Who: Corb Lund Band
Where: The Boot Pub
When: Sunday, May 19
Press play; when you first hear the Corb Lund Band you are surprised, something very different emanates from your speakers.
Sure, when you think of Corb Lund you think of his former band The Smalls, the wildly successful Alberta hard rockers.
The Corb Lund band, however, is not hard rock. Lund's band might be a little bit rock and roll and a little country – well, a lot of country. His songs sound as if Tom Waits was born in rural Alberta and grew up on Johnny Cash records. It is definitely not The Smalls.
The Corb Lund Band is on the road in support of their latest album Five Dollar Bill , their third to date. The lineup of supporting musicians consists of Brady Valgardson a "farm kid" on drums and Kurt Ciesla on acoustic bass.
"It is kinda like weirdo, outlaw country, with a bit of Willie Nelson," says Lund, the leader of the group.
"The new band isn't really that different from The Smalls," he continues. "The song writing and the guitar playing are basically the same. It is just the way that you flesh out the songs."
The band was started in 1993 as a side project. After The Smalls retired last year the band took on a bigger place in Lund's life. It is now a full-time gig as opposed to a part time job.
The new album is a follow up to, the 1999 smash Unforgiving Mistress . Five Dollar Bill debuted at number one on the CKUA radio network charts, and was nominated for five awards at the Alberta Recording conference. Lund says it’s the band’s "best yet."
The album was produced by Harry Stinson, who worked previously with artists such as the Dead Reckoners and Earl Scruggs. The lineup for the album includes Ryan Vikedal, of Nickelback fame, on drums and steel guitarist Dan Dugmore, who has worked previously with James Taylor.
Five Dollar Bill
is the band’s first for their new label, Stony Plain Records.
