I think All Messed Up is a work of genius, and I wish that I had written every single song on it. And I mean that sincerely. When I first saw Polly with Ian and Tony and Gord, I wanted to kill him, I was so jealous....they were so good. I am going to miss him a lot. We will keep his music alive…
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First time I encountered Paul he was playing guitar in a cover band called Toys, somewhere in Abbotsford I think. I was a complete guitar geek at the time and I couldn't stop watching him. He had such style and command. And great guitar tone of course. He had this little box plugged into his amp that I had never seen before so I had to figure out what it was. It was an Electro- Harmonix LPB-1, a very early pre-amp. I bought one the next day. Still have it. Every time I look at it I think of Paul.
I first discovered No Fun at CITR in the 1980s, really loved their music and humour, and got to see them play in lots of weird small places (like the Ubyssey offices), so I knew Paul for years and years before I got to play music with him.
The first time was in the late ‘90s or early 2000s when he was in a band called The Transvestimentals (with the wonderful Valeria and Nicole), and I was invited to do some guest vocals for a couple of live shows. Paul was so quiet, and I was so in awe of him, that I don’t think we spoke more than a few words. Mainly I remember being very honoured and very nervous, and Paul keeping a photo of his son on top of his guitar amp, angled out so everyone could see it. Years later Valeria let me know Paul had a new project and asked if I would be interested in playing guitar and singing backups. Imagine being invited to join a band with one of your musical heroes — I almost fell off my proverbial chair, I was so excited and surprised. Although I was pretty sure my playing wasn’t up to Paul’s standards, we ended up practicing for around a year (first in the basement of Lee’s Candies, then at Phil Addington’s place). Of course Paul’s songs were magical, really clever and catchy and danceable, and it was incredibly fun to play them. I could hardly believe I had the chance to be part of it, and I think Paul probably wondered why I was always stupidly grinning when we got together. I’m really glad Paul got to play those songs in front of people with his most recent project, and that there are recordings now so everyone can hear them. They still make me grin stupidly and want to jump up and down — and I don’t think I’m the only one. Thank you, Polly Dolly. It was a year of great and unpleasant change in my life, when I turned to music, to see me through. I had decided to attend performances by Artists I had missed out on, and Paul Leahy was on the short list with his "Polly" project. We were very peripherally connected, through common friends, the Vancouver Indie scene of the 1980s and 90s and, of course, Facebook.
There were dim recollections of "No Fun" opening for "The Violent Femmes" and Robyn Hitchcock, but nothing at in in my current memories. Paul's band "The Transvestimentals" had broken up before I could see them, and the tune "Cosmic Planet Rock" had given me hope that Glam Rock was alive and well. I was going to don my gold boots, apply liberal glitter, get on the ferry and see for myself. It was a sweet time, that anticipation. In a beautiful heritage theatre in New Westminster, I saw "Polly" for the first time. Up on a stage that could never contain him, came the man who played like Mick Ronson, while singing like David Bowie, with a splash of "Mott the Hoople". He was in his 50s, I kept reminding myself, with the persona of those twenty something wunderkinds of the 1970s. The pose, the clothes, the hat, but above all, the music! The Set showcased his songwriting & performance skills, and contained songs from his (then) new CD "All Messed Up", on which he played every instrument. When he sang "Ready to go-oh-oh" I knew that in a lifetime of attending gigs, great & small, I was now seeing THE glammest of the glam. We met after the show, and Paul the person was a thoughtful, humble compassionate man. He gave me his CD, and wished me well on my journey. That we shared a common foe, was not yet known to me, but his support while I was battling hard, filled my heart. This same heart is hurting a bit writing this, as that awful enemy has returned in his life, but the joy and the love remain stronger. Paul Leahy, you have rocked my world in the best of ways. For the pleasure of your music, the gift of your presence, and the positive difference you have made to me, I thank you. I think Paul expresses his emotions through those blistering solos. I have always known that he is the most underrated guitarist out there. He could have played on any stage with any band and done them proud, and other guitarists know that all too well Underrated is the wrong word Wrong. He is known to too few. Paul always made people smile when he played guitar, there's lots of photographic evidence of this! I remember seeing him with No Fun back in the day, whenever Paul effortlessly peeled off an amazing lead, there was smiling all around the room. Combined with David M's propensity to make people laugh, No Fun shows were always a hoot. Paul's proficiency on guitar was obvious in the recordings, but seeing him live, his combination of skill, spontaneity and incredible tone brought it up another notch.
I lost touch with Paul for a while, until October 2011 when Hello Polly played their debut gig at the Heritage Grill sandwiched between two sets of China Syndrome. As soon as Paul appeared in his full regalia and plugged in, I swear the whole room was smiling and it seemed no time has passed. They totally blew us off the stage. And I haven't even talked about his songs! Coming up in the Punk scene back in the early days Paul was one of only a handful of guitarists who could actually play their instruments well. He has a great 'retro' appeal in his vocal style as well as a truly original biting guitar approach other players wish they could master. A real showman too with trademark moves like his 'glam kick' and 'chord launch'. I would love to play together sometime.
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