The Perpetrators

Artist Information

Biography

The Perpetrators slay. This scrappy three-piece is more of a real band than most five-piece acts. It's hard-edged blues/garage rock at its stripped-down filthy finest. Raised on metal, influenced by blues and a fan of just about everything else, front man and founding member Jason Nowicki is rated one of Canada’s tastiest guitar players. The Perps’ albums have garnered them WCMA Awards and JUNO nominations. Their ability to stay grounded to their Winnipeg roots, coupled with the raw energy and extreme talent makes this one of the best groups to come out of Canada. As T-Model Ford might say, "They'll put their foot in your ass!" It’s a crime if you’re not spectators of The Perpetrators.

Once a not-so-well-kept secret in their hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - where they acted as house band for visiting blues legends Hubert Sumlin, Louisiana Red, Paul "Wine" Jones and others - The Perpetrators kicked things up a notch in 2006. A European tour capped off a Juno nomination and a win at the Western Canadian Music Awards. 2007 saw the band continue to expand and grow with the release of their third album, "Tow Truck" - an uncompromising expression of their varied musical influences that never loses sight of their blues roots. It was nominated for two 2008 Western Canadian Music Awards - best blues and best independent recordings. Their fourth album, recorded live at their home base, Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, has just been released on the eve of their fourth European tour.

"Blues for people who hate blues," they distill rock 'n' roll, punk and country into their heady houserockin' punch. Give them a stage, any stage and they'll put on the best show they can for whoever's there. Each one is a seasoned pro on their instrument of choice but, never afraid to take chances, the boys are fond of switching it up in an onstage game of musical chairs. To quote a much used and abused cliche, The Perpetrators have to be seen to be believed.

"...my favourite band."
- Sue Foley

"J Nowicki has been my favorite guitar player since we were both 15 years old at the Blue Note Cafe in Winnipeg... & it's taken over 15 years for me to get over my initial fear, which has only subsided into a tingling sort of awe. The Perps' committment to the things they have loved (& mastered) since they were kids, is a template for what every artist should endeavour to achieve. Ironically it's their dedication to the tradional elements of blues, country music, & dirty rock & roll, that, combined with just the inevitable doses of ingenuity & personality, makes them possibly the most honest & unique band i've ever heard. In this arena, there is no other band that i know who can touch them."
- Luke Doucet

"I didn't see one unhappy person all night."
- Barb Wynnyk, co-owner of the Auditorium Hotel, Nanton, AB

"The Perpetrators have made the blues tent in Canada bigger."
- Shelagh Rogers, host of CBC's Sounds Like Canada

Instrumentation

Jason "Howik" Nowicki - guitar, vocals, drums
Brad Ferguson - bass, vocals
Ken McMahon - drums, vocals

Discography

(2008) Live at the High & Lonesome Club
Nominated for 9th Annual Independent Music Awards, "Best Live Performance Album".

(2007) Tow Truck
Nominated for two Western Canadian Music Awards - Outstanding Blues Recording and Independent Album of the Year. .

(2005) The Gas and the Clutch
(WCMA winner - Outstanding Blues Recording
JUNO nomination - Blues Recording of The Year; Maple Blues nominations - Best Electric Act, 2005 and 2006)

(2003) The Perpetrators

Currently in rotation on CBC, Satellite/Independent Radio ( Canada, US, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austraila, Israel)
Available through CD Baby, and digitally on iTunes, SNOCAP

Links

• The Perpetrators' Myspace Page

Audio

• Off The Hook
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• Baltimore
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• One Year Ago
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• Happy Saturday
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• Malt Liquor
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• 12,000 Miles
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• Quarter to Five
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• Toe Stub
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• Don't You Laugh At Me
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• Crack Whore Blues
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• Scratch The Surfish
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• She's Gone
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Video

The Perpetrators - April 14 , 2007

Photo Gallery

Press

• Exclaim! Magazine "Tow Truck" CD Review by David Barnard [+ Show ]
  

  The Perpetrators Tow Truck By David Barnard for Exclaim! Magazine "From Winnipeg, this three-piec...The Perpetrators
  Tow Truck
  By David Barnard for Exclaim! Magazine
  "From Winnipeg, this three-piece house wreckin’ unit are Canada’s strongest contender to join the many bands currently lumped onto the alt-blues bandwagon. In truth though, the Perpetrators have more in common with older groups like the Flaming Groovies or the Pretty Things, mixing up their sound with blues, country, surf instrumentals, garage punk and doses of psychedelic funk and electronic experimentation. Tow Truck, their third self-released CD, is the first to really capture the variety and quality of the Perps’ live show. Famous for their instrumental boogies, they throw a curveball right away, leading off with a surf instrumental Link Wray would have been proud of. The songs are deceptively clever tales about the simple things in life: relationships, life on the road and getting loaded. Guitarist J. “Howik” Nowicki is a distinctive vocalist, with a strong tone of irony pervading his delivery. Nothing gets too serious as a result. Newest member Chris “MAMA” Bauer (drums) adds a punk-ish thump at times, such as on the furious “You’re Gonna Kill Me” and the goofy “Happy Friday.” Ryan Menard holds down the bottom end; he’s an economical player that mainly stays out of the way while providing the recording with its rhythmic thrust. Junior Kimbrough would be proud to know his North Mississippi trance blues have found a new home in Winnipeg. The only thing topping this CD would be to experience them live. (Independent) "
  
  
  

• Uptown Magazine "Tow Truck" CD Review by Jared Story [+ Show ]
  

  "A perpetrator is a doer, and The Perpetrators, well, they do it all. While first and foremost a bad..."A perpetrator is a doer, and The Perpetrators, well, they do it all. While first and foremost a bad-ass boozy blues disc, The Perp's Tow Truck is a heavy duty rig that can also pack the punk, carry the country, and ride the rock. The trio's affinity for diversity is evident right from the get-go, starting off surfer-style with The Z-Rays Cured My Hangover and moving into the AC/DC-like Moving Right Along. From there The Perps blast through garage rock-a-rolla (You're Gonna Kill Me), crazy cool cow-punk (R. Cowboy), straight-up country (Honeypie) and greasy grunge (Tow Truck). Lesser bands might drop the ball juggling this many sounds, but the Perps make sensible chaos. Josco, an old tymey tribute to the Times Change(d) and its top-dog, sounds incredibly comfortable sitting next to the ferocious fuzz-rock of Toe Stub. Bang your head and clap your hands."
  
  A+
  
  -Jared Story, Uptown Magazine, August 2007

• The Perpetrators' press release [+ Show ]
  

  Press Release : The Perpetrators “Tow Truck” CD Release Tour The Perpetrators spent the heart o...Press Release : The Perpetrators “Tow Truck” CD Release Tour
  
  The Perpetrators spent the heart of a Manitoba winter in their favorite place to be at such a time – in Bedside Studio recording “Tow Truck,” the follow-up to the Western Canadian Music Award-winning and Juno and Maple Blues nominated, “the gas and the clutch.” As summer draws near, the band is in its other favorite place - on the road, putting on the best show they can for whoever’s there.
  
  Eager to document their recent musical growth spurt, July will see the boys recording a live album at ground zero for Winnipeg’s thriving roots music scene, Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club. The second half of the year takes them across Canada (again) and over the pond for their second European tour.
  

• Winnipeg Free Press "Tow Truck" CD Review by Rob Williams [+ Show ]
  

  April 14th, 2007 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS "TOW TRUCK" CD REVIEW BY ROB WILLIAMS Anyone who has seen...April 14th, 2007
  
  WINNIPEG FREE PRESS "TOW TRUCK" CD REVIEW BY ROB WILLIAMS
  
  Anyone who has seen a Perpetrators live show knows the local trio isn't strictly a blues band. Oh sure, they can bash those familiar 12 bars into the ground, but they can also duke it out with the best rock bands around.
  
  They take the roller-coaster frenzy of their live show and channel in into their third album, kicking things off with a surf-rock instrumental and ending with a frantic jam. In between, vocalist-guitarist Jason Nowicki, bassist Ryan Menard and drummer Chris Bauer dabble in country-blues (Honeypie), fuzzed-out garage (You're Gonna Kill Me), avant-psychedelia (Toe Stub), back-porch country (Josco) and even some distorted boogie-woogie (Happy Friday).
  
  Their experimentaion with sounds and genres doesn't mean the end of the kind of music for which they are best known. Blues remains the foundation of much of the material, especially on tracks like I Can't See, Baltimore, Movin' Right Along and Call Me.
  
  Tow Truck finds the Juno-nominated group moving from blues-rockers to blues-adventurers, which ain't no crime at all. See for yourself tonight and tomorrow when they release the album at Times Change(d).
  
  (4 1/2 Stars)

• Vue Weekly "Tow Truck" CD Review by Eden Munro [+ Show ]
  

  VUE "TOW TRUCK" CD REVIEW BY EDEN MUNRO The Perpetrators' third album opens wide up with the craz...VUE "TOW TRUCK" CD REVIEW BY EDEN MUNRO
  
  The Perpetrators' third album opens wide up with the crazy surf-riffing of "The Z-Rays Cured My Hangover." It's surf music, all right, but the kind of out-of-control soundtrack that you'd expect to accompany a dangerous ride through shark-infested waters while you're dripping blood. The disc closes tight at the end with the title track, "Tow Truck," a grimy, grungy, grease-covered groove that creaks and groans while the three Perps scream until you can practically hear their vocal cords ripping and tearing.
  
  The sonic landscape between those two bookends veers from the sort of roadhouse blues that usually comes from a stage protected by a chain link fence kind of joint to the pedal-to-the-metal stomp of "You're Gonna Kill Me" to the old school country of "Josco" to the crazy, carnival-rodeo sounds of "R Cowboy" to the apocalyptic wonderland of "Woman of My Dreams."
  
  There's a lot of ground covered on Tow Truck, and the album is a fine example of just how good the blues can be when the players are pushing and pulling the music, stirring it up constantly to keep it from stagnating. It's nice to hear a band that continues to evolve naturally instead of chasing the latest musical fad. The Perpetrators do what they do not because it's the cool thing, but because that's who they are. And that's what makes them so damn cool.
  
  eden@vueweekly.com

• Peter North Review [+ Show ]
  

  Playing the blues is about paying your dues and there's no question the members of the Perpetrato... Playing the blues is about paying your dues and there's no question the members of the Perpetrators are paid up in full.
  the Winnipeg-based trio belts out a muscular form of the genre that, over the course of a tune or two, gives a collective nod to both Hound Dog Taylor and John Lee Hooker, the blues rock attack of a vintage British blues band a al Cream and the nasty delivery of a young Johnny Winter.
  In the midst of pulling a five-nighter at Blues on Whyte, that combination of grit and groove was more than enough to keep a sizeable crowd on side for at least two sets Wednesday.
  Tight and commited to creating acound of their own, guitarist/vocalist Jason Nowicki, drummer/singer Scotty Hills and bassist Ryan Menard have been pounding it out as the Perpetrators for three years now. Before putting this unit together, each member cut his teeth by taking directions and learning licks from a few veteran western Canadian bluesmen.
  "Jason and I used to sit in the original Times Change blues club in Winnipeg listening to Big Dave McLean when we were fifteen years old," says Menard who lived in Edmonton in the late '90's when he did a two-year stint with the Rockin' Highliners.
  "We'd order a pop and split a plate of fries and hear three sets until two in the morning. The waitress wasn't making anything off of us."
  Although not necessarily together on the same tours, the three players later worked with west coast bluesman Nigel Mack, who could at times offer an eager young musican 80 shows in 90 nights.
  By late 2000, Nowicki and Menard knew it was time to do their own thing. After putting out the call for Hills, who was living in Saskatoon, the group began making quick inroads and lasting impressions around the prairie blues circuit.
  Today, the band can insert 20 original tunes into a three-night set. Many are found on the Perpetrators' self-titled debut from 2003 and a handful will appear on a followup album to be released this fall.
  The sentimental lyrics of "One Year Ago," which are set on buzz-saw guitar effects, and "Garmonbozia", which sounds as though George Thorogood was sitting in with the North Mississippi All-Stars, were two originals that won hearty rounds of applause.
  Dipping into the blues songbook for the ages, the Perpetrators also tackled and pinned a number of classics including "What'd I Say" and "Rock Me Baby."
  "Things are going our way, we've got lots of festival work this summer but the one show we're really looking forward to is backing Howlin' Wolf's guitarist, Hubert Sumlin at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival," said Menard. With his bandmates, he backed Big Dave McLean on his latest recording, "Blues from the middle."
  The Perpetrators play Blues on Whyte through Saturday.
  - May 14, 2004

• John's Blues Picks-The Perpetrators [+ Show ]
  

  Big Dave Mclean's 'Blues from the Middle', on Stony Plain, featured his electric backing band in a s...Big Dave Mclean's 'Blues from the Middle', on Stony Plain, featured his electric backing band in a setting that perfectly captured the Muddy Waters style that McLean works so well. On their own, this cd shows a re-constituted Perpetrators trio that is one of the hottest bands working in Winnipeg right now and their style takes us into Nu-Blues territory. By that i mean high energy, riff-laden new songs that borrow sounds instead of songs. R.L. Burnside is often credited with providing the starting point here, in his work with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. But fear not, blues fans, these young players don't wish to start by obliterating history, just creating within it,"12,000 Miles opens the CD with a classic Hound Dog Taylor lick that will transport you to alligator heaven. Jason Nowicki plays that guitar, Ryan Menard, an ex-Rockin' Highliner(winning a Maple Blues Award nomination)plays bass and Scotty Hills is on drums although they've been known to switch instruments on stage. They all sing. Dave McLean returns the favour on harp and Grant Seimens helps out on organ. The twelve songs are all originals with "1/4 to 5" particularly noteworthy for new sounds. "Look at You" and "Garmonbozia" are also highlights. "Six-Pack" shows they've learned their Burnside lessons very well indeed. I hope this band stays together to develop some of the ideas here, they show great promise.
  -John Valenteyn
  

• John Kendle CD Review [+ Show ]
  

  Bluesy, rough 'n' ready, rockin' and rollin' songs about girls and beer and beer and girls. The Perp...Bluesy, rough 'n' ready, rockin' and rollin' songs about girls and beer and beer and girls. The Perpetrators have been a local force for at least four years now and that's too long for them to toil as a not-so-well-kept secret. With this album the band now has a full-length calling card for its raucously joyful rough-hewn sound, which is equal parts Replacements, NRBQ and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Bass, guitar and drums - and fun. These guys could - and should - stand tall against any of the latest darlings of the New Americana indie scene. So get out on the road boys - it's calling. - John Kendle

• John Kendle "gas and the clutch" CD Review [+ Show ]
  

  The Perpetrators "the gas and the clutch" Rating: A "After releasing a rockin' debut that w...The Perpetrators "the gas and the clutch"
  
  Rating: A
  
  
  "After releasing a rockin' debut that wouldn't have
  been out of place on the Fat Possum label (in fact,
  it's arguably better than most of that imprint's new
  signings), the Perps hit the road hard, stopping just
  long enough to record this outing in a few quick
  sessions at Bedside. The result is a bluesier effort
  that heralds both the band's past and its present. The
  past in the low-down, gutbucket sensibilities these
  guys have honed in years of playing, the present in
  that Jason Nowicki, Scotty Hills and Ryan Menard are
  now at the height of their powers. They don't just
  love this music, they live it."
  
  
  

• Darryl Sterdan CD Review [+ Show ]
  

  Millions of two-bit rock bands think they can play the blues. And usually they can - badly. That's b...Millions of two-bit rock bands think they can play the blues. And usually they can - badly. That's because most rock bands don't understand that there's more to the blues than 12 bars, a I-IV-V chord sequence and some lyrics about how your baby done left you. It is obvious The Perpetrators are not one of those misguided outfits. This superlative trio reminiscent of The North Mississippi All-Stars have obviously spent muchos quality time listening, learning, soaking, practising, playing and living the blues in all its many varieties and permutations.Iin other words, they get it. And they deliver it in spades on their stunning, self-titled debut disc. With drumbeats that shuck 'n' jive like a juke joint on a Saturday night, basslines as thick as a handful of Mississippi mud and guitars that growl and howl like a junkyard dog, these dozen tracks find the boys equally adept at choogling boggie-rockers (12,000 miles), funky hip-swivellers (One More Day), electrified Delta stompers (Crappy Job, Look at You), acoustic folk-blues ballds (Stay Strong), Texas gutbucket sizzlers (Garmonbozia) and hypnotic john Lee Hooker-ish workouts (Six Pack). Put it all together and you've got 44 minutes of blues that's rougher, tougher and stronger than any major-label release we've heard this year. And a disc that can show all those two-bit rock bands a thing or two about playing the blues. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars - Darryl Sterdan

Setlist

Original material with the occasional cover of The Rolling Stones, Hound Dog Taylor, R.L.Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Ray Charles, Black Keys, John Spencer, Big Dave McLean

Basic Requirements

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