Edmonton indie rock trio Scenic Route to Alaska have been all over the place since last playing Lethbridge at Love and Records in in 2015.
The released a new CD “Long Walk Home” in September and have been to Europe several times since then with a fourth trip coming up later this month. But first, they play the Slice on Monday, May 8.
“We‘ve done quite a bit since we were last in Lethbridge. We released a new record and have been to Europe three times,” said guitarist/vocalist Trevor Mann, whose long time friends, Drummer Shea Connor and bassist Murray Wood complete Scenic Route to Alaska.
“We played 65 shows in two and a half months when we released the album and came back and did a cross-Canada Tour. So when we got back, we hit the bed hard and slept for a month,” he said.
“We’ve toured Canada a lot but somehow keep missing Lethbridge,” he said.
“Canada is really big. We could spend the rest of our careers touring Canada and still not get to play everywhere,” he said, adding the European trips have concentrated on Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
“We‘re really popular in Germany. We‘ve played there a lot. They give us the time of day now. They like that we’re from Canada and really respect that we came so far to play,” he continued.
“But it’s like anywhere. There’s so much happening now, that you have to keep coming back to a place because you don’t want people to forget you,” he continued.
They are pleased with the new album, which has been a hit with fans.
Local radio station The Bridge 98.1 constantly plays the singles, especially “Love Keeps.”
“The Bridge played us a lot when the album first came out, so we really appreciate that. And the album was number one on CBC Radio 1 for six of seven weeks,” he said, adding the band has been together for six years, but has been playing full time t for the past two.
“We all live together in the same house now. I’ve known Murray since I was a kid and Shae since I was about 10. We never thought we’d come this far for a band that started playing in our drummer’s basement for fun,” he said.
“But a couple years ago we decided to quit our day jobs. Murray was studying for his degree in jazz upright bass in Montreal at McGill. So for a while we were long distance band. But now he’s done and everyone is focussed on the band. We decided to put all our eggs in one basket or all our bags in the van and do whatever it took to make rent and make this happen,” he said.
“We decided to put everything into this band and not keep much money for ourselves and put everything into the van or plane tickets.”
Scenic Route From Alaska played this year‘s Junofest in Ottawa.
“That was a lot of fun. It was a pretty big party. We flew out there and rented a van and did like eight shows in Southern Ontario, which was new for us as we usually drive across Canada,” he said.
