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A buzz is in the air regarding the Halifaxt trio, Arlibido, whose repertoire con- sists of a blend of pop, punk, and ska.

Considered by many to be a shoe-in for the East Coast Music Award for _ Best Alternative Group in February 2001, Jesse Fraser, bassist,

denies that the hype is detrimen- tal to the band.

“When we first started getting together we were basical- ly playing for our friends,” Fraser recalls. That was just three years ago, and from those humble beginnings, the band has grown to become ‘the next big thing’ coming out of Halifax.

“The hype certainly doesn’t hurt, but we’re more interested in playing and having a good time than the hype around it. Its kind of exciting, but you can’t think of it too much. You got to do your thing: just play. That’s my job,” Fraser said.

While being touted as a top up-and-coming act doesn’t bother Fraser, he admits that other aspects of the industry have influenced the band.

“The music business, after all, is a business. When we started out we would write tunes that would last ten minutes or so.

We want people to hear our stuff, so we know to do that, we have to make a single. The business hones your skills ‘til you know what to do.”

On top of the typical pressures placed upon any band, Fraser also | noted the difficulties associated with being based in Atlantic Canada. Due to the region’s smaller popula- tion and the significant distance away from the larger markets of central Canada, bands “have to travel so far to get to gigs.” On the other hand, bands based in more populous areas “can play everyday driving an hour or less to each show.”

Despite this, the group is proud of its home: “We like it on the east coast. We’ve played around Toronto a few times and its been good to us, but its just not home for us. We like the road

— we’ll take a show anywhere, but the east coast will always be here for us. We like it,” Fraser added.

While Atlantic Canada may be known for its Celtic

Arlibido with Pat Mastroianni

music, Fraser enjoys Halifax’s musical diversity. “There’s a good scene with a lot of different styles. That’s what it’s all about. It’s good that the scene has a lot of styles because you can’t just focus on one. There’s so much out there in the world.” Recently, Arlibido was featured on the CBC television program Music Works. Meeting

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