It is always a surreal experience talking to White Cowbell Oklahoma frontman Clem T Clemson, who brings his testosterone powered band of Toronto based southern rock madmen back to Lethbridge to play the Slice, Nov. 21 with Big John Bates and Netherlands rock band the Paceshifters.
“ We just got to Vancouver. We drove through the frozen wastelands of Mordor to get here,” said Clemson of driving straight through from Toronto to Vancouver where the revamped band will begin their tour in support of the new reissue of their 2012 album “Buenos Naches,” which has been released with an entire extra record of unreleased and live tracks on coloured (red and blue) vinyl.
“ We recorded so much music for the album, we had to pick and choose. CD’s are long and people have short attention spans. After 45 minutes people get bored. But with vinyl, you can play side one, or side one and two or all four. So there are all of the songs from the album as well as bonus tracks and a few live tracks we didn’t use on the live album ‘Viva Live Locos,’” he said.
“ People think ‘Beunas Nachas is a misprint. Buenas Noches means good night, but Buenas Naches means nice haunches or in Mexican slang— nice ass,” he said.
Adding the working title for the next album is ‘Huevos Grandes” loosely translated as big eggs or in Mexican slang “ big balls.”
The new album is reminiscent of their earlier , more straight ahead balls to the wall southern rock.
“ I’m glad you noticed that. The last album “Bombadero” we were influenced a lot by European progressive rock. So we got a bit Sabbathy and freaky. On this one we wanted to go for a more Mexican and southern rock and desert rock feel, with a little bit of spaghetti western music,” he said.
The band has not toured Canada much over the past few years, concentrating on the United States and Europe.
“We’ve actually been brooding in castles in the steppes of Europe in some kind of a star chamber dressed in druids robes. And wouldn’t you know it, being musicians, we started to write music,” he said adding they will record a new studio album next year with the new music and play some of the new songs on their latest tour.
They were pleasantly surprised by the audiences in Europe.
“People were actually paying attention. They were applauding after every guitar solo. So they were actually listening to the music. So you don’t just have to put on a good show, you can play good music too. If you’re a band like White Cowbell Oklahoma, you can do both,” he said.
“ We found Blind Barbecue Wilson living with wild dogs in Russia. But he’s actually from Yellowknife, so he must have wandered over there on an ice bridge,” Clemson said.
So now we actually have two guitarists from Yellowknife,” he continued.
The band is celebrating their fifteenth anniversary of their “tsunami of testosterone” and unleashed musical mayhem.
“ People ask us why we haven’t self destructed like a volcano of chaos. It’s because we’ve embraced the chaos. We’re motivated by pure spite” he said.
They are also motivated by a lot of southern rock and Mexican music not to mention random destruction as they often light things on fire and shred rolls of toilet paper with a chainsaw on stage.
“ We love playing Lethbridge. The first time we were there, there were people protesting. But they all had early bedtimes, so they were gone by the time we got there,” Clemson related.
They are excited to tour with Vancouver's Big John Bates and the Pacemakers from the Netherlands
“I don’t think the building will be able to handle it,” he said.
“ It’s going to shake the walls,” he said.
“ We’re hoping the Slice is going to bring back the pizza they named after White Cowbell Oklahoma — it’s all meat. Even the crust is made of meat,” he said.
Big John and I have agreed to settle any differences we have like gentlemen with a duel with swords. We thought muskets might be too dangerous,” he said.
“ We’re playing on a Friday night. Usually I’d tell you to tell your boss that you quit and you're not coming to work the next day. But I’m not going to do that this time. It’s a Friday night so come out and join our cult of degradation and salvation. Come out and get fucked up with us,” he said.
The show begins at 9:30 p.m. with Big John Bates and the Paceshifters. Tickets are $20.
