Talking gear with the Sadies
Written by archtop girl on Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Travis (left, brown suit, Gretsch) and Dallas (below, dark glasses, Tele) Good are two of our favourite Canadian guitar-slingers. These Ontarians have been near-constantly touring their double-lead take on surf-country-psych-garage for over a decade now but their band, the Sadies (with rock-solid rhythm section of Sean Dean, bass, and Mike Belitzky, drums) remains better-known for collaborations with more famous friends: Neko Case, Jon (Blues Explosion) Spencer, John (X) Doe, Jon (Mekon) Langford and, from an older generation, Ronnie (The Hawk) Hawkins, Garth (The Band) Hudson and various members of Canadian country-rock national treasures Blue Rodeo, to name just a few.
We love them in their own right, however, and have followed the band since the early super-quick Ramones-style assaults for Bloodshot Records (produced by Steve Albini, no less) to their current, more harmony-driven incarnation at Yep Roc. They've always been best caught in action, though.
Anyway, they seem to be doing some press in advance of a new album (out mid-summer, to be produced, like the last one, by former Jayhawk Gary Louris), and the Good brothers have been talking about their gear with Canada's Exclaim! magazine. No surprises for anyone that's ever seen 'em - we can all spot a Tele and a Gretsch - and not quite enough nerdy detail (we think Dallas uses a banjo peg to turn his B-string down and not a B-bender, by the way, unless he's changed his kit since we last saw him), but a nice chat in which Dallas also mentions pianos, Stylophones and other favourite devices...
They also told the mag about other future plans: a collaboration with Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, the release of a second album with old blues/R&B survivor Andre Williams, some gigs backing - of all the unlikely people - ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, a project with Garth Hudson and 'an unnamed rock superstar'... Apparently Ray Davies has approached them as well, which might be the turning point for some wider, well-deserved worldwide recognition. In a meritocratic parallel universe, these guys would be megastars. Pics from the wonderful Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (2007), by the way.
