In the age of auto-tune and disposable pop stars, Halifax natives Gloryhound are a breath of fresh air.
Boasting a sound that is rooted in the simple yet real rock music of the 1970s, Gloryhound use nothing more than guitar, bass and drums and they don’t plan on changing that format anytime soon. Given the rising popularity of bands like The Sheepdogs and The Black Keys, both of whom have a modern yet retro-influenced sound, it should be no surprise that Gloryhound were selected by Deep Purple to open their string of dates throughout Atlantic Canada.
Gloryhound joins Deep Purple at their shows Saturday and Monday at Casino New Brunswick in Moncton.
Despite being given a relatively short period of time to prepare for their shows with Deep Purple, Gloryhound vocalist and guitarist Evan Meisner says the band wouldn’t have turned down the opportunity to open for the legendary Deep Purple for anything.
“It was such an honour to be chosen to open these shows for one of the great, quintessential rock bands of our time,” Meisner says.
While Deep Purple might not have been a direct influence upon the group, Meisner makes no bones in admitting that though the band in living in the present day and age, they readily identify with music that was made in the 1970s. With one full-length effort and one EP under their belts, Gloryhound’s sound is one that is well beyond their relatively young years.
“The bare bones approach of guitar, bass and drums is something that has always appealed to us. Right now, it feels like there is a resurgence in bands whose sound is a throwback to a different era. It’s great for the music industry too because people are always going to appreciate the roots of rock n’ roll. There is something about the music that is pure, organic and timeless. I think that people really miss that simplicity in their music these days.
“All you hear on the radio these days are bands that seem to all have the same sound. It’s an over-compressed and over digitized approach to making music. When we made our record, it was us playing live off the floor. All of the instrumentation was done in one day with the vocals being cut the next day. Recording can be a drawn-out process but for us, it was important to capture that lightning in a bottle, so to speak.”
And though their sound owes much to music from the past, Meisner says that he and band mates Shaun Hanlon, Jeremy MacPherson and Dave Casey are proud to wear their influences on their sleeves but are also cognizant of not immersing themselves too deeply in the past.
“We can’t nor do we want to ignore our influences but at the same token, we don’t want to be a complete throwback band. We want to ensure that we remain relevant in our time and age,” Meisner says.
Article featured in February 3, 2012 edition of the Times & Transcript