PREVIEW
The Bills
When: Thursday, 7: 30 p.m. (doors at 7)
Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall (907 Pandora Ave.)
Tickets: $20 at Lyle's Place, Ivy's Books, the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the McPherson Box Office; $24 at the door
The Bills are back from their multi-year break with a new recording, new members and a new mantra.
Quality over quantity is the best way to describe the band's current outlook, according to singer-guitarist Chris Frye. "In terms of live performance, that is really what we're after now," he said.
"The Bills have always been lucky. We always had a pretty nice career path in terms of the kind of shows we were playing. But the long drives in winter are not going to happen. We're not going to ever hit that kind of place again, partially because everybody is busy with other things."
The Victoria-based group, two-time Juno Award nominee and among the leading lights of the Canadian roots scene, wound down its never-ending tour in 2008 after more than three years on the road - a journey that took the band to dozens of countries.
The tour to support 2004's Let it Run, the band's previous studio album, was such a gruelling experience that it led to an extended - but necessary - period of inactivity, Frye said.
"The band never evaporated altogether; we just kind of slowed and took quality over quantity as the years went by. For the first three years after Let it Run came out, we were serious global road warriors. We never thought we wouldn't make an album for eight years, but it happened that way."
The Bills, which also features singer-guitarist Marc Atkinson, singer-fiddler Adrian Dolan and singerviolinist Richard Moody, used to spend two-thirds of each year on the road. That pace slowed considerably as time went on. Frye and Atkinson both made records with groups of their own, while Dolan spent time furthering his career as a producer and Moody continued as a solo artist.
Making matters more complicated, the band wanted to work only in Victoria with producer Joby Baker, who produced Let it Run. The Bills had to wait until Baker had a break in his schedule and they had enough songs to record.
While they were waiting for things to coalesce, oneoff events continued to present themselves, Frye said. "We kept getting together, and kept the spirit alive that way. But it takes a new album to re-energize everybody."
Yes Please arrived in stores on Tuesday, bringing to a close an eight-year break between recordings and kickstarting a series of concerts in support of it, beginning tonight with a hometown show at Alix Goolden Performance Hall.
It's all part of the Bills' plan to roll out the record slowly, Frye said. "We're going to go out and do fiveday runs, nothing more than that. Come back home, touch base with family and then bomb back out and do another run. It's nice to still be present and not have to be out there that often."
To ease the transition after the departure of bassist Glen Manders, who left the group for medical school in 2008, the Bills welcomed a trio of bass players for Yes Please. Each had previous experience with the group: Scott White was a member during the group's formation in 1996; Oliver Swain was a Bill from 1996 to 1998; and Joey Smith, a well-loved musician, performs with both Atkinson and Frye in their solo setups.
Baker also filled in on bass occasionally, adding another family-friendly layer to the loose atmosphere behind Yes Please.
"Once you get going, you can't stop the Bill train," Frye said with a laugh. "The band is hotter than ever. That thrill of doing it again and collaborating on new compositions - everybody is really fired up."
The inherent quality of Yes Please won't surprise longtime fans. The Bills have come to represent the thinking-person's roots music, albeit with goodnatured humour for added resonance. That said, power-packed live shows remain their biggest attribute.
"That helped make a name for the band," Frye said.
"But the fact is, we worked so bloody hard to get the word out. You put in that work when you're younger, and if you keep making good music, you can basically sit back and be a little choosy. That's what happened. We've reached the stage now where we can concentrate more on the music. When you're really busy, you lose sight of it, actually.
"Now, we get to settle down and take some time."
