>>PREVIEW
PRIDE TIGER
Saturday, June 17
Hifi Club
A screeching, showy ’70s style guitar riff slashes into a darkly ominous bass line in the first 12 seconds of Pride Tiger's debut EP, Wood, Dhak, Froese, Payette. The song is called "Sweet Dreams," the record is plainly titled after the band members’ last names and, like that no-frills moniker, their headbang-inspiring, dual-guitar shredding boogie rock is all about keeping it real.
Comprised of ex-members of the beloved Vancouver area bands Three Inches of Blood, Goatsblood and the now defunct S.T.R.E.E.T.S., Pride Tiger have happily discarded the musical styles of their past projects for something closer to what they listened to growing up.
They've garnered comparisons to Thin Lizzy in nearly every article or review printed about them, and the spirit of the Irish rockers does seem to be channelled through this band's riffs. As guitarist Sunny Dhak explains, listening to classic rock is where Pride Tiger got its start. "We used to have these things called 'wizards councils' on Sundays, and one time we were all sitting around watching the video for the Dio song 'Holy Driver,'" says Dhak. "We were drinking Okanagan Apple Ciders, which we called 'pride pops,’ and when Dio said the lyric 'ride the tiger,' Mattski (Wood, drums) blurted out 'Pride Tiger!' Since we were all just sitting around drinking, we thought it would become a good band name." The group’s lyrical inspiration seems to evolve out of a similar state of mind, with whatever phrases cross their party-addled imaginations chanted by Wood in an anthemic style best befitting mass singalongs. With songs about girls, the band van and something called the "Bro Owl," they don't seem to be interested in making any sort of a statement – and that suits the music just fine. "The song 'Sagittarius Man' is about Bobby (Froese), our guitar player, and 'White Witch Woman Blues' is based on a girl Bob knew," says Dhak. "Most of our lyrical ideas are just based on stories or shit that's happened to us, or sometimes inside jokes too." However, it hasn't been all fun and games for Pride Tiger – a contractual litigation difficulty with Roadrunner Records (due to Dhak and Froese's previous affiliation with Three Inches of Blood) delayed the release of the EP for several months. The American label had first rights to the recording, and it wasn't until after they passed on it (resulting in a bungled CD release show on January 21) that the band decided to release it through their own label, the aptly titled Righteous Records. Pride Tiger’s do-it-yourself ethic doesn’t end there, either, as Dhak, Froese and bassist Mike Payette also operate Bloodstone press, a printing shop that doubles as a venue and recording studio, where the EP's bass and drums were laid down. Located at 642 Park in Vancouver, Bloodstone even inspired its own song, "642." "We started in a basement, punk rock style, just me, Mike and Bob after we bought this silk-screening press off a friend," says Dhak. "We basically jumped right into doing shirts for bands, even though we really weren't trained at all in silk-screening. We just kind of learned it ourselves as we went. After five years we ended up having our own shop with three presses, and now we're unionized." After a three-day mini tour with fellow Western Canadian upstarts Ladyhawk (remember that name, trust me) earlier this year, Pride Tiger are now embarking on a full-blown cross-Canada jaunt with prog enthusiasts Bend Sinister. They're here for a good time, not a long time, so have a good time and ride the Tiger while you can. |
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