by Grady Mitchell | At the end of the month The Crowbots will be releasing their first record, Days Run Away, with a show at The Waldorf. The band is a jaunty, bombastic throwback which pulls bits and pieces from just about every genre of rock. We caught up with the guys – Craig Meding (guitar), Will Seaborn (bass), Dave Flanders (guitar), Beau House (drums) – ahead of the album’s release for a chat…

You guys name a lot of very different influences on your music, so how would you describe your sound to someone that’s never heard you before? Retro rock, garage rock, psychedelic rock with some country roots showing. I like to call it scavenger rock and roll as we draw from many decades of the 20th century to write original songs. Plus the band also has a sweet funky pop side. Basically we are four bands in one.

Tell me about the new record. How was the experience of recording it? We rented, bought, begged and borrowed a whack of great gear, put it all in the hands of talented individuals like producer Justin Guptell, and let fly. We recorded it over one weekend at our rehearsal studio and tried to keep it natural and live. It was scorching hot in late August. No windows. Carpet and baffling everywhere. Amp tubes melting hot in still air. We would blast the oscillating fans on in between takes. All the bed tracks were recorded together, the only overdubbing were for vocals and some of the really psychedelic guitar parts. We were sweating just standing in there. Justin would start jumping up and down and fist-pumping in the control room when he thought a take was sounding good. Really energizing. The album sounds like this whole environment – strung out, thin and hot, disoriented at times, but punchy as hell.

There’s also a lot of history in the studio where you recorded. Can you talk about Todd Simko, for people who may not know who he was? The late Todd Simko was a Canadian guitarist of the 90s alt-rock band Pure. He had his own studio in Mount Pleasant. To record Days Run Away, we built a temporary recording studio in that now-derelict space. Around when Pure disbanded in 2000 and in the years following he was producing music for other Canadian bands like Starkicker and Young And Sexy, but also worked with international artists like Xavier Rudd and Marcy Playground. Simko tragically died in 2012, most people that were into Pure and all of his collaborations don’t know that. The space also used to be office of the record label Boompa, formed by members of Vancouver’s The Salteens. Anyhow, from this perch, we’ve watched the False Creek condos creep closer every year and now they’re right across the street. When the crows migrate East each evening they have to fly between those towers. All around it, other under-the-radar buildings are being demolished. Its days are numbered, and when it goes, so does this history, and another illicit jam space for Vancouver’s indy music scene. Days Run Away is a reference to many things – lost musical histories is one of them.

How important is it for a band to have an affordable place to jam and record like that? Essential. Finding a place for creative projects is essential, but even more so when you want to make loud noise. It’s difficult enough finding a place in this city to practice clarinet or violin, never mind a rock group. Volume is a big part of our sound. I see people at all times of the year practicing solo acoustic instruments in the park across my street. Without an affordable rehearsal studio our band would not exist; we rely on that space to make The Crowbots happen – write songs, jam for hours on end, rehearse for shows, and record our EP. Our rehearsal room is not the nicest in the building but it is affordable, with high vaulted wood-beam ceilings, and we are grateful it’s still standing. For a little while we were expecting every practice to be our last, but apparently there is now a 2 or 3 year lease by the owners for a coffee shop on the main floor. The rent went up but we have some life there yet.

It seems the general feeling is that Vancouver is a hard place to be a band, between the lack of venues and the expense. Do you feel that’s true? Yes, I feel it’s true. Square footage is at a premium everywhere in the city and that affects all facets of a musician’s life: living accommodations, rehearsal space, and live performance spaces. I also feel generally that live music is also quickly becoming antiquated, in other words, it is not valued as much with the proliferation of ‘canned’ music. It is much easier and cheaper for any public space to set up a sound system and stream music than present live musicians. I consider The Crowbots to be akin in a lesser way to a theatre troupe, performing an antiquated art form with antiquated instruments, and in many ways haven’t entered the 21st century. The sound has a vintage. This is neither good nor bad, just authentic creative expression, ‘real’ to our experiences of music. I think this is appealing for audiences as well, for both those that remember what a live rock and roll band is all about, or millennials who have never partner danced to live music before. We bring an authentic if antiquated live music experience.

Let’s let people know about your release party coming up. The Waldorf on Saturday, January 31st, early show 7-10pm. It will be a party — wear your dancing shoes. We are playing with FRANKIE and the Ruffled Feathers. We also have a CITR radio appearance Friday, January 30th, at 11pm if you want to sample the band (101.9 FM). The show tickets, both in advance or at the door, will also include a download code for the EP ‘Days Run Away’.

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To hear more from The Crowbots, check out their website.

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