54-40 makes annual trip to Bala this weekend

Listening to 54-40’s latest album the other day, starting with the title track West Coast Band, and I couldn’t help but notice there seemed to be a really personal feel to the lyrics.

It was as if we were listening to the band’s real-life stories . . . well, having caught up for a phone interview with guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist Dave Genn, that feeling was confirmed.

“The West Coast Band album, our newest release, is our weird Covid record,” he says. “Everybody made a weird Covid record, and this one is ours.”

During the pandemic, the band held regular Zoom meetings to maintain camaraderie and stay in good spirits. They have kept up those weekly meetings, though now they’re together in person and touring.

Genn recalls they began sharing old road stories and funny tales during the meetings, and eventually lead vocalist and guitarist Neil Osborne started writing those stories down “in the vernacular of our inside joke language.”

“He then started turning out some songs that were very literal stories about the band, it’s members, things that have happened to us,” recalls Genn.

The other band members are bassist Brad Merritt and drummer Matt Johnson, with keyboardist David “Oz” Osborne also pitching in to make the newest album.  

The song West Coast Band is exactly what happened: first verse is about how no one came to see the band play in the beginning; the second verse is about sending out tapes to industry reps who never got back to them or said sorry we don’t hear a single in there; and the third verse is about how fans discovered the band and continue to support to this day.

“It’s an incredible insular album and lyrically it’s incredibly insular,” explains Genn. “Lyrically, it’s devoid of metaphor, it’s devoid of any figure of speech, which is a building block of great lyric. It’s a literal story telling by Neil about the band and the members of the band.”

He adds: “Neil calls it our hip hop record because hip hop artists rap about themselves and they basically self-aggrandize, and we’re doing that except we’re singing instead of rapping.”

Still Rockin’ and Touring

The band has been ripping out Canadian chart-making (and some topping) tracks since the 1980s, and they’re still bring the same energy and passion to every show.

At a time in their lives when most people are slowing down, the band keeps on rocking and touring.

“We just got more balls than brains,” jokes Dave. “We’re very, very fortunate to still be playing a boys’ game in middle age. We recognized that every day. Playing rock ‘n roll is fun. The travel isn’t so fun, but the hour and half you’re on stage is fun … You’re hanging out with your buddies who you adore and respect.”

For 54-40, as long as the fans are still coming to the show, they’ll still be on the road.

“We have a great group of fans who come out time and again,” says Genn. “You can see by the looks on their faces how much it means to them. We just feel really fortunate to still be able to do it.”

54-40 has been playing shows at the Kee to Bala since 1995 annually, with the exception of two or three years, and because of that, it feels “like a hometown show.”

For those who have been living under a rock, or are of a certain age demographic, Genn spells out some really solid reasons to see 54-40 live. One of which is that many people don’t realize the song they love is actually by this particular band.

Genn says its due to their exceptionally strong catalogue of music that has allowed them to stay relevant and continue playing shows across the country for decades.

“The thing that people always say to us is we can’t believe how many songs you guys do that I know,” he says. “In a lot of ways, the band’s catalogue is bigger than the band’s name. The band’s catalogue is bigger than the personalities in the band. We just have a lot of top five Canadian singles over the decades from 1985 and into the 2000s.”

While 54-40 is on a nationwide tour right now, fans can look ahead to January 2025, when 54-40 will be doing a tour of community theatres and delve deep into the stories behind the songs on the West Coast Band album.

Listen to the album on Spotify.

Check out more about the band at: https://www.5440.com/