We’ve Got Deadlines To Meet!

I had the chance to sit with Max Kerman for a burger and a chat before Arkells took the stage for the first official show of their “Fall Canadian Classic Tour" in Brantford, Ontario. The Arkells boys are enjoying a hard-earned rocket ride to stardom, becoming household names and receiving top honours from their hometown at the Hammies as well as recently garnering a Juno for best upcoming act. Max and the guys also did a phenomenal job warming up the crowd for Them Crooked Vulture’s Toronto date, marking the first show of the Edge’s Summer Concert Series. Their first album, Jackson Square, has created quiet a stir and proudly lists heavyweights such as John Paul Jones as their newly acquired fans.

A heavy touring schedule has helped Arkells bring their music to all corners of Canada, enjoying the top spot in radio stations across the country. “Mike usually does all the driving, but once we go out west we all kind of take a turn,” says Max. The road always brings interesting experiences and Arkells band members are no strangers to Canadian highways. Having toured the country extensively, they have a fair share of interesting road stories, “We were driving in BC [this past] February and we saw a sign on the side of the road warning of fog, we didn’t think it would be foggy all year round, how could it? And within 2 minutes after passing it was so foggy we couldn’t see 5ft in front of the van, we were so terrified. Dan had his head over the wheel trying to see and Mike had his head out the window telling him how far we were from the edge ‘cuz we were in the [Rocky] mountains, I was just behind Dan going like ‘Dan try defrosting it, try defrosting it’ and he’s going like ‘it’s fog outside man, there’s nothing we can do.’ Then finally this truck came out of nowhere and helped us out, he guided us through the fog, he came out of nowhere—our F150 angel.” Max is quick to point out that he doesn’t usually drive for a particular reason, one many can relate to. “For some reason I have a bad reputation as being a poor driver, I didn’t get my license until I was 18 or 19 which is much older compared to the other guys.” Though one could argue that the age factor is not a real excuse for not driving long distances the band has had some close calls with Ontario’s finest. “Once we were driving home from Winnipeg, we were near Muskoka and we had gone straight for like 19 hours … as we went through this small town the speed limit changed and I didn’t notice so we got pulled over [by the OPP] so I’m probably the only guy who gets away with just a warning for speeding—we didn’t get a speeding ticket.”

No doubt touring has helped Arkells build a strong fan base across Canada. However as is often the case with nationally recognized acts, it has proved rather difficult for the band to break into the American market. Difficulty is something Arkells are familiar with and it doesn’t easily discourage the band. An example of this is their plan to take the U.S by surprise with the upcoming American release of Jackson Square. “Yeah we’re gonna re-release (Jackson Square) in the New Year in America. A lot of Canadian bands do really well here but have a hard time crossing over so were gonna give it the old college try and see what happens.” When asked who their distributor will be, Max acknowledges that “it’s still being worked out but we have a few options were really excited about.”

Arkells have been going strong for about four years, starting as a university band out McMaster University in Hamilton (Ontario), but how did it all come to be? “I met Mike and Nick when I was 17 or 18 during my first year of school, we met Dan and Tim a couple years later.” Of course, I had to know - are you happy with the way the band has taken shape? “Yeah its great, it’s been a great year I think!” he adds with a humble smile. Reflecting on other bands’ success as either a rocket ride to the top or a work hard to party hard scenario, Max admits “we know we’ve been very fortunate to get the opportunities we’ve got, we’ve also worked really hard it sort of seems natural to us the way its growing, its not like ‘oh my gosh, we’re playing Letterman!’ We’ve taken steps in the right direction, and while we’ve gone to play some big shows as openers we have a pretty good idea where we stand as a band, the kind of numbers we pull and the work that is left to grow our music.” But, after all that, does it still catch you a little off guard? Like the gig with the Tragically Hip and Sam Roberts [this past summer in London,] or the Metric tour? “Some things have become sort of normalized by now” Max adds, “others we go ‘oh my gosh this is so cool!’ Like for example the other night the Hip were playing in Hamilton, we went out to check it out and ended up hanging out with some of the guys after, they came out to a bar [with us] and it was one of those times when we all kind of just looked at each other and went ‘yeah this is a little different, not what we’re used to.’”

As a personal favourite song, I had to ask Arkells about The Boss Is Coming! What’s with the warning? “Those lyrics are pretty literal. I’ve had a line of jobs by now and I hate the feeling of going to work and being afraid of that one person who might wreck it for you. I hate just keeping busy, where there’s always that one manager at your job where you go ‘well its not gonna be fun if he/she is there today,’” Max says. Left wondering if this alluded to anything in particular, he continues, laughing “I remember working at a restaurant as a waiter and I had a little pad to write down the orders and I’d also write down ideas and verses so I remember writing down the lyrics while I was there … the song came pretty naturally”.

The music of Arkells speaks to all groups, anyone can relate to their album because of the themes within it. I was curious to know how Arkells came across the ballad of Hugo Chavez? “Thematically, the album is about people who we think are interesting, that we admire or question. I was reading about Chavez and his rise to power. I read that in the early ‘90s he tried to overthrow the government but failed and got thrown in jail and that while he was in jail he ended up learning (about Marx, Lenin and Socialist Theory) even more so, I thought it was an interesting concept where this negative situation was turned into something worth his time, so I just thought that it was an interesting concept. It is not a political commentary on what’s going on right now, I’m not in a position to say anything because I’m not in the ground over there and I know there’s a lot of mixed feelings about him but as a story that took place in the early ‘90s over a guy who became an influential leader. I thought it was an interesting story.”

Arkells are: Max Kerman, Mike DeAngelis, Dan Griffin, Nick Dika and Tim Oxford.