Without a doubt, Halifax rockers The New Breed were one of the scene’s most prolific bands.
Over the span of two demos, one 7” EP, one CD EP and two full-length CD’s, they evolved from scrappy, no-frills punk rock to an expansive sound that added elements of folk, mod, indie and early rock’n’roll. They also became one of the city’s most formidable live acts, with their St Partick’s Day shows being particular highlights.
The following is an interview with two of their key songwriters and long-serving members, bassist Brian Whalen and guitarist Dave Robertson.
Interview by Ian Dares
1) How did The New Breed get started and what was your original line-up?
[BRIAN] Started towards the end of 1996. Spur of the moment, I suppose. A jam turns into two jams, then you find yourself on stage at Cafe Ole, as was the style at the time (ed. note – along with wearing an onion on your belt). Original lineup was: Jonny Stevens - vocals, Me - bass, Ryan (last name unknown) - guitar, Chris Meagher - drums.
[DAVE] I came in as a replacement for Ryan on guitar, a couple months after the band started jamming. They had not played any shows or anything by this point. Brian asked me if I wanted to play, I told him that I’d give it a shot. He & I sat down a few times, going over the few songs they had so far and off I went to “try out.” I kept showing up and nobody ever told me leave. The terrible band name was chosen before I arrived by the way...hahaha!
2) On your first demo, you guys had elements of 80’s hardcore and more aggro-style street punk. By the second demo, you seemed to be moving toward a more traditionally anthemic and rootsy sound. Was this a conscious choice?
[BRIAN] Not at all. You tend to gravitate towards what works for that band. I love old hardcore but it just didn't click with us.
[DAVE] That first demo was such a hot mess of songs and styles to be honest. I’m glad there are very few of those out there. By 1998, we had definitely grown as players and songwriters and the more consistent sound of the songs on the 2nd demo tape reflected that. The New Breed was essentially the first band for all of us - and the first for Chris playing drums - so we were all learning how to play and write songs as we went. We just ended up playing what sounded best for us. You’d almost never know it was the same band between the 2 demos that were released only a year apart.
3) You got to release a 4-song 7”, Blue Collar Blues, through the local label Subprofit Records. What was that experience like and how do you feel about that record now?
[DAVE] So, we had a good friend named Ian Dares (ed. note – aw, shucks). He asked us if we wanted to do a live set on his Saturday evening radio show, 7200 Sloppy Seconds, on CKDU 97.5FM. We said “Fuck yeah, that’ll be fun. Lets do it.” Shortly there after, late one Saturday evening, we were humping all our gear up the back stairs of the Dalhousie SUB building to the top floor to the radio station. We set up, had sort of a sound check, with various microphones set up around the main control room. We played some new songs that we had been working on. I’m not even sure if we had played all of them live or not yet at that point. It was a good time.
Couple days later Richard got in contact and asked if we wanted to do a 7” EP. We were like: “Us? You’re sure?” Richard said he liked the newer songs, wanted us to record them and he'd release them. So shortly after that we were in the studio, during the same time as The Wankin Family were recording their album, and we recorded 5 songs, 4 of which became the Blue Collar Blues EP. The 5th song was “The Times” which had appeared on the 2nd demo tape and has never been released. All in all, it was a great experience for me, personally.
Somehow a vinyl release always seems more permanent. It’s the only real release with what became the original band lineup of Jonny, Brian, myself and Chris playing.
[BRIAN] That one came together pretty quickly. I guess Richard liked what we were doing and offered to put it out. Experience was great; Richard did a lot for the Halifax scene. What punk band doesn't dream of putting out a 7"?
[DAVE| Richard is such a great guy. Not only for giving us the opportunity to put out our first real release, just in general. Without Richard the Halifax scene in the 90’s, would have been a lot different. There is a dude that should get interviewed sometime.
4) You had the opportunity to put out your next release, Day To Day, on Blind Beggar Records. What was it like to work with them? Looking back at that album now, would it be accurate to say that it was a transitional period for The New Breed?
[DAVE] “Difficult” would be how to describe working with Blind Beggar, if my memory serves me correctly. I didn't have to deal with them really, that fell more toward Brian & Jonny.
[BRIAN] Beyond trading some emails, we honestly had little contact before and after with Blind Beggar. They were a pain in the ass to work with.
[DAVE] Most of those songs were ones we had written once Chris had left the band and Alec replaced him on drums. Alec was a stronger, more comfortable and established drummer, as he had played in a number of bands before joining us. The songs changed with his playing, influence and song input.
[BRIAN] Transition was the constant thread through our history. Luckily, for the better, I think.
5) Lionel Stanley is on the Day To Day CD cover but did he actually appear on it?
[BRIAN] He did not. To say I'm jealous is an understatement.
[DAVE] I believe he is listed as not played on the CD liner notes. It’s been a long time since I’ve dug that out. So I could be mistaken as well. But, Lionel had joined the band, just as we were finishing up recording/mixing of that album. Sadly, that’s only me playing on that one and I don’t know if Lionel could have made that one any better. Overall, I’ve always found that album kinda “meh.”
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| Live at The Attic |
6) The Port City Rebels album was released through Thorp Records. Were you looking to specifically work with another label after Blind Beggar? How did you end up with them?
[BRIAN] Definitely wasn't keen on more with Blind Beggar. I don't think they were happy with the record and I can't blame them a bit. It stinks for the most part. As for Thorp, I believe we started with them releasing Port City Rebels in the States, as it was originally on Longshot Records in Canada. Great guys, nothing but good things to say about them.
[DAVE] We really weren’t happy with Blind Beggar and we all knew we’d never put out anything with them again. The distribution wasn’t great at all and if I remember correctly, it was even hard for us to even get copies of the CD from them for us to sell at shows. We actually ended up on Thorp Records the old fashioned way, I guess. We recorded the album, then we mailed out burned CD’s to record labels, seeing if they were interested in putting it out for us. Lots of rejection letters. Luckily, Thorp responded, and a contract of some sorts was done up and it got released. The final album (Off The Braten Path) was released by them as well. We joined Thorp just as they were a growing, up-and-coming label. Until that point they were mainly a hardcore label. Andy & Duane from Thorp were great guys.
7) Port City Rebels showcases a large step forward both stylistically and artistically. Was your shift in sound purposeful and what would you attribute to the band’s maturity? (Ed. note – Anybody that knows these guys understands that I only use the word “maturity” to describe their music.)
[BRIAN] None of the evolutions in sounds were conscious at all. We just played together for a long time. Most people are smart enough to let their shitty first bands fade away with no record and start new ones. For some reason we just kept going; so you get a bunch of recordings that sound like different bands.
[DAVE] The songs were more polished and just better overall than anything we had done previously. We were still growing musically up until that point. With just me previously at the helm of the guitar playing, there was only so far the songs could go. Lionel added new ideas and talent that we used to expand our song writing. We also played and practiced a lot between those two albums. Really, it was the foundation what became our sound, once we became a five piece and the writing and playing did mature.
[BRIAN] As for maturity, that Dal interviewer probably summed it up best: "Interviewing this
band was like interviewing Beavis and Butthead."
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| Live at The Seahorse on Argyle St |
8) You guys did some touring for both Day To Day and Port City Rebels. What were those tours like? Any particular highlights?
[DAVE] Lots of laughs, high jinx, drinking, boredom, and getting on everyone’s nerves at some point. We also met lots of cool people, saw some great bands and terrible ones as well. We played some shows with The Class Assassins from Toronto; we always had fun shows with those guys. We also got introduced to Lemmy from Mötörhead at a private after hours party we got invited too by the club owner. Sleeping in the van and waking up with it snowing. Lionel walking down the street in St. Catherines in only a towel and sun glasses (which of course one of those things went missing). Crazy fun shows in St John’s, where at one point it seemed to be raining glass and beer, from people flying around. Or a sketchy show in Connecticut where we were playing with Blitz and riot police with dogs barged in - for something that was happening outside the venue - and shut down the show. (Blitz were on stage setting up. They never played)
[BRIAN] Lots of different experiences. Forget most, remember some. Mostly playing to very small crowds in various small towns, much boredom, and living on an extremely tight budget. Met a ton of great people, many of whom were kind enough to offer a couch or floor for the evening. Lots of laughs and funny stories. I mean who wouldn't want to play music with their best friends night after night and be away from their soul crushing jobs for awhile? Highlights for me were probably the shows with Class Assassins. Love those dudes! Playing with Blitz in Connecticut and only seeing them tune up before a riot broke out was definitely THE lowlight.
9) Your final release, Off The Beaten Path, featured a video for “Streets Of Gold.” What was it like to film that and be able to work with John Dunsworth?
[BRIAN] Boring, tedious and phony was my experience, can't speak for anyone else. John Dunsworth was the only highlight; he was a crack-up and a lovely human being. I've no doubt that anyone that knew him or worked with him would say the same.
[DAVE] John Dunsworth was such a nice dude. It was very generous of him to take the time to do the shooting of our video. I’d like to think he had fun basically doing what he wanted. I was only able to be there for a few days; the stage shots of us playing, of course, and the bowling scene. (We played many games that day.) We received a FACTOR grant to make it and that was the only way it was possible for it to be made.
10) The New Breed called it quits not too long after the release of Off The Beaten Path. On Jonny’s AllMusic page, it states that “(f)eeling constrained by the New Breed's street punk image and writing more overtly folk-influenced songs, Stevens broke up the New Breed in 2005 to embark on a solo career.” Does this accurately describe how the band ended? Do you regret not continuing?
[BRIAN] Well that's his perspective, I guess. Let it never be said that I impeded anyone's career with my street punk image.
[DAVE] I feel this album is the strongest material that we ever did. There were, in fact, three extra songs we recorded at the end of that session. We didn’t put them on the album because they were going to be used for an EP but they were lost due to a hard drive failure. I never did get to hear them. No, we never got to hit the road for a few weeks to tour behind it. Having the CD released so late in the year didn't help. The last listed "Last Show"; I have from the old web site files was on August 27, 2005 at The Seahorse Tavern – with The Sinkin' Ships. I'd say shortly after that, Jonny made his final decision to leave in late 2005. He really just was losing interest in what we were doing over those final few months in 2005 and wanted to focus on his new solo band that he had started.
[BRIAN] Most people don't know that we continued on for a year after with the remaining four of us, we just never found a permanent singer. Much rawer material - definitely another transition and a very tight band.
[DAVE] We did keep writing new material; just practice recordings exist of some of the tunes. It was a slight change again, the songs were a bit “heavier” shall we say? We did try briefly to get a replacement vocalist early on. A couple of people came in to try out on some of the new stuff we were doing but nothing became of it. So, after almost a year, as a 4 piece instrumental punk band jamming a couple times a month, we called it quits some time in 2006. The only regrets for me: I really would have liked to hear what the new songs we had been working on would have turned into, if they had been fully developed into another album. Also, we never got to play an “official last show.” We just kind of disappeared.
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| Live at The Seahorse |
12) Finally, would you say that “Erica Wilson Attacks” is The New Breed’s greatest artistic achievement?
[DAVE] I have no idea to this day who Erica Wilson was - or is - and exactly what it is she attacked to inspire that classic song.
[BRIAN] Can't say we ever topped that one. If Ms. Wilson only knew how much her spirit embiggened such a small band.
DOWNLOAD MP3s of everything but the 1st demo: HERE
Demo 2
Blue Collar Blues 7"
Day To Day CD
Port City Rebels CD
Off The Beaten Path CD
