Look who wrote a song about the Sault!

Elliott Brood is a they, not a him.

The three-piece alt-country outfit based in Toronto is set to take the stage at Loplops Gallery-Lounge on Thursday, October 25 as part of its upcoming cross-Canada tour.

Multi-tasking band member, Casey Laforet who simultaneously plays guitar, bass pedals and sings, took a few moments from his busy schedule to talk with me via MSN about the band.

The following is the resulting conversation.

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Slackhopper (SH): How sick are you of hearing the question, "Which one of you is Elliott?"

Casey Laforet (CL): We do get it quite a bit, and we usually all point at one another. We always say that Elliott BROOD is all three of us, like a divine trinity thing...without the divine.

SH: Could you explain its origins a bit?

CL: The name is something Mark (Sasso) came up with, and it was all a misunderstanding. He was watching the movie The Natural and misheard the name of a character. Her name was "Harriet Bird", and he thought it was BROOD.... and if she ever had a little brother, his name would be Elliott... I wish it was a better story!

SH: Has the band always been this line-up? How did you join forces and become Elliott Brood?

CL: Originally, it was just Mark and myself. We started playing some stuff together and collaborating in 2002-3. At first it was really just for fun, but things happened pretty fast once we released our little home-made record Tin Type. Steve Pitkin (Flashing Lights, Great Aunt Ida) recorded that record for us, and he happened to be a drummer, so after he played with us at our CD release party, two became three.

SH: I know you have a pretty loyal following here and other parts of the country. Where have you been received with the greatest response and why do you think that is?

CL: It's really been great everywhere. The Soo has been one of those great little places where we've seen our audience grow literally from nothing to great sizes. We seem to do best in smaller towns where we really get to know the people, and each time we go back, it's like a little reunion of old friends.

SH: What's your career highlight so far?

CL: I think one for us all collectively was opening shows for Wilco last summer. That was the biggest international act we ever shared a stage with. There's really so many. I personally feel that every time we've had the chance to share the stage with the Sadies, we're in the company of true genius and greatness. I'm so proud that they're a Canadian band.

Actually, a pretty great highlight was when Fred Penner came up to us after a show and asked to get a picture with us!!

SH: How many dates did you do with Wilco? And do you have enough influence over the Sadies to convince them to play here?

CL: Ha! We did four in total with Wilco... you really learn a lot from pros like that about every aspect of performance. I don't think anyone can influence the Sadies, but it's their loss if they don't come!

SH: I am assuming you have been influenced by acts like the Sadies, Stompin' Tom, Corb Lund, etc. (please correct me if I'm wrong). Do you have an influence that would surprise the fans of Elliott Brood?

CL: Actually, those influences have only come on since we started doing this. We grew up on motown, classic rock and grunge. Anything country was strictly forbidden in Windsor. Neutral Milk Hotel, Dinosaur Jr., Grant Lee Buffalo, and Neil Young were always popular with us. I only heard about the Stanley Brothers after someone suggested we must listen to them a lot after seeing a show.

SH: Your music has been called "Death Country" and is often quite dark. Where does this come from?

CL: It comes from that old cinematic feel from old westerns with creaky porches, dusty streets. We always try to make the music visual... to present the story. We're just more interested in the stories where something bad happens. A lot has been made of the name "death country", but as you know, the live presentation of it is raucous even though there are dark themes sometimes.

SH: You yourself have a very unique playing style. Never have I seen a man move so much while sitting down! Have you always played that way and why do you play like that?

CL: Like a lot of things in the band, it just happened. I never practiced standing up, and the first time we ever played, I didn't have a strap, so I've been bound to a chair ever since! But that doesn't mean I can't have fun... actually, if I stood up, I'd knock into the other guys too much. All I can say is that playing the music transforms us. We like to let it show.

SH: Have you ever injured yourself (or someone else) or fallen off your chair?

CL: Too many times to count. We've fallen off stages, on stages, into crowds, equipment, but all for the love of the show. As far as I know, we've never hurt anyone else. Our first night with Cord Lund, I split my head open right after we finished playing in Ottawa. The whole crowd saw blood gushing from my head all over my face... looked like a GWAR show!

SH: You seem to be a very "do it yourself" band, self producing the albums and such. Why is that and is there anyone you would like to work with in the future?

CL: I guess we're control freaks when it comes to stuff like that. The one thing we've been conscious of is trying not to over produce anything, and that's easy when you don't know what you're doing. We like to keep it in the family, and I shouldn't say we don't know what we're doing, but we like things close to home. If the opportunity came up to work with someone, it would definitely be considered.

SH: Is there a new album in the works?

CL: Oh yeah... and has been in the works for some time. We've really focused on touring a lot, but the new one should be finished for early 2008. We'll be road testing some newer ones on this tour, and some older ones we never play.

SH: Why do you love touring so much? How do maintain your sanity on the road?

CL: Who said anything about Sanity? We just know that's our livelihood, and playing live is too much fun... we don't sell millions of albums in stores, but we do well when people see us.

SH: Where would you like to see Elliott Brood go career wise? Or are you happy where you are currently?

CL: We would really just like to be able to live doing this and to take care of our families. That's a true long shot in Canada, but we look at bands like Blue Rodeo, who have been doing this their whole lives, and have developed crowds in even the smaller markets of Canada. They are a model of Canadian Music Success. We definitely want to leave our mark. You never know how long it will last.

SH: Is there anything you would like the Sault audience to know about Elliott Brood that we haven't touched on?

CL: Just that we're really glad to be coming back, and how much we enjoy doing so. The next album has a song called SSM, so you've had your influence on us!

SH: That kicks a$$! I'm sure we'll get a preview of it then?

CL: We may have played it there before in its early stages. See you then!

SH: Thank you so much for your time, Casey! Really looking forward to the show. Safe travels!

CL: Cheers!

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Pictured: Casey Laforet of Elliott Brood during a 2006 Sault Ste. Marie performance at Foggy Notions.