Locomotive 8

Locomotive 8Locomotive 8
at The Central
Friday April 27th, 2007

By Sandy Ashton

Comfortable with the venue (and each other) the six members of Locomotive 8 lined up like criminals on The Central’s tiny stage after two lifeless performances by friends The Paper Bird Crew and League of Nations.

The band consists of two members of Michael’s Type, originally from Scarborough, Ontario: singer-songwriter Paul Jobin and drummer Clayton Inwood.

Michael’s Type started off as a solo project for Paul. He used the title to explore his own “songwriting abilities which did not fit into a traditional setting of a band. ” His friends saw the potential that Paul had as a songwriter, and soon jumped on board. Paul then started to feel like he was losing control over the band’s direction, and decided to put his music on hold and head for the coast.

At the Close to the Coast festival in 2006, friends Smothered In Hugs performed a version of Paul’s song “Trading Spezzas,” which made him realize that his music was appreciated, and he moved back to the city to continue his work.

In late March 2007, Michael’s Type unexpectedly announced on their MySpace page that they would soon have new songs available from their new band. Using Michael’s Type as a template, the duo took that band’s sound and created Locomotive 8 – named after the song “Driver 8″ by Fables of Reconstruction (Locomotive 8 being the train on which he rides) – with new friends Brendan McKnight (bass and mandolin), and Nate Siegler (viola, guitar and vocals) and old ones: elementary school friend Olivier Gauthier-Mercier (guitar, banjo and vocals) and Paul’s high school girlfriend Leah Solis (keys).Locomotive 8

Locomotive 8’s music is inspired by the likes of The Replacements, The Smiths, and Neil Young, but it is the influence of the highly-prolific, now-defunct Guided By Voices that is the most apparent in their short, catchy songs, which are then given their own unique sound by the band’s chameleon-like singer. His small words filled every corner of the room, making the air thick and moist – forcing the audience to inhale their every word.

“No Harvest” starts off like any rock ballad: slow and quiet, with singer and music volume in constant competition. Both the vocals and the beat pick up quickly, like a fast flying-punch that you leaned into. The most important line in the song is emphasized when the beat is dropped and you are left with the band’s final thought: “There will be no harvest.” They also performed “False Idols of the Young,” “Last Round,” “Murder Bout,” and “Masticated Love,” which is some of their best work, but they offered very little new work to surprise their fans.

Although there was hardly any room for the members to move around, they nevertheless managed to create energy on the stage; each member offered something unique to the performance. Olivier kept eye contact with the ladies in the room; Brendan stole space by reaching out into the crowd and interacting with them, inviting them to be part of the show; Paul refused to make good use of his prescription glasses and look into the eyes of his audience, suggesting that he was re-living the events as he sang “There’s too much explaining to do”. The violin, drums, and keys provided a foundation for a strong lyrical performance. - Mondo Magazine