Is there such a thing as a happy accident? In the case of Fredericton rock band Grand Theft Bus, there is indeed. The group’s newest record Say It With Me (released this past August via Forward Music) is their first collection of new music in approximately four years. And a fine album it is. By their own account, the Bus’s 2008 album Made Upwards was a dense sounding record so it should be no surprise that Say It With Me benefits from a much more straight-forward approach.
Grand Theft Bus member Graeme Walker recently chatted with Here Magazine about what the band has been up to and where they are going from here.
Why the four-year wait between Grand Theft Bus records?
A lot had happened in the land of GTB between albums. Babies were born plus our drummer Bob spent a year in Toronto so the group slowed to a crawl during that time.
So there was no master plan to make a new record?
After Bob returned to New Brunswick, we played a few shows and were writing some new songs and decided to record them. We had no specific time line or plan for a record. We just put it out when it was finished.
How do you see the band as having changed over the course of the last four years?
I think we are in a place now where there is no pressure. We are writing and playing the songs we want without too much thought about it. We’re adhering to the “If it feels good, do it” mentality. We all feel like Say It With Me is better than anything we’ve recorded before so I believe we have grown as collective songwriters.
What do you see in the future of Grand Theft Bus?
At this point in the game we have no plan to record anything new but then again, we didn’t have any real plan to make Say It With Me. Everyone has a lot on their plates so we’ll see what the future has in store. We still thrive as a live band though so as much fun as it is to make albums, it is always awesome to get out and play live. We are a band that has always thrown everything into the live show, for better or for worse.
Article published in the October 4, 2012 edition of Here Magazine