Bend Sinister Set To Hit The Road With New EP

VANCOUVER — Vancouverites with their ears tuned to their local scene are already hip to Bend Sinister. But once fall hits, the band will take another crack at letting the rest of the country know what they're missing.

In September, the five-piece band will embark on a two-month, CBC Radio 3-sponsored tour that takes them from their west coast hometown to Montreal and everywhere in between. They're no strangers to life on the road, but for the forthcoming tour they have plans that include more than just playing shows.

"The first time was out to Halifax and back, the second time was out to New York and back, and the third time was out to Montreal and back," says vocalist/keyboard player Dan Moxon about their previous cross-country jaunts. "This time [Radio 3] is doing a lot of promotion, but they're not filling all the dates.

"But what that gives me is the chance to find bands that I'm excited about in every town across Canada. It's great. I've got about 30 bands on board, and they're all down on signing off on a song so I can put together a compilation CD for the tour."

In addition to chronicling the tour through the compilation, the band also plan to film life on the road for an as-yet-untitled documentary.

"It's not about Bend Sinister, but about this idea of what it's like to cross the country as an independent band. [Fellow Vancouverites The Clips] are coming out for the first nine shows and then [Clips lead singer] Edo is going to hop in our van and we're going to be shooting the whole time."

The tour also coincides with the Sept. 4 release of the group's EP, their first collection of recorded material since their 2005 Through The Broken City debut.

"We're calling it Bend Sinister, but it really should be called 'It's About Fucking Time,'" says Moxon of the six-track disc that sees the band reigning in their theatrical, sometimes sprawling sound.

"Dan, as the main songwriter, got a lot tighter, and all of the rest of us got a little less self-indulgent," says guitarist Naben Ruthnum.

The quirks that set Bend Sinister apart from your typical indie rock act are still intact, though.

"If you go to a show expecting soothing pop-rock, you're going to have your face melted off," says Moxon.

Moxon and Ruthnum — along with bass player Dave Buck, guitarist Jon Bunyan and new drummer Jason Dana — will celebrate the release of their self-titled disc with a show at Vancouver's Brad Gough Studios on Sept. 15.

"We're having this huge party," says Moxon of the show. "We've got 10 or 15 local artists that are going to display their favourite piece of art.

"It's No Gold and us and The Clips playing, and we want to basically sell as much beer as we can possibly sell."

Here are Bend Sinister's tour dates:

Aug. 2 Vancouver, BC @ The Plaza w/The Painted Birds and Elias
Sept. 12 Port Alberni, BC @ TBA
Sept. 13 Nanaimo, BC @ The Queens
Sept. 14 Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
Sept. 15 Vancouver, BC @ Brad Gough Studios w/The Clips and No Gold
Sept. 17 Kamloops, BC @ The Grind
Sept. 18 Penticton, BC @ TBA
Sept. 19 Kelowna, BC @ The Habitat
Sept. 20 Edmonton, AB @ Starlight Room
Sept. 21 Saskatoon, SK @ Louis' Pub
Sept. 22 Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert
Sept. 23 Thunder Bay, ON @ The Apollo
Sept. 24 Sudbury, ON @ Townehouse Tavern
Sept. 25 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Sept. 26 Stratford, ON @ Gilt Restaurant And Lounge
Sept. 27 Guelph, ON @ The Shadow
Sept. 28 London, ON @ The Embassy
Sept. 29 Windsor, ON @ The PA Music Festival
Sept. 30 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
Oct. 1 Milton, ON @ Milton Bible Church
Oct. 3 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
Oct. 4 Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel
Oct. 6 Montreal, QC @ TBA (Pop Montreal)
Oct. 7 Montreal QC @ Casa Del Popolo (Pop Montreal)
Oct. 9 Winnipeg, MB @ TBA
Oct. 10 Regina, SK @ The Lazy Owl
Oct. 11 Calgary, AB @ Broken City