Rheostatics Marathon A Nod To Stompin' Tom

What do you do when you've damn near done everything under the musical sun — from soundtracks, to children's albums — and have covered almost every base on the musical map?

If you're Toronto's Rheostatics you prepare to release your sonically heaviest album, Night Of The Shooting Stars, due October 23 on Perimeter Records and courageously book 12 shows straight at Toronto's Legendary Horseshoe Tavern for early November.

Martin Tielli, Dave Bidini and Tim Vesely took time out to grab a booth in an empty bar and chat about what's up with Canada's most experimental and open-minded band at the end their twentieth year together.

"We wanted to play a theater here, (T.O.) but nothing came together," says Bidini.

But with most things Rheostatic it seems that where there's a will there's a way.

"So we thought we'd go back to the Horseshoe 'cause we'd done Green Sprouts Music Week there and we'd done five-six nights in a row, so we just thought that since we have so many albums and so many songs that we wanted to do an event. Bands used to do that all the time, you know, two weeks, two weeks, two weeks," says Bidini with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

Tielli has his own thoughts on the band's marathon at the 'Shoe.

"The seed of the idea was a tip of the hat to Stompin' Tom," says the eccentric guitarist. "And those stretches that he used to do at the Horseshoe which aren't very practical, but..." he says as his voice trails off and a wide grin comes to his face.

Fans of Rheostatics are rabid and have grown to expect the unexpected from the band and with the coming release of Night Of The Shooting Stars, Rheostatics fanatics can rest assured that they won't be disappointed. This time out the band has been recorded by Ian Blurton and Alun Piggins and mixed by occasional Rheo's drummer Michael Phillip Wojewoda, a mix that has helped them capture the beauty, dynamics and sometimes all out ferociousness of their live sound on record.

"We wanted it to be more guitar-y. You know, MO IN YO FACE! And we thought he would be the guy," he says at the mention of Blurton's name. Songs like Tielli's "Satan Is The Whistler" and the reworking of Story Of Harmelodia's "Song Of The Garden," show an amped up Rheostatics — one that surely sounds as hungry as they've ever sounded. Watch for the band to tour with opener Kevin Hearn in the coming months and for a video for the first single — the Tielli penned "P.I.N." to be produced by Justin Stephenson, the man responsible for the band's "Stolen Car" video.