Hollerado Want To Expand Their "Friend Base"

Meeting people comes easy for Montreal rock quartet Hollerado, who've befriended the likes of former Doughboys frontman John Kastner and The Stills (with whom they share management).

While planning to begin work on their debut album, their fifth Demo In A Bag compilation — named literally because the group pack every disc in a re-useable plastic sandwich bag — is now available on iTunes. They also recently released their first music video for "Americanarama," featuring former Kids In The Hall member Dave Foley. Hopefully the digital distribution method and video will result in more people being exposed to their frolicsome brand of punk rock, because thus far their small, dedicated audience is described more of a "friend base" than a fan base.

"Everyone keeps saying we're going to have fans real soon, but I haven't seen it yet," says singer/guitarist Menno Versteeg. "We've hardly played any shows in Montreal, and almost every show has been a house party."

"When we play a show," adds bassist Dean Baxter, "the same people who were at the parties are there. So then the show becomes another party with all of our friends."

The group — who also consist of guitarist Nixon Boyd and drummer Jake Boyd — have been making friends across Canada and even in the U.S. A two-month road trip from Vancouver to California resulted in several unplanned gigs in the Pacific northwest.

"We would drive around towns looking for bars with open signs," says Versteeg. "We'd knock on the door and say, 'Hey, we had a show booked down the street that fell through, and we have a lot of fans in Olympia. We're wondering if we could play on the show tonight?'"

True to the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, they were stuck in Lodi, California for a week. But in their case, it was voluntary. Another incident involved meeting a helpful biker.

"We locked our keys in the van, and this biker covered in tattoos, Pokey, rigged our door, gave us food and bought us tattoos," says Versteeg, while pulling up his shirt to reveal a black-outlined tattoo on his chest.

It can be a difficult process to transfer the party atmosphere that seems to follow the band around, as well as the eccentricities of smalltown America, to their recorded material. But, at the behest of Kastner (who produced the album), Hollerado experimented with emulating the live experience by consuming a few drinks before committing anything to tape in the studio.

"He wouldn't let me off the couch until I drank," says Versteeg. "When I finally went to the vocal booth, I could barely stand. I was hanging on the mic stand for support."

They point out that both "Brick Wall" and "Do The Doot Da Doot Doo" from the new demo were forged using this special treatment.

Make four new friends today and see Hollerado here:

March 4 Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge w/Said The Whale
March 5 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah w/Said The Whale
March 6 Guelph, ON @ Bookshelf Ebar w/Said The Whale
March 7 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern (ChartAttack CMW showcase w/Magneta Lane, The Arkells, Inward Eye, Danko Jones, Hey Rosetta!, Hail The Villain and Age Of Daze)