Halifax band The Got To Get Got are on their way back to the Maritimes after almost two weeks worth of shows in Central Canada. They are promoting their new record, Sahalee and are slated to play Saint John at Akhord on Friday August 14.
Lead by former North of America member Mark Mullane, the group was formed in 2000 as two separate factions using the same band name but based on opposite coasts of Canada. They recorded a four-song EP in this manner with each coast contributing two songs to the EP without the other faction having heard their counterpart’s contributions until the product was pressed and completed.
The group ended up working in a few different studios during the creation of Sahalee as Mullane, bringing in many guest players in the process to help flush out the record’s sound. It was recorded in a relatively quick fashion; the group started to record on December 4 and had the main tracks layed down by the time the holidays rolled around.
“All three engineers at the three different studios we used were people that I truly respected and had worked with in the past.
“The extra players on the record were necessary because we don’t play the instruments they play or they were our friends and we wanted them on the album because we love them,” Mullane explains.
Sahalee is the type of record that brings listeners on an adventure from its opening notes. Rooted in pop, the record is packed with gang vocals, jangly guitars and brims with a positive energy that will keep you tuned in until the final notes of the album ring out.
Being on the road is becoming second nature to the group with them having logged many miles to date with many more to follow. Mullane tells [here] Magazine that their recent tour dates in Atlantic and Central Canada have been wonderful so far, noting:
“We’ve played in an abandoned theatre in Sackville, NB with a hole in the ceiling that looked like the devil crashed through on a parachute and left a bloody trail down the wall; we embraced a wonderful hometown crowd in Halifax; we played to all our lovely friends old and new in Montreal; ate Sri Lankan buffet in Ottawa, played Hamilton and softly strummed our hearts out at a handmade clothing shop in Toronto. Things are absolutely wonderful.”
Once the group’s tour dates wrap up at the end of August, Mullane says the group will be headed back into the studio to commit some demos to tape, including some unfinished tracks from the past that need some further refinement.
One thing that is for certain is that there is more music and shows to come from The Got To Get Got. So go on, get yourself some of the group soon.