For nearly 3 decades, Canadian band Our Lady Peace has been a staple of the music scene not only at home, but around the world. Lead by Raine Maida with guitarist Steve Mazur, bassist Duncan Coutts and drummer Jason Pierce, the band recently released their 10^th Studio Album Spiritual Machines II and embarked on the Wonderful Future tour. The band plays Oxford Stomp with Kyle McKearney, Serena Ryder, and The Black Crowes on July 15^th.

"It will be fun. It'll just, you know, flying gig bunch of people, hopefully it's a nice hot day. No pressure. I can't wait. I love coming to Calgary. The last time we played Oxford was with Serena and Corey Hart. I was amazed (with the) massive crowd. People were there to have fun and see music and, and that's a good thing. I can't wait to see Serena. Chris (Robinson of the Black Crowes), our kids went to school together. They are amazing, I'm glad they're back together. It's been long overdue."

Expect a lot of hits like Starseed, Clumsy, Somewhere Out There and more sing along worthy cuts. It’s challenging for a band to create a setlist when they have decades of material to pick from.

"At the end of the day, it's getting tough, man. There are so many songs on basically the last three or four records that will just never probably play live. That's a weird thing as an artist, every time I record a song, it's always about capturing that moment here in a studio, but I always think further like, oh, wow, I can't wait to see this translates live. And then not getting that opportunity to fulfill that destiny of those songs. It's kind of a strange thing. It's a weird thing."

Playing fly in shows will be a change of pace from the recent tour, which featured holograms of former guitarist Mike Turner, author Ray Kurzweil, and singers Sarah Sleen and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot.

"Part of me thinks it feels cheap just to go do a normal show now in a way, like it feels like a greatest hit show. That Wonderful Future tour was special man. Like it was, it was I think it was thoughtful, but it all, it had like this cadence that like it took its time, you know? It was two and a half hours, there was no opening band, all these different ideas coming in from either Ray this the AI’s Molly or Cassandra or having these guests come up. I felt like as an audience member we're giving you your money's worth. These other shows, the fans love it. These are big rock shows, and you get to hear all the hits. They're different animals."

The recent tour was unique, a theatrical experience that involved the band starting on stage as holograms and included guests in hologram form. Fans were overall receptive to a different experience.

"I think people really appreciated it in the sense of, especially coming out of COVID, it was just something different. It was a challenge on some fronts for sure but in a good way. There were times when the band wasn’t even on stage and holograms are speaking, then we play Clumsy or Superman’s Dead and all of a sudden, the technology goes away and it's just about, wow, it's my song."

Fans could purchase a package to meet the band after the show and interact with Artificial Intelligence creation Cassandra. She engaged in conversation and learned from each person new things. It was mind-blowing to see. For some, Maida explained, it was creepy.

"It was interesting to see the questions. A lot of people were literally creeped out by her and would say that to us. People would talk to Sandra first and then finish with us. It’s a bit of a metaphor for the way we've been told that the future's going to be, this dystopian scorched earth, it’s always about doom and gloom and that shit sells more. Hopefully what Ray was kind trying to get across, at least what we tried to do is show people that technology’s going to help us a lot. It's going to get us out of this climate change problem, get us out of food source issues and poverty. AI might be something more like Cassandra as opposed to the Terminator."

Maida and OLP have always been willing to shake things up and do different concepts and partnerships. Recent years have seen them do co-headlining tours with bands like I Mother Earth. In 2000 they created a touring festival called Summersault that featured The Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins, a concept they brought back in 2021 for some Eastern Canadian dates with Live and Bush. As well, Maida and wife Chantelle Kreviazuk created Moon vs. Sun, touring as a duo and being filmed for the documentary I’m Going to Break Your Heart.

"It's about keeping the creative process going. We couldn't just keep making Our Lady Peace music the whole time because it would start to get stale. The stuff I do with Chantel is probably the closest thing that I get to jazz because it's so it's so improv. What I have with Chantel was incredibly special in terms of when we're on stage, the way we interact, the way we talk to each other. You’ve seen some shows, sometimes we talk more than we play and that's okay. It allows me to be a little bit more open and not as introverted as a musician and as a person. When you start to feel that open up its euphoric."

It's a different side to Raine. As front man to OLP his banter is minimal. With Chantel on stage the pair are hysterically funny. There is something about a lot of Canadian artists like Dallas Green, Tegan and Sarah, and Jann Arden, who can write beautiful heart wrenching songs then have you in tears laughing.

"I think it comes down to humility. Canadians are a little bit humbler that way, you can kind of poke fun of yourself."

Our Lady Peace has played every single venue in Calgary, from the Saddledome to Grey Eagle, Jubilee, Jack Singer, Cowboy’s Tent, Coke Stage, and even bars. We asked Raine some favourite Calgary memories.

"I remember playing the Saddledome on the Clumsy tour. That's an iconic building especially in Canada. We played Maple Leaf Gardens (in Toronto), which doesn't exist anymore. The Stampede always blows my mind. The last time you played Stampede week, I got on my plane to go to Calgary, and it was full of all these different types of people from Los Angeles that were going to the Stampede. I had no idea it was this kind of international draw. What's cool about Canada when people hear about stuff and will travel and go see something."

As fans and performers get older, we often start to reflect on legacy. This is especially true when an artist passes away, and their music stays on. Artists like Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) and Chester Bennington (Linkin Park)’s career paralleled OLP’s. We asked what Maida hopes the legacy of the band is.

"That's a great question. I think Spiritual Machines II, is a massive achievement for us and for me personally, I've been trying to make this record for 10 years. Like just something that sounds like future rock. This body of work I'm very proud of. There are songs like Wish you Well where people are already connecting with it, even though it's not been on the radio. I think this is like the bookend to our career, Naveed and then Machines II in a really good way. Not saying it is the last record, but if it was, I would be cool with that."

Our Lady Peace’s career has been incredibly successful, with 30 singles, worldwide tours, and critical and fan acclaim. They are also some of the nicest guys you could meet in person. He’s figured out how to enjoy the ride and appreciate the fans support and life that music has given his family and band.

"I say this kind of embarrassingly, but I spent most of my career not being in the moment and not seeing stuff. I was always thinking about what's next. Covid probably helped this as well, but it's pushed me to really be in the moment. That Wonderful Future Tour was a great example. I enjoyed every moment on stage that night. That's why I think I was able to just not take myself so seriously have some fun with it, even though the content and everything was pretty serious when you're talking about the future and Ray’s predictions and stuff, the idea of just appreciation and having that self-awareness to be able to enjoy it as much as the crowd is. I think I did. That's something, it took me a long time to understand, but to be here now in this moment and really appreciate it and understand like what you said with the fan base, like man, so much gratitude."

*Interview has been edited for clarity and length. Watch the video for the full interview.

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Contributor Jason Clevett |

Person Our Lady Peace | Raine Maida |

Topic Celebrity Interview | Celebrity Video Interview |