{"id":5811,"date":"2012-11-30T11:28:54","date_gmt":"2012-11-30T17:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stylusmagazine.ca\/?p=5811"},"modified":"2012-11-30T11:28:54","modified_gmt":"2012-11-30T17:28:54","slug":"yukon-blonde-finds-success-with-latest-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/2012\/11\/30\/yukon-blonde-finds-success-with-latest-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Yukon Blonde Finds Success with Latest Release"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nby Matt Austman<\/strong><\/p>\n

With nearly a decade of history under their belt, Yukon Blonde is on course to establishing itself as one of Canada\u2019s most acclaimed and cherished indie rock bands. Their latest release, Tiger Talk<\/em>, is a departure from their previous, more laid-back 70s inspired rock n roll, and is propelling the band past the club scene and into theatres. Recently, Stylus<\/em> had the opportunity to speak with the band\u2019s chief songwriter and lead vocalist, Jeff Innes, about the band\u2019s success, the meaning of Tiger Talk, and the personal impact of touring full-time.<\/p>\n

The band has come a long way since scrapping the name Alphababy and becoming Yukon Blonde a little over three years ago. \u201cIt\u2019s kinda cool. I feel like we\u2019re growing up,\u201d Innes says about their growing success. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a really good rhythm of touring. It\u2019s starting to feel like more of a legitimate job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band recently signed to Dine Alone Records, one of Canada\u2019s premiere indie labels, and is currently on the road with fellow Canadian rock sensation The Sheepdogs. Their single, \u201cStairway,\u201d has even been featured on a Toronto Blue Jays commercial, and was covered by Dan Mangan as a B-side on his latest 7\u201d. Tiger Talk<\/em> was longlisted for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2006, Dan Mangan opened up for us in the seediest bar in all of Vancouver,\u201d Innes reminisces proudly. Long-time good friends, Yukon Blonde was also the band at Mangan\u2019s wedding.<\/p>\n

Innes speaks about the band with a sincere duality. While clearly honest and utmost appreciative of Yukon Blonde\u2019s success so far, he is also sharply cognizant of the sacrifices that have made any of it feasible. \u201cYou have to sacrifice pretty much everything,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

At the time of talking, Innes was in Vancouver doing overdubs for a commercial (\u201cI\u2019m not sure if I\u2019m allowed to say anything about that,\u201d he says half-jokingly), and was about to see his girlfriend for the first time in four months. Meanwhile, his bandmates were in Toronto, where they now reside during their time off. \u201cIt was weird,\u201d he jokes. \u201cIt was the first time we haven\u2019t seen each other everyday.\u201d<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t have homes, instead opting to sublet rooms from friends as they see fit. \u201cI don\u2019t know what a normal life is… it\u2019s kind of weird,\u201d Innes admits. In fact, in order to pay for Tiger Talk<\/em>, the band purged their only permanent space at the time \u2013 yes, a jam space – and sold various objects to help pay for the recording process.<\/p>\n

Indeed, it\u2019s fitting that the album that has seen so much success is largely about the personal strife of being in a full time touring band. The record was written while on tour in the United States \u2013 Innes would lock himself in a hotel room, and punch out piles of songs. \u201cA lot of it was written on days off. There would be two or three days between tours\u2026 it would all build up so much on tour,\u201d Innes says.<\/p>\n

Consequently, about 50 demos were put forward for Tiger Talk<\/em>. Yet the ones that made the cut were a collection of tunes that Innes initially intended for a side project, and that clearly strayed from their previous efforts. When rearranged with the band, the road environment in which they were written shone through. \u201cIt\u2019s about touring the States\u2026 that\u2019s pretty much what the record is,\u201d Innes explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a romantic record, but I [also] feel like it\u2019s a desperate record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their single, \u201cStairway,\u201d takes the listener there in an evocative and considerate manner: \u201cI\u2019m wishin\u2019 I could be home right now, right home to you,\u201d he sings overtop a rhythm section that drives like one on tour, drinking shit coffee from some middle-of-nowhere gas station as a means to stay awake.<\/p>\n

Still, when reminiscing about the challenges of making a meaningful record, Innes looks forward to new opportunities with little hesitation or complaints. The band manages to keep things fresh for themselves on the road, viewing tour \u201cas an open idea instead of a fixed burden.\u201d With a pile of 7\u201ds and EPs under their belt, they have built an impressive catalogue of music, and have no plans of quitting anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Innes says matter-of-factly when asked if there will be another Yukon Blonde record.<\/p>\n

Listen for yourself by picking up the album and attending their live performance opening for The Sheepdogs at The Burton Cummings Theatre on December 11th, 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matt Austman With nearly a decade of history under their belt, Yukon Blonde is on course to establishing itself as one of Canada\u2019s most acclaimed and cherished indie rock bands. Their latest release, Tiger Talk, is a departure from their previous, more laid-back 70s inspired rock n roll, and is propelling the band past […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[161,453,1060,1138],"class_list":["post-5811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-canadian","tag-indie","tag-vancouver","tag-yukon-blonde"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5811\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}