Sound Salvation Army

I remember watching a band from my high school perform when I was in Grade 10.

“These guys suck,” I thought.

Lo, my first moment of sneering criticism. Sigh. I remember it like it was yesterday! I don’t know if they ever got anywhere with their music. Probably not. Reflecting back, they really were terrible. Their name was ripped off from plenty of punk groups of the day. The letters FX played a role. Bad news bears all around.

Since then, I’ve suffered through more than my fair shair of teeny boppers acting tough and playing terrible music. I became convinced I would never see a good young band. Kids today! They’re either making music that is terrible and pretentious or terrible and twee! Where are my wax cylinders! Harumph! I’m weary of the whining pseudo punk rockers and the uber-precious emo kids. You get, like, so much material from hanging at the mall? You know? Generally, I ignore any music that is made by a person under the age of 20. This means that I can pretend the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus don’t exist! Win-win!

Then The Canned Goods came along.

I saw their name on a poster for a show last year when I was still writing for the daily rag. Of all the groups on the roster that night, they were the ones that caught my ear. Which is no mean feat when you consider all they had available online at the time was a shakey facebook video with terrible sound.

This band of 13-17 year olds is a throwback to a time before any of its members were born! If the White Stripes and the Black Keys had a baby and that baby grew up listening to the Beatles, the Stones, Led Zeppelin and the Who and started a high school band, the Canned Goods would be it.

Their song Julia is a frickin’ tour de force. From the moody opening bass line to the cranky, stuttering guitar, the song is both familiar and distinctive. The band wears their influences on their thrift-store sleeves and in a lot of ways, you can tell that they’re young, but refreshingly so. They’re not trying to be anything other than what they are: Talented teenagers who are feeling their way through their musical influences and carving out a spot on the local scene. They’re doing a goddamn good job of it, too. They’ve performed alongside a lot of great local groups and it’s only a matter of time before they’re going to be getting national press and headling shows of their own.

Guitarist Tyler Bersche has a strong command of his instrument, carving sharp chords and riffs that cut into a song. He also contributes vocals that compliment singer Lexy Troyak’s wails. When I met her, I literally could not believe she was 13. Her voice is raw and mature and miles better than the warbling bullshit being offered up by fakey divas like Avril Lavigne. I don’t know what Grace Slick sounded like when she was 13, but Lexy sounds an awful lot like her now and I suspect her voice is only going to get better as she gets older.

Where many high school bands fail is in the rhythm section. Often, kids haven’t learned to lock that in yet and as a result, they’re all over the map. Not so here. Bersche and Troyak might command the attention, but Elliott Gwynne on bass and Ben Millar on drums totally knocked me out. They give the group a strong backbone laced with elements of funk and jazz on which they hang the vocal hooks, fuzzy guitars and psychedelic riffs.

I won’t detract from the group’s appeal by saying that they’re good “for their age.” They’re just good. And they’re going to be huge. Get in on the secret early and you can say you knew them when.

Check them out tomorrow at the Guelph Multicultural Festival where they’re playing Riverside Park’s main stage at 4 p.m. They’re also going to be performing at the first ever Sunlight Music Festival on Aug. 18 at Riverside Park. That festival also features local musical guru James Gordon and benefits Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, so plan on attending!

Tanis entries Canadian content, Guelph, high school bands, live music, local music, The Canned Goods