Canadian Roots Rockers The Brother Bicker Band Roll in with “Another Kind of Train” – A New Single Blending Maple Whiskey Rock n Roll Flavour
The Brother Bicker Band is country, Canadian style, and the seven-member group of roots rockers are bringing more of their signature sound with the release of their new single, “Another Kind of Train,” out now. The band’s self-described sound of ‘Maple Whiskey Rock n Roll’ is packed into the storytelling chorus and sliding notes of “Another Kind of Train.”
Based in Calgary, AB, The Brother Bicker Band has a rich and full sound, put together by seven friends; Jeremy Hrdlicka on acoustic guitar and vocals, Tom Mogan on guitar and vocals, Jennele Coulson and Clarie Wilkes on vocals, Ben Ellard on keys, and completing the lineup are Matt Dawe on drums and Jim Duncan on bass that earned them two YYC Music Award nominations this and last year.
The Brother Bicker Band’s last album, Hospitality and Northern Charm, which was released in 2020, was a wide-open look into the group’s range, influences, and how the seven friends all see the world, and it feels like everything the group has been working toward comes to a head in their latest single, “Another Kind of Train.”
The Brother Bicker Band has told stories and brought people together, in ways that only music can, and “Another Kind of Train” is a revealing and bright indication of just how far the seven friends have gone and how many trips they still plan on taking. Gravel roads, dirt roads, whatever path lies ahead, the Brother Bicker Band will be there with ‘Another Kind of Train’ for everyone to take.
Care to introduce yourself?
Tom – Hey, my name is Tom. I play guitar with a Brother Bicker Band. I’ve been playing music since I was a teenager with friends in advance. One of my formative musical experiences was playing in a music collective called Jamway with my friend Paul. With Paul, I learned the importance of good vocals, harmonies, thinking about instrumentation, not having muddy sounds, and writing songs with lyrics that had meaning to me, to us as a band, and layers of meaning for others who might listen.
Jeremy – Hey, I am Jeremy Hrdlicka, singer with the Brother Bicker Band. Tom and I take on the main songwriting duties with the band. We started the band about 8 years ago out of my solo project, Brother Bicker, on which Tom had laid down all the guitars and bass. We had known each other for a while but hadn’t played music together. Once we worked in the studio, everything fell into place. I came late into music and songwriting though I did sing in a frat band in university. Years later, I took some time off and stayed home when my oldest was born and learned guitar off the internet. I then started dabbling in songwriting and continued working with other great musicians to get better. I started playing around town with open mikes, house parties, and sell-your-own-ticket shows until I was able to find some like-minded players and start a band. Twenty-three years later and this is what it looks like.
Tell us about the process of recording “Another Kind Of Train”?
Tom – This is the third album we’ve recorded. It was a bit of a different process! Started off with drums and scratch tracks, added in bed, tracks of guitars and bass, and then the sound of things evolved from there. The addition of our two singers, Janelle and Claire brought clarity to the sound that we wanted to present. Unlike the other albums we’ve done, we wrote three tracks during the process of recording, which was really interesting to see something evolve from idea to finished song in a shorter period of time.
Jeremy – This record (can you still say that nowadays?) was a true labour of love. We started cutting demos for it mid-COVID when we started to go stir-crazy due to lack of a musical outlet. We started recording in earnest in early 2022 with our friend and producer from our last EP, Hospitality & Northern Charm, Christian Stonehouse of Broken Tap Records. We had a few of these songs that have been kicking around since the early days of the band, which we were itching to “finish”. Creatively, you find old songs that aren’t recorded start to get in the way of new songs coming out so I find it important to get them in the studio so you can clear the plate for new stuff. The drums (Darryl Swart) and bass (Jim Duncan) tracks came together quickly in early 2022 and the main vocals and guitars followed closely after that. Then we were stalled as the songs found themselves. Adding Jennele Coulson and Claire Wilkes on vocals, originally to No Straight Lines and Nothing at All, brought our sound to a new and exciting place compared to our early EPs and then we had to back up and add them to the rest of the songs. Ben Ellard added the keys and organs that are such an integral part of who we are. Then in the meantime, we had written three more songs! Our EP had become an LP and we were back in the studio with our new drummer, Matt Dawe. It felt like starting from scratch. The cherry on top of the album was adding steel guitars with Mitch Jay and some additional keys with Brendan Waters.
What’s it like being a band in Calgary?
Tom – Calgary is a really interesting space to make music in – there’s a summertime stampede expectation that the default genre is country, but it is so much more than that. There are lots of bands working at the edge of the spaces of sounds and genres, and we feel pretty comfortable playing a whole variety of styles and vibes of music for any audience in Calgary.
Jeremy – Our music scene is awesome and underrated when compared to Vancouver and Toronto. We are seen as a “country” town, and we do have a great country scene, but we also have a vibrant and diverse scene, with great rock, folk, roots, punk, metal, and rap scene supported by great venues, like the Ironwood, King Eddy, Palomino, Mikey’s…. We are kind of the hub for music in the Prairies.
Who was the first and most recent Canadian artist to blow you away?
Tom – or locally to the prairies, I get blown away by Mariel Buckley, the Brothers Landreth, Leslie Feist. Debby Friday is a remarkable musician and story and I love the Barr Brothers from Montreal. I grew up in the US and I always listen to Joni and Neil, I went to university in Kingston when the Hip was coming up and that was my first love.
Jeremy – I lived overseas and in the US for my prime musical taste development, so for me, Canadian music was Rush and Bryan Adams, but when I moved back after university, I realized how much more there was to it. My favorite Canadian bands lean to the rock side like Monster Truck, Glorious Sons, Big Sugar, and my absolute favorites, the Trews! I am also a big fan of Celtic music like the Mahones and Great Big Sea. As I get older, I am starting to discover country and roots music (which would have been unthinkable a few years ago) and there are a few Alberta gems in newcomers, Kyle McKearney and Cody Hall.
You’ve been making music for a bit of time now, what’s one piece of advice you can offer to those starting out?
Tom – I think to try to find your own voice, lyrically, instrumentally, and actually in terms of singing. In this weird post-Covid time, getting back to making music with others is a really essential piece – I think we learn by our influences and our musical loves, but we learn the most by the music, the vibrations, and the mojo we make in a room, playing music with other people.
Jeremy – #1: Find your voice and make music that you love and hopefully, someone else will relate to it and you can find an audience. Everyone starts out imitating the singers and bands that they love but it wasn’t until I started to find my own voice and sound that my music career started to expand… and that took years.
#2: Find musicians that you love to play with. We do this because we love it and I love nothing more than that feeling when you are playing music– the hair on your arms stands on end, your skin tingles and you transcend the moment. Find friends and players that make you feel that way.
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