If you’re dismayed about the state of the music business, with its perfect looking pop stars, auto-tune and overproduced garbage, Calgary’s Shotgun Dolls just might be the solution you’re looking for. And frankly, unless you’ve been living in a cave these past couple of years, you would have already noticed the general public’s appetite for organic rock n’ roll has been returning with the success of the Sheepdogs, Monster Truck and the continued success of Foo Fighters.
Formed in 2010, Shotgun Dolls have been making a name for themselves in Western Canada. The group released their debut record Where The Wind Blows a scant year later, touring Canada for six weeks hitting most points between British Columbia and Quebec.
In what will be their Metro Moncton debut show, Shotgun Dolls perform at Plan B Lounge on St. George Street Friday night.
From his Prairie home early last week, Shotgun Dolls member Turner Midzain shares that the group is in the midst of making the follow-up effort to their 2011 debut although no release date has been scheduled as of yet. A new drummer hasn’t proven to be a significant challenge for the group, it is simply more a matter of getting the band to stop writing new songs.
“We are hoping to release the record in November, provided all goes well,” Midzain says. “We recorded five songs with Jeff, our previous drummer, in February but we just have so much more material that we have written with our current drummer Ty Gogal that we are just really intent on getting as many of those songs recorded as we can.”
Embarking on a national tour while in the midst of trying to finish a record might not be every band’s cup of tea however Midzain says that it was all a part of the Shotgun Dolls master plan.
“Everything is playing out as we had intended it to happen. Being on tour really does something for a band and since we sometimes write new material on the road, we really wanted to capture where we are at in the present day.”
Asked what he feels the biggest changes that the band has endured in terms of songwriting, Midzain says that he feels the group has grown immensely in the time since Where The Wind Blows was recorded.
“Aside from having grown in terms of professionalism, Where The Wind Blows has a bit more of a punk edge to it compared to where we are at musically these days. At the time we made our debut, I was admittedly still getting a grasp on singing and playing but with this new record, we approached it with the intent of making a record that really shows where our souls are at while also paying tribute to the bands that have influenced us.
“We always hoped that people would come back around to embracing ‘organic rock’ bands again but never really knew what to expect,” Midzain says. “We are just so grateful that people enjoy our music and even if people didn’t, we would still be making music. Life is not about money it is about being happy. And I have never been happier than I am right now.”