Who: Means to an End, Dead Sure and Hills Have Eyes
What: Punk Nite
Where: Boot Pub
When: Sunday, Aug. 3
Not every local punk band gets to play at the 4,500-seat Plaza of Nations supporting the likes of Matthew Good Band and Bif Naked, but four-year-strong rock outfit Means to an End is about to. The much-talked about gig is this Saturday night and Whistler gets the opening act the day after, still pumped, primed and ready to go.
Means to an End’s rare chemistry is making the right people stand up and take notice. Their debut EP Destined to Fall , has had major airplay on both the Vancouver rock station C-FOX as well as the UBC station CITR. Local labels and promoters have given them gigs with such underground heavyweights as the Hanson Brothers and Burden and now they’ve got the Good gig. We spoke with Means to an End’s guitarist, Dave Cross for a lowdown on why it’s all working:
Pique:
Why punk music?DC:
I think we’re more hard rock actually with some punk and hardcore elements. We just play the music that comes out and since we all have different influences it blends into Means to an End. Punk rock and hardcore plays a major role in my life so I’m sure those influences come through our music. But as a band we have influences ranging from emo, punk, metal, ’70s rock, hardcore, blues and even jazz.Pique:
How did the Matthew Good/Bif Naked gig come up?DC:
It’s another great rock ’n’ roll swindle really thanks to Bif Naked’s manager, Peter Karoll. He saw us play about six months ago and really liked the band. First he helped us get on the Vancouver and Calgary Warped Tour dates and now we’re playing the Matt Good show.Pique:
What's a gig like this mean to you guys?DC:
It means there are people out there who think our music is strong enough to open at a 4,500 seat venue for some major Canadian acts. It’s a bit strange and unexpected but it’s also cool because as a band you want to get your music out to as many people as possible. We’ll just give it our all and see what happens.
Pique
: Does that mean you’ll be knackered for the Sunday night Whistler gig?DC
: We’ll be fine. We’ll try to stay away from the knackering until after the show on Sunday. We just can’t wait to get up to Whistler and play, we just know that it’ll be a great time. We’re heading up with Dead Sure who are great guys. Their singer was in Sparkmarker, who a lot of people liked, and bassist Paul Dawson lived in Whistler for six years, so there will be lots of friendly faces to get knackered with.Pique
: What’s more important, getting played on radio to an audience of thousands or playing live in some small venue to a crowd of barely a hundred?DC
: I think both are equally important as long as people show interest. Ericflexyourhead (from the Flex Your Head show on UBC Radio 101.9FM) has played us so many times and we’re really grateful for his support but to be honest, some of our best shows have been in front of 20 or 30 stoked kids at a community centre. If the audience has fun, we have fun too – no matter what the size.Catch Means to an End with Dead Sure and Hills Have Eyes this Sunday night, Aug. 3 from 9 p.m. for just $5 at the Boot Pub.
