By Keith Sharp
When Thunder Bay’s Poor Young Things head out on a national club tour October 14th in partnership with Glorious Sons and Northcote, they’ll be taking an important step towards establishing themselves as a prime contender in the current new wave of Canadian rock that is now sweeping the country.
Buoyed by the release of a new six-track EP titled Force Of Nature (Pheromone Records), the band, comprising of lead vocalist, Matt Fratpietro, twin guitarists, David Allan Grant and Michael Kondakow, bassist Scott Burke and drummer Konrad Commisso, will be out to elevate their status that was established when Sirius XM radio voted PYT `Emerging Artist Of The Year’ in 2013.
“We were totally shocked by that recognition,” noted Fratpietro on the phone from Toronto where the band has been established for the past four years. “Sirius has always been great supporters of ours and it’s always encouraging when you get that media support.”
After realizing that continuing to reside in Thunder Bay didn’t allow for the greatest opportunity for visibility, PYT moved en masse to Toronto where they made their presence felt with a debut indie EP titled ‘Let It Sleep’. Public reception was strong enough for the band to sign with Bumstead Records and release their first full studio effort; `The Heart, The Head, The End, in 2013, but by Fratpietro’s own admission, the effort was a little rushed.
“The result was okay but we were only in the studio for like 2 ½ weeks which didn’t really give us enough time,” he allowed. “It was more rock oriented than our current EP, we are more of a pop/rock band with synthesizers and layered guitars and I think the new record is more focused on what we are really all about.”
Their debut album did win fans at Sirius and winning the award allowed PYT to join the 2013 Warped Vans U.S tour for 12 dates. “That was totally insane,” Fratpietro said of the band’s first exposure to a U.S audience. “Considering what we play, we might not have been the right style of band for that tour (with the likes of Chiodos, Gin Wigmore and MC Labs, but we met some really cool people and we had a great time, even if the air conditioning in our van did kick out when we were playing in Texas in 110 degree temperatures.”
Force Of Nature was recorded at New York’s Boiler Room studios owned by producers Gus Van Go and Werner F during a two-week spell, earlier this year, Fratpieto admitted the band had to watch their own finances in paying for hotels and expenses during the trip but the project was aided by a pledge drive from their fans and he figures that a six-track EP is the route to go considering current product distribution circumstances. Debut single is titled “Like An Animal”.
“We’re back to the late 50’s and 60’s when it was all about releasing singles and we’re fine with that,” explained Fratpietro. “It makes sense to control what material is going out. I mean, no one listens to albums any more and we’ve always got a reserve of material to release later.”
Acknowledging that even radio stations which claim to play current music are only playing the same 10 tracks over and over again, Fratpietro is looking forward to promoting the next release when they hit the road with Glorious Sons and Northcote on a west-to-east tour launching October 14th in Winnipeg (Pyramid) until November 28th with key dates in Toronto (Opera House November 14th) and Montreal’s Petit Campus (November 27th).
“We have a new record label (Kim Cooke’s Pheromone Recordings) so now it’s time to get out on the road, plug our record and show what we can do live,” Fratpietro concluded.
Poor Young Things Canadian Tour Dates
October 14 – Winnipeg, MB – Pyramid
October 15 – Regina, SK – The Exchange
October 16 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room
October 17 – Calgary, AB – The Gateway
October 20 – Cranbrook BC – Key City Theatre
October 21 – Kelowna, BC – Flashback’s
October 22 – Kamloops, BC – Cactus Jack’s
October 23 – Vancouver, BC – The Venue
October 24 – Victoria, BC – Distrikt
October 30 – Red Deer, AB – Bo’s Bar & Grill
October 31 – Saskatoon, SK – Capitol Music Club
November 3 – Thunder Bay, ON – Crock’s
November 5 – Sudbury, ON – Colson Night Club
November 7 – Hamilton, ON – Absinthe
November 8 – St. Catharines – L3
November 11 – Waterloo, ON – Maxwell’s
November 13 – London, ON – London Music Hall
November 14 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House
November 20 – Moncton, NB – Tide & Boar
November 21 – Halifax, NS – Marquee
November 22 – Truro, NS – Champions
November 26 – Fredericton, NB – The Capital Complex
November 27 – Montreal, QC – Petit Campus
November 28 – Ottawa, ON – Maverick’s
