Last night, The Sheepdogs played an intimate set at The Drake Hotel in the splashy conclusion of a three part concert series hosted by Levi’s 501 jeans. The lucky denim-clad concertgoers shmoozed, head nodded and fist-pumped through the evening with more sushi than Jiro could dream of. The modest Lounge made for a pretty unforgettable time, and The Sheepdogs (supported by openers The Treasures) transported the swanky hipster haven to the deep south with some sweet country-tinged tunage.
We caught up with bassist Ryan Gullen of The Sheepdogs, Canada’s soulful answer to The Black Keys.
You guys are a homegrown Canadian band playing music that’s largely influenced from movements that happened south of the border. Is there any Canadiana that’s worked its way into music?
I think there’s definitely a pride in Canada. I think probably the biggest thing is that we come from Saskatchewan where it gets very cold in the wintertime, and a lot of time there’s not much else to do but sit around and play music. I think that, combined with our Canadian appreciation for summer, and going elsewhere definitely plays into it for sure.
What’s a record I should be listening to?
A record that I’ve really been enjoying lately is the Father John Misty album [Fear Fun]. I’ve never seen him play before, but I get to see him at Bonnaroo [in Tennessee next month], which I’m really excited about.
Also this record from a band Uriah Heep. It’s “fantasy rock.” It’s this weird genre from the early ’70s where it’s like very old, vintage rock and roll music, but it’s all about wizards and demons. I’m not really a big Fantasy fan, but it’s awesome. The album’s called Demons and Wizards. You should check it out, it’s a very weird sub-genre of rock and roll. I just imagine them being guys fighting in Dungeons & Dragons in the studio when they’re not laying down wicked tracks.
Or watching Game of Thrones.
They should evolve into that, that’d be awesome.
Most of our road stories that are noteworthy happened several years ago, when we were looking after everything on our own. In a three month period, we got broken into five different times. One vehicle was broken into in Toronto (actually a block away from here), and the next night we got broken into in Kitchener, Ontario. About a week later we got broken into in Calgary, and then from there we got a rental van that we drove all the way to Victoria, and got broken into there. We almost missed the show waiting for a new window.
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Jeremy Schipper is an intern at Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeromeoschipps.
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