by Anastasia Chipelski
While Winnipeg is known for its support for the arts, it doesn’t always have enough venues to host all the acts that come through. Such was the story of two touring bands whose paths collided and they opted to join forces. Reuben and the Dark are supporting Australian folk act Boy and Bear on their Canadian tour, while Bahamas is touring with their friends the Weather Station.
While the Weather Station won’t be on the bill for Oct 23, the Burton Cummings will play host to Bahamas, Reuben and the Dark, and Boy and Bear.
Interesting bill mashups are nothing new to Afie Jurvanen – the man behind the Bahamas moniker – as he tours to support his third release, Bahamas is Afie. “[T]here’s definitely a team mentality, people want to work together and just make a good show for bands, [and for] people that are paying money to come see a show. But we’ve had some weird ones, we’ve been on a bill with like a bluegrass band before,” he explains.
His soon-to-be-newfound friends Reuben and The Dark are promoting their first album, Funeral Sky. In the process, frontman Reuben Bullock recounts that they’re playing anywhere from Osheaga to the Icelandic Fest in Gimli (A highly contrasted back-to-back pair of shows for them), to opening for acts with crowds of screaming 14-year-olds, and then still playing house shows to 60 people. “All of it’s been great. It’s nice to have that serious diversity. Keeps things really interesting,” says Bullock.
Both acts have been on the road long enough to reflect on their craft, and the impact that seemingly small decisions in their presentation can have on the ways they are read, received, and sometimes typecast by audiences.
Bullock noted that based on their first single, “Rolling Stone,” they’re often compared to Mumford and Sons: “The one song where we have four-on-the-floor kick drum and banjo and some harmonies, it’s an easy comparison [but] the band is a lot more dynamic than that”. What began as a solo venture touring his hometown’s open mic nights developed as Bullock’s friends contributed their influence. The band grew organically, mixing in new people who understood the dynamic of the project, and still changes a little from time to time.
Bullock still feels somewhat unrestricted by genre at this stage – some songs may move in a more pop, rock, or experimental direction, but he’s taking this time try to avoid falling into a template. “[M]aking the next album we may run into some of that where we’re thinking about how we’ve been perceived, but up to this point it’s been really nice to not have any kind of even genre to work in or form to follow, just try to write as free as possible,” says Bullock.
Based simply on the name (and a single), it’s tempting to think of this pairing of Reuben and the Dark and Bahamas as titular polar opposites.
“I hear people describe the music as “breezy” and they use all these suggestive names [..] So is it ever interesting for me to hear how people interpret things through the filter of a name,” reports Jurvanen. Jurvanen’s latest release marks a bit of a re-introduction to his own name, Afie, though it’s not something he claims he was ever running from; he was simply seeking a title for something he saw as an art project, unaware that it would later become his career.
A fan of place names, Jurvanen had also considered the title “Alaska” – “It’s a really isolated place, and it’s really sort of foreboding kind of cold darkness or something, but I think that people would really hear the music differently if I was called Alaska.”
Behind the cheery sheen read into (or overtop of) Bahamas’ sound is a highly nuanced approach to songwriting. Songs like “Bitter Memories” glide in with seemingly chipper guitar picking, before flirting with and fading into slightly more ominous and electrified territory. Above the slow and driving beat in “All the Time” an effervescent and plucky riff hovers and dips between multi-layered harmonies. There’s a bright side to these songs, yes, but it may be made to feel even shinier by the shadows that pop up here and here.
With the actual creation of the album behind him, Jurvanen is now faced with the task of understanding and explaining what went into his project: “Now that I’m doing interview and I’m having to explain things and reflect on things, I’m sure there’s a lot of [ego and vanity] wrapped up in there and I’ll probably spend the rest of my life trying to figure that stuff out,” he mused.
Bullock and his crew are also finding themselves in the middle of a process, adapting to the new normal of life as a touring band, and considering the implications of it all. “It’s really a bizarre life, getting on a stage every night and performing. [..] the fact that you’re an entertainer, I’m just starting to realize that I’m entertainment for people, which is such a bizarre concept for me because I’m not a very outgoing person”, adds Bullock. “It’s changed my whole existence.”
Don’t miss this incredible triple bill of Bahamas, Reuben & the Dark, and Boy & Bear when it hits the Burton Cummings Theatre October 23, you guys.