Starting from the 4th of September to the 15th, people were asked to submit questions to Kalan. Randomly drawn, these are the questions asked and the answers given. Enjoy.
(Kalan Porter was crowned as the winner of 2004 Canadian Idol (Season 2) with 88% of the total votes. He holds the record for selling the most single "Awake In a Dream" of any Canadian Artiste (8 times platinum), owns a double platinum for his debut album "219 Days", and has surprised chart-watchers with a sold-out concert tour last year, just touring alone with a 4-man-band. He is currently working on his sophomore album which was delayed because of his mom's breast cancer diagnosis this past June. He said, "Sometimes the toughest decisions are the right ones" when he went home to be with her for her surgery and chemo treatment. After 2 years, his fans still stand very strongly behind him.)
First of all I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers over the past few months. It’s been a stressful time and your support means a lot to our whole family.
Mom is doing very well and the prognosis is good. Her hair is slowly starting to grow back. I really like her bald head though. I think she looks pretty cool actually. Sorta G.I. Jane/Buddhist monk. I’m not sure she totally agrees though because there’s still a mad rush to find her wig anytime there’s a knock at the door.
Grandma is also doing well. She’d be even better if she’d give herself a chance to heal from surgery. The day after her operation she was back in the garden pulling weeds and in the kitchen baking pies. She still works circles around everyone else in the family.
The time off this summer has been so nice. Shortly after Mom finished her chemo we took a family trip to Victoria. My uncle has a beautiful place just outside of Sydney. Grandma and Grandpa came and we had a great little family get away, boating, whale watching, and relaxing.
I once again have to thank all of you guys for your patience, allowing me to take time off this summer.
Can you milk a buffalo? Could you put buffalo milk in cereal? Do you ever name your buffalo?
Hah! I guess theoretically you could milk a buffalo. Not sure you would want to though. Unlike cattle, buffalo aren’t domestic. Weighing between 1000 and 2500 pounds, buffalo can easily outrun a saddle horse or clear a six foot fence. The females are often much more temperamental and dangerous than the males. Funny how that works. At home, we actually only handle the herd once a year to wean the calves. Other than that they pretty much handle themselves.
We don’t normally name buffalo but growing up we did have a small orphan calf that we bottle-fed. We named him Buffy. Three times a day, everyday for months we would prepare the warm milk with Grandma and take turns feeding him. Then one day Buffy mysteriously disappeared. Dad told us he had died of lead poisoning. It wasn’t until I was a bit older that I understood what that really meant. Buffy had joined us for many a family dinner.
I think one of my most embarrassing moments happened out west as we were finishing a string of shows back to back.
This show started out like every other show with an intro by our sound guy Tony and my entrance playing violin. Everything was going great. We finished our first song, In Spite of It All, and I walked up to the mic to address the crowd.
“How ya doing tonight, Grande Prairie?!”
Except tonight there were none of the usual cheers, no screaming, nothing. The crowd just starred back at me.
“Lame crowd,” I thought.
Just then Derek leaned over and whispered, “Umm…Kalan…Lloydminster.”
The next night I walked on stage for sound check and in big masking tape letters was the word “M-E-L-F-O-R-T”.
What is your process for writing songs? Do you write lyrics or music first?
Well a normal writing session goes kinda like this. I start with the lyrics….then I’ll throw them away…. Next I write the music….then I’ll throw that away…. And well.… that’s normally my process.
Actually, so far each song has been quite different. I haven’t really developed a foolproof process and I’m not sure you ever do. It seems to be a lot of trial and error. Sometimes I’ll get a melody or musical idea and work to fit in lyrics. Other times I’ll come up with a cool lyrical line and then try to put it to music.
One of the most important things for me is to always have a notepad or some way to record ideas throughout the day. Ideas often hit me when I’m least expecting it. I often find the best ones come not when I’m sitting down trying to write, but rather when I’m out doing things. So many times driving I’ve had to pull over to jot down an idea on some old receipt or napkin. I’ve often called my cell phone and sang a little melody on my own answering machine so I could remember it later. There is nothing worse than having a great idea and forgetting it.
I also get ideas late at night. I keep a little tape recorder by my bed so that when I wake with a brilliant idea I can record it right there. Then when it comes time to sit down and write, I sift through all the scraps of paper and half asleep song ideas and pick out all the ideas I like….
Once when I was about four, I got in a fight with my mom. I can’t remember exactly why but I think it had something to do with refusing to eat my asparagus. Now I could eat some vegetables. Beans and peas were ok. I could do cauliflower. Even broccoli could be negotiated. But asparagus…well… everyone has their breaking point. So I decided my only option was to run away. I was going to live at Grandma and Grandpa’s house with candy cupboards and treat jars galore. I was never coming home.
So I filled a giant suitcase with all my favorite books – no clothes or shoes - just books, and started the trek to their house. Mom still has a picture of a determined little runt, sporting a stylish mushroom/bowl cut, dragging a 40 pound suitcase through a foot of snow.
When I finally arrived I began to unpack in my new sanctuary, where I would live happily ever after, free from evil reign of the vegetable Nazi.
My “lifelong” boycott held strong until later that evening when I was baited home with the promise of our traditional Friday night popcorn/movie party. Like I said… everyone has their breaking point.
I am a pretty private person when it comes to dating and relationship stuff. In fact, not even my manager, BMG, or my parents knew about this one until the very end.
The unpredictability of this industry is not exactly conducive to long term relationships. Between touring, and rehearsing, and long hours in the studio, there is hardly time for a social life let alone a romantic one.
As hard as it can be to break up with someone, it can feel pretty good to be “free” again. Maybe it’s a guy thing, I don’t know.
Breaking up can be bittersweet... but other times it’s just sweet.
Because so much of my after school time was spent on music, there was little room to squeeze in a job. I remember one time Mom calculated that I spent an average of 35 hours a week in lessons or rehearsals. Although this restricted the cash flow, it fortunately allowed me to avoid the fast food counter that defined the adolescence of so many of my friends.
That being said I was able to make some spare change playing gigs in a string quartet. We started off playing the odd event for a charity or a family friend, and by the time I was in high school, we were a classical machine booked one or two gigs a weekend. We had business cards, flyers, a bank account, and a going rate of 200 dollars an hour. We had big binders with about an hour and half of music that could be played and repeated as desired. No one really notices when you play a Mozart Divertimento six times.
Although we played banquets, receptions, and funerals our biggest clients were by far weddings. Weddings were great. Usually fast and painless, they often took place in the afternoon leaving Friday and Saturday nights free. That being said, we soon developed a love/hate relationship with the typical North American wedding. All the pros could easily be offset by one major setback; having to deal with the bride and her mother. While I’m sure you’ve heard of the term Bridezilla, and we definitely had our share, an angry bride pales in comparison to the overbearing wrath of THE MOTHER.
It also didn’t take long for the novelty to wear off. After a few years on the wedding circuit, we became so jaded and cynical that even the most touching moments became eye rollers. In order to stave off boredom we would play games like “Pick the Crier” and “Divorce or No Divorce”. By the end of our wedding stint, we had all made pacts that we were never getting married… and even if we did… it would be a quick “in and out” and probably involve Elvis.
What was it like moving from Medicine Hat to Toronto?
It definitely took some getting used to.
Being raised on the ranch was every boy’s dream. With no neighbors for miles around, we grew up with plenty of open space, ideal for running, horse riding, fort building and being a kid.
I then moved from this vast beautiful paradise into a cement box, nineteen floors up, next door to a woman with a passion for door chimes and yappy little dogs. I had a beautiful view of an office building…investment banking I think… through a small window I could open a total of 4 inches when I was feeling extra outdoorsy. Not exactly the most artistically stimulating environment.
There are definitely aspects of Toronto I like though. Because there is so much diversity in a big city, it seems to demand an openness and acceptance of differences that can sometimes be hard to find in small areas. In Toronto, no matter how strange you are, there is always someone stranger.
There is also so much to do and see. Toronto is never boring.
That being said, I often miss the small town sense of community. A place where you go out for dinner and see 20 people you recognize. A place where everyone knows your name, your family, your job, the vehicle you drive, who you last dated, and the time you tripped rushing up to accept the “Best Mutton-Busting” award.
It’s funny how I’d grown up my whole life counting down the days until I could escape Medicine Hat, and now I miss everything about it… the places, the people, even the world’s second largest teepee. I guess now I have the best of both worlds. I have had this amazing opportunity to go out and explore all the world has to offer. For this I am so thankful. At the same time I’ll always have the ranch… a safe refuge to come running home to.
I guess what I like most, is striving for that perfect match between lyrics and melody that somehow pinpoints our sense of longing and finds a small echo of truth able to refresh our perspective on the human condition.
I think maybe that’s the goal of any artist, whether it’s a painter, filmmaker, or musician… to try and capture that certain unknown something that words alone can never quite touch, and release it to the world to help comfort and enlighten.
For me, music not only has the power to help you see things in a new way, but also the power to heal, revealing we are not alone in our suffering. There is peace in knowing I am not the only one that feels the way I do.
But I don’t know… maybe music is not really that serious at all. Like any entertainment, maybe it’s really just about helping us briefly escape the everyday world of bills and taxes, and if only for a moment, enjoy the mystery of what it means to be human.
What is the craziest rumor you’ve heard about yourself?
Throughout this whole experience I have definitely heard my share of outrageous stories. Having come from a small town, I wasn’t exactly foreign to the world of gossip and rumors. That being said, this industry has taken it to a whole new level.
I’m an alcoholic drug addicted gambler and I live in the Idol mansion, with assistants and a private jet. When I’m not touring, I’m at some exclusive celebrity party or on a resort in the Caribbean with friends. I’ve been romantically linked to Theresa, my opening act Amanda Stott, an Olsen twin, and on numerous occasions, a tall beautiful blonde, which happened to be my sister. I lip synch, my hair is a wig, I have a huge team of people calculating my every move and apparently on tour, I threw a huge tantrum when catering brought me Snickers instead of O’Henry. Ironically because of my peanut allergy, I’m allergic to both.
I remember sitting on my 200 dollar Ikea couch in my 600 square-foot apartment thinking, “Man! My life sounds cool.”
But I guess every job has its pros and cons. Coming off the show, it didn’t take me long to identify the parts that weren’t my favorite. I learned quickly the huge responsibility that comes along with celebrity, whether it be to your fans, your family, or your own reputation.
Most of all I’ve just learned to laugh… take myself a little less seriously. Besides, it’s probably when people stop talking and caring about what I’m doing that I should really start to worry.
Thanks for posting that Wings.. He seems like such a nice guy. I like how he had a story to go along with every answer, like he took time to think and gave an interesting answer to all the questions. He is also a great singer. I saw videos of him from Canadian Idol and was amazed at his talent. I like him and the guy from the band Hedley. Can't think of his name at the moment!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
I agree BnL, he needs to eat more than a cookie, maybe some buffalo steak as well with a baked potato. He is very talented and cute but a little more poundage would be good.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
Originally posted by Paula: Thanks for posting that Wings.. He seems like such a nice guy. I like how he had a story to go along with every answer, like he took time to think and gave an interesting answer to all the questions. He is also a great singer. I saw videos of him from Canadian Idol and was amazed at his talent. I like him ...
You're most welcome, Paula. Thank you for allowing me to post all these. I like him too. He is extremely talented. It's too bad that he had to detour a little from his career path, but then he did make the right decision to be home after all. Family does come first.
