There are precious few bands out there that give fans exactly what they expect, night in, night out.
In the 11 years they've been together, Canada's Theory of a Deadman has become one of those bands.
Known for delivering catchy, riff heavy songs that are great live, TOADM is one of North America's best selling acts with four straight platinum albums in Canada and two in the United States.
Estevan and area music fans will have the chance to experience the band's sound live Sunday night when they co-headline a show at Spectra Place with Big Wreck. The groups are about halfway through a cross-country tour that wraps up Dec. 18.
For TOADM the final show in Vancouver will not only mark the end of their current tour, but also the end of an 18-month stretch of performances in support of their latest album The Truth Is.
Drummer Joey Dandeneau spoke to The Mercury prior to their show last Thursday in Hamilton and said they are enjoying the tour and the chance to share some of the workload with Big Wreck.
"It's kinda nice that in some of the shows that we are doing, Big Wreck is closing a few out here which is nice for us so we can get off the stage earlier and get some proper rest so we can get through this run," Dandeneau said. "We've been out for a year and a half so we're kinda (tired). But it's been great otherwise, the crowds have been great and the turnouts have been great and I think both bands work well together musically.
"It is definitely different; that is what separates Big Wreck and Theory of A Deadman is that you've got two different styles of rock, but at the end of the night it's still big fat drums, screaming guitars and lots of vocals. It's just a full night of true Canadian rock."
Although they are one of those bands that has a vocal group of critics, TOADM has an equally strong throng of supporters who appreciate the fact the band delivers exactly what they are expecting when they drop their money on a ticket.
"Everybody knows what they are getting into when they come to the show, so for us it's great. We can just go out there and do our show," Dandeneau said. "It just makes for a fun show every night no matter where we are, it's just fun."
Since forming in 2001, TOADM has been on a steady incline. Their first two albums were platinum sellers in Canada while their third, Scars and Souvenirs was a hit on both sides of the border, climbing to No. 2 in Canada and No. 6 on the U.S. rock charts. It was also earned platinum status in the U.S.
The Truth is took them to another level altogether as it hit No. 1 on the American rock charts and rose to No. 8 on the overall charts. The album has also spun four singles which have been staples on rock stations everywhere - Lowlife, Out of My Head, Bitch Came Back and Hurricane. A fifth single, Head Above Water, was recently released.
Dandeneau said it has been an amazing experience to go out on the road and tour behind an album that has been such a success.
"We released Lowlife as the first single and first singles are always kind of scary because you don't know what is going to happen. When that took off for us, it just got the ball rolling and everything after that just kept going and going.
"Then Bitch Came Back got released, we got some flack for it, but as soon as we start playing it, the fans know every word to it. It was exciting, everytime we released something it just took off and the fans really accepted it. Even on opening guitar riffs, people know exactly what we are playing. That is a good feeling and that never goes away. There's a certain style that this band creates and that will always be there. We try and create new things as well and kind of put it all together and make the band move forward sound wise and lyrically, change things here and there but keep the basics the same."
Dandeneau, who joined his TOADM bandmates Tyler Connolly, Dave Brenner and Dean Back in 2009, said once they are off the road, they plan to start writing songs for their next album. In the meantime, he said they are looking forward to hitting a number of Canadian cities they haven't had the chance to tour through before.
"Where there's fans, we'll be there."
