Preview
THE WEAKERTHANS
Saturday, March 22
MacEwan Hall Ballroom
These are exciting times for Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson – he just got a puppy.
"I’ve been waiting 30 years to get one – I could never have one when I was a kid," the soft-spoken singer says.
Fans and industry types alike are buzzing about other developments for the Winnipeg-based quartet – namely, their recent signing to Epitaph Records and the promise of a new album in the fall. Both developments have been in the works for a while – the signing for a few months, and the album for nearly three years – but they hit the public consciousness at the same time.
The liaison with California-based Epitaph was a natural one for the left-leaning Weakerthans, Samson says.
"Throughout our career... we’ve worked with people who are in some way connected to the kind of punk community we come from, which is fueled by activism and ideas."
While the band considered making connections with a number of independent labels, the members finally reached a consensus on Epitaph. "They seemed to be quite attuned to the kind of world that we live in and the kind of band that we are," Samson explains.
He adds that signing with a major label was never really in the cards. "I think it would be totally inappropriate for a band like us, (that works) hard on touring and developing communication with people who like our music. And who take a lot of time – some would say, perhaps, too much time – writing and recording and just thinking about stuff before we do it."
It is true that fans have been champing at the bit for a new album ever since the 2000 release of Left and Leaving on Winnipeg label G7 Welcoming Committee. The good news for them is that tracking for the Weakerthans’ third full-length release was completed this month in Toronto, where bassist John P. Sutton and drummer Jason Tait now reside. (Samson and guitarist Stephen Carroll still call Manitoba home.) The record is tentatively titled Reconstruction Site, and Left and Leaving producer Ian Blurton (of Blurtonia and Change of Heart) is once again at the helm.
The songs won’t be entirely new to die-hard fans – they’ve recently been played in places like Vancouver, Winnipeg and Hamilton. The live performances are an important part of the songwriting process for Samson. "Sometimes I think I can’t really tell what the songs are until they’ve been played in front of people," he says. "They have to be received by someone before they really exist."
The Epitaph signing came towards the end of the recording process – staff there haven’t even heard the whole album yet. "We just kind of made it our way," Samson says.
To those who would cry "sellout," Samson replies that the band hasn’t changed.
"There’s really nothing we can do about people pasting their homemade personas to us and calling it us. I think there are certainly some psychological issues with that kind of reaction.
"We’re exactly the same people we’ve always been," he adds – new canine companions notwithstanding. |
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