Pizza Bath: Skips the Douches

Pizza Bath, In Crust We Trust

10 February 2018 By Christine Leonard 

To each a calzone.

As zestful as a slice of well-seasoned za, the saucy foursome known as Pizza Bath enjoy the hell out of a good kitchen party. Punching upwards with a frantic and fraught punk rock sound, vocalist/guitarist Sean Hamilton, guitarist/vocalist Eric Andrews Svilpis, bassist/vocalist Gavin Howard and drummer Fergie McLean recall the thirsty days of yore when garage jams and Hot Pockets ruled the suburban wasteland.  

“We all play in a lot of bands,” Hamilton acknowledges. “Pizza Bath emerged as a project out of Rockin’ 4 Dollar$ at Broken City. I had all these punk songs I’d been writing while on tour drumming for Miesha and the Spanks and I just wanted them to have a purpose. Eric helped me put together a band that was only supposed to learn like four songs, but it just sounded too good to not pursue and put some energy into.” 

Pouring their collective steam into a fully-loaded EP seemed like the right direction to head in, and they got down to pounding out some speedy but generously proportioned tunes.

“The goals and values of Pizza Bath stem from the lyrical content,” he elaborates.

“We wanted to be fun and goofy, but then have a much darker message in our portrayal of what life means and what our role in the world is. What we try and promote through our lyrics and real-life actions is just a willingness to become better; in everything we are and through all of our failures. We want to grow and learn to be the best versions of ourselves with each new experience.” 

Salvation is where you find it. And in the case of the not-so-flippant-after-all Pizza Bath, a compelling melody, unguarded confession or even a decisive downbeat can all illuminate the path to a more fulsome experience. Proof that the group’s philosophy isn’t hopelessly mired in glutinous psychoanalysis and sadness, Pizza Bath always makes short work out of providing audiences with a cheesy good time. 

“Don’t get me wrong, Pizza Bath is a lot of fun and games. That’s important, as well,” Hamilton affirms. “If you aren’t actively trying to enjoy life, then I’d like to meet up, give you a high five, and try to explain that if this blip of an existence isn’t the coolest thing in the universe, I don’t know what is. But, we do acknowledge the darkness. Because if you don’t see the desperation in life, you might be missing out on living a little bit of it.” 

Pizza Bath will celebrate their EP release show on Saturday, Feb. 17th at Nite Owl (Calgary) with Abductees, Old Wives and All Hands on Jane. Abductees will also be releasing a new recording that night!

Delhi 2 Dublin: Hot Canadian Dub Masala

Delhi 2 Dublin: as Desi
as they wanna be

09 February 2018By Christine Leonard 

Delhi 2 Dublin serve up tasty sub continental turntable/tabla pop.

What happens when you slam together all of the most visceral dance music you can find? You get Vancouver’s Delhi 2 Dublin, a world-binding fusion of Bhangra, hip-hop, Celtic reels, and electronic. That’s exactly the kind of spicy Canadian Masala that the five-piece have been serving up since the group’s inception at the Vancouver Folk Festival over a decade ago. Following that fateful meeting, tabla player and beat wizard Tarun Nayar, dhol/dholak virtuoso Ravi Binning, and vocalist Sanjay Seran, have been steadily churning out groove-filled albums, including the bombastic ‘We’re All Desi’ (2015), and bringing electro-clash dance parties to festivals around the globe.  

“The whole ‘Where do we fit in?’ thing has been really hard for us,” says vocalist and lyricist Sanjay Seran.

“It’s a blessing and a curse. We fit everywhere, so we’re able to take a lot of gigs and we’re always booked. And, we’re grateful for that, but the curse is not fitting here, there, nor anywhere. It’s a constant battle. We’re coming up on 12 years as a band in March and the core of the band is still together and getting along.” 

The same identity crisis that makes their offerings so unique as feeds back into the band’s own internal culture.

“We’ve done a lot of self-reflection and soul-searching about the confusion of being born in Richmond,” Seran continues.

“It’s a pretty affluent suburb of Vancouver, which means I grew up pretty sheltered, yet I grew up as a Brown kid born there. I didn’t experience a lot of racism, but most of it had to do with the embarrassment of hiding my culture – from the smell of the cooking to the clothing. So, you’re walking through life, trying to figure out who you are.” 

The journey of unraveling that age-old mystery has revealed some important truths to Delhi 2 Dublin. And while their mid-career identity crisis is not entirely resolved, the turntable-and-tabla outfit has emerged from the conversation with a renewed sense of purpose.  

“We do have a lot brewing under the hood. We’re hard at work on writing a new album right now and we’re stoked. We’re scrambling like mad to get a single ready to drop in February, but otherwise, we’re working on trying to get the best songs we can,” says Seran, who welcomed violinist Serena Eades into the trio’s touring compliment.

“Lately, we’ve been honing in on the idea of ‘Sub-continental Pop.’ Delhi 2 Dublin really resonates with this. We spent a bunch of time talking about and I feel like we’re more focused than ever.

Finally, we feel like we fit into this weird world we’ve been juggling. Everything’s getting better and better. Maybe we were ahead of our time. I will reflect on that.”

Delhi 2 Dublin perform at Block Heater on February 16 (Calgary).

Enter Shikari: sparking England's electro-rock future

Enter Shikari

06 February 2018By Christine Leonard 

Straight outta St Albans, Hertfordshire, England the upstart outfit known as Enter Shikari has been purveying its unique take on British electronic rock since coming together as a quartet in 2003. Over the past decade-and-a-half, Enter Shikari’s guitarist Liam “Rory” Clewlow, bassist Chris Batten, drummer Rob Rolfe and lead vocalist/keyboardist Rou Reynolds have been attacking the scene from the bastion of their own record label, the appropriately named Ambush Reality. Fans from many musical folds were quick to pick up on the group’s genre-melding style, which borrows heavily from the realms of electronica and experimental rock while mining everything from dubstep to hardcore punk and heavy metal for instrumentation and inspiration. The resultant ‘electronicore’ sound is a sleek but complex hybrid that has set charts and dance floors ablaze across the UK. It’s something audio-pioneer Reynolds describes as the inevitable outcome of tapping into their collective creative impulses. 

“Music flows out of me like vomit from a projectile vomiting drunk. I’m just the guy with a bucket mopping it up. And it’s relentless,” jokes Reynolds.

“All I try and do with Shikari is specifically write when I feel inspired – not provoked – into writing. Though I have no qualms with music for music’s sake, it is definitely not music for music’s sake. It has soul and it has purpose.” 

The inescapable gravity of modern life is a topic that Enter Shikari feels exceptionally well equipped to address. Appreciated for pushing political dialogue into the musical spotlight, the foursome rarely shies from the dark side of human existence. Opting instead to project vitriol outwards, Reynolds and his company of multi-instrumentalists excel at transforming simmering resentment and personal outrage into bust-a-move worthy art. 

“Music has been a tool that has brought communities together for millennia. We are united by the fact that we are all vulnerable to music’s emotional power. So, in effect, we are just continuing to use music for the same means, to bring people together, indiscriminately. If that means being political then that’s what it means. It doesn’t bother me,” he acknowledges.

“First and foremost, I like to be realistic. And, that means sometimes everything does seem to be going to shit and sometimes things do seem truly hopeless. A negative outlook every now and then is honest. The main thing I try to do is constantly make sure I’m putting things into perspective. Things are sometimes disheartening, but often exciting. I’m lucky to be able to have potential and willpower to do small things to make the world a little better.” 

One positive stride towards that noble goal comes in the form of Enter Shikari’s fifth and most recent full-length release, ‘The Spark’ (2017). Representing a steady progression that began with their certified-gold debut, ‘Take to the Skies’ (2007), ‘The Spark’ conjures a heavy-synth whirlwind that resonates with grimy layered vocals, brassy orchestral arrangements and rabble-rousing rhythms. 

“There was a lot more opening up about my life and experiences and a real determined effort to let melody take the forefront with this album,” confirms Reynolds, who composed ‘The Spark’ over the course of a year. 

“I wanted to concentrate on a more lucid style of music with a more personal, honest and open lyrical theme. The thing that we’ve found is, really it’s simply about the humans involved. If you’re working with people who truly understand and support your music that’s what matters most. Through experience, we learned that major labels probably aren’t right for us, as our music is too left-field and our nature too erratic and unpredictable.” 

So, how do that nonconformism and spontaneity translate from studio to stage? Strap on your jammy packs, kids! 

“We’ve been lucky enough to play some really big shows in Europe and have been able to really transform each venue we play into our own environment by using surround-sound and synchronized visuals. It’s takes months of preparation and work, but is so incredible when it all comes together. Having the sounds swirl around your ahead is almost disorientating and creates such an exciting atmosphere.”

Enter Shikari performs Monday, Feb. 13 at Commonwealth Bar (Calgary), and Tuesday, Feb. 14 at The Starlite Room (Edmonton), and Friday, Feb. 16 at Imperial (Vancouver).

Corrosion of Conformity: Rockin' Out with Reed Mullin

Corrosion of Conformity
through hardship to the stars

05 February 2018By Christine Leonard  

No Gods, No Idols, No Stage Diving.

North Carolina’s Corrosion of Conformity has seen a lot of changes sweep the music industry since its inception in 1982, and so it’s only fitting that the punk, thrash, heavy metal act has reinvented itself on more than one occasion. Most notably, the comings and goings of guitarist Pepper Keenan and drummer Reed Mullin have had a significant impact on the tone and personality of the band. 

Tracking their commanding presence, subsequent absences and gradual reappearances is enough to give a music archivist hives! Still, the steadfast act has managed to survive and thrive, from the early success of formative albums like Technocracy (1985) to the definitive movements of In the Arms of God (2005), the tenacious Southern-blues-rock phenomenon has made a career of traversing genre-lines and outlasting trends. 

Today Corrosion of Conformity continues to draw on the same elements that have always been their calling card; solid songwriting, intense collaboration and pure unabated lust for working their audiences into a lather. And, judging by their work ethic, it’s evident that elder statesmen Keenan, guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean and Mullin aren’t quite ready to rust in peace. 

“Don’t get me started on the nightmare situation here in the States. My God!” says percussionist Reed Mullin of the band’s current political outlook, noting that COC hasn’t abandoned its post, but is perhaps a bit more subtle in expressing their views than in the past.

“We still touch on issues, but I don’t think we’re quite as demonstrative, or finger-pointing, as we’ve been in the past. Not to say we’ve abandoned things that we feel strongly about.” 

Judging by the strength of COC’s first new album full-length album in four years, No Cross No Crown (2018), the band isn’t running short on ideas.  

“It’s a long one, isn’t it? She’s long!” Mullin exclaims with an air of pride.

“The new album definitely represents us and this chapter in our history very well. We kind of feel like we can and have done whatever kind of music we want. And haven’t been bound by our past or anything like that. Our name is Corrosion of Conformity (I came up with the name in chemistry class) and I think we remain true to the name. We’ve always been into blending different things because we like a lot of different types of music. Luckily a lot of people grew with us. Our sound is complex, it has a lot of influences, and a lot of ear-candy.” Mullin elaborates.  

“The vast majority of, No Cross No Crown, was written in the studio. Originally, we were going to demo the material at our rehearsal space/studio and then we were going to take the tracks somewhere else, like Dave Grohl’s studio, to do what was supposed to be the real tracks. But, as we went along, the demo tracks just sounded so fucking good that we finally asked ourselves ‘How are we going to make this better? It already sounds slammin!’ Everything was really loose and not over thought and I think that’s one of the main aspects of this new record. Captures the live essence of COC.” 

Bottling the lighting that is COC in-performance is one thing, but bringing those recorded tracks to life on stage is another ball of wax. Fortunately, by (the soon to be 52) Mullin’s estimation, getting back into tour-ready condition was as simple as falling off a bike. 

“We’ve been touring together again as this particular line-up since 2014. This is a classic line-up and certainly the most popular one, but if you ask an old crusty punk rocker they’ll probably disagree with you. We’ve had three big incarnations as a band; the original ‘80s hardcore punk version (so it was a little different), and then we did one album with a guy named Karl Agell singing and Pepper (Keenan) sang one song called “Vote With A Bullet,” and that was much more metal and super political, and then the Pepper one.  For me, it’s been 18 years since I recorded with the band. I split for a little while and they did an album with a badass drummer named Stanton Moore. So, America’s Volume Dealer is the last one I was did, in 2000. I think we probably always thought that we could keep going on. I don’t think we ever thought it was over with.” 

Knowing when to say “When!” has never been the hardcore outfit’s prerogative, but they have established a crew of talented (and more restrained) individuals who dutifully curb those tendencies from the other side of the soundproof glass. 

“We’ve used our Producer, John Custer, since 1991,” reports Mullin. “He’s a Raleigh-boy like me, Mike Dean and Woody. He’s fantastic and was able to extract these killer takes from me and everybody else. We ended up getting it mixed by Mike Fraser, he’s a well-known engineer, mixer, producer-guy who did our Wiseblood album. Something Henry Rollins of Black Flag used to say was ‘Playing live. That’s the get off. And when you go to the studio that’s just the documentation of the get-off.’ I think we documented the get-off pretty good.”
 

Corrosion of Conformity perform with Black Label Society and Eyehategod on Monday, Feb. 12 at The Ranch Roadhouse (Edmonton), Friday, Feb. 16 at Bowes Event Centre (Grande Prairie) and Saturday, Feb. 17 at MacEwan Hall (Calgary)

Duchess Says - drop your inhibitions at the door

Duchess Says Le Mode Juste

11 January 2018By Christine Leonard 

Noisey friends from Montreal, Duchess Says drop your inhibitions at the door.

Born in the winter of 2003 out of the fertile imaginations of Montreal Moog rockers, Duchess Says is an electrified new wave punk crossover band with a flair for the dramatic. Drawn from the ranks of the Church of Budgerigars, bandmates vocalist/guitarist Annie-Claude Deschênes, guitarist/bassist Philippe Clément, percussionist Simon “Simon Says” Besre and keyboardist/guitarist Ismael Tremblay decided to take their quest for spiritual satisfaction to the next level.

Their royal lineage began with an ecstatic burst of synth-rock, bass feedback, lo-fi pummel, and hyperbolic noise. Popping up in venues ranging from store window displays to abandoned buildings, the members began the process of recording and releasing their first tentative tracks in 2006. A full-length debut, Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs (Bonsound/Alien8 Recordings), which appeared in 2008, brought their energetic blitz to a dance floor climax only to leave fans dangling until they finally returned in 2011 with In A Fung Day T! (Bonsound/Alien8 Recordings). Making the leap to the Slovenly Recordings label, the punked-out philosophers reemerged in 2016 with their latest album, Science Nouvelles, an ambitious and line-blurring work that challenged the musicianship of the space-goth art-stars as never before.

“We realized it was, in fact, kind of hard to play the studio songs,” Deschênes acknowledges. “So, we chose half of the album to play live and it forced us to experiment and just to create new songs. We want to do an EP or an album, we don’t know yet. It depends on how many ideas we will have.”

This Dadaist thought-incubator has been a goldmine for Duchess Says, as each new album finds the group deconstructing their approach, adopting and adapting unique styles and intense inferences. 

“Whether it’s through jamming or playing shows, there’s always inspiration from things, like movies. Yesterday I went to see Suspiria, it’s a Dario Argento story, and the day after we saw it we created a song that was inspired by its atmosphere, because we were like, ‘My God! I want to continue to be in this vibe!’ So, it was inspired by cinema, just as we are constantly being inspired by life and art. I think we cannot just like be comfortable in our sound. And, I don’t think we’ve necessarily found our sound. We’re always looking forward to finding something like new effects and instruments. It’s like a laboratory and we’re just having fun and we’re not afraid to try really different directions or songs.”

Adept in exploring their own personal chemistry, the quartet has cultivated a knack for tapping into the emotional root of their creative urges. Addressing each doubt and conviction with artistic sensitivity and the desire to convey a meaning that goes beyond language. 

“This new EP, or album, will be more based on the urgency we’re feeling right now,” Deschênes intimates. “It’s just the realization that life passes really quickly and we don’t have the time to be in a full deduction mode and calculate everything. We’re aware of the time that’s passing really quick and we want to do something really nervous that’s about capturing the moment right now. Ultimately, I think it will be more straight to the point than usual. I think it’s just like a complete forward momentum; really nervous, really intense! I hope the new stuff will be innovative, create a lot of energy, and a lot of dancing and having fun.”

Baptized by fire on more than one occasion, Duchess Says has performed its textured cinematic rituals for live audiences at Eurockéennes, the Osheaga Festival, and the Festival of Emerging Music. They’ve opened for Yeah Yeah Yeahs on tour and have even contributed their sonic theatrics to the soundtrack of the film The Tracey Fragments. Still, Deschênes attributes their viability to the intangible aspects of performer and audience interplay. A choreographed and yet totally spontaneous pas de deux that elevates both halves of the greater whole.

“We recognize that we’re all similar and okay. Just like stop everything, and stop the superficial stuff and have fun together and build something together. Because the crowd is a big part of why our show is fun. When the crowd has no inhibitions, it just becomes crazy and makes it really creative and interesting. Because I can make something, but the people sculpt it in a way that I could never do it just by myself. So, it’s like a team work or something.”

Forced to confront the uncertainty of transitioning songs from studio to stage, Deschênes tries to make her music more accessible by incorporating multimedia elements that illuminate her more elusive concepts and imbue each event with energy and light.

“Art is really important in our performance,” she relates. “I think what’s difficult about the studio session is that when we do a live show there’s a third dimension. There’s an additional explanation of the vision we have because we have a direct connection with the public. For myself, I try to make the music visually palatable for the audience.”

Cultivating a sense of decorum amongst the chaos and subterfuge of a Duchess Says experience, Deschênes persists in her mission to deliver the mythological word of the band’s befeathered Church by transforming herself into a High Priestess of Precise Artistic Dialog. 

Duchess Says performs Jan. 18 at the Big Winter Classic (Calgary)

Red Fang: Bares All

Red Fang: Don’t Sweat The Petty, 

Pet The Sweaty 

10 January 2018By Christine Leonard 

Portland’s favorite shoegaze quartet honing their craft over the holidays

Sometimes the best thing about traveling abroad is when you finally get back home and can sleep in your own bed again. That couldn’t be truer for Portland’s Red Fang. Having just returned from a month-long run through Europe in support of their latest album, Only Ghosts (2016, Relapse), guitarist/vocalist Maurice Bryan Giles, bassist/vocalist Aaron Beam, guitarist David Sullivan and drummer John Sherman genuinely enjoy kicking back with family and friends over the holidays. But, true to the anthemic stoner rock band’s virile nature, just four days into their sojourn Giles is already thinking about mixing business with pleasure and getting the pack together to make fresh tracks in the studio.  

“I’m feeling reinvigorated and looking forward to digging back in, but it’s just a matter of discipline,” says Giles. “We try to take advantage of our downtimes and do things creatively and differently.  

Bulldozing their way through the songwriting and production process like a moose in a headshop, Red Fang has produced a quartet of thunderous LPs since its inception in 2005. Renowned for the heavy hooks and ominous overtones displayed on their self-titled debut on Sargent House in 2009 and subsequent releases, Murder the Mountains in 201.1 

Whales and Leeches in 2013 (both on Relapse Records), the vulpine outfit is actively reaping, and savouring, the fruits of their labours. 

“We’re all in our forties, and have been in this band going on thirteen years, and it’s still really mentally engaging for us because we share a lot of influences musically, but also our tastes extend in very different directions. There are certain traps and pitfalls that we tend to fall into, so whenever we can do something outside of our usual thought process I think that’s where the good stuff is coming from.” 

More than just a bunch of hard-partying, beer-quaffing hooligans, Red Fang have proven themselves as cunning songwriters and string-slingers. Still, their ears are always to the ground. Because, according to Giles, the next great riff might be lurking right around the corner! 

“The guys are always surprising me, and over the years, I’ve learned to trust them.  

For example, in the middle of “Wires” there’s a quiet sort of breakdown, and we called it the Spaghetti Western part. At first, I thought, ‘What in the hell is this? This is ridiculous!’ But at some point I was like, ‘Well, I’ll try it.’ And I learned it. And it grew on me like a fungus and now I just can’t see that song existing without it. So, the things that are outside of my comfort-level are the things that ultimately give me the most joy in the long run. To me, it’s fun when something’s like ‘Ick!’ initially. I kind of like that.” 

Pushing past the yuck-factor has yielded impressive results for Giles and company whose music videos have put their sludgy melodies on the map. The ultra-violent shorts built around “Prehistoric Dog”, “Blood Like Cream”, “Shadows” and other viral video ventures have singled Red Fang out as perpetrators of the most entertaining headbanger daydreams on the planet. We’re talking over ten million views here, dudes. 

“The credit for the majority of our videos lies with Whitey (McConnaughy), the director. He’s just a super motivated guy who’s really passionate and creative, so he’s always coming up with ideas and occasionally he’ll call us to see if we’re interested. We’ll just laugh our asses off and say, ‘Hell, yeah! We’ll do that!’ None of us consider ourselves actors, we’re more re-actors. He doesn’t really have to tell us what our motivation is beyond ‘Drink beer!’ We’re just lucky to have him. I’d say that his videos are a large part of the reason that people know we exist, which is nice.” 

Prepared to deliver a tidy cross-section of their piledriving library on their upcoming North American tour, Red Fang feels a stronger connection to their audience than ever. The scene-stealing foursome may have displayed (and destroyed) their living rooms for the camera, but the magnitude of that explosive exposure is secondary to the soulful unveiling that occurs when Red Fang opens up on the stage. 

“The videos are a great reflection of our sense of humour because we never wanted to be, and never could be, a band that walks out of the fog and flexes our muscles,” says Giles. “We’re just not those guys. And no one would believe it if we tried. But the music is very much from the heart with us. It’s still a riff-driven band, but when it comes down to the vibe I want it to mean something because we’ve got to go out on the road and play those songs hundreds and hundreds of times. That’s why I’m really excited about the new songs. It’s the most modern version of the musical headspace we’re in these days and we hope that the crowd is along for the ride.”  

Red Fang performs Jan. 16 at the Rickshaw Theatre (Vancouver) and Jan. 18 at the Big Winter Classic Festival (Calgary)

What is best in life? Conan doom, of course!

Conan: Heroes of the Hyborian Age 

02 January 2018By Christine Leonard 

What is best in life? Conan doom, of course.

Having sacked the Aquilonian outpost of Venarium and survived the sinking of Atlantis, the Cimmerian warlords collectively known as Conan has gone on to leave an indelible mark on British doom metal. Forged in 2006, the thunderous war cries emerging from the Merseyside act have been heard around the globe thanks to the vision of founding guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis. Joined by recording engineer Chris Fielding (who took over on bass in 2013), Davis has steadily honed the band’s bludgeoning sound. Vacillating between slogging wasteland ballads and rage-saturated bombardments, Conan has conquered all obstacles and is literally establishing their own kingdom of timber and stone.

We live in a “town called Childer Thornton and we’re basically between the old city of Chester and Liverpool. Sort of in the countryside, but only five minutes away from the motorway, it’s a cool location,” Davis begins.

“I live in a really large house on a bit of land with a few extra outbuildings, one of which is an old coach house. When we took possession of it in 2012, I thought, ‘Why not create something that I can earn money from, such as a recording studio?’ I gave it the heaviest name I could think of at the time and it stuck. Skyhammer Studios. It’s memorable and rolls off the tongue.” 

These master plans were unfurled with the aid of his longtime collaborator in Fielding. The musician and sound engineer has a huge resume; Napalm Death, Primordial, Electric Wizard, Hooded Menace, and numerous more have utilized his technical and musical skills. Therefore, the studio represents a dream that has been a decade in the making. An admirer of Fielding’s technical prowess and ear for heavy metal perfection, Davis is gratified that other groups are tapping into his impressive skillset via Conan’s burgeoning empire at Skyhammer Studios. 

“I was kind of obsessed with Chris early on, it seems,” confesses Davis.

“But in all seriousness, when Conan was starting out after we recorded our very first demo (Battle in the Swamp) back in January of 2007, we went to Chris’s studio and recorded what became our first album, Horseback Battle Hammer (2010). A lot of people you speak to will say that was just an EP and Monnos (2012) was our first album because it had a full build-up and a press campaign. But in my mind, we recorded our first album, Horseback Battle Hammer, with Chris in 2009 and he has produced literally everything we’ve done since.” 

That was back in the ‘Dark Age of MySpace,’ as Davis puts it. An unenlightened era when Conan was largely unknown, they had played only a handful of shows, and none of them outside of their hometown. Wielding their axes alongside fellow Liverpudlian heavy metal acts Iron Witch, Corrupt Moral Altar and Black Magician, Conan eventually broke through the ice and into widespread recognition with their signature “caveman battle doom” onslaught. 

“The thing I like about all of this is that we have a good story behind us, it’s not sensational, but we started out from nothing. We’ve never really had any help from anyone. We’re self-managed and we record and produce our own albums. When I think back to the beginning, I didn’t expect anything to come of the band. In fact, I had no plans at all.”

He continues, “When Conan hit the scene it came as a complete surprise to everyone and I think that helped us cement our position. It was like a cold-call and no one was expecting it and we took people by surprise. I guess we were a bit different from what was happening at the time and were able to capture people’s imaginations. And we haven’t looked back since; it’s been fun!” 

Currently, the act has been hard at work at Skyhammer Studios crafting mercurial new material, heeding the need for speed confirmed by the audience response to their heaviest and fastest offerings. Due to arrive in the spring of 2018, Conan’s forthcoming album will deliver a monstrous blast of momentum complete with fell vocals and deft string work.  

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We’re not a complex-sounding band, but our music has evolved into something more. Gradually, as we’ve gone along, we’ve injected a faster pace into albums. There’s a lot more going on Revengeance (2016) than there is on Blood Eagle (2014) or Monnos, and yet those albums stand up perfectly fine in their own right. Seeing the reaction of the crowd to this totally new faster approach was mind-blowing. It sowed the seed in me that we can sound really heavy, but not play everything at a snail’s pace.” 

Fortunately, the trails of time and trials of fame have been kind to Conan, who assert that their forty-something metabolisms are just kicking into barbarian gear.  

“As my body is slowing down, the riffs are speeding up somehow!” 

Black Mastiff: Another Trip Around the Sun

Harlo’s B-day: 

The Palomino’s pitmaster celebrates

02 January 2018By Christine Leonard 

Calgary’s heavy metal honky-tonk bar celebrates their favourite birthday bash with headliners, Black Mastiff.

Laps around the sun, zeros on the odometer, pints of lager downed, pounds of shredded pork consumed – there are innumerable ways to count the rings on the tree when it comes to calculating the duration of one’s existence. And in the case of The Palomino Smokehouse’s pitmaster, Arlen “Harlo” Smith, the annual bash thrown in honour of his birthday is the best way to mark the passage of time in a manner that’s sure to resonate over the course of the next year. 

“I was born in ‘73,” says Smith, doing the math. “I’ll be 45!”  

A fine vintage to have achieved, but it’s not his first rodeo by any stretch of the imagination. Like Harlo (Smith’s alter ego) himself, these annual whoop-ups have a bit of a track record around Calgary. 

“We did this back at the Drum (& Monkey Public House), although it was a little less exciting at the Drum. This will be the sixth one here at The Palomino. It’s never really on the day of my birthday unless my birthday happens to fall on a Saturday because nobody wants to go to a fuckin’ rock show on a Sunday. My birthday’s on a Monday this year,” he grumbles. “Truth be told, I don’t really give two shits about my birthday, I just like a good rock show! And in January it’s hard to get a good rock show.” 

Ironically, despite presenting incendiary and mind-blowing musical acts throughout the year at his showroom and eatery, the amber-bearded Smith rarely has the opportunity to stop and savour the sounds coming from the venue’s two stages. Thus, curating a wishlist of bands especially for his birthday is truly the best gift the dedicated owner/operator could receive, as it gives him a license to join the crowd on the other side of the bar. Not that he ever stands still for very long. 

“This party is essentially just an excuse for me to bring in bands that are probably too expensive to play this room normally. It’s like, fuck it, you work hard all year long and you deserve to do something totally self-serving once a year on your birthday. Out of all the shows we bring through I probably get to watch about four a year, this is one of them. Even at the birthday party, I’m still working. I’m so fuckin’ mild now. I’ve totally mellowed in my old age. Ah, that’s not true I’ve still got plenty of anger,” he says with a chuckle. “This is one of the four times over the year that I actually get to let it go and party!” 

2018’s festivities will likely prove to be no exception with a trio of groove-heavy bands slated to perform amidst the establishment’s heavenly garlic and brisket-scented atmosphere. Promising an equally drool-worthy menu of hard-rockin' entertainment, Smith has a meaty trio of bands lined-up to ensure the evening is packed with heavy hooks and gritty gusto. 

Rolled out in his customary whiskey-cured, business-casual fashion, Harlo’s B-Day bash is destined to set an auspicious tone for the year to come. And what better way to defrost your January blues than by cozying up to some dry ribs, sparkling suds and face-melting riffs with a few dozen of your closest Palo-pals? 

“This is just a roomful of people I enjoy,” confirms Smith. “It’s all my buds, and all the bands, and all the people who come to rock shows and the people in my van club. It’s just a party. That’s what I like about it.” 

 Don’t miss Harlo Davidson’s Birthday celebration with Black Mastiff, Woodhawk and Denim Machine Jan. 6 at The Palomino Smokehouse and Social Club (Calgary)