Saskatoon-based alternative rock band Bombargo is ready to travel around and rock the country on the heels of their debut release Back on Main.
The four-man band will drive over from the Land of the Living Skies to play the Duncan Showroom on Monday, March 14.
“This is our first tour so we’re really excited to get going and hit the road. We’ve got a beautiful 1991 Dodge Supreme Classic that we’re going to be rolling in style in,” said vocalist Nathan Thoen.
With music infused with blues and soulful stylings the band members’ personalities and skills blend into a rollicking ride. Bombargo formed after Thoen attended university in Saskatoon and befriended Spencer Chilliak, the band’s guitarist. Chilliak’s friend Phil Kashap showed up back from the United States right around the time Chilliak and Thoen were very gung ho about starting a band and also wanted to jam. Then Graham Tilsley joined the band as their bassist last summer. The rest is musical history.
Thoen and Chilliak were so inspired after attending the Sasquatch Music Festival that they decided to go for it and start a band, especially inspired by the performance of fellow Saskatchewanian Jordan Cook, also known as Reignwolf. “We were overwhelmed with good vibes and good times and after watching all of these guys perform I had this little weird thing like ‘man, we should start a band.’”
Bombargo released five-track Back on Main in July of last year, and donated all proceeds to the Red Cross to help those impacted and displaced by the forest fires that devastated northern Saskatchewan last summer.
And the name? “The biggest thing it sounded like was something you just yell ripping a cannonball off a cliff. That Geronimo, Bombargo kind of vibe,” Thoen said of the word he made up.
Bombargo’s songs cover a range of subjects and tend to be positive, focused around following your dreams and achieving your potential. It’s a message — and melody— that appeals to people from all walks of life.
“It’s kind of some really funky songs, then more rock n’ roll and then there’s stuff that’s more indie and chiller,” Thoen said, adding that copies Back on Main will be available at the Duncan show. “What we love to bring is just a ton of passion.”
Tickets to Bombargo are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. For tickets call 250-748-7246 or visit www.showroomproductions.ca/buy-tickets. The Duncan Showroom is located at 131 Station St. To hear more of Bombargo visit www.bombargo.com.