BAND OF RASCALS: West Coast Rock Comes East

BAND OF RASCALS: West Coast Rock Comes East

By David DeRocco

When it comes to describing their sound, you’d kind of expect a group calling themselves BAND OF RASCALS to offer up some glib, wholly waggish portrayal of who they are musically. But this is a collective of friends that knows exactly what kind of music they make and definitely proud to admit it.

“Nuts and bolts rock and roll,” said drummer Marcus Manhas, who along with vocalist Sam Trainer, guitarist Malcom Owen-Flood and bassist Sean March form this Vancouver Island-based four piece collective. “I feel honestly that describes us really well, because that’s what we go for. We’ve got guitars, drums and vocals, and it’s straight ahead rock and roll. We’re not trying to be anything we’re not. We’re just playing what we feel represents us best.”

The band’s new EP  is certainly a solid representation of what BAND OF RASCALS is all about. Produced by red-hot star-maker Eric Ratz (Billy Talent, Arkells, Monster Truck) and recorded in Bryan Adams’ iconic Warehouse studio, TEMPEST is a seven-song collection of hook-laden rock tracks bursting with layers of aggressive guitars, big drum beats and vocals from Trainer that offer up shades of Ian Thornely and Chris Cornell. It’s a surprisingly meaty rock record considering it emanated from Canada’s vegan-friendly west coast, but with Ratz producing it was inevitable.

“Working with Eric has been super cool for us,” said Manhas, who lists fabled groove-master Steve Jordan (Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, Keith Richards X-Pensive Winos) as his favourite drummer. “I love his sound. We all really love his sound. Monster Truck is where I first heard his production. To be able to work with him was amazing. He had such a positive influence on helping us find our sound and develop it.”  

With the release of TEMPEST, it’s clear the band’s ongoing musical development is gaining speed.  While they managed to create a regional buzz with their 2014 self-titled EP debut, the new collection of songs earned them a deal with the Paquin Agency and set them on course for 2017’s relentless cross-county tour. The touring and recording experience has helped galvanize the band’s resolve to take their shot at mainstream success – an objective that wasn’t in the original blueprint according to Manhas.  

“It’s interesting, when we started the band we didn’t have any expectations at all for it. We were just playing for fun, and then it started to take off and really begin to happen for us. I think we’ve grown a ton since the beginning, especially since we had no clue of what we were going to do or where we were going to go. I think we’ve all grown a lot, and it’s really shown on our last release. There’s a lot more maturity in the sound. I feel like we’re right where we want to be. It was a really good year for us last year. We’re doing what we can and we’re going for it. It feels really good to have one thing to focus on when you wake up in the morning.”

Band of Rascals roll into The Sanctuary in Ridgeway as part of a great triple bill of indie rock that also features SUN K and Texas King. Tickets for the February 2nd show are available at https://www.thesanctuaryarts.org/