Emerson Drive flying high with latest hit “Just Got Paid”

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Emerson Drive are glad to be back on the road in support of their new hit single “Just Got Paid,” which was released in May and has become an immediate fan favourite.
 The Grande Prairie born, Nashville/Maine  based band play Average Joes, Sept. 24 with Mark Maxwell opening the show at 8 p.m.

Emerson Drive’s Brad Mates playing Average Joes last year. Photo by Richard Amery
 Emerson Drive are known for recording numerous hits in their past 20 years as a band, including “ I Should Be Sleeping,” “I’ve Had My Moments,” “ She’s my Kind of Crazy” and “Countrified Soul,” and many others including “Just Got Paid.”


“That was written by Tebey (Ottoh and Jared Sciullo, Dee Jay Silver, ) and  a couple of guys from Nashville. It’s doing great,” said  Maine resident  and Emerson Drive frontman Brad Mates, rejoining his bandmates guitarist Danick Dupelle , drummer-Mike Melancon and keyboardist Dale Wallace  in Nashville to rehearse for the  quick Canadian tour, which includes the Lethbridge stop.


“ We’ve known Tebey for 10 or 12 years, so he knows  what songs we like and the sound we‘re going for. It (“Just Got Paid”) is a great summer song. And people like it. We were playing a festival and within a few seconds, they were singing it back to us. So we looked at each other and we grinned ear to ear,” Mates said.
 They were considering  recording a full length CD but may just release new music as singles.

“ We‘re about half done it. But we like it when a song comes in that just beats all the others we’ve already recorded,” he continued.

“We haven’t decided what to do yet, we may release an EP. We‘d rather just release four or five really great songs we feel people will respond to,” he continued, adding they like releasing singles.


“It’s not like the old days when you had to book studio time two or three months in advance and spend a couple months there. Now we can go in and record a song in a day,” Mates observed, adding it helps that the band is so tight, considering he lives in Maine.


“I find it’s more beneficial to not have to be in Toronto or Nashville and just be able to get away from Nashville and the scene and just relax and recharge. That’s why we still call Grande Prairie home, because we like to go there to recharge too,” he observed.


They have a couple other singles in the works and will likely  play them at the Lethbridge show.
 “We tour a lot. That’s always been part of our pre-production to play the new songs live. I love being able to see how audiences react to the new music. So “Just Got paid” will be in the set and a couple of new songs,” he continued.


The band has plenty more touring planned for the next year.
“There’s only so many festivals you can play in Canada. And we‘ve been away from the festival circuit for the past two years, so next year we’ll probably be playing  a lot of festivals,” he said, adding time has flown by for the band.

Emerson Drive return to Lethbridge, Sept. 24. Photo by Richard Amery
“At the end of summer, the year is almost over after eight to 12 months of touring. It’s over before you know it, just in time to begin another cycle,” he said, adding they are excited to return to Lethbridge.


“We have a lot of friends and family in the area and the crowds a Average Joes are always so good,” he said.

 Emerson Drive and Mark Maxwell play Average Joes, Sunday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 at the door.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
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