Fuchsia Dragon | [email protected]
Jasper Legion, November 23, 9 p.m., $15
Rock n’ rollers The Devil’s Sons hit the road for Jasper this weekend.
And the Edmonton-based punk-meets-50s seven-piece band are sure to whip up a storm at the Legion on Saturday night.
The Devil’s Sons are bringing two other bands from Edmtonton, Bogue Brigade and The Unwashed, and are filming the show for a documentary on music and winter activities like snowboarding and skiing while they’re here.
Singer Brad Graves caught up with Fuchsia Dragon about the upcoming show.
Fitz: You’re a former Jasperite! How are you feeling about coming back?
Brad: I love coming back to Jasper, especially now the hill is going to be open. We are going to make a trip up to the hill. I lived there for about six years, 2005 to 2011 and moved to Montreal and have been back in Edmonton for about six years.
Fitz: How long has the band been together?
Brad: We just celebrated out five year anniversary. We did a show at the Buckingham, it sold out, a little venue in Edmonton. About five years ago we recorded a five song demo and put out a full length album, a six song EP and we are working on a brand new album that will be out in 2020.
Fitz: How did you get together?
Brad: When I moved back to Edmonton I started jamming with my girlfriend’s brother who’s a drummer and then I reached out to a good friend of mine who is a stand-up-bass player to see if they wanted to join with us on this new project. From there we started a three piece and slowly grew and now we are a seven piece ensemble. We have a fiddle player, saxophone, keyboardist, upright bass, drummer and two guitarists - I sing and play guitar.
Fitz: Is the performance part of a tour?
Brad: Kind of. We are off for a couple of weeks back home. The tour kind of coincided with the release of our first album - we rereleased it on vinyl. We have got a brand new record we are very proud of and it looks fantastic.
We always try to get out to Jasper at least once or twice a year but we haven’t been there since last February. We are bringing a couple of other bands with us from Edmonton as well, Bogue Brigade and The Unwashed.
Fitz: Tell me a little about your documentary project.
Brad: What we are doing with this show is we are going to document the whole trip and put a documentary showcasing the music and we love winter sports and snowboarding and stuff, filming up there and around the town. We love Jasper so much and want to show everybody how great it is there and how awesome Marmot is. One of the things in the works of doing as well, a documentary series showcasing winter fun and the music too.
Fitz: And on the music side of things, how would you describe your sound?
Brad: That’s a tough one. We started as a psychobilly, a cross between punk and 50s rock and roll. You could say rock and roll with elements of punk rock and a bit of metal. It’s really kind of a diverse sound. We have got a fiddle and horn section so it’s kind of unique that way. When it comes down to it we are a rock and roll band.
Fitz: Has your sound changed over the years?
Brad: When I was in Jasper I played in a three piece with an upright bass player still that was that cross between punk rock and 50s rock and roll, then I moved to Montreal to play in a band. With this band I want to expand beyond that psychobilly genre because it’s really underground music and we want to go beyond that and expose the band to larger audiences.
Fitz: So what can we expect on the night?
Brad: It’s going to be a lot of fun. All three bands are high energy. The first is more of a skate punk sound. We bring in a show, bring in extra lights and smoke. Last time we had an amazing time, it was a full room and people enjoyed it. We played as a three piece last time so this time I think we are going to be a six piece band.
