If you love baseball and you love punk music, you will love Vancouver based baseball themed punk band the Isotopes. All you need is ballpark hotdogs and beer and you pretty much have the perfect night at the ballpark when the band comes to Lethbridge to get some hits, hit a few home runs and hopefully knock it out of the park at Bo Diddly’s with the Real McKenzies, March 6.
Frontman and team captain, pitcher and shortstop Evan October is excited to be touring in support of the Isotopes’ first full length CD “ Nuclear Strikezone” and touring with the Real McKenzies. They have also brought up Real McKenzies bassist Vlad Zak off the bench to pinch hit with the team.
L.A Beat caught up with the band in the middle of their latest road trip to get the lowdown on the band who has shared stages with punk rock royalty like Richie Ramone, Agent Orange, Pennywise and many others. They have also been named among Canada’s top 15 punk bands to see by CBC’s Grant Lawrence.
“You gotta write what you know. I know baseball. I know chicks too, but everyone writes about chicks. I wanted to bring something fresh to the table and be the best at what we do,” wrote October adding they did indeed borrow their name from an episode of the Simpsons. October hadn’t heard of Vancouver's the Hanson Brothers’ hockey punk band when he decided to start the team.
“I didn't know about the Hansons until I asked Justin Safely to start a baseball themed punk band with me, and he said‘Oh, like the Hanson Brothers, but baseball.’ I was 20. After that I bought "Gross Misconduct" and fell in love. But even still, at best only half their songs have anything to do with hockey. We're still batting 1,000. And yeah, the name is a direct rip from The Simpsons,” he noted.
He observed they go back a few years with Real McKenzies bassist Vlad Zak.
They have had over 25 guys in and out of the band over the years. “Nuclear Strikezone” features #17 Justin Safely and #10 Dallas Dust storm on guitars, #99 Vlad Zak on bass, #7 Tony Hustle and #14 Trevor Uppercutz on drums.
They are pumped about the new CD — their debut full length performance.
“This is our debut full-length and it's the best thing we've done. It's smarter, it's faster, and hall-of-famer Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves even sings on one of the tunes. We are all real proud of how this thing came out. Jeremy Patch of the Hextalls produced it and it sounds amazing,” he enthused.
They have been lucky enough to share the stage with many punk veterans.
“We blew Richie Ramone out of his jockstrap last year, I'd say that was up there. It's always a dream come true to play a show with bands you grew up listening to. We've done enough of those that it's kept us sharp. You got a gig with Pennywise coming up or a tour with Off With Their Heads - you better make sure you're on your A game,” he noted adding the band’s sound appeals to both fans of baseball and punk music.”
In the “ off season,” they have their own baseball team.
“Yeah, we play. We have a team and we started a hardball league in East Vancouver. A lot of us grew up playing ball and fell in love with it long before punk rock came along. I play shortstop and pitch,” he said.
They are enjoying the tour with the Real McKenzies.
“Everything about it rules. The McKenzies are world class punk royalty, and we get to go out and play sold out shows with them every night. They're great dudes to tour with, even though they can't play ball for shit,” he noted.
The Isotopes and the Real McKenzies play Bo Diddly’s on March 6.
Door open at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $20, $25 at the door.
