Northern Pikes Ran From Saskatoon

10/28/08 2:33pm

by Cameron Gordon (CHARTattack)

The Northern Pikes are the greatest rock 'n' roll band of all-time... from the province of Saskatchewan. That's not saying much when your main competition is Wide Mouth Mason, but broaden the brackets slightly and you could definitely make a case that the Pikes were the finest Canadian pop/rock outfit of the late '80s and early '90s.

With a combination of strong songwriting, cute haircuts and genuine bar band sensibilities, The Northern Pikes took full advantage of strong support from MuchMusic and parlayed that face time into a series of smart, memorable videos for tracks like "Teenland" and "She Ain't Pretty."

After a brief hiatus, the band have been gigging and recording on and off over the last decade and continue to be a popular live draw for nostalgia buffs and a new generation alike.

ChartAttack.com recently caught up with founding guitarist Bryan Potvin to discuss the Pikes' enduring likeability.

ChartAttack.com: In an era of hair metal, power ballads and Debbie Gibson, how did a smart, no-frills bar band from Saskatchewan break into the mainstream?
Bryan Potvin: We wrote basic, catchy pop/rock songs, we had a company behind us that was determined to break us, and MuchMusic especially was a big, big help at that time. Not just to us, but other Canadian bands breaking out at the same time. A lot of people forget that in the 1980s, Much was playing a lot of bands that you wouldn't really hear on the radio anywhere and exposing bands like us to a lot of people, right across Canada. Needless to say, it was a different time.

Was it a case of busting out in Saskatchewan first and then the rest of the country taking notice?
Saskatchewan was actually the last Canadian market to accept us, both on the radio and in person. There was always this sense back home that because we were from Saskatoon, we couldn't be any good. So we basically conquered our hometown completely backwards.

The Pikes' music really has aged incredibly well, especially compared to most other music of that era. Was this by design and did you realize that you were creating timeless music at the time?
We were really cognizant of the production of those songs, and it helps that we were listening to a lot of R.E.M. and The Smiths at that time in terms of informing our approach in the studio. Even as a fledgling band, there was always the aim to create music that could be slotted into any era. And even though there are bits and pieces on the first few records that sound a bit dated, the songs on the whole really do hold up today.

The Pikes are completely independent at this time and have no formal affiliations with any major label. I'm guessing that, at this point, it probably works to your advantage.
It's funny — we're in a position that a lot of young bands find themselves in where there's just no need to strive for that record deal anymore. There are so many more channels and vehicles for getting your music out these days that it almost seems foolish to go through the cost and the effort of making a studio album. It's obviously not that cut and dry, but really, any band making music has a ton of choices at this point in time.

I know that bands such as The Pursuit Of Happiness and The Tragically Hip were contemporaries of yours on the touring circuit back in the late 1980s. Are there any current Canadian bands that you identify with and/or admire?
I picked up the new Black Mountain disc recently and reading about them, slogging it out across North America in a van, it really brings me back to a time and place. It really is a club that hands down generation after generation, everybody working the same touring circuit year after year. Honestly, I can't say I really miss those long van rides, but the memories I have from those times are amazing. We were really lucky in a lot of ways.

I know yourself and your bandmates all have separate lives outside the band, so what does the future hold for The Northern Pikes?
We're playing shows, having fun and not planning too far ahead. Somebody came up to me after our last gig in Edmonton and said something to me that seemed really poignant: "You've earned it." I hadn't really thought of it that way before, but really, that statement pretty much nailed where we're at right now.

We're not kidding ourselves — there's not a lot of demand for a new Pikes record or a cross-Canada tour. Instead, we can focus on having fun, playing shows when the urge hits, and enjoying the fans that come out to see us. That was really our goal in the first place, so, overall, I can't complain in the least.