Scott Roos, Herald contributor
One thing has been constant for the Trews over the last four years — change.
The band is on the the road, and are stopping by the E.A. Rawlinson centre for the arts on Thursday, February 7 as part of their “Civilianaires” tour. The tour is in direct support of the recently released album of the same name which took the band four long and arduous years to create. During that time the band, and lead guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, went through a series of changes.
“After that last record in 2014 (the self titled) a lot has happened. I’ve had two kids, our drummer (Sean Dalton) left the band, we split ways from our management, we changed (record) labels. We’ve now hired new management and a new label.. (The changes) kind of prevented us from turning out a record as soon as we would have liked,” states John-Angus.
The result of a four year absence from the recording studio, however, was a reinvigorated band that has a fresh and hungry sound. The guitars crunch a bit more. The grooves are a bit edgier. The vocals soar over top of it all with renewed vigor and when the band needs to bring it down a bit, they do so with utmost sincerity. Some of this freshness can be attributed to the band’s new drummer, Chris Gormley, who joined the band last May and was in on the sessions for Civilianaires.
“I think he (Chris Gormley) really captures the spirit of what we’re about. He knew our band and catalogue long before we knew him personally and I think it brings a new energy and life to even the old stuff and of course he played on all of that stuff on the new record so it’s a great fit” raves John-Angus.
So with all this in mind the band, along with label mates Altameda, is ready to get the Rawlinson rocking. And I am positive they will as this is a seasoned band with many familiar songs to offer to fans here in P.A. and also some great new material from Civilianaires. The Trews know what they are doing. It’s not their first rodeo and they will not disappoint.
“We just sort of go in with not a lot of expectation. I think that’s the big key to a great show because the more you build everything up the more you are setting yourself up for difficulty and disappointment. If you just don’t have any expectations and just go in there to play great music for a performance and that be our modus operandi going in and (we) let things happen they inevitably will you know? The ultimate goal is to let the music do the talking and kind of let that lead the way,” explains John when talking about how they will prepare for their up and coming shows.
It’s a great “go with the flow” approach that has been the band’s bread and butter since they started and has served them well.
