With live music every Friday, Good Earth Coffeehouse in Canmore is the place to be.
The Last Order – a trio consisting of John Paul McBride, Tara Brehaut and Grant Hilts – plays next Friday (Feb. 1), starting at 8 p.m.
“Originally, it was 2009 we started, believe it or not. I was living in New Zealand and with Tara and three others, we all got together,” said McBride. “We were all backpackers, we were living at a hostel at the time, and we just started jamming. We were actually called the Dirty Spuds back then.”
From there the pair of McBride and Brehaut travelled around, eventually landing in Canada last year.
“So we kept going, but as backpackers everyone goes their own way, so me and Tara, we moved to Australia and played there,” said McBride. “At the time though, our music was more a mixture of everything – we tried to do everything – but we started refining it and refining it.
“We were in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Channel Islands, the U.K. and Ireland, and every place we played we’d pick up new styles. So it’s taken us a while to get to the sound we have at the moment.”
Now in 2013, The Last Order is a three-piece band with most of the style focusing on Irish Celtic music.
“The instruments we started playing in 2009 are what we’re playing now,” said McBride. “I’m on guitar, drums, harmonica and vocals, Tara is tin whistle and piano and vocals, and Grant is vocals, harmonica and mandolin, so we’ve kept busy.”
While The Last Order is a local band, all its members are from far away, with McBride coming from Northern Ireland, Brehaut from the Channel Islands and Hilts from Ontario.
“I’d love you to mention, I really love playing in Canmore,” said McBride. “After all the places, there’s such an appetite for this style of music, it’s unbelievable.
“Sometimes you play a quiet gig or a gig that doesn’t go good, but I’ve never had a bad gig since playing here.”
Hilts joined the band after hearing the duo play at a Last Call open mic session.
“He heard us playing at a jam night and got the confidence to begin playing,” said McBride. “He’s a quiet guy, but he approached us, and he has a love of all the same music. He’s a brilliant mandolin player, so we’re very lucky. We only started practicing in November, we ‘re very new on the scene trying to get a foothold.”
Next up, The Last Order plans on getting into writing their own music and then out onto the road.
“We’ve been messing around about, but right now we’ve been concentrating on the set list,” said McBride. “We’ve got Grant up to speed and next on the agenda is to write our own stuff. It’s gonna take some kind of Celtic bluegrass style, that’s where we’re at, at the moment.
“We love to make people dance, that’s our favourite thing. I love watching people tapping their feet, that’s when you know you’ve got them,” he added. “Nothing worse than playing a gig with everyone just sitting stone-faced.”
“We’re actually planning on doing a bit of a tour around Alberta, maybe in February or March. There’s a lot happening, June to September – that’s when all the festivals are happening – so we’re going to put ourselves forward.”
McBride still gets nervous when he plays, he said.
“The day I stop getting nervous is the day I stop playing,” he confessed. “I was playing last night at St. James’, and my heart was going nuts. I’m still loving it, I love that adrenaline rush. I don’t care if you’re a mega pop star or just playing a club, I’m guessing it’s the same thrill.”
The Last Order also plays the Market at Three Sisters on Feb. 9, as well as many other upcoming gigs. More information on the band can be found online at thelastorder.info
This Friday (Jan. 25) Good Earth hosts Bradley Bischoff.
