by Anne Marie McElrone

Part-time philosopher and full-time musician, Pat Fish, also known as the Jazz Butcher, has been tackling the Big Questions most people only ask when they're on acid or going through mid-life crisis.

The Butcher donned his apron and picked up his cleaver five years ago when he joined Maximilian Eider to form the core of the group composed of an everchanging assortment of their musical pals from Northampton in the United Kingdom. Over the years the Butcher's line-up has included the brothers Haskins, Kevin and David J. (both of Love and Rockets and. previously, Bauhaus), Rolo McGinty (The Woodentops), Owen Jones and Felix.

Eider and the rest of the Northampton entourage departed last year to pursue other projects, leaving Fish to carry on alone.

The recent release of Fishcotheque marks the forming of a new nucleus for the Butcher's ensemble. The new members were recruited in various ways. Fish says he found them by hanging around public washrooms, but in reality, guitarist/vocalist Kizzy O'Callaghan and saxophonist Alex Green have been "hanging around Northampton" and the Butcher for a long time. Fish says he found Lawrence O'Keefe through an ad in Melody Maker that caught his eye. "It began 'Hippopotamus, Pineapple ' he was a lunatic so we signed him up and sure enough he got the job."

Fish disagrees with some critics who say the lunacy of tunes like "Death Dentist" and "Buffalo Shame" is missing from his new album. He says he does not want to be dismissed as wacky and says Fishcotheque houses some of his better ideas.

"I feared at one time that we were in danger of being stuck as wacky, the funny pop group ... I want to make humour earn its keep. . . we can't change a great deal with pop songs but we can by talking to each other and pop songs help you talk to someone with 5,000 watts of volume so it must do something. Some of the overtly wacky stuff may have gone out but that's OK because I don't really like overtly wacky. I mean you could turn up to work wearing different colours of shoes but so what, know what I mean?"

He says the album is similar to their first domestic release Bloody Nonsense because a lot of the musicians went in and played songs they'd never played before.

"It's not a slab of raving expertly produced noise, but I wasn't aiming to make one of those anyway."

Fish uses his serious side to answer those nagging questions like What's it all about anyway? Polygram and CBC got together and decided to use Fish's insatiable curiousity and eloquence to produce an hour of the Butcher answering listener's Big Questions on CBC's Brave New Waves. Fish says he sits in the back of the tour bus mumbling into a microphone "looking quite absurd" but he's received "loads of intriguing stuff. . . some were seriously big. Some people wanted the entire universe explained. One brilliant chap wanted to know if you could squeeze infinity through the eye of a needle." That's big! No problem for the Butcher. "Sure you can," he says, "One thing about infinity is its extraordinary flexibility. I think it's possible but I wouldn't try it at home 'cause it's going take an awfully long time."

The Butcher has no time for stuffing anything through the eye of the needle. He's been touring with his new line-up since February and will be in Ottawa at Barrymore's on June 6. Unlike many bands who complain about touring, the Butcher loves it.

"It's a great way to travel, especially when you're a little band. A big band has to play huge venues like ugly grey concrete sports halls and the rest of the time they see a Holiday Inn and an airplane."

Fish finds Canadian crowds particularly receptive to the Jazz Butcher's music, "Just from the ground floor experience of going around and playing to people, Canada just struck me as sympathetic to us."

The crowds aren't the only thing the Butcher likes about Canada. He is "quite fond" of Molson beer. Veering off on a tangent, as he is prone to do, Fish comments on the disdain Americans seem to feel towards bands sponsored by beer companies.

"Oh, them they're a beer band. It's the kiss of death for a band." He does not have any qualms about cigarette companies as sponsors. "If they're good enough for Bette Davis, they're good enough for me!"

Actually it's the slogan on Molson's bottles that caught the Butcher's eye. '"An honest brew makes its own friends' is a great piece of wisdom. Actually, I think that's an answer to one of the Big Questions."