“When we started the band , our main songwriter Matt was really into pre-war blues and gospel happening and Appalacian music and I’m really into punk music,” Sidon said.
“With gospel and blues music, there’s a strong connection to punk music. Gospel and blues was the precursor to rock and roll. I listen to a lot of Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson and those guys were partiers. Their lyrics reflected the lives they were living. And Robert Johnson’s lyrics are a lot heavier than a lot of punk rock,” Sidon continued, adding he got into old blues after looking to what classic rockers like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath listened to.
“ I just started reading about the blues and Charlie Patton who was a fan of Mississippi John Hurt and Bukka White.”
So a lot of influences, including blues as well as more folk and country style music have found their way into Schomberg Fair’s music, and the punk influence helps it be a lot faster than old school blues.
The band has been together for three years and have evolved musically since then.
“We’re a lot more focused. At first we were just a folk and roots band. We started as a fairly simple three chord band. But on the new record we started to experiment with time changes,” he said.
“But we still have that energy,” he said.
They are enjoying the tour which took them to the east coast first before heading back west.
“We’re really excited to be there. Toronto is really big for indie pop rock music, but Calgary and the area are more into the country music,” he said.
“We’re just excited to be coming out west and meeting the people. It’s going to be a crazy show.”
They are playing with Blind Mule. The show starts at 9 p.m.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor