After an eight year hiatus they are back, bigger and better than before and soon Yorkton and area residents will have the opportunity to enjoy them up close and personal.
Accompanied by bluesy rock band Wide Mouth Mason (www.widemouthmason.com), and playing numbers from their brand new album Revolution Per Minute, Big Sugar will take center stage in Yorkton on November 8.
"This is the first Big Sugar record in 10 years," says Gordie Johnson, Big Sugar guitar/vocalist. "We're picking up the story line kind of where we left off but of course everyone has grown and matured in the interim so we're making something new out of the Big Sugar recipe.
"We didn't really have any interest in coming back as a 'reunion, greatest hits' type band," Johnson detailed in a recent interview with The News Review, "although we have lots of older hits that people love to hear and we're happy to play them, that wasn't enough reason to put the band back together and to go on tour."
From the outset he adds, the band sat down together to both create something new and to make sure it was every bit as good as older material.
Comprised of Johnson; Garry Lowe on bass; Kelly "Mr Chill" Hoppe - harmonica/sax/melodica; Friendlyness - keyboards/toasting; and Stephane "Bodean" Beaudin on drums, each band member brings something unique to the stage says Johnson.
"There are blues musicians in the band, rock musicians, reggae - all coming from different worlds and once we get in the studio together it includes all of those things," - creating the Big Sugar recipe.
"We've all grown as musicians as musicians do, but everyone is still identifiable, everyone has a signature sound... anywhere you put the needle down on the record you would know it's Big Sugar," he says.
"We didn't try to make it sound more modern or anything like that. We weren't interested in that. Twenty years ago we weren't interested in sounding like what was current. We were only interested in sounding like ourselves... We didn't have any preconceived ideas going in that it must include certain ingredients. We just sound the way we do."
When in Yorkton Johnson says the audience can expect to hear a taste of the old and a twist of the new.
"Having the band be a living, breathing entity that exists in 2011 with a new record and a new reason to go out and play and perform for people certainly gives us a lot of inspiration.
"It's a new day for us."
The long time performer says he's particularly excited to be on tour with Wide Mouth Mason - a band with which he is also involved so the upcoming show will be a two-fold performance.
"This is twice as exciting for us because I'm also in Wide Mouth Mason. I'll spend the first half of the show playing the bass for Wide Mouth Mason who we adore; we've known them since they were kids. We took them on their first tour back in the early 90s. We kind of discovered them in Saskatoon and we asked them to come on tour with us the next day. That was 15 years ago so it's kind of like a family reunion bringing both bands together on the same bill."
The second half of the set, Johnson performs with Big Sugar with Wide Mouth Mason members accompanying.
The plan after Yorkton is to keep touring he adds, bringing the band to as many venues as possible.
Big Sugar has also put together a Christmas album that fans can look forward to hearing in time for the holidays.
"It's called 'If Santa don't bring you no funk, I will.' There's an awful lot of boring, old rock n' roll Christmas songs and we decided we needed to do something that had more of our own take on Christmas." The album was also recorded with Wide Mouth Mason.
It's a new day and there's a new Big Sugar energy to keep a forward moving momentum he believes.
"We didn't want a greatest hits tour, like I said. It had to be vital and relevant and everyone on a personal level had to want the same thing. When all of those things came together it just didn't require any more thought or discussion. It just felt really right. When everyone's energy is channeled in the same direction, it's nice to get swept up in that positive vibration."
Johnson states, "All we did was hit record and we totally captured Big Sugar live off the floor. This is the least messed with record I've ever made. Even when it came to mixing at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio, we just put it up on the desk and moved faders. It just didn't need any help. We let it be what it is."
Big Sugar, along with Wide Mouth Mason, will be performing in Yorkton at the Agripavillion on November 8. Call the Gallagher Centre for tickets or visit: gallaghercentre.com.
