In the time since the release of their debut EP in early 2015, Moncton twangy rock and roll band Eastcoast Love Story has brought their unique sound and style to audiences throughout the Maritimes, Quebec, and Ontario.
This past March, the group racked up some serious frequent flyer miles when they flew down to Trinidad & Tobago as invited guests of the musical documentary series Club One New Releases.
At the heart of the program is a desire to forge new musical ground. Club One New Releases pairs up artists from Canada and the Caribbean with the goal of writing and performing original music while creating something unique in the process.
Other artists from the Atlantic region selected to participate include Nova Scotia’s Port Cities, Prince Edward Island’s Gordie MacKeeman & The Rhythm Boys, and Newfoundland’s Sherry Ryan.
Eastcoast Love Story Guitarist Ryan Hillier says the musical exchange proved to be invigorating on numerous fronts.
“We had filmed an interview and performance segment for the series in August 2016, and in November, we found out that we had been selected to take part,” Hillier says. “We ended up working with an artist and activist from Barbados called Adaeze [pronounced Ah-Day-Zee], who brought this amazing band of top notch players to the sessions. They really inspired us to step up our game musically, and at the same time, totally tap into what we were doing. It didn’t take long for us to fall into a friendly rhythm with Adaeze and the group.”
The following month, Eastcoast Love Story and Adaeze met on Canadian soil, in St. John’s, Newfoundland to turn their initial practice sessions in Trinidad & Tobago into something more concrete.
“We had established this great relationship with Adaeze and the band, and while we had communicated with them a bit in the time between us having visited Trinidad & Tobago and meeting up again in Newfoundland, we went going into the writing of two songs together with a whole fresh approach. Despite having only played together a handful of times nearly a month prior in a different country, we all jumped on stage and fell into our rhythm, working out arrangements and putting the pieces of the songs together in pretty quick fashion.”
Following the group’s performance in support of The Sheepdogs on Friday night, Eastcoast Love Story will busy themselves through the summer season with shows at the Evolve Festival, Saint John’s Area506 and Campobello Island Fog Fest.
On tap for the not too distant future is a full-length record, which Hillier estimates the band will begin working on once autumn has arrived.
“We’ve had a new record lined up for quite a while, and had planned on trying to get a follow-up to the EP out as quickly as possible,” he says. “We had the opportunity to purchase a really solid, comfortable vehicle for touring and decided to go that route instead, as playing as many shows anywhere we can has been a goal since day one. The reality of our situation is simple economics, but we are finding ourselves in the position of being able to make the record. We aren’t going to rush the process, however. We’d prefer to let things unfold as they are meant to do.”
What: Eastcoast Love Story, special guests to The Sheepdogs
When: Friday June 16, 8 p.m.
Where: Tide & Boar Ballroom, 700 Main St., Moncton
Tickets are $45. Advance tickets are available online at tideandboar.com/music