Arkells end tour in London
The Arkells will play their last show of their national tour in London at Cowboys bar. The five-piece band from Hamilton, Ontario met up at McMaster University and have spent the last two years making a name for themselves, a name that has landed them on the same record label, Dine Alone Records, as other Canadian bands like City and Colour, Bedouin Soundclash and Attack in Black.
“We really like the other bands that are signed to the label because it's given us the opportunity to play with them which is really cool...They're all bands of different genres and we fit somewhere in between,” Lead vocalist and guitarist Max Kerman said.
On October 15, the Arkells hit the road on a national tour as direct support to Matt Mays and El Torpedo. They've successfully travelled to Western Canada and back again, while releasing their first full length album Jackson Square, named after a mall in their hometown Hamilton, on October 28.
“It seems to be going really well,” Kerman explained, “We were the iTunes single of the week last week and we've been able to hear from different people from that. It's available in different means which is cool because it's the first time our music's been available to people in that way.”
The popularity of the Arkells' music is hard to map out, with their newly released album, the band gets most of their listener feedback through hits on Myspace, “You see how many hits or downloads you're getting. It's kind of a weird thing because you don't know where these hits are coming from” Kerman said.
Their catchy melodies and energetic live performances have attracted critical acclaim with NOW Magazine describing them as having “an awesome muscular quality that sets it apart from the output of so many of their sad-sack indie rock peers.”
Frontman, Max Kerman describes their sound as a number of things.
“It's energetic rock and roll,” Kerman explains “We're not so much as a jammy band as we are a song writing band... We try to write good stories and write memorable songs.”
The band has also recently released their music video on Much Music and after their tour wraps up on November 13 at Cowboys, Kerman said it will be a good show.
“We'll have done something like 21 shows, so it will be a celebratory,” Kerman said. “It will be a sad night, too, since the tour is ending but we'll be able to go home and see our families. It's bittersweet,”
But the Arkells don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
“In the new year, we'll have a bunch of things planned out,” Kerman said.
They will travel to Montreal to play a showcase and a few more shows in Ontario come December.
“We really like the other bands that are signed to the label because it's given us the opportunity to play with them which is really cool...They're all bands of different genres and we fit somewhere in between,” Lead vocalist and guitarist Max Kerman said.
On October 15, the Arkells hit the road on a national tour as direct support to Matt Mays and El Torpedo. They've successfully travelled to Western Canada and back again, while releasing their first full length album Jackson Square, named after a mall in their hometown Hamilton, on October 28.
“It seems to be going really well,” Kerman explained, “We were the iTunes single of the week last week and we've been able to hear from different people from that. It's available in different means which is cool because it's the first time our music's been available to people in that way.”
The popularity of the Arkells' music is hard to map out, with their newly released album, the band gets most of their listener feedback through hits on Myspace, “You see how many hits or downloads you're getting. It's kind of a weird thing because you don't know where these hits are coming from” Kerman said.
Their catchy melodies and energetic live performances have attracted critical acclaim with NOW Magazine describing them as having “an awesome muscular quality that sets it apart from the output of so many of their sad-sack indie rock peers.”
Frontman, Max Kerman describes their sound as a number of things.
“It's energetic rock and roll,” Kerman explains “We're not so much as a jammy band as we are a song writing band... We try to write good stories and write memorable songs.”
The band has also recently released their music video on Much Music and after their tour wraps up on November 13 at Cowboys, Kerman said it will be a good show.
“We'll have done something like 21 shows, so it will be a celebratory,” Kerman said. “It will be a sad night, too, since the tour is ending but we'll be able to go home and see our families. It's bittersweet,”
But the Arkells don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
“In the new year, we'll have a bunch of things planned out,” Kerman said.
They will travel to Montreal to play a showcase and a few more shows in Ontario come December.
