The unique sounds of Vancouver’s Redgy Blackout can be heard at the Canmore Hotel on July 22.
Multi-instrumentalist Scott Perrie said the band loves playing this venue.
“We played there on a tour in January 2010, right before the Olympics,” he said. “That was the last time we came through town, so looking forward to coming back.”
The Canmore Hotel had a definite character, he suggested.
“It was good, that was the first time for us that we had been in town and played, so we definitely kinda felt like we were stepping into the past a little bit,” said Perrie. “It was pretty fun though, seeing all the other bands that come through, the stickers on the walls, and it felt like we were making our own mark.”
The origin of the odd name of the band goes back to 2006, when Perrie began collaborating with Jeremy Breaks.
“We wanted to come up with a name and didn’t want it to be generic, we wanted something we liked and maybe stood out a little and the idea was of creating a character, to be like a mascot for the music,” said Perrie. “The name itself comes from a girl named Reggie on a TV show, Dead Like Me, and then Redgy Blackout just came together.
“We took a page out of the Beatles book and changed the spelling of the actual name to be the word edgy with an R. Which seemed appropriate at the time, as the different backgrounds that Jeremy and I come from, there’s an edginess to our music, the nature of our influences and blending of styles and creating the Redgy Blackout sound.”
As to where their sound stands today, the style is hard to define.
“These days it’s definitely an indie roots rock kind of sound – we blend folk elements and blues and pop into something that we think is uniquely our own,” said Perrie. “When you come to the show, you definitely should be prepared to move a little bit – hopefully the music will move you – it’s pretty upbeat, it’s an eclectic mix of instrumentation.”
While Breaks plays banjo and electric guitar, Perrie plays acoustic, rhythm and trumpet. The band is rounded out, at times, with drums and bass, to give it a roots rock sound.
“The great part about us as a band is we often play as a duo, as well as the full four-piece, so we’re kinda versatile,” said Perrie. “We take all kinds of different performances and venues and it really gives us the chance to strip the songs down and work on them in a more raw way.
“We’re playing a lot of bars, and playing with the full band is a whole other energy to add that element, it just makes the whole thing rock.”
For the past year and a half, the band has done much touring, though only in B.C. and Alberta.
“We just haven’t made the leap yet to venture out further east,” said Perrie. “We would really like to, but we’re waiting for what we’d like to do eventually is get into a NXNE or Halifax Pop Explosion or something like that to build a tour around, to give us incentive to head there, and hopefully with the new EP we’re looking forward to that.
“Maybe touring with another band, we just have to see what’s in the cards for us in the near future.”
The band did just release a new, self-titled EP.
“We’re really excited about it, we’re getting a bit of radio play, and we’ve decided to self-title it, mainly because we’ve been a band that’s really allowed ourselves the time to develop and hone our sound and tour and go on the road and figure out what works,” said Perrie.
“I think we’re a great live band, so a lot of the songs on this EP we really had a chance to test on the road. It’s the best stuff we’ve ever written and recorded, it’s exciting for us.”
To hear their music, visit the Redgy Blackout website at http://redgyblackout.com
