HELLO ROCK AND ROLL
“Check this out!” Tommy Smokes eagerly says to me over beers on the patio at Ethel’s Lounge while rolling back the sleeve of his Backyard Babies’ t-shirt. He’s just come from getting his most recent tattoo and it’s nothing short of glorious. Perched on his shoulder is a massive Royal Norwegian lion holding a Gibson SG, its tail running down his bicep. On the guitar’s headstock is the letter “R”, for his wife, Rebecca. His new tattoo neatly encapsulates all the things that make Smokes who he is: an obvious, (he’s blond and 6’ 3” with an accent), and proud Norwegian, a born rock ‘n’ roller, and a devoted family man. In Norway he played in many bands but put that lifestyle on the backburner when he came to Canada to study, start a business, and build his family. With his home and professional lives now secure, Smokes has been making up for his few years of neglecting rock ‘n’ roll, and he’s steam-rolled his way onto the Canadian musical landscape with his band, Saigon Hookers. Formed with friends Carmine Romano, (bass), and Shawn Feeney, (drums), the Hookers recorded a debut EP which quickly found its way onto rotation on the Edge 102.1, (courtesy of fast-fan Martin Streek), and managed to play nearly a hundred shows in 2006. Their vicious, precise, and shit-yer-pants loud shows attracted the attention of many eager to help higher-ups, and now they’ve released their debut, Hello Rock And Roll, which is available in stores across the country, (via Addictive/ Fontana North/ Maple/ Universal). The sheer tenacity of the band is remarkable, but it’s been paying off, and the ride is just starting.
“Right now we’re pretty busy promoting the new album,” says Smokes. “We’re doing a bunch of shows with Romeo Liquor Store and the Inner City Surfers, going from London, to Montreal, to Sudbury, Timmins, all over the place. Hooking up with Addictive Records for distribution has landed us some free publicity and they’re hooking up some live-to-air shows and a bunch of interviews, which is pretty cool. Things certainly seem to be happening fast, which is good but much different from a few months ago when I was on top of everything myself. Now we’ve got help!”
Many have taken notice of the Saigon Hookers, eager to hitch their wagons to Smokes’ train. GenSub Records, Addictive Records, and Jagermeister have all stepped up to offer their services, (not to mention innumerable bookers and promoters), but none have been so instrumental as the undisputed king of Canadian underground rock, the one and only Sir Ian Blurton, who offered to record their debut on the cheap.
“We had sent Ian our demos a few months in advance, (of recording), and let him know that we were open to suggestions. When we started recording, we picked the order, got comfortable with his changes, and hammered them down. Ian’s a well traveled and respected rocker all across Canada, so getting to work with him was amazing. He was able to really capture our live sound and make the album sound like real rock ‘n’ roll, which you don’t hear much in current music. We draw a lot of our inspiration from rock recordings from the 70’s, and Hello Rock And Roll definitely has that feel to it. It also didn’t hurt that we had a lot of amazing retro gear at our disposal. They really have some amazing stuff at Chemical Sound. It was a great experience and we hope to work with Ian again.”
Saigon Hookers still only have just over a year of life under their belts and it would be easy for some to assume that they’ve fallen ass-backwards into fantastic luck. While that may be the case to a degree, (it always is), Smokes and co. hold their fates firmly in their own hands, and have achieved their successes by knuckling under, and working as hard as their drunken little hearts will allow.
“We are all very determined to take this band as far as we can, and we love to play. Having played nearly a hundred shows this year has been tough, given our responsibilities outside the band, but it’s something we have to do. It’s hard sometimes leaving the house when you’ve just returned home, but my wife and the boys’ girlfriends have all been great.”
Saigon Hookers will be gracing their favourite local haunt, the Circus Room, once again on October 28th before they take off again across Canada with Ian Blurton’s C’Mon. Joining them at the Circus will be the ultra awesome Maximum RnR as both bands continue their righteous and never-ending quest for the ultimate level of rock. It’s safe to say that liquor will be mandatory.
“I guess you could say that playing in a rock ‘n’ roll band ain’t the healthiest thing in the world,” says Smokes with a chuckle, “but fast food and beer do go a long way. Until the day after.”
(originally published October, 2006. Echo Weekly. Kitchener.)
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