Scott Roos
Special to the Daily Herald
When it comes to rock ‘n roll origin stories, Harris, Saskatchewan’s power trio Seven Mile Sun has one that is as classic as it gets.
There’s no radioactive ooze. They’re not from another planet. There’s no tragedy paired with equal doses of triumph. Instead, the formation of Seven Mile Sun took time, effort, and dedication to their craft. Simply put, it was two siblings wiling away the long prairie hours in their parents’ basement, instruments in hand, and noise abounding.
“We still jam out there,” guitarist and frontman Kevin Stevens said in a recent phone conversation with the Daily Herald. “We have all of our equipment set up in the basement, so that’s kind of our rehearsal space.
“It is kind of classic to still be set up in the parents’ basement… Our parents have always been amazing supporters and they’re big music people. They put up with a lot of loud noise late into the evenings so that we can rehearse, so it’s pretty awesome.”
With sister Kimberly on the drums and brother Kevin on the guitar and vocals, the Stevens kids began to gain notoriety. With the addition of longtime friend Joanne Genest on bass, and with the recent release of their debut ep entitled “Darkness into Light”, produced by Aspen Beveridge at Skull Creek Studios, Seven Mile Sun are now ready to take their turn in the spotlight as a meat and potatoes rock act.
The group tips their caps to modern acts like Rival Sons and The Glorious Sons whilst being equally reverential to classic rockers like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. The end result is a unique musical stew of influences that the band has been able conjure into their own personal vibe.
“I think the borrowing of sounds is something that everybody does,” Kevin explained. “I think it’s a great way to pay tribute to some of your influences. You pick little tidbits from everybody you like and come up with a combination of everybody.”
With restrictions now lifted, Seven Mile Sun recently played their ep release show at the Capitol in Saskatoon, and are gearing up for an appearance at the inaugural edition of Moose Fest, which will take place Saturday, August 7th at the Bellevue Community Hall. The contact with Moose Fest organizers first came via an appearance on The Sit Down, a podcast affiliated with Funky Moose Records.
“We did an episode of ‘The Sit Down’ and had a great time with those two guys,” Kevin said. “It was so much fun. That’s how we made the connection and we were super pumped for them to ask us to come do Moose Fest. We can’t wait.”
Tickets for Moose Fest are still available and can be purchased at www.moosefestsk.ca. Other acts scheduled for the inaugural event include the Steadies and League of Wolves.
Bellevue is located roughly 40 minutes south of Prince Albert on Hwy 225.