May 30, 1996

Watchmen mellow out
By DAVID VEITCH -- Calgary Sun

Is it possible to mosh to a piano ballad?
The answer may come tonight when The Watchmen begin a three-night stint at the U of C's MacEwan Hall Ballroom.
The Winnipeg-based quartet has built a sizable following in Canada with its muscular, made-for-moshing, guitar-rock sound. Hence, the band surprised many by demonstrating a moodier, mellower side on its third and latest record, Brand New Day.
"Holding people's attention in concert with a quieter song that might make them think is tougher than just playing a song that's fast and faster," says drummer Sammy Kohn.
"We're up to the challenge."
Indeed. Brand New Day still contains some aggressive guitar-rock, but the band mixes things up with samba beats, harmonica and horns. There's even a piano ballad.
"I don't go home and throw on a Green Day record. That's starting to rear its head in our music," says Kohn.
"And we want to keep things fresh from album to album. The best bands do that."
Fittingly, many of the lyrics convey a need to find a peaceful sanctuary away from the pressures of life. "It's not just four of us in our rehearsal spot drinking too much beer and writing songs. There's now a whole element of external pressures and negative forces that drag you down -- things like record company politics and the media."