Sadies

Known for their jaw-dropping musicianship and heady amalgam of musical influences, Toronto’s eclectic musos, The Sadies, are set to release their fifth full-length, Favourite Colours. And because we’re talking about The Sadies, these colours come from no ordinary palette. How the Toronto foursome managed to combine ‘60s country rock and psychedelia, C&W, surf, punk and bluegrass and transform it into their own unique genre is a musical mystery wrapped within an enigma rolled up in a… The main thing is, it works on these 13 original, otherworldly tracks. Favourite Colours was recorded between the band’s grueling tour schedule at WaveLab in Tucson, The Woodshed in Toronto and Greg Keelor’s (Blue Rodeo) rural Canadian farm. Various friends show up: Robyn Hitchcock sings lead (and composed the lyrics) for the closing track, “Why Would Anybody Live Here?” and Greg Keelor, Joe Burns (Calexico), Rick White (Elevator), Paul Brainard and the Goods’ parents (famed Canadian musicians in their own right) all make appearances.

Longtime fans will notice there are more vocals and a greater emphasis on the brotherly harmonies of Travis and Dallas Good, whose voices - slightly world-weary, grittily beautiful – blend just right in the grand brotherly tradition of pop music. While Dallas sings lead most of the time, Travis takes over on two of the tracks. Try to guess which ones. Mike Belitsky contributes the wistful “A Good Flying Day”, while the opening instrumental, “Northumberland West”, is a tribute to late, great Byrds guitarist Clarence White. It’s a track like this, amid the ringing guitars and heady harmonies of the vocal numbers, that reminds you just how good, technically speaking, The Sadies are as players. The UK’s Guardian, in a recent live review, was moved to describe the band as follows: “There is something decidedly strange and artful about their breathless conflation of classic country, surf rock and psychedelia.”

Strange and artful yes, but The Sadies are not afraid to sweat. Spending most of their time on the road both in North America and abroad, The Sadies are at home on any stage, with a typical show lasting 35 to 40 songs, give or take five or ten. The band’s almost careless stage presence - with the Good brothers looming in their tailored suits - and reckless punk energy make the songs fly by. Or maybe it’s the way they can stop and start on a dime, going from a cover of Johnny Paycheck’s “I’ve Got Someone to Kill” (which they recorded with R&B legend Andre Williams) to a stunning original rich with guitar textures and gorgeous vocal harmonies, all delivered with the casual ease of lighting another cigarette.

This musical dexterity coupled with Good taste pervades The Sadies’ musical decisions: they’re currently contributing an original score to a feature documentary by renowned Toronto filmmaker Ron Mann (Grass) on Ed “Big Daddy” Roth titled, “Confessions of a Hotroddin’, Pinstripin’, Kustomizin’ Teenage Icon. Vroom!” And then there’s The Sadies well-baked side project (with Rick White and Greg Keelor), The Unintended, whose eponymous first release went to #1 on the Canadian college chart. There’s also a collaboration backing longtime friend Neko Case that’s set to be released in fall 2004, with The Sadies joining Case for a series of live dates. More importantly, Belitsky and Sean Dean have a hockey team and are designing a team jersey. Their team occasionally wins.

Out on August 10, Favourite Colours is the album The Sadies have been moving towards with each release – an album that establishes them not just as instrumentalists but as songwriters able to evoke their various influences and combine them into something unmistakably their own. While The Sadies may sound like a lot of things, no one sounds quite like The Sadies (or looks as amazing doing it). The Sadies know how to put on a show - and they never have a bad one.

“Though The Sadies have a tremendous amount of outside influences that have helped shape our sound, it is the differences in our personalities that dictates the music. We only play music we enjoy. Having said that, the guests on this record have helped shape that sound. From my mother and father to Robyn Hitchcock, all who helped on this record have had a large influence on The Sadies, for better or for worse.” — Dallas Good, 2004

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For More Information Contact: Darryl Weeks| OUTSIDE MUSIC
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