No place like a second home

Lead singer of Jet City Fix sees similarities between scenes in Seattle and Vancouver

Say what you will about Seattle, it’s definitely got a cool nickname. Due to the significant aerospace industry headquartered in the northwest metropolis Seattle goes by "Jet City," a moniker that proved irresistible when a new hard-rocking band was trolling for names in early 2002.

The band added the concept of having their songs be a musical "fix" their fans would come to crave like street level smack, and the Jet City Fix became official. That’s the story according to lead singer Shane Flauding, told while killing time with the rest of his bandmates in an Edmonton hotel room.

Edmonton is the first stop on the Seattle quintet’s tour of Western Canada with Vancouver rockers the Black Halos. They’ll go as far as Winnipeg, then come back this way to headline the Boot Pub’s Punk Night this Sunday. It will be the Fix’s first time playing Whistler. A live intro for the local crowd to what Flauding calls "a conglomeration of punk, and glam, and rock, and a little bit of emo," courtesy of himself and drummer Dana Sims with brothers Ty and Justin McDonald on guitar and bass. Rounding out the group is guitarist John Wokas, an addition to the band via a ‘musician wanted’ ad answered while he was still living in New Orleans.

Obviously the kind of rock ’n’ roll chemistry that would inspire Wokas to make the move from one corner of America the beautiful to the complete geographic opposite has got to mean something. Touring and life on the road, especially the road through Saskatchewan can wear any band down. But Flauding says Jet City welcomes touring as a chance to get away from day jobs, and the rest of the everyday hassles of normal life.

"We’re all best friends," he says, "so there’s really no drama on the road."

Still, there’s no place like home, and Jet City has found a second one just north of the 49 ^th , where the scene appears to be mirroring that of their hometown.

"We have a lot of friends in Vancouver," he says, naming specifically metal maniacs 3 Inches of Blood, and last week’s Punk Night openers Chinatown.

"I think the same kinds of things are going on. There’s the experimental bands, and there’s the straightforward rock ’n’ roll bands that are kind of dominating right now. It seems like it’s the same in Seattle and Vancouver, and I feel at home in Vancouver, I like being up there."

Seattle, says Flauding, is currently supporting a healthy music scene.

"There’s lots of good places to play, and people come out almost every night to see a show," he says. It can’t help but remind music lovers of the city’s sound-defining heyday in the early 1990s, though Flauding claims the Jet City Fix’s Seattle heritage shouldn’t necessarily invoke a tie to the era.

"I don’t think we’re looking to carry any legacy, we’re just out to have a good time," he says.

It should be just that for those who make it out to the Boot this Sunday.

"Expect high energy rock with all five members going full speed ahead," says Flauding. "We just love to do what we’re doing, so it just kind of happens for us. We get on stage and explode. It’s an outlet for all the stuff going on in our lives."