Arkells – “Here Comes The Boss”

Max Kerman is leaning on a table for support, sitting across from me in a dimly lit bar sometime early in the evening. He’s using his flannel shirt as towel. It’s not as if the lead singer of Arkells, the gritty, workingman rock outfit from Hamilton is drunk or anything as salacious. It’s just that Kerman and the rest of Arkells simply have nothing to hide.

After a chunky and exhausting powerful set the previous night at Junofest, a mini-festival celebrating indie artists ahead of Canada’s national music awards, it’s a wonder Kerman even made it out of bed for the interview. Yet Kerman has already had a long day, full of embarrassments that are fairly indicative of the long road young indie rock bands must walk. It’s a road however, that Arkells are ready to walk with a smile. Kerman wasted little time detailing his morning’s events:

“We had to replace (Fellow Canadians and former touring partners) Matt Mays and El Torpedo for Junofest, and we had to do this meet and greet thing. And we were supposed to come on last, but as we were waiting to be introduced the host said ‘That’s it everyone, you can go and get your interviews now if you’d like!” Meanwhile, we’re waiting at the side of the stage (Rolls his eyes) and one of the stagehands runs up and says, ‘Oh you forgot Arkells! They’re here for Matt Mays.’ So the host yells out, ‘OK, everyone come back, we got one more. Let’s hear it for Matt Mays and El Torpedo.’

Substitutes or not, those in the crowd would have been wise to come back and share a moment with Arkells. Doing so is comparable to spending time with an old buddy; Arkells possess a genuine ease with their surroundings. This has allowed them to churn out some of the most honest and poignant soul-tinged indie rock of the last year. Their debut record, Jackson Square, a homage to their blue-collar hometown of Hamilton, Ontario has been garnering raves reviews with college radio and major press alike. Jackson Square is a wash of covertly optimistic lyrics and groovy, punch-drunk hooks.

“Like a lot of bands,” Kerman states of Jackson Square, “we just wanted to be comfortable with the arrangement of the songs, work with a small budget and be comfortable in the space we recorded in it as well. The songs were really road-tested. But we recorded in August and September and the record was out in October. There’s been a lot of support and we’re getting more and more comfortable everyday.”

But it is the way Jackson Square is brought to life onstage and the closeness they share not just emotionally but physically that had heads turning throughout Junofest. How vital a concept: a band that is not afraid to show their roots.

“Friendship is very important to this band. We’re very fortunate that we get to share some exciting moments as a collective. We try to keep things in perspective because it’s always easy for bands to get wide-eyed and lose focus. We feel very fortunate about what we do.”

It’s no grand coincidence that Arkells lead-off single is entitled, “Oh! The Boss Is Coming.” After all, Bruce Springsteen embodied the struggle of America’s blue-collar collective. And Kerman and Arkells might be the Canadian re-incarnation of that folky, soulful blue collar sound. For Kerman, honoring their roots isn’t just paramount, but necessary.

“Up until the age of twelve, I exclusively listened to Motown. And a lot of our favorite bands, whether it be Bruce Springsteen, The Band, The Beatles, all those bands trace their roots back to that R&B background. On our album, it’s not that overt, but live, it’s that energetic soulful approach that we try to get across.”

And if honoring their roots and baring their souls is the order of the day for Arkells, then their previous night’s set showed it in spades. Playing under the main tent on Friday night at Junofest, Arkells were faced with a crowd full of industry types and critical bloggers. But instead of pandering, Arkells chose to challenge the crowd to dig deep into their own roots. (And hymn books for that matter).

Welcoming R&B singers Tamika Nicole and Juno-nominated Zaki Ibrahim onstage, Arkells brought tears to the faces of the crowd with a hauntingly explosive rendition of “Amazing Grace.” It was all the crowd could do to pick their jaws up from the floors of the tent. Mash-ups of any kind have a tendency to derail the rhythm of a band’s set, but before the smoke had a chance to clear from the windows of the tent, Arkells launched into “Deadlines,” the rhythm-heavy lead-off track from “Jackson Square.” Kerman is quick to give credit where it’s due however.

“We met up them at South by Southwest after we did a late night set full of Motown tunes. It’s been a dream of ours to have back-up singers of that caliber. And they liked what they saw, so they asked us to do something with us. We didn’t practice at all, but they totally destroyed us.”

Intense collaborations aside, there were still hundreds of other bands that played Junofest and thousands more five-pieced, college-aged indie rock groups out there. It was worth asking Kerman what sets Arkells apart. His body remains frigid and hunched over and he barely pauses after questions, allowing his answers to come quickly and his emotions to drip from his brow. For Arkells, their existence lies in their honest approach to what they do every night, though it’s a constant learning process.

“Growing up in southern Ontario, we’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of good bands, not always big bands, but good bands come through town; bands that take their live show very seriously. We’re definitely students of that. That’s why we make sure that every part of our live set it considered and thought about. But once you get all that out of the way, it’s easy to just have fun.”

Oh, The Boss is Coming! – Arkells

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