Before Orville Peck was Orville Peck, he was a punk drummer in the Vancouver underground scene — and that’s news to his friend Chappell Roan, who learned all about her pal’s punk past in her interview with Nardwuar the Human Serviette.
Nard gifted Roan with a copy of the vinyl compilation from defunct local venue the Emergency Room. In the LP’s booklet is a photo of the band Nü Sensae in the original duo lineup, with singer-bassist Andrea Lukic in the foreground. In the background is a drummer who’s out of focus and has his head down — prompting Nardwuar to ask Roan if she recognized him.
Roan didn’t, and Nardwuar revealed the drummer’s identity — in the process using Peck’s real name, which we won’t repeat here, although the curious can find it in the video. Clearly surprised, Roan exclaimed, “Wait, shut up! What!?” She added, “That’s so sick — I didn’t know he played drums. That’s so cool. I was just talking to him.”
She went on to explain how seeing Peck’s show was transformative for her own career as a performer. “I went to see him, and his show changed my whole life. It changed how I do shows. He performed at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, and he had local drag queens open up for him. Meatball was one of them. I told myself from that show, ‘If I ever perform my own headline shows, I’m going to have local drag queens open up for me too.’ So he changed my life, and now we’re friends.”
Watch Roan’s Nardwuar interview below.
