by Daniel Emberg
“Breaking Bad is basically a country song.” You’ve probably never heard it put that way before, but it actually seems pretty intuitive when you think about it, no? Those are the words of John Showman, frontman of the Toronto band New Country Rehab, in explaining to Stylus how he views music. It is not just a catchy quote. Showman’s point is that while art is always modern in its own time, the things people most care about are the questions that have proven vexing enough to keep getting asked by every successive generation of humans.
That is why he invokes a popular contemporary TV show in an exchange about old country music: “[Breaking Bad is] a guy who is slowly going down the toilet and trying his best to save himself, his soul, everybody around him, but he’s just getting pulled right in by the devil or something. [That theme] is just everywhere…music changes, but the themes don’t.”
Those themes, as communicated by New Country Rehab, come through in deftly arranged songs that manage to shift meters and turn corners quickly without ever seeming weird or forced. Their 2013 release Ghost of Your Charms rates with the best of the year and has been getting lots of radio play across Canada, getting some love here at Stylus as well. The band’s reputation, though, is also being largely driven through good ol’ word of mouth about their stellar live show—which Winnipegers can catch tonight at the Times Change(d) High andLonesome Club.
The band played the same venue early last year, but this time around the lineup is a little different. “It’s become a bit of an amorphous collective we play with over the last year or so,” explains Showman. “Roman [Tomé, drummer] and I are the same, the other guys on this tour are part of that collective and they are amazing players. Michael Tuyp is our guitar player, and Alistair Whitehead is on bass, they’re both just great musicians so it’s a good little unit. It’s still kind of the same blueprint…but we’re getting new guys in there, getting new voices so it’s constantly progressing.”
Whitehead comes from Newfoundland and brings a wealth of bluegrass experience, while Tuyp is an “awesome country blues, chicken pickin’ kind of player,” as described by a clearly excited Showman. For his part, Showman is one of the rare frontmen who plays fiddle and sings lead at the same time, though he humbly laughs off compliments on the skill and recommends checking out Tim O’Brien for anyone interested in seeing how well it can really be done.
Self-deprecation aside, New Country Rehab is undeniably capable of bringing the goods. Showman says they generally record, “live off the floor, but with the malice of forethought,” and that most of what we hear from the band is done in three takes or fewer. They are polished enough to work quickly in studio, which makes sense given that much of their popularity is being driven by live performance.
Tonight at the Times kicks off a nine-show prairie tour for New Country Rehab, so bank on the fellas looking to get off on the right foot—which is to say there is every reason to believe this will be a memorable show and you ought to come on down . $15 gets you in, be there for 10pm.