The Junction Have Sexy Beards Like Sam Roberts

It's been a long, hard road for The Junction to complete their self-titled debut album, but they're ready to reap the benefits of their dedication.

"I think it's safe to say we're pretty jacked up," declares drummer Mike Taylor. "We are randy. We're jacked up and randy. We had some bumps along the way and..."

"I lost my voice during the recording process," pipes in singer/guitarist Brent Jackson. "I had to scout out different doctors until I found the right person who would help me out and put me on drugs for like, 16 days.

"They put me on all these steroids because I had a polyp on my vocal chord. I had to take a couple classes for them to teach me how to speak. It was kind of crazy, a lot of anxiety and whatnot, because you go through that and you're like, 'What if I never get it back?'"

"Then after he got his voice back, our producer had a child," adds bassist Matt Jameson. "There were just so many circumstances in our position where you had your hands tied, and you wanted to get things done, but we made the best of it."

We're happy that we didn't rush anything. We just took our time and we're happy with the end product."

All this bad luck seemed to follow the band on the road, especially during their stint with The Meligrove Band and The Golden Dogs. Their van broke down on the way to Vancouver, forcing them (as well as a film crew from Ryerson University) to quickly find taxis and last-minute storage space. This was a stark contrast to their relatively easy time on the road with Bedouin Soundclash, but the guys take it all in stride.

"The Bedouin tour was a piece of cake," Taylor recalls. "It was amazing, just fuckin' tailed them the whole time, play to 500 people each night, and it wasn't hard at all because all we had to do was get on stage and play music.

"But then we go out and get buttfucked on the Meligrove tour. Your van breaks down and you play to like, eight people. But it's great. You've gotta do it. It's payin' the dues."

Coming back from such grueling tours has no doubt left the band feeling haggard, which shows on the members' faces through their mighty beards.

"There's a big difference between Matt's facial hair and our facial hair," explains Taylor. "He grows it because his girlfriend likes it. He told me the other day, she likes the scruff."

"She likes the dirt, really," Jameson says. "I've got some Sam Roberts dirt right here. Sam's a bit patchy on the sides, like me. Jackson is right up in there with his beard."

"Oh yeah," Jackson states proudly. "I've got Sam beat."

Evidently, even growing facial hair was an emotionally taxing experience for the trio.

"I've cried seeing that thing come in," admits Jameson. "Tears, real tears have been shed. There might have been some alcohol involved.""

He had his hand right on my shoulder, looking at my beard, saying, 'I can see it. It's so beautiful,'" recalls Jackson. "He was crying."

"Yeah, I cry a lot," the bass player shares. "When I get a good laugh, I cry. I'm crying right now. I'm having a good laugh."

"It had nothing to do with laughing, though," Taylor argues. "You were crying because you loved it."

"I got emotional," Jameson finally confesses. "I don't have any problems or anything, but when I saw that beard coming in, I got a little emotional.

"It's beautiful. It's a glorious beard. In fact, if you ever do a photo shoot with us, just keep Mike and I in the back, focus in on the beard."

The Junction's CD release show is Tuesday at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern. The band will return to the same club for the Chart/Horseshoe Canadian Music Week showcase on March 8.