Loud and fast – Blacktop Five are a muscular rock ’n’ roll powerhouse
The rules of the road according to Calgary’s Blacktop Five
You can’t force rock ’n’ roll. Some bands will tell you that making it requires regularly scheduled jam sessions relentless practice an epic touring schedule and a following on MySpace. Let’s face it though. The rock ’n’ roll tradition is built on a half-century of stumbling around drunk onstage barely making it to the next show. Rock ’n’ roll is a beautiful goddess and a cruel mistress so you have to be able to roll with the punches. The best bands like Calgary’s Blacktop Five know that. “We never expected to do nothin’ and I think that’s why it works ’cause there are no aspirations” says guitarist Graham Evans. “Let’s play guitar and turn it up a little louder and maybe a little bit faster but there was no conscious decision of what path (to take). This band is unconscious in a lot of ways.” Blacktop Five can afford a Zen-like approach to music. All four members have clocked so much time on their instruments that they know exactly the kind of music they want to make. Evans who rocked Calgary audiences in Huevos Rancheros Forbidden Dimension and The Daggers was recruited by longtime friend Brad Simm to fill out the lineup of his ever-evolving outfit The Quickies. Along with drummer Mike T. of Agriculture Club they set out to learn a handful of Teenage Head songs for a local tribute night. According to Evans they never learned the covers but the experience spawned something far more interesting. That was three years ago. With the help of new bassist Gerry Sobie from surf act Bigfoot Rocketship Blacktop Five has become a rock ’n’ roll powerhouse. As the name suggests the band is a high-octane two-guitar assault with riffs as big as muscle cars. Songs about love gone wrong laced with a healthy dose of automotive references move at highway speed with hairpin turns compressing all manner of rock mythology into a streamlined package. “If your favourite records are Led Zeppelin The Ramones and The Fuzztones why not rip off their songs and put them into your own” says Evans. “If you can play three chords and turn it up and go and kind of make an ass of yourself there’s no reason not to.” When Evans says turn it up he means it. He pumps searing licks through a gearbox that includes a two-amplifier setup. Factor in a muscular rhythm section chunky low-end and Simm’s tortured vocals and there’s everything you need for an ear-splitting good time. “We don’t have a fifth member so my joke is that the volume is the fifth member” says Evans. “I don’t want to be too loud where we can’t control it or people get pissed off about us for being too loud but what’s the old saying — if you can’t turn it up don’t turn it on. It’s rock music. It’s the same idea as driving around in a GTO and listening to your favourite song and cranking it up. Amps sound better when they’re loud.” It’s a simple idea but Blacktop Five are masters of making the most of simple ideas. Evans admits that they aren’t re-inventing the wheel but in an era where music has become a sterile overly ironic marketing tool it’s refreshing to see four guys plugging in for the simple joy of it. “For me it’s my contact sport of choice. I don’t do anything else” says Evans. “I’m not into sports. I’m not into stamp collecting. It’s rock ’n’ roll. I do it because it’s something I’ve been doing since I was 18. “When I get up onstage and jump around like a moron I’m doing it for me. Someone paid five bucks maybe so I’m going to give them five bucks’ worth. That’s always been my philosophy. I’m just getting better at giving somebody five bucks’ worth.”
