You want street cred?  Try living on the street.  That’s what Ko Kapches did on his slow and difficult climb to fame.  Now known simply as KO, the singer/songwriter has recovered from his stints on the streets of Toronto and San Fran and looks poised for a breakout.  With a new album out this week and a nationwide tour in progress, KO chatted with showcase.ca to discuss the new record, his feelings on concert t-shirts, and how Kurt Cobain went out like a punk.

Thanks for taking the time to chat.

My pleasure, nice talking to something I actually watch, ‘cause I do watch Showcase.

So when did you get signed?

I got signed in 2006.  I was a young Canadian getting signed to Atlantic New York, and there was a lot of politics involved being from another country.  When the Canadian side of Atlantic’s label found out that they had taken a Canadian kid and signed him in the US they were not very pleased.  So it took a little while to sort out the politics between us and the NY people, but now everything has just gone off to the races.

How much have things changed for you in your life in the last few years?

Drastically.  I feel much more mature.  Initially, being a 19-year-old Canadian in New York City, I don’t believe in this 21-year-old thing so I’m drunk in Times Square at 19 with a major label record deal with limos picking me up and shit, and it was just insane.  And now I’m realizing that I’m older now, and I did my fair share of being an insane rock star before I even was one.  Now I’m looking at it like I gotta grind, and it’s still all fun and games, but it’s my job now too.  I love performing for people and getting a crowd full of people all riled up, and you can’t do that when you’re completely loaded.  I’m sure you’ve been to a concert where the artist is too banged up to perform the show, and you’re like, “well that was a waste of my 30 dollars.”  If people are willing to pay for the ticket, then you should be ready to deliver.

With some of those things that you’ve been through, including living on the streets for a stretch, the highs and lows, how does that come through in your music?

I think it’s hard not to take something like having no money and nowhere to go and being at the lowest point in your life and have that not make its way into your music.  I never thought that I’d be in this position that I’m in right now.  When I was homeless, I was just like “I would love to have a bed and a nice plate of food in front of me.”  And now it just makes sense to put it down on paper and talk about it so other people can potentially learn from it and take something from it.

You’re doing upcoming shows with De La Soul and Snoop Dogg.  How much does straight hip-hop influence the stuff that you do?

I think as much as classic rock influences me.  The way they talk about rappers and things, they talk about how they’re so straight up about “this is what’s happened to me, this is what I did,” just putting it all on the line.  And I feel like I’m playing the guitar, but I’m doing the same thing with my lyrics.  This is the truth.  I’m not trying to lie to anyone or to sugar-coat it.

Some of the songs on the record are as many as 4, 5 years old.  What’s your writing process like?

I’m always writing.  Some of the songs on the record are older, but the versions that you heard are like the 7th version down the road.  The ones that were made 3 years ago, I couldn’t even put it on, it would make me insane to listen to it.  They are completely different songs than the versions I wrote on my guitar years ago.  But the writing process, to me, is just picking up a guitar, rolling up a little ting, and getting started.

There’s a song on the record called ‘Kurt Kobain’.  What’s the significance there?

Kurt Cobain’s an influence of mine, but for me that song is a love/hate thing.  He made a movement, the whole grunge thing, and he’s supposed to be this huge powerful guy, and then he does, in my opinion, a very weak move in killing himself.  I don’t see strength in that, you know?  Bob Marley, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin – all those people who fell down for some other reason, none of them did it to themselves.  It’s like Jimi:  You probably did too much LSD, you threw up, and you died.  You did kill yourself, but not… I just feel like suicide is such a weak way out.  So it’s a love/hate thing with him.  How are you going to be so strong, and then be so weak?

The mp3 for 'Capable' is a free download on your website.  How involved have you gotten in the business side of your career?

I like to think I’m involved as I can be in the business side, but I also have a lot of trust in my managers and I know they are acting with my best interests in mind.  We’re just trying to get as many people involved in the KO-Nation movement as we can, and giving away a free song doesn’t hurt us.  Hopefully it will force people to buy the record in the long run.  I would love to give away the whole record away for free, I don’t think my label would like that very much.

Where do you stand on piracy?  There are artists out there today who feel satisfied as long as people are listening, it’s up to the label to try to make a buck off it.

If a million copies of my record got downloaded, I’d be fucking ecstatic.  I’d like to think that if a million people are downloading your record, that when I come to town that the people come out that downloaded it for free.  Like when I go to see an act, I’ll buy the merch, I’ll buy the stuff right from the table, cause that’s the type of person I am.  I’m not going to go to the record store, but if I’m at your show and I care enough to come, and you’ve got a sick shirt, or it doesn’t even matter what it is, I’ll buy it and support you guys, because I know the money is going right in your hand.

Right.  I think a lot of music listeners these days are savvy enough to know that touring and merch at the shows is where the bulk of the money going to the artist comes from.  

Of course I don’t want to see my label not make money, too. We’re business partners so they’re giving me this push, and I don’t want to see them get screwed.  The thing is, we couldn’t do anything about a million copies being downloaded, sadly.  It’s just impossible to stop now.  

Speaking of touring, what’s the next year looking like for you?  

I’m off to Vancouver to tour with Ash Grunwald, I don’t know if you know Xavier Rudd but he’s a lot like Xavier Rudd, and a solo guitar like me, dreadlocks, so we should get along famously.  After that it’s a Snoop Dogg tour, I’m out with him for 14 days or 14 dates or something.  (laughs) Really, my road manager worries about that, he just gets me from point A to point B.  I’m also directing the video for Capable right now, we shot it the other day and now I’m editing it.

You’re editing it yourself?

Yeah, right before I got on the phone with you I was editing it.  Not sure if you’ve seen any of the YouTube videos but I edited them all myself.  And all the shirts that I make are made here, in Toronto, by hand, by KO.  KO-Nation is getting shit done.

Hallelujah brother.  All the best with the album, and safe travels.  Say hi to Snoop for me.

I will, man, we’ll twist one up for you.

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KO’s new album, Let’s Blaze, is in stores now.  You can visit the KO-Nation website here.

--Marty Flanagan