INTERVIEW: Scenic Route to Alaska — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Johnny Carson Kuby

Scenic Route to Alaska

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EVERY new Canadian band I am faced with…

provides a fresh insight into a productive and curious country. I have been speaking with Scenic Route to Alaska about their latest cut, How It Feels, and its rather cool video! They tell me about the inspirations behind their forthcoming album, Tough Luck, and how they all got together; whether they’ll come to the U.K. this year – what other dates they have coming up.

I ask the guys whether their part of Canada (Edmonton) provides ‘challenging’ conditions in which to record; whether there are new artists we should get fired up about; if there is a great memory from music that has bonded them – the band choose treasured albums that have made an impression on them.

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Hi guys. How are you? How has your week been?

Not too shabby. Staying warm: coming off a couple weeks of -25C to -30C weather. Still made it out to the rink for a couple skates!

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

We are a three-piece Indie-Rock band from Edmonton (Alberta), Canada. We take a lot of influence from The Beatles, old-school R&B and Rock; the Canadian scenery, 1990s rock and modern Indie music.

How It Feels is your current single. What is the concept behind the song?

Our new single, How It Feels, is an impulsive Indie-Rock song about the challenge of finding love, or any relationship for that matter, while being caught up in the hustle and bustle of touring and life on the road. The song was written after getting home (the same night) from a European tour - where the band played thirteen shows in fourteen days across four countries.

The video looks pretty cool and funny! What was it like shooting? Did you have fun doing it?

It was a ton of fun shooting it! We were lucky enough to work with a local twenty-five-year wrestling touring pro named MASSIVE DAMAGE. He provided the ring, a training session; help with choreographing the match, a young up-and-coming wrestler (Young Blood Cody Blayde) and a badass presence to rough us up pretty good. Definitely one of the cool parts of playing music is getting to throw yourself into different experiences that most people don’t get a chance to try. We got a couple-day crash-course into the world of wrestling - and it was super-cool to be a part of something like that.

Worth all the bumps and bruises, for sure!

PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Johnny Carson Kuby

Tough Luck, the new album, is out on 9th March. Can you tell us the themes and inspirations behind the songs?

The overall theme of the record is longing for love and the loneliness that ensues when you don’t find it. We’ve been on the road a lot in the last few years and it’s made it difficult to build up new relationships with any significant depth to them. Although most of the songs seem fairly self-sympathetic: there are hints of optimism dispersed throughout.

It seems you have been lying low this winter. Is it the best season/weather to get an album recorded? Do the harsh conditions drive your creativity?

Winter, probably, is the best season for writing/recording up in Edmonton. We try to avoid touring heavily in the coldest months in Canada - just because of how unpredictable the roads can become. The winter can get very cold, dark and quiet; so it’s pretty ideal for hiding away in a basement or studio to jam out new ideas out. Also; very ideal for getting out to the rink and playing some hockey! Having said that; most of Tough Luck was written and recorded in the summer months this time!

Just the way our schedule worked out last year.

Tell me how Scenic Route to Alaska got together. How did the band form?

We’ve been buddies since we were kids...

Went to the same school, started learning our instruments around the same time and played in different bands together ever since. We formed Scenic Route to Alaska in the of summer 2010 after the fourth member of our 1950s/1960s Blues and R&B cover-band (we used to play in) couldn’t play shows with us anymore. We started playing Trevor’s original tunes that he had just started writing. That led to us creating, recording and touring a ton and, since then, haven’t looked back.

Is Edmonton a great place for new music? Are you seeing a lot of promise?

Absolutely. The scene here is full of talent and creativity and is incredibly supportive. In a lot of ways, our climate is pretty conducive to spending most of your time hiding away; working on your art and creating. There’s also always a bit of an underdog vibe - which helped create a pretty awesome community of artists lifting each other up.

More recently, we’ve started to see some Edmonton musicians break out and see some massive success in the industry (Mac Demarco, Purity Ring; Peter from July Talk).

IN THIS PHOTO: Andy Shauf/PHOTO CREDIT: Geoff Fitzgerald

Who are the new artists you recommend we check out?

Here are a few pretty sick Canadian artists:

Andy Shauf; Wintersleep; Close Talker; Born Ruffians; Royal Canoe; Leif Vollebekk.

IN THIS PHOTO: Close Talker/PHOTO CREDIT: Rachel Pick

If you each had to choose the one album that means the most to you; which would they be and why?

Shea: I’d probably have to go with Abbey Road from The Beatles

It’s just one of those things where my dad always had that C.D. in his car and I became obsessed with that album on long drives visiting family in Vancouver. It fueled my love for The Beatles - and music in general.

Murray: First Day of Spring by Noah and the Whale

This album just came out at a time of my life when the lyrics really meant a lot to me - and I was being introduced to this style of music. I think these songs made a serious impact on our early development as a band.

Trevor: (Dang; both of those records (mentioned above) would be high up on my list as well!). I guess I’ll go with Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams

I didn’t discover this record (or really listen to Ryan Adams) until 2014 - and it opened up a ton of songwriting doors in my life. He’s got such an extensive catalogue which is packed full of diversity and creativity. I really love the way his records are recorded - you can really feel/hear the analog tape when you crank it up…and it makes me feel like I’m sitting in the middle of the studio listening to it all happen!

You have a packed touring diary for this year! Do you love behind on the road? Which dates are you especially excited about?

We do. We love playing shows and getting the opportunity to play in different parts of the world. Touring is a pretty crazy beast that has pretty heavy lows and highs. You really test your body’s limits with all the playing, loading; driving and drinking. Your life becomes pretty unpredictable and unstable being away from all the comforts at home. We wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.

For this next tour, I’m not sure if there’s any specific city we’re excited to play - but we are playing our first string of shows in the States, which will be new and cool!

Do you think you’ll be in the U.K.? Have you ever played here before?

Doesn’t look like we’ll be coming over to the U.K. this tour, but we definitely are looking for ways to make it back over there soon. Our only time over there was a couple of years ago where we played three straight shows all in London. We would love to make it over more often.

Hopefully soon!

What do you all hope to achieve, personally, in 2018?

I think the goal is always to keep pushing ourselves forward in our musical careers. We’re lucky to be able to play and write as much as we do for a living - and we just want to keep growing this opportunity. Playing in more countries to bigger crowds and sustaining doing what we love to do for as long as we can is what we’re working hard to accomplish.

Have you each got a favourite memory from your time in music – the one that sticks in the mind?

Our best memories of playing music tend to link to great or weird shows/venues we’ve played in. Maybe the weirdest was when we showed up to the venue for our first show in Berlin and the room we played in could literally hold fifteen or so people. There was a stage in the room but Trevor and Murray were the only ones that could fit on it. Shea had to set up his drums in a small closet-like hole-in-the-wall on the side of the stage. Totally invisible to the crowd - and with lasers and strobes coming out from inside the hole. It was nuts.

We CAN say, however, that our first show in Berlin ever was totally sold out…even if it was just eighteen people (or whatever the cap. actually was).

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

The best advice we can give is just to start playing as many shows as you can. Play all over your hometown until you run out of venues; then hit the road and do it in other cities. It’s the best way to get better at playing and to get connected in the music scene!

Finally, and for being good sports; you can each choose a song and I’ll play it here (not any of your music - I will do that).

Shea: Phosphorescent - Song for Zulu