Edmonton-based rockabilly band Sam Spades will be performing in Revelstoke for the first time at the Glacier Challenge. Revelstoke Review Freelancer Melissa Jameson chatted to bass player John Richards about the band, it’s current album, and the group’s love of vinyl.
Revelstoke Review: Sam Spades has only been performing together since 2013, but all of the band members are experienced musicians. How has this helped build all of you as a group? (The other band members are drummer Greg Hann, lead guitarist Trevor B McNeely, and guitarist and lead vocalist Sam Heine).
John Richards: I think the fact that we are all experienced and have performed and played with different projects before we met up, it helped to a certain extent because we knew what we were doing, and also knew what we wanted to do with this project. Everything was defined from the beginning. We already knew who we were as musicians. We can take everything from our previous experiences and amalgamate it into this project.
RR: The band is promoting it’s current album “Wolf.” Can you talk a bit about recording the album?
JR: The recording was pretty easy. It was in and out, we all knew what we were doing, we knew the direction of the songs. We had been playing live for about a year. We’re pretty big vinyl nerds, so we wanted it put on wax. We got it mastered for vinyl in Halifax by J. Lapointe and then shipped off the Czech Republic for pressing.
RR: Why the Czech Republic?
JR: In the last three or four years there has been a resurgence, but at time there were not lot of places to get vinyl pressed. Now there is a vinyl pressing place in Calgary (Canada Boy Vinyl). We’re in the process of recording new album. We’re hoping have all the recording done by September and to have it mastered in October.
RR:I have to ask — have you played in Revelstoke before?
JR: No, we’ve talked about it and the stars just haven’t quite aligned. When we heard about this awesome huge soft ball tournament we said it sounds like a blast.
RR: Do you know the Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns hires a bunch of ringers to play for his softball team, but they all fall victim to crazy things that prevent them from playing? If yes, what crazy fates might your band meet that would prevent you from playing the Glacier Challenge?
JR: If we stay away from too much of that amazing “power juice” we should be OK. We need to watch that again. I kind of remember that episode.
Sam Spades will perform at the Glacier Challenge in Centennial Park this Friday and Sunday at 9:30 p.m.
