Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27, 9 p.m.
Murrieta’s (808 1st St. S.W.)
Ever heard a song that, from the first note, felt as comfortable as your favourite pair of jeans? Even though you’d never heard it before, it was immediately familiar? It’s a good feeling, and it’s one you get when you listen to the Rustic Brothers.
“Our sound is very familiar and organic,” says band member Randy Hutchings. That may be because the Calgary band draws from the same well that has inspired musicians from Crosby, Stills & Nash to the Byrds, Gram Parsons and Blue Rodeo. Formed in February 2011, the Rustic Brothers – Hutchings, Geoff Brock, Curtis Cripps and Andrzej Ryszka – have steadily made a name for themselves in the Alberta roots-rock scene. Their self-titled debut album was released a few weeks ago, immediately receiving airplay on local radio stations as well as province-wide on CBC and CKUA.
The warm and clean sound of the album, recorded in Calgary and mixed in Kingston, Ont., can be credited in part to the technical talents of engineer/producer Colin Cripps, whose pedigree includes work with Blue Rodeo, Jim Cuddy, Kathleen Edwards, Colin James, Junkhouse, the Headstones and Crash Vegas.
The Rustics’ music has a timeless quality, but it’s also in tune with much of what’s happening in the alternative pop-rock scene of the moment. Acoustic instruments and vocal harmonies may be “in” right now, but they’ve never really been gone. “I’ve always written songs like these as well as other styles,” Brock says. “These ones came along at the right time.”
Adds Hutchings: “A friend recently told me that what’s popular now is what I’ve been writing for years. But really, all you can ever do is play what you play. You have no choice in the matter.”
The Rustic Brothers play Friday and Saturday at Murrieta’s, where the clientele is always appreciative, the band members say.
“We see some familiar people, friends but also new listeners – lots of gratitude to all of them,” adds drummer Ryszka.