| The Sadies aren’t the first band that comes to mind when you think about Halloween monster rock. I mean, a pair of gaunt, sallow beanpoles with a penchant for traditional country, western swing and psychedelic punk would seem to have little in common with the likes of Screamin’ Lord Sutch, Alice Cooper and Forbidden Dimension. Wouldn’t they?
NEVER MIND THE GOBLINS
Even if The Sadies aren’t exactly purveyors of goblin rock, they still have a connection to All Hallows’ Eve – it was on October 31, 1994 that brothers Dallas and Travis Good, The Sadies’ two lanky frontmen, first played together onstage.
"(We) did a tribute to Alice Cooper, where we performed the entire Love It to Death record, in order," says Dallas. "We had, like, flashpots and stuff. We did a lot of the old songs – it just had to be the original lineup, right?
We had a lot of guests sing, so, for example, my dad came dressed as Tony Iommi and he sang ‘Generation Landslide’ (from Billion Dollar Babies) and played harmonica – it was fuckin’ cool. It was so good!
"He was dressed like Tony Iommi, but he only had brown leather fringes and stuff, so we were callin’ him ‘Brown Sabbath’ all night.... He took a hacksaw blade, chopped it in half and turned it into an upside-down-cross necklace. He looked fucking amazing."
UNBROKEN CIRCLE
Eight years later and the family circle remains unbroken, as witnessed at a recent CD release party at the venerably grotty Lee’s Palace in Toronto to celebrate the launch of The Sadies’ fourth full-length record, Stories Often Told.
I’ve seen The Sadies play entertaining shows here in Calgary at The Night Gallery, but I’d never seen anything like this – not only did the Goods’ mother and father sing with the group on several tunes, but their uncle played keyboards, too.
Meanwhile, an extended musical family of collaborators – including Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor (who also produced the new record) and pedal steel virtuoso Bob Egan – joined them onstage during the three-and-a-half-hour rock ’n’ roll blowout. They even had two fiddles going at once during a cover of Bob Wills’s "Stay a Little Longer," which culminated with Travis shredding his bow and trying to pick the chords on his instrument instead.
The group’s live prowess is largely due to the tight connections between Dallas, Travis and the band’s rhythm section, drummer Mike Belitsky and bass player Sean Dean. They share a closeness that has intensified after many long hours, days and months of touring in a van that Dallas says is beyond cramped.
"It would be illegal for animals to travel the way we do – but yet we do," says Dallas. "So, if Travis and I have a row, or whatever, everyone is careful and quiet.... But the same can be said about any band member, any circumstance – we’re all tight-knit; we’re all family.
"That’s about as juicy as I can get – I don’t want to paint a picture of fistfights in alleys and stuff because that’s the kind of thing that just opens up old wounds when you read it in print."
STORIES OFTEN TOLD
Undoubtedly we’ll see more of The Sadies’ patented rock ’n’ roll overload when they blow through town for a show on – you guessed it – Halloween night. Dallas remains tightlipped about what treats might await the audience at this impromptu anniversary celebration, but one thing’s for sure – songs from Stories Often Told will be on the set list.
Dallas says he’s proud of this new record – the first produced without Steve Albini behind the knobs – mostly because the band took the time to tweak it in all the right places.
"I’ve always prided us on our live shows for the most part, and (with) this record we did spend a little more time working out everything, so to speak. I feel it’s completed, whereas all of our other records, even our last one (2001’s Tremendous Efforts), were more of a documentation of what we were doing live at that time."
OFF TO THE RODEO
Many critics are calling Stories Often Told a departure for the band, but The Sadies’ faithful will not be disappointed. It’s true that the group has included more ballads on their last two records than they did on their first two, but other than that, the main difference is that Keelor spun the knobs on this one, and Dallas says the Blue Rodeo guitarist and vocalist has become an unofficial member of the band.
In November, The Sadies will tour across Canada with Blue Rodeo (with shows in Calgary on November 12 and 13), and it’s only natural to inquire whether Keelor will join the opening act for a couple of numbers before his own band takes the stage.
"I’m glad you asked that because it puts him in a spot and it’s nice to be able to talk about it in this way because, technically, it’s a little strange to have to go out early and draw attention on himself before he’s about to do his own show," says Dallas.
"But he’s just such a good guy and such a game player that he’s always good to go. So, if he wants to, I would insist on it." |
