Calgary Buzz: Bedouin Soundclash Talk About Calgary And New LP

When you consider Bedouin Soundclash's music, it's no surprise that they like playing the festival circuit. You'd be hard pressed to find anything more upbeat, summery and fun than their 2005 sophomore disc, Sounding A Mosaic.

Bassist Eon Sinclair knows the band's sound lends well to a party atmosphere, and that's why they're excited to be playing on the main stage at the Calgary Folk Fest on Friday.

"The fans in Calgary are really cool," Sinclair says. "One of the first times we played a headlining show in Calgary was at Bermuda Shorts Day.

"The crowd was crazy and the people know how to party for sure. It was a really welcome introduction to the city, and the crowds have grown steadily since then."

Having a hit single helps as well. Mosaic's first single, "When The Night Feels My Song," was the second most played radio track last year, in between Nickelback's "Photograph" and Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends," but the Toronto trio are hungry for more. Sinclair says the band have several projects on the go, including a new album that they recorded with the Bad Brains' Darryl Jenifer, who also produced Mosaic.

"We didn't really consider working with anyone else," explains Sinclair. "He has a really unique history, which works well with our unique history. We have all these genres within our sound, and he knows how to translate them and get them out."

Sinclair says their third album, Street Gospels, should be out next spring. "A lot of the songs on the album have a gospel feel," is how he explains the title.

"There's a lot of organ sounds on it, almost like you're going back to church. It just made sense to us to incorporate both gospel and street cultures since they're both a part of us."

Songs titles for the new record include "Street Gospels," "12.59 Street Lullaby," "One Way" and "Sailin' On Vs. Jeb Rand," which Sinclair says is a Bedouin/Bad Brains mash-up.

If I was a betting man, I'd say that Bedouin Soundclash will be out on tour full force next summer.

Unfortunately, if you don't have a ticket for Friday's show at Prince's Island Park, you're out of luck 'cause it's sold out. But never fear, my reggae/rock/punk/pop-loving friend. Bedouin Soundclash will back in Alberta to play in Sylvan Lake (a measly 150-kilometre drive for a hardcore fan) on September 1.

Let's face it. Ever since you saw the second Pirates Of The Caribbean movie three weeks ago, you wanted to become a swashbucklin', sword fightin' sailor. Well, water is hard to come by in Calgary these days (read: hot!), so you'll have to trade in your eye-patch for the ear-splitting assault of Verbal Deception.

"Walt [Fleming, keyboards] and Kresho [Klarich] have always been into it," says drummer Jordon Bourgeault about the band's obsession with pirates. "Pirates are pretty much responsible for that keyboard-driven, Bandonian sound. Plus, pirates are pretty bad-ass, and people like them anyway."

Verbal Deception's debut LP, Aurum Aetus Piraticus (Latin for "Golden Age Of Piracy"), is available at Sloth, Megatunes and Play Entertainment. Bourgault says the band are stoked about taking their show across Canada, especially since returning from a small U.S. tour.

"The response was really good. We had lots of fans who knew the songs and even wanted stuff signed. It all went really well."

The next date circled on the band's calendar is September 20, when they play their official CD release party at the Ship And Anchor.

"We want to keep playing and making music, make it a career rather than a hobby," insists Bourgeault. "We want to grow musically, make songs that are more technical and epic, and ultimately keep getting better and better."

Amen, brother. Amen.

The Dudes' official CD release party for Brain Heart Guitar goes down on Saturday night at HiFi Club.

Sonic Orchid and Cripple Creek Fairies hit the stage at The Stetson on August 4.