Image courtesy Garaga
Since playing Bluesfest last summer, Ottawa’s Garaga has kept a low profile, using the money they made at that show to record a new album. And this week, the veteran garage rockers are back with their first show in months and a slew of new songs off an upcoming album to share.
“We don’t play too often, cause we don’t want to wear out our welcome!” laughs guitarist and vocalist Jeff Martin, who I spoke with earlier this week. The band, which Martin calls a mix of Teenage Head and the Ramones, sprinkled with a “dash of 70s stoner rock,” has been together for four or five years. But most of them have been kicking around the Ottawa music scene for much longer, playing in bands like Harshey, Mumbleweed, King Kung, and Stand GT.
“I guess the first band (that I was in) that did anything – and I’m dating myself here – was Neanderthal Spuds. We’re talking late 80s,” says Martin. “We used to play all-ages shows at Porter Hall to three, four hundred kids. Those were the good old days.”
For the band’s members, all of whom keep day jobs, music is a labour of love. That’s why they’ve all stuck with it so long. “There’s no aspirations that we’re gonna be making a pile of money, you know, all quitting our jobs any time soon,” says Martin. “It’s a tough business and there’s not a lot of money to be made in it these days. But it’s something that, you know, we all really like doing. Fun is the first part.”
But just because they aren’t full-time musicians doesn’t mean they lack a polished, professional sound: “You know, the fun has to be there, but it’s serious at the same time,” says Martin. “We’re always putting our best foot forward.”
One reason for the time off this year was to get back up to par after a drummer change. They’ll have to make up the work again when current drummer Dave Faught leaves the band after their show on Friday. When Kevin Berger (of The Visitors) replaces him, it’ll mean the band has had six drummers in four years.
Their show on Friday at Irene’s Pub with The Mnemonics will showcase the hard work of the last year, with all new songs for their fans. It will be a preview of their new album, due out this fall. Their last release was on vinyl, but the band isn’t sure what format their new album will take. Says Martin: “We make a joke about it just being a t-shirt with a download code on the back of it.”
Whatever the format, the band has its sights set on the long-haul. “We’ll keep making a little bit of money, enough that we pump right back into the band,” says Martin. “We’ll keep doing it and we’ll keep having fun with it and you’ll see us play, here and there, and we’ll keep doing it as time rolls by.”
Garaga plays at Irene’s Pub at 885 Bank Street on Friday night at 9:30pm, with opening act The Mnmeonics. Admission: $8.
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