Ottawa based band Autumns Cannon have struck it a little lucky, but they have also worked hard.
Not only did they record half of their new CD “Open Letter” with Gord Sinclair of the Tragically Hip in their Bathouse Studio in Bath, Ontario and the othe
r half with Hot Hot Heat’s Steve Bays, they also opened for ZZ Top in the Fall and will be opening for the Goo Dolls on their Canadian tour, which brings them to the Enmax Centre, March 3.
“We’re looking forward to it. We’re just getting the final preparations done. So it’s stressful. It’s 10 days from Ottawa to Vancouver,” said Autumn Cannon bassist Mark LaForest adding they are excited about their band’s first tour with the Goo Dolls, which their booking agent put together.
“ I don’t know how it works behind the scenes but we did a tour with ZZ Top in the fall, so we must have impressed enough people that we were able to get this one,” he said adding that was a great experience.
“ It was great. It was a great way to break in to that scene. We got everything. We got catering and roadies, all of those things,” he said.
“And we got to meet Billy Gibbons a couple of times and all he wanted to do was talk about guitars. It was one of things. We didn’t believe our manager when he called and told us about it,” he continued.
They have also opened for bands like April Wine, Big Wreck and Tom Cochrane.
“I have to choose my words carefully, but our sound isn’t exactly modern. We get a lot of comparisons to Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, so maybe that’s why we resonate with those audiences,” he said.
They are excited about ending the tour in Vancouver, not only where their management and record company 604 Records is, but it is also the home of lead singer Shaun Francisco who moved to Ottawa from Vancouver about five years ago, then met drummer Mike Hogg and then keyboardist/ guitarist Marty Sobb, guitarist Nick Beaton and Laforest.
They wrote about 30 songs for the album and trimmed them down to10 for the album. They wrote their own songs and even wrote on with Craig Northey of the Odds.
They enjoyed working with Gord Sinclair.
“We recorded in a great 1800s building they converted into studio and a living space right on Lake Ontario. There was no distractions and Gord was great. He’s become a good friend. We recorded half of the album with him and the other half with Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat.
“ It was different because Steve is more modern and Gord is more old school. So he’s all about just jamming until it works, while Steve has all of these tricks. So it was two different processes,” LaForest said adding the band wrote all of the songs sitting together with acoustic guitars.
“ It was more about guidance. With Gord, it was not so much what he could add, but what we’d take away. He helped us focus on what the song what about and finding the best way to say it. ” The album still sounds consistent, in part to the producers letting the band do what they do and engineer Ken Friesen who helped them on every track.
“It’s been great. These guys are all heavy hitters but they are such humble guys, he enthused.
He said Autumns Cannon’s set is all about the songs.
“We’re just five dudes playing good rock and roll music,” he said.
“ We focus on melodies. There’s no fireworks or girls in polka-dotted dresses,” he said.
Autumns Cannons and thew Goo Goo Dolls show begins at 8 p.m. at the Enmax Centre, March 3. Tickets are $50-$70.
