Shawn Hall and bandmate Matthew Rogers first met while recording a radio jingle. Initially, they had no intention of starting a roots and blues band – let alone one called by the head-spinning moniker The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer.
They were hired to work a few other projects and discovered their personalities and musical styles meshed.
What started as a Vancouver-based blues and roots duo in 2005 has evolved into an international success story. With no plans of slowing down, the duo is back on a cross-country tour that stops at the Arden Theatre Saturday, Feb. 18.
Rogers (guitar-drums) and Hall (harmonica) just completed their second tour of the United Kingdom playing in venues with a couple of thousand people at each gig.
The most reverential was a performance at Bristol’s famed Colston Hall, a world famous concert hall that hosts all the major names in rock, pop, jazz, folk, world and classical music.
The world’s biggest music stars have performed on its distinguished stage including The Beatles, David Bowie, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald and Bob Dylan.
“It was an amazing experience to play on the same stage as Otis Redding and Sam Cook. It was an opportunity to be on the world stage and even though we were a small Canadian band, we were completely embraced,” said Hall.
“To play on the same stage as Sam Cook was incredible. He was the reason Rod Stewart and Chuck Berry got into music. You see the lineage and you feel the crossover. We did our time and we felt we deserved to be there yet at the same time, we felt very humbled.”
Hall notes the history of Colston was so awe-inspiring it pushed the duo to set a higher bar.
“We really didn’t mess around because we know an opportunity like this doesn’t come around every day. You channel everything you have and if you’re grounded, it comes all back to you. We’re not pop stars. We play blues and rock and roll and we play it from the heart.”
Over the past decade, the duo has matured from gritty, soulful roots blues songs to a bigger and more electric sound as is evident in their fourth full-album, Apocalipstick, out on March 24.
“It’s about the vacant landscapes and social alienation people feel. It’s about a hyper-sexualized world of skin deep ruin,” Hall said.
Apocalipstick has a sexy doomsday quality that reflects society’s sense of helplessness after 9/11.
“We’ve come to realize there is great power in deception from governments, in corporations and in the forces of greed behind oil, gold and money, and how that trickles down and people are deceived. After a while you question everything and become paranoid or you don’t pay attention to anything.”
The duo released Get Ready, a single that was launched to commercial radio.
“It’s dark. It gets you prepared for the big earthquake, but it’s laid in among a juicy fun piece of music. It’s a pretty throwback for us. It has a slide guitar in the beginning that lays out a folk blues track with an arsenal of percussion.”
Several other songs tackle the darker side of love such as Nancy, a narrative about a transgender lady of the night. Forever Fool is a love and revenge number while Pretty Please tackles lust and the plea for one’s affection.
Joining Hall and Rogers is Dawn Pemberton, with a powerful voice that easily takes control of diverse genres from gospel and soul to jazz, funk and world music.
“She balances my gritty sound with satiny, soulful undertones. She picks and chooses her moments to fire up. She’s very modest, but when she unleashes her talent, it makes the hair on your neck stand up.”
The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer’s pre-release single, Forever Fool, is due for release Feb. 24.
Preview
The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer<br />Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m.<br />Arden Theatre<br />5 St. Anne Street<br />Tickets: $34 <br />Call 780-459-1542 or at ticketmaster.ca
