The Novaks Aren't Whining About Comparisons

St. John's rockers The Novaks have been touring around Canada for the past few months, gaining fans as they go. Talking with bassist Mark Neary, he has nothing but nice things to say about their trip, their new fans or their touring partners Matt Mays & El Torpedo. The only thing that seems to get under Neary's skin is the fact that the reception to their classic rock revivalism is giving them some big shoes to fill.

"It's not too slick," he says. "Yeah, I like The Cars and I like The Rolling Stones, but that ended up in some bio that a bunch of people got. We don't spend anytime thinking about that. You are going to be compared always, but so what? Everyone's compared to somebody else. I'm not going to whine about it."

The reason these comparisons have risen is due to the casual rock that fans and critics are hearing in the band's debut self-titled album. When starting the disc the band had the option to head west to Toronto to work in a professional studio or stay home in Newfoundland. They decided to stay home so they could sleep in their own beds and continue to work on side-projects. Although setting up a studio in community halls and tennis clubs was difficult, Neary says that the outcome was all the better because of it.

"We weren't stressed doing it," he says. "I've been in situations in the past, where you are in a studio and you know you've got two more days to go. You do a take and you think it's pretty good, but it has to do because of time and money. We definitely had time to think and experiment and build things up and then break them down if we felt like we needed to."

Rounded out by singer/guitarists Mick Davis and Chuck Tucker and drummer Elliot Dicks, the band have about a month left on their current tour. They always find the Toronto shows particularly odd.

"It's still strange coming from playing show where there's a hundred people in front of the stage dancing to playing to a bunch of guys with Blackberries standing at the bar. It's all excellent and I love everyone that we work with and I had a blast with them, it was just really different," Neary says. "We had heard that about Toronto before we played there, basically if people are nodding their heads that's a great response your first couple of times."

If you'd like to judge for yourself what The Novaks sound like and make sure that their crowd is actually dancing around, the following are the remainder of their tour dates with Matt Mays & El Torpedo:
November 2 Kamloops, BC @ Heroes Pub
November 3 Vancouver, BC @ Richard's On Richards
November 4 Nanaimo, BC @ Queen's Hotel & Pub
November 5 Victoria, BC @ Central Bar & Grill
November 7 Regina, SK @ The Distrikt
November 9 Sault St. Marie @ The Canadian
November 10 Barrie, ON @ The Foundation
November 12 Toronto, ON @ Opera House
November 17 Moncton, NB @ Oxygen Nightclub
November 18 St. John's, NL @ Club One
November 19 Fredericton, NB @ UNB SUB Cafeteria
November 23 Charlottetown, PEI @ Myrons Cabaret
November 24 Saint John, NB @ 3 Mile's Club Monte Carlo
November 25 Halifax, NS @ The Marquee Club
November 26 Halifax, NS @ The Marquee Club