FEELIN’ GOOD, LIKE YOU KNOW I SHOULD
A CONVERSATION WITH EWAN CURRIE OF THE SHEEPDOGS
Few bands do classic ‘60s and ‘70s style blues and southern rock better than The Sheepdogs. The Saskatchewan-based rockers are among the best and hardest-working bands in Canada today. They have performed at prominent festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza, have won multiple Juno awards with their hit song “I Don’t Know”, winning Single of the Year back in 2012, and have made some of the finest Canadian rock albums of the 2010s. Recently, I had the chance to talk to frontman Ewan Currie about their upcoming Jackson-Triggs Summer Concert Series tour dates, the impact The Sheepdogs have had on Canadian rock music, their iconic retro sound, working alongside his brother Shamus, the creative process of recording albums, and upcoming music from the band.
The Sheepdogs are going to be playing at the Jackson-Triggs Summer Concert Series on July 26 and 27 at the Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Amphitheatre. The Concert Series has become a notable place for some of the most iconic Canadian artists and bands to perform a very intimate and personal show to fans in the 500-seat outdoor stadium located in the heart of the vineyard. Ewan Currie is excited to play at the Concert Series this year, noting, “It’s a summer show, and summer for us is about playing outside. We’ve got this beautiful country here and usually rock shows are inside. In Canada, we’re an indoor country for two thirds of the year. So, summer is like this beautiful time of opening up and getting outside. There’s a bunch of spots around the country that are especially beautiful, and I think that the Niagara-on-the-Lake region is one of those. It’s funny because I was talking about the Jackson-Triggs show with the guys from Sam Roberts, and we are all in agreeance; it’s this beautiful place, it’s a fun show to do because it’s a beautiful setting, and they take really good care of you. It’s a little more relaxing and beautiful than some of our shows can be.”
One of the many perks of being in a band is travelling and exploring many different parts of the world. Currie exclaims, “I love playing the show, obviously, but something I really learned as I have gotten further along in my career is to make sure you enjoy the opportunity that travelling gives you. So, for example, the Niagara-on-the-Lake region, we got two days down there; I’m gonna drive around, try some wine out, eat some food, and see the sights. I’m not gonna just party till 3 a.m. and wake up at 1 p.m. like I’m gonna get up and explore because it’s so beautiful down there. I was just out in Newfoundland, so I stayed an extra couple of days, did the Signal Hill Hike. I love seeing the sights a bit more these days.”
“We’re going out West pretty soon here, to the Mountains; we’re going to Whistler in BC, so it sure is beautiful up there cause I’m from Saskatchewan where it’s, you know, pretty flat. But lately, I’ve really been falling in love with Nova Scotia, been going up there a bunch and its really intriguing me.”
Since the late 2000s and early 2010s, The Sheepdogs have become one of the most important and influential rock bands in Canada and have become household names across the country with their incredible live shows and songs like “I Don’t Know”, “Feeling Good”, and “The Way It Is”. Currie comments on The Sheepdogs’ impact on Canadian rock music, stating, “I don’t think too much about it because I think you have to be kind of an egomaniac to think too closely about that sort of stuff. It’s nice to hear, that’s for sure. When I grew up, I really looked up to Sam Roberts and Sloan and other Canadian bands that I sure loved, so if I at all mean something like that to other people, like these bands meant to me, that’s pretty cool. I love this type of music, so I love that I get to be one of the people that helps keep it alive and propagate it.”
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The Sheepdogs are well-known for their ‘60s and ‘70s blues and southern rock. When asked why the band tried to emulate that era of rock compared to the hair metal or new wave sound of the ‘80s or the grunge or industrial scene of the ‘90s, Currie says, “That’s just what we listened to when we started the band. I had been obsessed forever with like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Led Zeppelin, and I was really getting into Crosby, Stills & Nash and always been a huge Beatles guy, and so that’s like always been my era. And it’s not necessarily the message, although the message of that time was pretty damn good, too; it’s just like the sounds of those records, and the vibe of them was so strong. You mentioned some of those other genres, and I don’t think they sound as pleasant to me. Eighties rock has a really aggressive attitude and big reverb drums, and it’s just not my cup of tea, as they say. I just love the sound of those old records, the ‘60s and ‘70s stuff. It just sounds so pleasant and that’s what we try and sound like.”
Ewan’s brother Shamus is also in The Sheepdogs. Ewan shares his thoughts on what it is like having family in the band, “I don’t think we ever thought we’d be in a band together, but Shamus and I have a really special relationship, I think. Anytime I saw one of those groups of brothers or sisters that picked on each other I never understood that. We never had that. We were always a team, even though I was a fair bit older than him, well, four years. When I asked Shamus to join the band, it was a no-brainer for me because he’s really talented musically, and he just fit in right away. It’s actually been awesome because we travel around the world, and we do so much travelling that it’s hard to get to all these sorts of family things, whether it’s weddings or reunions or even just seeing our parents, so it’s nice to have family in the band because it helps keep me connected and grounded.”
Along with The Sheepdogs, Ewan Currie is also in a band called BROS with Shamus and has done some solo work. Ewan mentions there are some notable differences when it comes to the three projects. “The Sheepdogs are very much a rock ‘n’ roll band. We’re very much a live performing band, so it’s five guys playing live and very rock ‘n’ roll. Shamus and I have a band called BROS, and we sort of head into every other genre. We love Hall & Oates style pop, and we love Latin music, Cuban and Brazilian music, soul music, and we do a lot of weird things as well. When we play live, that band’s a ‘90s band, which is kind of insane. The biggest difference is with BROS, we try not to do rock ‘n’ roll. We save all the best rock ‘n’ roll stuff for Sheepdogs. And solo, I don’t even know. It’s sort of undefined. It just makes sense in my head when something is for solo and when something’s for the band.”
Reflecting on the creative process behind the band’s numerous albums, Currie states, “It starts with music. It starts with an idea, sometimes it’s a riff or just like a rhythm or groove, and then we grow it from there. Recently, I’ve just been sitting in the studio by myself, and I’ll like record a bit of guitar, and now I’ll go actually play the drums, and then I’ll play the bass, and I’ll kind of build up a very basic track. Then I work on the melody and sing overtop. Then I try and let my mind be open to whatever comes through it, and I try not to be too exacting or overthink the lyrics cause I find the more I think about it, the worse they are. So, I try to just let it flow, and hopefully, subconsciously, something interesting comes out.”
“I love playing the drums. I’m not very good, but for example, when Shamus and I are writing together, he plays the keys, and I play the drums and sing. So, I feel very connected to the rhythm and the groove of the song. Like when I see people writing a song, and they have an acoustic guitar and a piece of paper and pencil that feels very strange to me. I like to have the beat and groove very present, and I really feed off of that.”
Fans of the band will be excited to know that The Sheepdogs have plenty in store for the future. Currie says, “We’ve got a bunch of music on the way. We recorded a bunch of things. There will be new music coming out this summer, and we have a bunch of stuff to follow. So, a lot of good stuff is coming.”
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Photo Credits: Mat Dunlap
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