There are no shortages of hairballs in this city waving around their copies of the Band’s brown album, swearing by the mud below their feet that they’re the real thing. And lots of them are, but singer Andy Bishop and his Red Cedar bandmates—Colin Jones (drums), Bruce Ledingham (keys), JP Doucet (guitar), and Shaunn Watt (bass)—rise above with stained-glass harmonies piled on top of mossy folk-rock structures, and a live show typically invested with so much emotion that it actually makes you squint.

Best local release other than yours:

“Capitol 6, Captain Rehab EP. It’s a really good-sounding record. Tanis Gibbons from the Hive recorded it, and I think she mixed it as well, and it’s just a really great record.”

The year’s best gig:

“I wasn’t at the show, but the rest of my band saw Thee Oh Sees the first time they played here at the Biltmore [November 19], and they said it was unbelievable. I heard from many people that it was great. It’s funny ’cause I just saw them play last night, but my band were blown away by that show. I remember I was really bummed I wasn’t there.”

We’re road-tripping. Who’s on the stereo?

“Neil Young, On the Beach. It’s a perfect cruisin’ record. You can tell he’s pooched, his voice is cracking. On ‘For the Turnstiles’ he’s just, like, gone. But it’s real. It’s just a righteous album. And it’s not a big Neil Young record, it’s a bit of a hidden gem.”

The Straight’s paying, so where’s dinner?

“This is a big favourite at the Red Cedar house, ’cause we all pretty much live together, but the New India Buffet and Restaurant [805 West Broadway]. It’s a continual feast and I don’t think anybody would have a problem going there day in, day out.”

Vancouver needs a sex-tape scandal. Who’s your co-star?

“Graham Jones, Yukon Blonde, hands down. A total babe. And he’s charming. He’d make a sensitive partner.”

Jimmy Pattison’s fronting the money. Where are we opening a venue?

“Our band answer is ‘Fuck Jim Pattison.’ That was the first thing that came out of everyone’s mouth, but Jonathan Rogers Park [7th and Columbia] should be a venue. It’s a natural amphitheatre, it’s beautiful, and my friend Courtney has put together these random, one-night bills there for the past three years. It should be a consistent venue. I’d love to see, like, one show a week there during the summer.”