The Birthday Boys are headed to The Spot in Yorkton for a night of music sharing the stage with The Stanfields next Wednesday, (Oct. 13).
Graeme Kennedy, guitarist and vocalist with the Ontario-based band said they are trying something different with the current tour.
"I'll also mention that we are doing a project while on the road, called '30 songs/30 days'," he said. "It involves us writing a song every day of the tour, then performing it at a different location in every town. The song writing process and the performance will be filmed and posted daily at www.birthdayboysmusic.com/30songs. We will also be inviting people to be in the filming of the performance via daily Twitter (www.twitter.com/birthdayboys) updates as to the time and location of the performance."
"Jordan Mack and I are the primary songwriters," said Kennedy. "We share vocals and we each come with written songs, but the majority of them become a group effort."
The total band effort can invigorate a song, but at times can slow the writing process, said Kennedy."I've never been in a band before where every member has a vision for every song," he said. "It can be frustrating at times, when there are four guys wanting to try it their way, but I think the songs that survive the process are better for it.
"The first album (Bad Blood) came together fairly quickly, we had probably written 20 songs and picked the best 12.
"The new EP (Tin Head) felt like it took longer to write, but some of these recordings have been around for a while. We wrote a lot after Bad Blood, I guess it just took us longer to decide whether we were making an album or an EP."
The first album was recorded in Chicago at Steve Albini's studio, said Kennedy.
"A couple of us had worked with Steve before so we knew the studio," he said. "We wanted to record live and we knew it was a good place to do it. All the music was recorded live in 14-hours, so in that way it wasn't too far from playing on stage, it's just a matter of being able to play with live energy when there's no crowd. If you play enough shows to nobody that gets pretty easy."
The EP had a different feel in its creation.
"We recorded the EP in an empty log house on Emerald Isle," said Kennedy. "That was a great recording session. We were able to take more time and get creative with sounds, though we tried not to do anything that wouldn't be possible live.
Kennedy said the Birthday Boys like both recordings, especially the new EP.
"I am pleased with it. There are always things I would change, but at some point you've got to leave it alone," he said. "I feel like it's a step up from Bad Blood. I think the lyrics are better and the song structures are more creative.
"We have released 'Daughter's Man' as the first single. You can see the video at www.birthdayboysmusic.com"
The band formed sometime in the fall/winter of 2007-'08, said Kennedy.
"It's hard to say exactly, because it took us a while to figure out what we were going to do together," he said. "Some good bands had broken up in town and it freed up some of the guys that you'd always wanted to play with, so a bunch of us got together to start something. The difficult bit was that we all wanted to do something different than we had done before, that lead to some months spent deciding whether we were a rock band, a country band or a punk band."
The line-up of Jordan Mack (singer/guitarist), Matt Paige (drums), Jeremy Boyd (bass/vocals) and Kennedy do draw on diverse musical backgrounds and interests in creating the sound for The Birthday Boys.
"It's always hard for me to pick one or two influences, so I'll put it this way; we have ripped off the following artists - Nick Cave, Spoon, Johnny Cash, The Hellacopters, Elvis Costello, Ennio Morricone, The Clash, and probably AC/DC at some point," said Kennedy.
"I would say we play lyrical rock and roll."
The influences and sounds of The Birthday Boys has taken them to many places to play, although one foggy memory sticks out for Kennedy.
"We've played in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, as well as New York City," he said."This is our first trip west of Ontario."
As for a stand-out moment, Kennedy said, "playing The Seahorse in Halifax with The Novaks was one of my favourite shows. It was very sweaty, and the last couple hours are fuzzy, but it sticks in my head as one of those nights that reminds me of why I do it."
