Geoff: Well, there’s hope. But it’s a bit elusive right now. Condo development seems to be squeezing out every other form of economic activity in Vancouver these days. People need to be aware that this is not “the market” or “the economy” doing this, but specific city policies. Most importantly, the practice of re-zoning land for condos pretty much for free, when developers ask nice. This is what’s bulldozing everything, and forcing the surviving venues to be less generous with musicians and artists, because the rent is so damn high. Our role is just to hang in there.

Jack: You’ve been involved in making music for a long time in Vancouver, as a member of the legendary band Terror of Tiny Town and then as a solo artist, Geoff Berner. What were the forces that inspired you to strike out on your own, and how did you feel your role changed as a solo artist?

Geoff: People could hear the words better when I went solo. And it cost less to tour. Things started to take off.

Jack: I want to call this question: Songwriting Potholes, Booby Traps and Desolate Dead Ends. In your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes a developing songwriter makes?

Geoff: Using that easy cliché. Try to write a song that hasn’t been written before. Reach into the details of your life to find that song. Like Orwell says about writing in general: if you find yourself writing a line that sounds kinda like something you heard in another song, throw that line out and try again. And never, ever talk about “angels,” or the “rain.” Please.