The Weber Brothers Band are no strangers to hard work.
The Peterborough based rock and roll band return to the Slice on July 31.
“We haven’t stopped touring since we last spoke,” said bassist/ vocalist Ryan Weber, who along with his brother Sam on guitar, Shai Cookie Peer on keyboards, drummer Marcus Brown and his brother and brand new member Rico, playing extra keyboards, bass and guitar, make up the Weber Brothers band.
“He plays a utility role. So we’re having fun having him and laughing at him, not with him but at him ” chuckled Ryan Weber.
“ So he does the coffee runs and lifts all the gear,” added Sam Weber.
“ But he adds more depth to the band,” he continued adding while they have known him for many years, he has officially been a member of the band for two months. He also plays with them in a Paul McCartney tribute project.
“He’s adapting slowly. Once we get him up to speed, ” he’ll be great,” Ryan Weber chuckled.
“But he definitely puts in the work. He’s eager to learn. He remembers a lot. He is a true musician,” Sam Weber praised.
The band comes by their work ethic honestly. They cut their teeth with the one and only Arkansas born, Ontario based Ronnie Hawkins, first working on his farm, then later as his backing band.
They will get a chance to play once again with their mentor, Juno award winning rockabilly musician Ronnie Hawkins in the fall when he plays six gigs around Southern Ontario.
“He’s 78 and he’s still doing it, though we haven’t played with him since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Chuck Berry. So that’s very inspirational,” Sam Weber said.
“He’s like a Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen,” Ryan Weber said.
“ He comes from a different era where if you didn’t practice and work hard, you wouldn’t make it. Like me, he’s a huge fan of boxing. He looks at gigs like a boxing match. If you don’t get into shape then you’ll lose, so practise is very important, which doesn’t seem to be the case today,” Ryan Weber said.
“ If you don’t come through with it, if you aren’t tight you’ll hear about it and he’ll make you feel very small,” Sam Weber observed.
The band will rehearse with Hawkins for at least a week before the gigs
Both brothers look at playing with Hawkins as being part of history.
“Playing with him is like writing pages of history,” Ryan Weber said.
“ So we take it very seriously. We don’t mess around with it,” Sam Weber added.
“ We’re very grateful for the lessons we’ve learned from him,” he continued.
To warm up, they have been adding Ronnie Hawkins hits like “40 Days,” “Mary Lou” and “Who Do You Love” into their own sets.
“It’s funny you should say that,” Ryan Weber said.
“But it depends on the night and the audience,” he continued.
They don’t ever slow down, not even van breakdowns.
“ Our van finally broke down. We went to change a tire and the entire rear end fell off. So half of us were stuck in Saskatoon and the other half were stuck in Winnipeg,” said Ryan Weber.
“Time is a weird thing when you’re on tour. the hours fly by. You have to sleep and eat and find time to create. When it’s over you’re lucky to have a couple of hours. We don’t think about what we have to do tomorrow, we think about what we have to do today,” Sam Weber added.
“ We were supposed to have two weeks off, but that disappeared when the van broke down.
They used the down time to record two new singles. “ The World Is Fast Asleep” and “Thank You.”
“One of them is ready to go,” Sam Weber said adding their previous singles “Jesus, Jesus” which they released on vinyl, sold out already.
“We were deciding whether to release singles or a full length album,” he continued adding the singles won’t be released until later in the summer.
They always enjoy playing Lethbridge.
“It’s always a celebration when we play Lethbridge,” Ryan Weber enthused.
“ It’s a chance for people to let go of whatever has been bothering them that day,” he added.
“But it’s not just us. We need people there to complete the sacred hoop,” Sam Weber added.
