The most tastefully named band in show-biz: Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome cruise around town

DETAILS

SIDS
EMMEDIA Gallery & Production Society
Saturday, September 1 - Saturday, September 1

More in: Rock / Pop

There is something to be said for suburban boredom. For all their prefab blandness and cultural deprivation, the much maligned ’burbs have spawned some of music’s most creative forces, from The Stooges in the late ’60s to today’s bedroom DJs. Calgary’s own hellish suburbs have also created their fair share of unique artists and musical talents, including the youthstorm known as Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome.
            “What used to inspire me was that I was so bored living in the suburbs that I used to write songs in my basement,” explains SIDS’s lanky but striking 20-year-old front man Craig Fahner. “It was a reaction to the staleness of Calgary before I realized there was something amazing going on underneath.”
            As an artistic and musically inclined high school student, Fahner often found it difficult to relate to his mainstream cultural surroundings. Lucky for him, he found kindred spirits in feisty keyboardist Sarah Ford and bassist Brady Kirchner, forming SIDS three years ago. Jesse Locke — a friend of Ford’s who had been writing for a Toronto skateboarding magazine — was recruited to play drums, rounding out the group. It wasn’t long before SIDS was making a name for itself, not only in the all-ages scene, but the licensed clubs as well.
            “Our second show was at Broken City,” Fahner recalls. “We always got bar shows when we were underage.”
            SIDS approach their music with a skewed, manic vision. Fahner goes as far as to say the band relishes writing “strange stuff.” “I can see how people could be alienated by our music,” he says. “I’ve heard the negative comments. But I think of it as a political statement by us to tell people not to take things too seriously. A song isn’t good just because a band practises every single day and they have expensive equipment. A song is good because it has energy and the people who are singing it believe it.”
            Suddent Infant Dance Syndrome releases its much-anticipated new CD this Saturday with an all-ages show at EMMEDIA, with guests The Pants Situation, Draft Dodgers and The Bayonets. However, to call 2 Many Babes a new release wouldn’t be entirely correct, since most of the songs on the CD have been previously released on vinyl. Locke even compares it to The Buzzcocks’ famous compilation Singles Going Steady.
            “It includes our newest tracks recorded with Diego Medina in his garage,” Locke explains, “as well as the songs from our two previous 7-inches, which were recorded in Chris Vail's basement, plus some live stuff and other odds and sods.”
            SIDS live shows are riotous affairs that often end up with Kirchner stripped down to his skivvies. It’s this raucous live energy that the band wanted to capture on 2 Many Babes.
            “We recorded live from the floor with only minor overdubs, like extra guitars and percussion noises, plus the vocals are always added after the instruments,” says Locke. “Basically, though, we don't experiment too much in the studio. I'd say our main goal is try and keep the sound and energy as close to our live show as possible.”