Watchmen Worth The Look
Winnipeg Free Press
By John Lyons
The Crash Test Dummies weren't the only local band to have a stellar 1994.
Overlooked in the wake of the Dummies' international success has been the Watchmen.
"I can't say enough about how exciting it was for us, as far as how we did. We released our album and it went gold and we toured the country coast-to-coast," drummer
Sammy Kohn said this week from his home, during a brief stop in the band's road schedule.
In July, the Watchmen released their second album, a hard-driving and insightful CD called In The Trees. They began touring the country, and their Boneyard Tree video
began in rotation on MuchMusic.
"Silly extension"
"It's a medium I'm not all that crazy about. It's a silly extension of what a song is, usually," Kohn says of videos.
"But if there's going to be a way for people to get familiar with the Watchmen, I'm not complaining."
The Watchmen also include singer Danny Greaves, guitarist Joey Serlin and bassist Ken Tizzard. They recently released a second video, All Uncovered, which is now in
medium rotation on MuchMusic.
In The Trees went gold (50,000 sales in Canada) just before the Watchmen returned to Winnipeg in October. They were presented with their gold plaques after their first of
two shows at Le Rendez-Vous. Although they were suspicious, band members weren't told of the presentation, nor were they told the disc had gone gold.
"It was really nice to have them presented to us in Winnipeg. The timing was immaculate. There was a big part backstage," Kohn says.
The Watchmen toured back and forth across the country until early this month. Locals Zen Bungalow, who are longtime friends of the band, opened on the band's last
western jog to Victoria.
"It's a priority for us, giving local bands opening slots if they're interested," Kohn says.
Another indication of the Watchmen's success is its gig on New Year's Eve, when they headline an outdoor bill at Mel Lastman Square in the Toronto suburb of North York.
Opening for the Watchmen are big-selling Canadaian acts I Mother Earth and 13 Engines. More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the show, says Perri Bender, North
York events spokeswoman.
In the new year, the Watchmen tour Europe following the release there of In The Trees.
"We've never been there, so we don't know what to expect. We'll go down and probably play to a lot of empty clubs," Kohn says.
Unfortunately, the Watchmen's management in Toronto, Management Trust Inc., seems overzealous in its endeavor to shape the band's profile. After I called Kohn's home,
Management Trust's Shelley Stertz called from Toronto to say that Winnipeg media shouldn't contact the band without the express permission of Toronto management.
To suggest that a popular Winnipeg band should only appear in the Winnipeg media when it's approved by a Toronto office is a breathtaking marvel of Toronto-centric
thinking.