SPILL FEATURE: A ROCK AND ROLL SINGER, A REAL HUMDINGER – A CONVERSATION WITH SAM ROBERTS

A ROCK AND ROLL SINGER, A REAL HUMDINGER

A CONVERSATION WITH SAM ROBERTS

Indie-rock icon Sam Roberts and his band have released eight albums, won six Junos (receiving nominations for 15), and are one of the most-played bands on rock radio in Canada. Who hasn’t sung along to hits like “Brother Down” or “Don’t Walk Away Eileen” sometime – or countless times – in the last two decades? Roberts’ songwriting style has garnered comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. He has achieved commercial success. He is respected creatively and has established himself as a household name. It’s only natural that it would be time for him to… start over?

“At some point, you want to see the future with a fresh set of eyes and hope there is still a world of possibilities out there,” Roberts says. “The more you hang onto the past, the more you feel the scope of what you can see ahead of you is limited.” The band released their eighth studio album, The Adventures of Ben Blank, in October 2023. The nine tracks retain Roberts’ trademark style of pairing profound lyrics with catchy hooks, but they tell the story from the perspective of a character named Ben Blank. “He is a potential version of me… or anyone, for that matter,” Roberts says. “[He represents] the act of letting go and erasing something and opening yourself up to the unknown. Ben Blank became for me, literally as the same suggests, wiping the slate clean.”

Though Roberts is no stranger to writing from a personal perspective, it never becomes easy, and he expresses that having a sort of “avatar” through which to express these thoughts is a helpful buffer. He also has always found the idea of writing from a character’s perspective intriguing and brings up Ray Davies from The Kinks: “He was such a character-driven songwriter, yet somehow, in talking about [these other people], you knew it was how he felt about them. That’s where the real meaning lies,” he says. “I’ve always kind of felt that way about songwriting in a lot of ways. Even though you’re writing from someone else’s perspective, you’re still revealing so much of how you feel about life and the world through that story.”

PURCHASE THE ADVENTURES OF BEN BLANK

The first track on the album, “The Ballad of Ben Blank,” introduces a character who initially seems very self-assured, but then reveals that may not quite be the case: “A rock ‘n’ roll singer, a real humdinger/Solid gold, I’m a six-string gunslinger/I’m a name-taker and a deal-breaker… I’ve been told I’m just a masterpiece faker.” Is there something to Ben’s message beyond the blank slate?

“There are these moments where it’s like we feel compelled to move through the world with this bravado, to make ourselves feel bigger and more important,” Roberts says. “When you’re an adult, it kind of feels like you’re supposed to have things together, and you’re supposed to have learned everything, but it’s never really the case. … In every fourth line or so of the song, [Blank] undermines himself. He just can’t help it.” Roberts has noticed that as we mature in adulthood, there is often a shift during which we come to terms with the falseness of this type of behaviour. “I think it’s a real crux moment in the human experience to be able to realize that you don’t always have all the answers.”

The Adventures of Ben Blank may not have the answers, but it features a range of styles. The recent album single “Picture of Love” is upbeat yet wistful, “Afterlife” is a chaotic dance-pop fight against mortality, and the final track, “If Only,” is a country-tinged tune filled with longing. The album is written to be heard in full, in order to experience the journey from start to finish. Roberts appreciates that the reception to the record’s concept has been positive, and he loves the idea that listeners may crave this type of story-like content. “What people really need is an 8.5-minute song,” he quips, “because not everything can be a 45-second sound bite and fill that need in someone for something that sells the spirit [of the music].”

Tour Dates

Friday, February 2 – Montreal, QC – Théâtre Beanfield
Saturday, February 3 – Ottawa, ON – Yow Stage at EY Centre
Thursday, February 8 – Kitchener, ON – Centre in The Square
Friday February 9 – Toronto, ON – History
Saturday, February 10 – London, ON – London Music Hall
Friday, February 16 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
Saturday, February 17 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
Friday February, 23 – Victoria, BC – McPherson Theatre
Saturday February, 24 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
Tuesday February, 27 – Kelowna, BC – Kelowna Community Theatre
Thursday February, 29 – Calgary, AB – Southern Jubilee Auditorium
Friday, March 1 – Edmonton, AB – Northern Jubilee Auditorium
Saturday, March 2 – Red Deer, AB – Red Deer Memorial Centre

Artist Links

Photo Credit: Richmond Lam

Please leave this field empty

STAY UP-TO-DATE
WITH OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!

EMAIL *

FIRST NAME *

LAST NAME *

* Mandatory Field

Check your inbox or spam folder now (just in case!) to confirm your subscription.