Brand New Day Dawns for the Watchmen
Winnipeg's Uptown
Straight-talking Watchmen
drummer Sammy Kohn isn't
above using the Beatles as a
reference point in explaining
where things are in his own
band's musical career.
"When we were recording I
was thinking this would be our
Hard Day's Night," he says
unabashedly, in reference to
the popular Winnipeg band's
third CD Brand New Day -
released in Canada this week
by MCA. "But the Beatles
were in the studio every six
months or so, so I think this
would be our Rubber Soul."
It's a fairly deft comparison
Kohn makes, sitting alongside
Watchmen vocalist Daniel
Greaves in the band's cozy
Exchange District rehearsal
space. Widely regarded as the
Beatles' jumping-off point,
Rubber Soul was the recording
on which the Fab Four really
began to develop their true
songwriting identity, leaving the
relative sameness of their
previous albums behind and
never looking back.
"I think this album is really us,"
Kohn continues frankly, "I
mean, take it or leave it, this is
the Watchmen."
Kohn's strong, almost
defensive words seem to
suggest a radical 360-degree
about-face from the
Watchmen - a band who saw
their last album, 1994's In The
Trees, sell generously over the
platinum mark. (Their
independent '92 debut CD
McLarenFurnaceRoom
bettered gold as well.)
However, that's not entirely the
case.
Upon inspection, Brand New
Day yields a much more
mature, refined studio effort
than the band's previous
catalogue - that's a given.
There is Greave's
accomplished piano playing,
formerly used only as
background filler, but up-front
here on several tracks. There is
a heightened sense of overall
stylistic adventure - unusual
time signatures, a samba beat
used to great effect on one
track, even the occasional horn
section. But throughout the
disc's dozen selections there's a
familiar feel that's 100 per cent
Watchmen, no question about
it.
"We're conscious of the fact
that we need to constantly be
making
changes to our music in order
to keep things exciting for us
and for our fans," Kohn says,
adding that approach isn't so
much a conscious thing as an
instinctive one. "I think we
may alienate some people (with
the new album), but I think our
fans can dig a little bit deeper
than just the singles. We give
the people who like our music
a lot of credit, and I don't think
they're the kind of fans who
just listen to the Boneyard
Tree'" he continues, citing the
primary single from the
Watchmen's last album. "I
think we've won a lot of our
fans through the live show,
people who like the whole
package. And if we alienate a
few people, well, maybe we'll
win a few people along the way
too."
Greaves agrees with Kohn's
sentiment entirely, yet
concedes there is a lingering
sense of pressure when it
comes to following up an
album as successful as In The
Trees.
"It's definitely a different kind
of pressure this time out," adds
Kohn. "From albums one to
two the expectations were not
there. People say you have
your whole life to write your
first, your second is the stuff
that didn't make it onto the
first, and your third is the real
measure of the band. The
expectations are greater, but
we'll rise to the occasion."
With the release of Brand New
Day the Watchmen will
undertake a brand new bout of
touring, something they haven't
done all that much of over the
last year. And while the group
-- which includes guitarist Joey
Serlin and bass player Ken
Tizzard -- is wholly committed
to the upcoming road work,
Greave concedes it's not the
quartet's favourite aspect of
band life.
"It'll be tough," he says, adding
the first seven days are
generally the most trying.
"After the first week you sort
of get into a mode and just do
it. Memory serves, usually."
"It's funny how when you're
not on the road you only
remember the good stuff about
it,"Kohn adds with a laugh.
"And then when you get out
there it's like, Ah, yes. The
same four ugly faces every
goddamned day.'"
"It just means it's doing well,"
continues Greaves. "If you're
able to go on the road and play
in front of people it means
you're doing a good job.
If we stayed at home it would
mean nobody wanted to see
us."
For Greaves and Kohn, home
is, and will continue to be,
Winnipeg. Come summer's end
however, Serlin plans to follow
the lead of Newfoundland-born
four-stringer Tizzard, who has
hung his hat in Toronto since
joining the band three years
ago.
"There's no reason for me to
move," Kohn affirms. "I love
Winnipeg and I love the fact I
can go down to the nearest
watering hole and see a bunch
of my buddies and find out
what's happening at the Albert
later on that night and that sort
of thing. It's a good thing. I
don't need to go to New York
or something to feel like I'm a
rock star."
"You can feel like it right in
your own home,"Greaves
chimes in with a laugh.
"Winnipeg is a constant, it's
relatively cheap and it's where
family and friends are so it's a
great place to come back to.
That's not to say I'll never
move, but if I do it won't be
because Winnipeg's too small
for a big head like mine."
Kohn and Greaves say
Tizzard's long-distance
membership in the band has
never been a major problem
before, so they don't anticipate
Serlin's looming expatriate
status will have any dire effect
on the band's career either.
"If I said it wasn't an
inconvenience at times I'd be
lying," says Kohn frankly. "We
were very accustomed to four
people in the same city, but that
was when we were 18 years
old and getting pissed every
night. Now it's a bit more like a
business - Ken comes in and
we do what we have to do. It's
sort of strange sometimes,
applying time to be creative,
but that's the reality of the
situation."
"It's just another thing you have
to deal with as you grow," adds
Greaves. "But it works. I mean,
we made a great record with
one of the members not living
here, so we know we can do it.
It hasn't been a problem."
The Watchmen will depart for
a European club tour in early
spring, before returning home
for an extensive cross-Canada
tour - their first in nearly two
years. Greaves says Winnipeg
fans can expect at least one
home-town show sometime this
summer.