INTERVIEW: Men Without Hats Comes Roaring Back with New Album “Again, Pt. 2” and Announces “Again, Pt. 3” to Be Released Soon

What can you say about someone who has given every bit of creative energy they have, gifting it on all of the studio and stage floors across forty-five years of their professional music career? The ability to give one hundred and ten percent of yourself time and again is not without cost, both mentally and physically, yet for 64 year old (going on 20) living legend Ivan Doroschuk – the founder and lead singer of the ever-versatile New Wave sensation band Men Without Hats, which has been shaping our collective musical landscape since 1977 – it’s mere child’s play: As I’m about to discover, it’s his love and passion for any and all things music that keeps Doroschuk timeless and timely.

Born in Champaign, Illinois during the waning days of the late 1950s, Ivan Doroschuk and his family eventually settled in the Montreal borough of Outremont, Quebec where a young Ivan was surrounded at an early age by an entire family that was music-focused. The deck was stacked against him and there was just no way around one salient fact: The future leader of Men Without Hats was born to rock and roll.

And rock and roll he did: Forming the classic New Wave band Men Without Hats in the last heady days of the 1970s and introducing to the public at large a blitzkrieg of sound which encompassed such incendiary tunes as The Safety Dance, Pop Goes the World, The Great Ones Remember, Head Above Water and Hey Men, it’s safe to say that Ivan Doroschuk and Co.’s music has made up the bulk of many people’s collective soundtracks as they marched through the strange phenomenon we call life

Vents was honoured to have a few minutes of Ivan’s very busy time recently. We spoke on a wide variety of topics, including the recent March 11 release of Men Without Hats latest album, Again (Part 2) and what precisely drives one of the best bands of all time to continue to reach for perfection.

Vents: Hey Ivan, it’s such a genuine pleasure and honour to have a few minutes of your time today; we really do appreciate it! How has the New Year been treating you so far?

Ivan Doroschuk: Great; busy, but we’re having a great time bringing the new album to all of our fans both old and new!

Vents: Congratulations on the Men Without Hats March 11 release of Again, Pt. 2, the follow-up to 2021’s EP Again Pt.1! It’s an absolutely brilliant album and it marks the band’s first album of original songs in ten years. Was the plan to always follow-up Again, Pt. 1 – which was a tribute album to some of the band’s favorite musicians – with a Pt. 2 that would focus solely on original songs from you and the guys in the band?

Ivan Doroschuk: Yes. With Again, Pt. 1 we knew that the music of the 80s was really a thing again and that it had a new currency and relevance. It’s truly exciting to think that music we cut decades back is being heard by some people for the first time. Again, Pt. 1 was our opportunity to really pay tribute to some of my favorite artists of the 1980s while also working in my own interpretation of that music, and it was always then in the cards to immediately follow-up with songs from us which, in some cases, had been sitting around unused for a lot of years. Again, Pt. 2 gives that music a chance, finally, to really shine.

Vents: Circling around real fast to Again, Pt. 1, it felt so timely for the reasons you mentioned and it really seemed to fall in line with other projects such as what Weezer recently did with their own album of covers.

Ivan Doroschuk: Exactly, that would be a good example. And it really does speak to the fact that a lot of the music that we listen to now is really influenced by that sound from the 80s.

Vents: What do you hope fans walk away feeling after listening to Again, Pt. 2?

Ivan Doroschuk: With Again, Pt. 2 fans really do land on a mix of musical styles: Some of the songs are new and then what I said earlier about shining a loving light on tracks which we’ve had sort of tucked away and written since the 80s that never quite got past the demo versions. I love to write and do so whenever I can, so some of what you hear on Pt. 2 are things written on tour busses on the way to the next gig over the last decade. As far as what I hope fans can kind of take away from the new album, I hope it really gives them a clear window into what Men Without Hats is now in 2022. We had a lot of fun putting this together, and I hope fans will pick up on that as they give it a good listen; we’re very proud of our work on this one!

Vents: What all went into the recording of Again, Pt. 2? Was it a long and drawn out process, or did it all come together quickly?

Ivan Doroschuk: With the journey that has been Again, we took time off to shape the albums. We had built a studio at the tip-top of the Malahat over on Vancouver Island and we just retreated there for like seven or eight months and really isolated ourselves so that we could just focus and give this project the breathing room and respect that we knew it deserved. We just encamped and stayed put until we knew the album was ready to go. I think the only real company we might have had during the making of the album was a beautiful family of peacocks that sort of kept us company.

Vents: Who produced Again, Pt. 2 and what did that collaboration look like?

Ivan Doroschuk: My brother Colin and I produced it and Sho Murray who plays guitar on the album engineered it and was a co-producer. We were fortunate, too, to have my niece Sahara Sloan join the band as a vocalist and a talented keyboard player. Along with Adrian White who gave us that great and distinctive drumming, that was the entire crew that made this album into a reality.

Vents: Sonic Envy is the label for Again, Pt. 2. What makes them the perfect home for Men Without Hats?

Ivan Doroschuk: Sonic Envy has been one of our biggest supporters, which you really need in this business. They’re representative of a fresh and new beginning for us and I couldn’t be happier.

Vents: Dare I ask at this early date as to what can possibly top Again, Pt. 2?

Ivan Doroschuk: Believe it or not – Again, Pt. 3!

Vents: Wow, a trilogy?

Ivan Doroschuk: You heard it here first. We’ve got a lot to say and the third album will be the culmination of it all.

-Ryan Vandergriff (VENTS Magazine)