Last Sunday, a whole region cheered when local heroes Wintersleep beat out four shitty corporate label bands no one likes for Best New Artist at the Juno Awards. Singer Paul Murphy, whose hands looked a touch unsteady, thanked former bassist Jud Haynes while drummer Loel Campbell waved to his mom. Bassist Mike Bigelow held the statue in one hand and a drink in the other. Keyboardist Jon Samuel looked stoked and stood in the back.
But whither Tim D’Eon? “I was gone to get more beer and to the bathroom,” says the laconic guitarist of his Christine Lahti moment. (Lahti was in the bathroom when she won a Golden Globe in 1998 for her role on Chicago Hope.) “I was in line for beer and looked up at the TV and realized our category was up. Started running back but it was too far to make it in time…nice one, eh?”
D’Eon can take partial consolation in his goal (yay!) in the 16-15 loss (boo!) his team, The Rockers, suffered as part of the annual Juno Cup. (Rock stars v. oldtimer NHL players.) The Juno winners, who just wrapped a Western tour, will have a few weeks off before they head across the pond with Black Mountain. —Tara Thorne
This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2008.
