Last week, I had the privilege of checking out Canadian Idol backstage. As part of my experience, I got a chance to talk to the final four contestants hours before they heard the results of who would be moving on and who would be eliminated. My next chat was with Lloydminster Alberta’s Earl Stevenson. **THIS INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE HOURS BEFORE EARL WAS ELIMINATED FROM THE COMPETITION**
Murtz Jaffer: I think the first question I have for you is about the behind-the-scenes process. On Monday, we just see what’s happening on stage. Can you tell me what it is like backstage?
Earl Stevenson: That day we get up, it’s usually a later call time than usual. It’s usually about 12 pm or so. You’ll be around for awhile. You’ll eat, you’ll whatever. Then you’ll do a dress rehearsal and that starts off at around 2:30 pm or 3 pm. You’ll get into all the clothes you’re going to wear that night and they basically go through, just exactly how it is going to on the show. By this time, the cameramen, the lighting, the band is kind of organized and pretty much ready to do the show so they just do one go-through earlier that day just to make sure everything is going on. Then you have another couple of hours to hang out. Chug a Red Bull, I don’t know what you’re going to do. The other thing is just trying to get pumped up, ready to do it. Comfortable with what is happening…
MJ: How do you get pumped up? Do you have a routine?
ES: I have lucky socks that I always wear, but I didn’t have them yesterday.
MJ: Are you going to burn them if you’re gone?
ES: (Laughs). No. They’re pretty lucky!
MJ: Why are they lucky?
ES: Well, they are about 22 years old and they were my dad’s old socks. Pretty cool like that. But all’s I do is I say (to myself) that you have got two minutes here where you don’t have to worry about who you are necessarily, what’s going to happen. You just go out there and you just do what you have been doing all week.
MJ: When I was backstage yesterday, I was expecting to see a lot of people jumping up and down or listening to “Rocky” music as they pumped up. I didn’t see that. Was that just because you guys are now in a routine? Like you know what’s happening?
ES: Yeah, sort of. And you’re pumped up enough I think. It’s harder to listen to music because you always have to be…
MJ: Thinking about your song?
ES: Yeah, somewhat and you’re also having to interact with people constantly. There’s rare moments where you don’t have people talking to you.
MJ: And that was my next question. I saw you standing there and you were talking to Theo or something backstage and I saw people always coming up to you and fixing your mic or adjusting your collar or messing with your hair. Was that difficult for you to get used to?
ES: Definitely. It’s still difficult for me. When you’re used to not even looking at a mirror for three days sometimes, it’s just hard to like have people doing everything for you. Everyone’s doing their jobs. I respect everyone here, but sometimes it’s like ‘holy crap…’
MJ: Where am I?
ES: You’re like I can’t escape anything in a way.
MJ: You and Mookie are true artists and he kept bringing you up when I was talking to him the week that he was eliminated. Is it difficult for guys like you to do a show like Idol because of the misconception that it is just a pop show. That the guys just sing with a mic and that only girls vote. Is it hard for you to a true artistry on a show like Idol.
ES: Well, it is what it is. It has its stipulations. It has its quota. You kind of have to meet certain things and you’re catering to a censored sort of audience. It’s definitely difficult sometimes to really portray what you’re all about. Also the fact that you’re only on there for a minute and a half.
MJ: You have to make an impression…
ES: And it’s not your own music that you’re singing. It’s not like a conscious thing of what you’re doing. The involvement happens with the crowd naturally. Sometimes in a minute and a half, you feel like you have to go out there and act like a crazy man and try to get everyone involved but it’s pretty hard to do that in a minute and a half singing a cover song on a crazy stage. I have never found myself to be the real Tom Jones, full-on crazy man performing and dancing all around. For me, the part of the music industry that I like is the sitting down, really the artistic impressions of it.
MJ: Just a stool and a guitar?
ES: The poetry and the making of it. Well, I want to do all sorts of music but that’s what I really like. I also really like music videos. I like all that stuff and I am sort of new to the live thing. Maybe on a show, I’d be sitting down and playing my guitar for five songs, then I’d get up and we’d do something else. It wouldn’t be like chaos. It would just be like we’re just going to play our songs pretty much.
MJ: When you did The Joker last night, I was totally expecting them to censor the lyrics. I didn’t think you’d be cleared to say midnight toker and stuff like that. Did that surprise you?
ES: I just asked them if I could sing it and no one seemed to be too objective about it so I was like ‘okay.’
MJ: Another thing that I remember was when you came out for a group performance on your skateboard. Are things like that all your idea or are you ever instructed by somebody that ‘it might be cool if you came out on a skateboard?’
ES: I skateboard and I brought my skateboard from home so I was like why don’t I just… instead of walking out that way, rolling in on the board.
MJ: Have they ever shut down anything you wanted to because Mookie was telling me about the whole coffin thing and how he wanted to come out of a coffin and obviously with James Brown not being buried, he couldn’t do it. Have you ever wanted to do something like that?
ES: Well, they shut down some of my suggestions but half the time it was because they were like ‘it wasn’t the best idea.’
MJ: Give me one example.
ES: Well, we were all going to dress up as the judges tonight maybe. I’d dress up as Sass or something like that…
MJ: (Laughs). Who would have been Sass?
ES: I hopefully would have been but it just kind of made it too silly or something!
MJ: Who do you think is going to win if not you, or it could be you? Final two and winner? Mookie said you…
ES: I don’t know, those are some pretty big shoes to fill. A guy like Mookie maybe got quite a good deal out of it all. I definitely see Theo for some reason in the Top 2. Possibly Drew. Don’t know though really. I just don’t even know. Tonight I couldn’t even tell you a darn thing about it.
MJ: That’s perfect, thank you.
ES: Cool, yeah. Awesome.
