A
s a rock band, steel town’s Huron have been together for barely a couple of years.
But don’t let that fool you. The Hamilton four-piece may be relative newcomers to the rock scene on their own, but the four members combine a wealth of experience when they hit the stage.
Huron – Aaron Goldstein (vocals, guitar, steel), Cam Malcolm (vocals, guitar), Adam Melnick (bass, organ, vocals) and Peter Hall (drums, vocals) – play the Canmore Hotel, Oct. 1 as just one stop on the band’s long, long haul across Canada and back.
The cross-Dominion tour is in support of the band’s self-titled inaugural album, which was released last year.
The album, produced by Torontonian Ian Blurton of Cowboy Junkies and Change of Heart fame, features nine tracks of Huron’s blend of rock, country, boogie, southern-fried rock and psychedelic tunes. Blurton’s influence in the work of Huron is just one of many that have affected the band.
“Putting the album together has been quite a treat,” said Goldstein prior to a Winnipeg gig, Sept. 25. “He’s (Blurton) produced lots of rock records for bands like the Weakerthans and the Rheostatics. For our first record, we knew he was the guy for us, the guy to make it happen.”
The Blurton/Huron connection didn’t end at completion of the Hamilton band’s album. When Blurton put out a solo album himself (Happy Endings), not long after completing Huron’s work, the group toured to back Blurton.
The Huron sound, as described by Goldstein, is a mix of classic rock and psychedelic; “very heavy, with a lot of guitar” with beefy rhythm and southern rock-style vocals.
Goldstein and Melnick grew up in Toronto, then hooked up with Malcolm and Hall while in college in Hamilton. At the time, everybody was in a different band, with Hall co-fronting A Northern Chorus and Malcolm fronting Sweet Homewreckers.
“We all met in 2007, started playing and writing songs together some and in early 2008 we made it a band,” said Goldstein. “At the end of 2008, we thought we’d record an EP and we booked the studio. But it went so well we thought, let’s just do everything we have.”
Thus far, Goldstein has handled most of the songwriting duties for Huron, although Malcolm has contributed works of his own and the two have co-written a few titles. “And I think the co-written songs are probably the strongest material,” said Goldstein.
“Once the songs are written, then it’s up to the four of us to flesh them out to record.”
This tour is the band’s first through Western Canada to the West Coast. From touring in mostly Ontario, the foursome have already noticed how vast the prairies are, including the Ontario to Winnipeg and ‘Peg to Saskatoon legs. After the Canmore Hotel gig, Huron has to be in Vancouver the next day – so the band’s van will be getting a workout.
For his part, Goldstein’s work as a lap and pedal steel guitar player has led to touring with Cowboy Junkies and Tom Wilson’s (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings) Lee Harvey Osmond project, along with other bands.
As a kid, Goldstein was into Buddy Holly and Little Richard and rock ‘n roll. He bought a steel guitar when he became of fan of Neil Young and country music.
With their first cross-Canada tour now booked and under way, work is also ongoing to pen songs for a second album. Right now, the band has its CD out, along with a vinyl offering.
“And right now,” said Goldstein, “the vinyl outsells the CD. There are a lot of vinyl collectors out there and we figured we should press a vinyl because all the bands here are doing it. A lot of people like CDs, but they also like to have vinyl in their hands, they like to hold something tangible.”
