Tour Stops Include Toronto, Calgary, Yellowknife, Kamloops, Cache Creek, Siksika, and Lillooet
Calgary-based garage-rock duo Miesha and The Spanks have just premiered a powerful new video for “Bear Kids” via Range Magazine. This sixth single taken from their latest album Unconditional Love in Hi-Fi finalizes the highly successful album cycle, which saw the veteran band reach new heights. “Bear Kids” is the most personal track on the album, highlighting some of band leader Miesha Louie’s strongest songwriting to date as she explores the death of her father, and the subsequent birth of her twins four years ago.
In the Range Interview, Miesha Louie speaks on the impact of the track.
“It took a really long time to be able to perform ‘Bear Kids’ live. I was so worried that my emotions would take over and I would choke up. I had a few shows where I planned on playing it and then chickened out. When we finally did it, it was for the Come Toward The Fire showcase in Vancouver at the Chan Centre, and we had a big, long soundcheck first and that was the first time I played it for anyone. I heard Jarrett Martineau say “powerful” under his breath after we checked, and that moment helped me get my head around that. Yes, this is my very personal story, but it’s also a performance, and it’s going to mean something to the people listening too, and maybe resonate with them in a different way. So, maybe I don’t need to hold on so tight, and maybe sharing will actually feel really good.”
In her Indigenous Secwépemc tradition, twins are a gift from the Grizzly Spirit, and she takes that energy and transforms it into something enormous and mystical in the video for “Bear Kids”. Working with fellow Indigenous animator and artist, Sarah Houle, the final single for Unconditional Love in Hi-Fi breaks from the duo’s previous music videos, moving away from their traditional aspects of live performance to create something that becomes so much more than the sum of its parts.
“Our summer dates so far have so much Indig focus, and it’s really exciting for me. We’re starting with the International Indigenous Music Summit, we have the Siksika Powwow, and a bunch of 2Rivers Remix dates back in my Secwépemc nation’s territories, closer to Kamloops. The best part of this for me is that I’m bringing my boys, and they get to experience not only what their mom gets up to playing music and travelling, but their secwépemc culture, history and people firsthand. The timing of the Bear Kids video and this experience I’m about to share with these little bears feels really good. When Indigenous artists get together it’s such a celebration. I can’t wait for all of it.”
Miesha Louie is a mixed-Secwépemc artist living in Treaty 7 Territory, and The Spanks are the many drummers who’ve stood beside her on stage. Sean Hamilton is her latest and longest partner, and together they’ve spent the last nine years building and embellishing their garage-rock sound into something almost too big for two people to contain.
Deeply influenced by proto-punk classics like The Runaways, MC5, Stooges, and 90s riot grrrl/grunge like L7 and The Gits, Miesha & The Spanks conjure an energy that hits you in the face, throwing you into a world of killer riffs and sweaty gig venues. And it’s in those sweaty spaces that Miesha & The Spanks thrive, fresh off the highway, out of the van, and onto the stage.
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