Saskatoon classic rock inspired band the Sheepdogs’ new promo pic features two of the band members dressed in velvet suits with horns, but that doesn’t mean they have broken away from their retro classic rock guitar driven stylings.
You’ll be able to see for yourselves as they open Whoop -Up Days, Aug. 18 with local rock band Fast Times opening the show at 7:30 p.m.
“We just wanted to do something different with the promo pic and reflect 1950s and 60s band pics instead of the standard band in an alley picture,” laughed bassist Ryan Gullen getting ready to play a home province show in Regina.
The band formed in 2006 in Saskatoon.
The Sheepdogs also include frontman Ewan Currie, \Sam Corbett (drums/vox), Shamus Currie (keys/horns) and newest member Rusty Matyas (guitar/vox).
“He’s an old friend of ours and a great guitar player, so he made the transition easier,” Gullen said.
“We just decided to part ways with him (Leot Hanson). Sometimes it happens with relationships,” he said.
“Luckily we got Rusty to fill in. So that’s been good. He recorded on the album. Losing a member is never easy, but he definitely made it easier. He helped us to continue and he didn’t change the sound of the band,” he said.
“ We wanted to expand the sound of the band without changing it,” he continued.
“We’re always trying to improve ourselves but we’re still a guitar driven rock band,” he said.
“Shamus has a jazz trombone degree from Humber college, so he is a skilled horn player,” he said.
The band have been working hard on their new CD “Future Nostalgia,” which will be released Oct. 2.
They recorded the new, 18 track album in three weeks in a cottage east of Toronto.
“We were able to barbecue every night and hang out and have a few drinks and record until the wee hours of the morning,” he said.
Their 2012 self-titled LP debuted at number one in the Top 200 SoundScan Chart and earned three number one singles at Rock Radio including Gold certified tracks “Feeling Good” and “The Way It Is.”
While some bands might feel a little pressure trying to match that on the next album, it wasn’t the case with the Sheepdogs.
“We’d been a band for a really long time even before the success, so we feel we know who we are and we now how we operate when it comes to creating music. We know what we like to listen to so we have very high standards for ourselves. So it’s not the same pressure as a band who has just released their first album and are trying to figure out what to do. We have spent many years on the road,” he said.
“I’m just excited to release the new music and hear what people think of it,” he said.
They are excited to play their first Whoop-Up Days as the last time they were here, they were playing an outdoor show at the Geomatic Attic in 2011 right before success came their way.
“I’m not sure what to expect. But the last time was an outdoor show and we had a really great time,” he said.
After being informed what Whoop -Up Days was a town fair, he was even more excited.
“We‘re from Saskatchewan. So we’re used to playing the prairie/ rodeos / fairs. We love playing them,” he said, adding they’ll introduce a few of their new songs including the first single “Downtown” from the new CD as well as the hist from their previous CDs.
“We’ll introduce the new record, but we’re holding off on most of it until it is released. We’ll also be playing stuff from the older records. It will be a well paced rock and roll show,” he said.
The Sheepdogs play Whoop Up Days, Aug. 18 at 9 p.m. Fast Times open the show at 7:30 p.m.
