use DVD production.
It never appeared that mainstream acceptance was ever important to you.
However, with FM you were able to achieve some of that and you still have hits that are played on Classic Rock stations today. Black Noise was a brilliant album, and an undervalued Canadian Classic. After that FM ventured off into more of a Pop sound. One of my last memories of FM was the Dream Girl video where it appeared that visually like FM was hanging out with their cool friend, Nash the Slash. Basically, it just didn't seem to fit especially after your past associations with Gary Numan, The Tubes and Iggy Pop. Am I off in saying that the last days of FM did not feature as much input from Nash as the debut album did?
As I said before, getting the attention of mainstream radio is very difficult so whenever an artist can get the airplay, go for it. FM made its first LP Black Noise without any intention of having a commercial musical style, but what we did sounded very original and that album got a lot of airplay, especially Phasors on Stun. When we re-formed FM in 1987, I think Cam Hawkins had a very different approach to song-writing than I did. He REALLY wanted to be commercial. Instead of letting the music come out naturally, it became forced, and there is no better example than the addition of a Bon Jovi look-alike guitarist. I felt completely alienated from the bands new direction. It was a big mistake to try and be a musical entity that had no heart and soul.
The proof is that Phasors on Stun still gets airplay, while absolutely none of the pop crap that came later ever gets any airplay at all. Those pop tunes just sound like a lame wannabe hair band. Cam also didn't have the looks or stage presence to pull it off.
You have performed all across the world, especially across Canada and the U.K. Is there a favorite venue or scene that you feel that people embrace you more than other places, or any place other than Toronto where you feel at "home" on stage?
Even though Toronto is my home town, the city has always been a 'showcase' town. The clubs are very popular and always want the latest up-and-coming acts. Most clubs in Toronto won't book me. I'm just not hip anymore.
That said, I love playing in Hamilton, St. Catharines and other smaller cities because the crowd really appreciates your visit to their town. It's the same reason I prefer New York City to LA. Less pretense, more art. In all my performing through Europe, Russia and North America, I still think the best audiences are in the UK.
Are there any artists you hear today that when you hear them that you think "I hear some of my music in that artist"? Or, is there anyone who you hear now that impresses you?
When I hear a 'new' band, someone very often informs me that the band I'm hearing has been around for a few years. I'm not on top of the latest stuff, but I do hear lots of very good music these days. I listen to artists like Metric, Project Pitchfork, Hoven Droven, Rachid Taha and I still have a soft spot for Motorhead.
You have performed worldwide, had hit records, scored movies....what is next on the musical "bucket list" for Nash the Slash?
I'm always working on something new but I don't have a 'bucket list'. That would suggest that I have some kind of pre-determined plan. I don't think like that. I have a great belief in serendipity and that things will just fall into place. They usually do. As Brian Eno expressed on his Oblique Strategies, 'make your mistakes your intentions'.
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