For the endless amount of bands that are considered to be roots-rock these days, Toronto band The Warped 45’s stand out as an original. Though the roots-rock moniker is not incorrect by any stretch of the imagination, the group helps to breathe new life into the genre, bringing together a diverse set of instruments and band-like harmonies and fusing it into something that is well worth hearing for yourself.
Since forming in 2007, it has been a whirlwind time for the Toronto-based band. Only seven months after they got together, the band released their self-titled independent EP. Their debut full-length 10 Day Poem for Saskatchewan, released in 2009, enjoyed significant CBC radio and college radio airplay while the band opened for the likes of Drive-By Truckers, Elliott Brood and more.
A combination of the above experiences set The Warped 45’s up rather nicely when it came time to make their newest record, Matador Sunset. Released this past May, Warped member Dave McEathron says that he feels the biggest difference between the records lies in the music itself.
“I believe the biggest difference between 10 Day Poem and Matador Sunset is in the way that we have continued to push all of the different styles of music that we play into more of a cohesive unit,” McEathron says. “It is not so much about different genres of music as it has become a fusion of everything we do. Having the opportunity to look back on the making of Matador Sunset, I would say that is definitely the biggest difference.”
Produced by former 13 Engines member John Critchley, McEathron says the group went into the recording studio armed with an ample supply of songs. With Critchley’s help and through the democratic task of voting, the band ended up whittling down the album to 11 songs in total.
“We demoed all of the songs for the record rather quickly and gave copies to John as well as each of the individual band members,” McEathron says. “We initially pared the amount of songs we had down to 15 and then started recording 14 of them. Based on which songs we felt had the right energy, we voted again and ended up with the 11 songs featured on the record.”
As slow of a go that being in a band can be these days, McEathron has simple but realistic expectations of how he sees the continuing saga of The Warped 45’s unfolding:
“Audiences at our shows are getting bigger and the response seems to be getting better,” McEathron says. “I do think that bands have shelf lives, however. Fans have an incredibly important role when it comes to deciding who continues making music, not only when it comes to our band but when it comes to any band.
“When it comes to songwriting though, I just can’t imagine being in a band that is any way but our way,” McEatheron continues. “The avenues that have supported us have been fantastic and are into it. Hopefully the trend of people getting into different styles of music continues to grow with college radio, CBC Radio 3 and the Internet.
“We are not a major label band so we don’t necessarily have a lot of resources at our fingertips. We decided that we would first develop Canada before looking at other territories. We have always been a band that builds upon the previous step rather than getting ahead of ourselves.”
Article published in August 5, 2011 edition of the Times & Transcript