Monday shows can be disappointing, but Toronto punk/ folk duo the Sunparlour Players aren’t worried about it their for upcoming show at the Slice, Oct. 15.
They have played Lethbridge enough times that they always get respectable turnouts.
“ We’re not super worried about it, We’re really looking forward to coming back and blasting away at the Slice. They have a pizza named after us there,” observed Andrew Penner, who plays a plethora of instruments including bass pedals, drums, guitar and banjo. Fellow multi-instrumentalist Michael “Rosie” Rosenthal make up the duo. They will be playing the Slice, Oct. 15 with Kalle Mattson.
While they were originally a trio, they have since trimmed their ranks to a duo. Between “Rosie” and Penner, they play a plethora of instruments.
“It’s just fun,” he continued.
“We like to keep it fresh,” he continued.
Producer Chris Stringer helped them expand their sound even further on “The Devil In Us.”
“We had a producer who was big into keyboards, Moogs and synths,” Penner said.
“ It ended up being a bizarre mix of old school sounds that was perfect for us,” he said.
“I play a lot of the bass notes on organ pedals. It sounds really big, but it is just us two banging way,” he said adding he is still really proud of the CD.
“I’m really proud of it, but it still hasn’t been out for even a year,” he said.
Their friends in Elliott Brood first convinced them to play Lethbridge years ago and they have never looked back.
“ When we tour, we’re usually a supporting act and we always get people asking us why don’t we play longer. So thanks for that. But we always do our own show in Lethbridge,” he enthused.
“ Now, we’re always telling people you’ve got to play Lethbridge,” he enthused.
“Playing larger cities is great, But I love playing smaller cities and small towns,” he continued.
“Now it feels strange not to play Lethbridge. We played with Elliott Brood the first time and I think we’ve played there like 15 times in the past five years,” Penner said.
They are still touring in support of their latest CD “The Devil In Us,” plus a new digital Ep “Sunparlour Preserves.”
“‘Us Little Devils’ is still pretty new, so we just wanted to have something new when we’re on tour,” he said from his parents’ northern Michigan farm, which reflects the band’s roots in making home made preserves.
The Ep ends with “ How To Make Ginger Bourbon Apple Butter,” an eerie, ambient instrumental featuring 83-year-old poet Hugh Oliver reading the recipe.
“It’s a fun little sampler. It’s bizarre. He’s a friend of Rosie. We thought we’d let him read the recipe just for fun,” he said. Before they had merch to sell form stage, they would sell home made preserves.
“We used to make our own preserves and sell them from the stage. So this EP reflects that,” he said.
The Sunparlour Players play the Slice, Oct. 15 with Kalle Mattson. The show begins at 9 p.m.
There is a $10 cover.
