Kanadian Posi Kidz

So what is the Kanadian Posi Kidz? How did you all get together, meet each other, decide to make music with one another?

Kanadian Posi Kidz started as joke thing about "keeping it posi" all the time, then it evolved into what we have today. We all met online, and to this day have yet to meet in person. We all share a lot of the same views and we try to work together to promote each other and work together (albeit from a distance) on issues that affect us as a whole.

How does KPK operate? What does it mean to you all to be a collective?
 
We operate mostly individually. Our website gives us a means to show our lyrics and politics and being under a 'bigger' name enables us to do things such as promoting shows and events... it gives us a little bit more leverage in that aspect.

How do politics play out for you all? What issues move you? Half of you are anarchists, and half are not. Does this have any effects on the interpersonal dynamics of your collective?

Everything moves me, I try keep a broad spectrum when songwriting. Our personal beliefs really don't affect the collective at all. All of our views are close enough together that a lot of the times it's hard to see a boundary between us. To me, after reading up on it for so long, anarchism seems like the only answer to our struggles, and ultimately our survival. No matter what, "there's always going to be someone planning wars for profit", there's always going to be someone stabbing you in the back, there's always going to be someone telling you what you can and can't do, it's all just very possible to do away with most of that, and lessen the pressures of what can not be wholly erased.

How do you see your music as affecting change? Do you see music as being able to affect change?
 
I think our music, along with so much other music out there, can help to bring awareness to issues and disasters going on locally and globally. There's so much shit happening right now and it seems like so many people just pass by opportunities to help fix it. Whether it's because they don't care, or they are not aware of the goings on I'm not quite sure, but our music can possibly influence them into making a change in their lifestyle. They can stop eating meat, dumpster dive, startup a Food Not Bombs, read up on some radical literature, attend some shows, and just be more conscious about everything in general.

Why do you make folk music? What does folk music mean to you? What other kinds of music do you like, or make?

Folk music has been around for so long, and it has always been used to invoke change and challenge the powers that be. I see our music as doing the same thing, that's what folk music is, and always will be. I don't believe there's much more I can really say except that folk music is very underrated and yes, it has become a threat again. I enjoy a lot of powerviolence and other such subgenres of punk a lot. I previously had a punk band, didn't really go anywhere. Right now I'm jamming with some friends, we don't really share the same views at all, but we make music together, it helps with creativeness and inspiration for songwriting. I never have much inspiration to write, which is kind of funny because there is so much junk floating around outside right now you'd think it'd be impossible to not write anything!

What's the connection between KPK and the No! Distro? How do you distribute your music?

(Just Say) No! is a distro that I started in August 2006. The idea came about because Chilliwack has nothing for music other than a CD Plus and a use record store (that doesn't carry anything other than classic rock), and I love collecting records. The artwork and production of a vinyl record is extremely beautiful to me, way better than anything looks like on CD. Besides records, I carry zines, CDs, DVDs, and books! I try to have a table set up at every local show I can get to, some nights kids are really into it and I sell quite a bit of stuff, other nights I hardly get a glance. I think having this distro brings about more of a sense of community, instead of kids going out to a big business music store like HMV or CD Plus they can get stuff locally and know that the money is actually supporting a cause other than just being the fuel for the profit machine. I've made a lot of new friends since I've had this distro, and I think every distro'er out there can agree: the best kids are the ones who are interested in new music and have no clue what they're purchasing, but because you had a conversation with them they are totally stoked on it and spread the word about the band and the distro!

What's going on in British Columbia, in terms of social struggles, youth culture, anything else?
 
The biggest thing in BC right now is the future. The Olympics are coming to Vancouver in 2010, and there have been huge issues rising up all over the place surrounding it. They're destroying the Eagleridge Bluffs near Horseshoe Bay in order to make the Sea To Sky highway a faster way to get the athletes and CEOs to the 'games'. There was huge resistance against this, but the Bluffs have been lost. 25 arrested, 16 of them sentenced to civil contempt of court. Someone recently stole the Olympic flag from City Hall and destroyed the flagpole. There are homeless people getting kicked out of their living space, squats being destroyed, people getting evicted. The other day friends of mine at the Creephouse got an eviction notice, it wouldn't surprise me if the city wanted to 'clean' that area up for 2010. Say NO!!! to the Olympics! Aside from the 'Games', a cornfield has been taken over by the profit-seeking asswads of Wal-Mart. They have to keep the land related to agriculture for at least a year, so word on the street is they're building a slaughterhouse, then after that a brand spanking new Wal-Mart is going up, yippee! Promontory Heights is a huge development near my house, the mountainside has been taken over by poorly-built houses affordable only to people with a fair hunk of dollars, who end up moving back down once they realize it is too much to go up and down the hill everyday, as it has no grocery store, gas station, or anything else people 'need'.

-M