They came from the middle coast, so that is what they named their band.
And they will be coming to Humboldt on Feb. 24 as part of the Humboldt Area Arts Council concert series in association with the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils.
Roman Clarke with band members, Liam Duncan and Dylan MacDonald are Winnipegers by birth and got together when they were 15 years old to form Middle Coast.
The band kicks off their 11 show OSAC tour with the Humboldt show so Clarke jokes that Humboldt will give them their first impressions of Saskatchewan.
Humboldt will be wowed with some original songs that Middle Coast recently recorded, as well as some covers of some artists who have inspired their sounds.
“We like to bring the covers into the show as a little bit of a taste of where the roots might lie in our original music.”
The band takes inspiration from 70s bands like Hall and Oates, the Doobie Brothers, the Guess Who and the Eagles and proclaim themselves as 70s style yacht rockers in their online bio.
Even that designation goes so far as poking a little fun at those 70s influences, Clarke says they really relate to the sounds of those bands.
Middle Coast also tries to balance the new with those 70s sounds, says Clarke as they introduce modern sounds like Tokyo Police Club and the Will.
Bridging the gaps between those genres are actually not that difficult, says Clarke, since the song forms and melodic patterns of the music have not changed a whole lot.
Being together for so long, Clarke says that the secret to staying together is healthy discussion.
“We have pretty easy going personalities, we all really like music, and we all do this because we really love music. That’s what we’ve wanted to do our whole lives.”
Even though Clarke is hidden in the back by his drums, he says that frontmen Liam and Dylan are great with the crowd and work to interact with the audience.
It is a pretty casual atmosphere, says Clarke because the band wants to be approachable.
“It makes it easier to approach the artists after and encourages more conversation and interaction between sets and after the show.”
After Middle Coast’s OSAC show concludes in Rosthern at the beginning of March, Clarke says they will focus on releasing their record and kicking off their three month tour which will end in their hometown of Winnipeg.
The Middle Coast performance is sponsored by Behiel Will & Biemans Law Office.
The full four-part concert series is sponsored by the Friends of the Museum & Gallery and the Humboldt Journal.
