Q&A with The Sheepdogs ahead of Kelowna show

Another stop on their latest tour and another sold out show for multi-platinum band The Sheepdogs who play Kelowna next week.

The old-time rock n' roll revival outfit from Saskatoon, who have graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, is every bit as dynamic on stage as they are on record. They’re playing the Kelowna Community Theatre on Jan. 17.

Since they formed in 2004, the five-man band has released six full-length albums of original influenced by the masters of the classic rock era.

Lead singer and primary songwriter Ewan Currie spoke with Ryan from 104.7 The Lizard.

Here’s some of the highlights:

Ryan: Most people I know don’t want to listen to rock from the last 30 years, they want the older classic stuff, and yet everyone loves The Sheepdogs. Why is that?

Ewan: It’s probably because they’re one of us. I’m a bit guilty of that myself. I don’t listen to a lot of new music; I listen to a lot of the classic rock era. When we started our band we tried to make music like those legends and heroes of ours. We definitely get some old rock fans and baby-boomers, but there’s tons of young people. Bands like Greta Van Fleet have really turned a lot of teenagers on to the power of guitar rock n roll so that’s awesome, it gets [young] people coming out to our shows.

Ryan: You guys are Prairie boys. Do you think being from western Canada has an influence on your sound?

Ewan: Maybe a little bit. In America they call it Heartland rock, it’s like meat and potatoes. Sometimes people think that’s insulting but to me that’s true-blue good rock n roll. Saskatoon was a great place to grow up and far away from the media centres … so we felt like we could just do what we wanted to do. We weren’t trying to ‘fit in with the scene.’

Ryan: What do you prefer, being on the road or in the studio?

Ewan: I like both, it just seems like always we do one or the other to extremes. You spend a bunch of weeks making a record and then the album comes out and then you tour for a year plus. It’s not really balanced but I love both. When you’ve created a good song in the studio it’s the greatest feeling in the world… but when you play live and you instantly get feedback from the crowd who are digging the music, that’s really special, too. It’s confirmation it’s not just me smelling my own farts in the studio, people out there are smelling my farts.

Ryan: And we love those farts. Any stories about playing in the Okanagan?

Ewan: Yeh, we lost all our gear flying out to a BC Interior gig in the summer one year during a lot of forest fires. We arrived super late and sourced our gear from a local music store, but the vibe was awesome. It was hard to get to but the people are so loving and there’s a lot of music fans who make it worth it.

Ryan: Have you ever played any gigs that have gone sideways on you?

Ewan: I remember we played in a summer rainstorm in North Bay ten or twelve years back. We didn’t really know you could stop playing if you were in danger. The stage was taking on water and my pedals were floating. Eventually somebody said, ‘you guys should stop playing because you’re going to get electrocuted.’

Ryan: Anything you want the Kelowna audience to know ahead of the gig on Tuesday?

Ewan: Just come ready for a good time. Let’s have a party and enjoy some great music together!