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Making some noise

A Wilhelm Scream leads the pack during upcoming Whistler Punk Series event
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Who: A Wilhelm Scream, Turkey Sale Pre-Party

When: Thursday, Oct. 8, doors at 9 p.m.

Where: GLC

Cost: $10

Local punk lovers: prepare for a night of musical revelry, courtesy of the Whistler Punk Series, which is back in a big way this week, hosting a special pre-turkey sale party at the GLC with A Wilhelm Scream at the helm.

With Nuno Pereira on vocals, Trevor Reilly on guitar and vocals, Brian Robinson on bass and vocals, Mike Supina on guitar and Nick Angelini on drums, these guys will steer the ship of pure punk rock late into the night.

Originally from New Bedford, Massachusetts - the "armpit" of Massachusetts, as Reilly fondly refers to it - these guys have been a fixture on the skate punk scene for a long time. In their current incarnation, A Wilhelm Scream, the group has existed for almost eight years, but before that, they went by the name Smackin' Isaiah.

They just kicked off their Canadian tour alongside The Artist Life and The Riot Before with shows in Toronto and Montreal. So far, the Canadian tour has been smooth sailing.

"It's been so awesome - both those shows were like insane, really, really high energy," Reilly said Monday.

But it's hard to compare any on-the-road show with a gig back home.

"Playing a show there, they're going to want to hear songs I wrote when I was 15 years old," Reilly said. "There's always at least two or three kids at every show, if we're near our hometown, especially playing New Bedford, they're just calling out the oldies from way back."

Pereira, Angelini and Reilly first met up in high school, where they started their quest to make solid punk rock, just for fun. Now, they've traveled the world together, bringing their music to the masses, and they're still true to that simple purpose of making music for fun. Their music isn't clouded with visions of grandeur, riches and fame. Rather, they're focused on creating lyrics and music that speaks to the fans, without the typical messages of romance and politics that come hand-in-hand with the genre. They sing about things they know - like how red wine can ruin a good night - married with harmonized guitar riffs.

"I'm sure there's definitely some things we could have done differently over the years that would have put us on a different path, like if we would have taken some advice from people that worked with us and stuff."

But making the moves to become more commercially appealing just never felt right.

"It's never been about that," Reilly said.

This refreshingly honest approach has garnered invitations to support big-name bands like Rise Against, Pennywise, Lagwagon, Anti-Flag, Less Than Jake, and Strung Out on tour.

"We feel like we're just playing the stuff that we've played all along, just, like, better," Reilly said.

Their influences run the gambit, with Reilly citing inspiration from groups like Bad Religion, Propagandhi, and Iron Maiden to Paul Westerberg, Dinosaur Jr., Samiam, and Descendents.

After almost 10 years of making music together, these guys know how important it is to keep things fresh and interesting, not only for fans, but for themselves.

"I think as long as a band really keeps making new material that is fresh and exciting to play, night in and night out, and hopefully you have people appreciate those songs, and stuff, that's really huge," Reilly said. "I think that's the biggest part of it."

Despite all of the time these musicians spend cooped up in tour vans, they still manage to get their creative juices flowing on a regular basis. Reilly is armed with an omnipresent notebook and has amassed a ragtag collection of recording devices that are full of ideas and inspiration for new songs. And while they're not all complete, cohesive thoughts, Reilly explains that the many unlabelled cassettes at least give him a starting point when he sits down to write.

"Even if I don't finish what I set out to do, and put the punctuation at the end of the whole thing, even if I don't get that, at least I'll have something I know I'll be stoked on for when I get home and I do have that time to process these things," he explained.

The group released their last full length, Career Suicide, back in 2007, a record that proved to be yet another anthemic album, hot on the heels of Mute Print and Ruiner .

"It didn't kill our career because we never really considered it a career," Reilly said with a laugh.

One thing's for damn sure, these guys put on an incredible live show that matches the energy and complexity of their recorded work.

"(The audience) can expect a lot of sweat, a lot of snot rockets and a lot of swearing," Reilly mused. "Falling down, some broken equipment. You might see our drummer's package. That's not a threat, it's a promise."

While life on the road isn't always glamorous - you can pretty well guarantee that everyone in that tour van will come down with the same cold/flu bug at this time of year - nothing beats the satisfaction of seeing people sing along to their music.

"The best is just getting to see places where there are people that appreciate what we do," he said. "We're playing Ottawa tonight, and I know that there's going to be a lot of kids singing the words, and it's a moving thing, its an intense experience that you can't really duplicate."

The group recently wrapped up work on a self-titled EP, which they recorded at home, and are stoked on the final product. Fans can expect to hear one or two songs from that album at the Whistler show.

"We think the songs are fuckin' awesome, and I think everyone did a great job!" Reilly enthused.

They're still working on amassing material for their next full-length album, and plan to get down to work after they wrap up this headlining tour. Now, they're gearing up for a their first-ever gig in Whistler, where they'll be joined by Whistler's own Slush, who will be giving away free copies of their new compilation album, The Essentials .