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Building a new sound

Carpenter returns to their roots, recreating their music with a message
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Bluecollar Boys Members of Carpenter incorporate their concerns about the agricultural industry into their music

Who: Carpenter, with Trigger Effect, The Fall of Summer, Madcowboys Where: Garfinkel’s

When: Sunday, June 1, 9:30 p.m.

Tickets: $8

Imagine a punk-inspired John Cougar Mellencamp. It’s really something you have to hear to believe.

But with Dan Sioui on vocals and guitar, Kelly Burnham on vocals and bass, Ryan Howlett on guitar, and JJ Heath on vocals and drums, Carpenter has a wealth of punk and hardcore background to draw upon.

Though the members knew one another through Vancouver’s music scene, they each played in separate bands, and it wasn’t until a few bad band experiences left them totally disillusioned that they finally teamed up.

Sioui’s band had broken up, and he had actually abandoned music.

“Then, of course, a few months go by and you sort of get the bug, or whatever,” said Sioui. “But I really sort of hit writer’s block, and I didn’t know how to get over it.”

He decided the only way to get over his block was to start working to a deadline, so, without a band or any new material, he went ahead and booked time at the Hive Studio three months down the road. Then, he sat down with an old guitar and started writing.

He eventually recruited Burnham, Howlett and Heath to collaborate for the studio time he had booked, and they eventually become “Carpenter.”

It was a side project that none of them thought would really turn into anything.

“It’s not that different from the mafia, where it pulled me back in,” Sioui said with a laugh.

But it turned into something much bigger than any of them had intended or expected.

Unlike with each of their past groups, Carpenter’s music is simple and classic in structure, with verses, choruses and catchy hooks. Even the name is traditional and blue-collar.

But their music also has a message.

The members of the band are passionate about issues of food production and availability, frequently incorporating the topics into their lyrics.

“We’re not political people, per se… but for whatever reason I just found this sort of one thing that really spoke to me in terms of the struggle of farmers across North America… and just how they’re trying to survive in a world that’s trying to push them out,” Sioui said.

A self-described city slicker from just outside of Toronto, Sioui started doing some research on the issues modern day farmers face.

“It came down to the point that I started examining how I was living my life and whether that was a positive thing or a negative thing, and whether that was contributing to the demise of the planet,” he explained.

But he emphasizes that Carpenter’s shows aren’t political events.

“You take what you want from the lyrics and you go from there,” Sioui said. “If it makes you more aware and helps you to seek something out and motivates you to contribute, then fantastic. If you just love the music and rock ’n’ roll and want to drink and have a good time, that’s awesome, too!”

Their new sound is definitely a departure from their hardcore and punk roots, and their sudden change in musical direction confused a lot of people at first.

“There’d be two reactions — one, either of disbelief or disgust,” Sioui said with a laugh. “I found those were, by far, the two most significant reactions that people would give me. In fact, I can’t think of any real positive reaction, at least at the beginning.”

Gradually, audiences came around to their new approach.

“We do a cover of, Hurt so Good, and people just go crazy!” he said. “So it’s amazing just to see from the original reaction of… ambivalence or even disgust, it’s really come full-circle and people are embracing it now.”

Sioui explained that as they began to incorporate more of their personal beliefs into their music, their sound seemed to evolve naturally, taking on a certain timelessness element that anyone can relate to.

“People just can recognize a good song, and ultimately, I think that’s where our goal changed,” he said. “It was sort of less about whether this fits into a specific genre and stuff, and we just really started writing… more traditional, classic sort of rock songs.”

Carpenter’s popularity has been growing in leaps and bounds, and they’ve just finished up their first full-length album, Law of the Land , which they’re set to release a few days after their appearance in Whistler.

“It really pushed us to expand what we’re used to, being, again, from that sort of punk background,” Sioui said. He added that the new album incorporates piano, banjo, harmonica, and horns to create a cohesive sound and a comprehensive CD that people will want to listen to in its entirety.

Their “green” message has even helped open some doors for Carpenter. They were asked to play at the Live Earth show in Robson Square last July because of their “green” connection.

“They really weren’t prepared for what we’re all about, because it was mainly singer songwriters and really quiet people, and I was like, ‘let’s bring our biggest amps!’” Sioui said with a laugh. “… From what I understood, about six blocks away, people could hear it.”

Carpenter is also currently in talks with organizers of the next Farm Aid event, which could result in the band taking the stage alongside legendary performers like Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and their idol, John Cougar Mellencamp.

“It would be amazing!” Sioui said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure we would be playing at like, noon, when they open the gate, but that doesn’t matter… we just want to be there and see that show and be part of that message.”

At the end of the day, they’re grown up punk and hardcore kids, they’re just bringing their energy to a different kind of music, and their bottom line is simple — they aim to entertain.