The west coast version of Spoon River will be making their first foray into Alberta, including an April 16 stop at the Slice.
The roots of the band, who have just released their debut CD ‘Kingdom of the Burned’ lie in Montreal, where frontman Tavis Triance was part of a band called the Royal Mountain Band.
A difference in musical direction lead to Triance and his wife Rachel Horst striking out on their own and finding other musicians including crack rhythm section Jeff and Seamus Cowan, who shared their love of late ’60s early ’70s rock like  Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and  the Band.
“I just loved the sound of those late ’60s and early ’70s records,” Triance said, who splits time with the band with his day job as a substitute high school teacher and taking care of an autistic boy.
After recording the CD, he and his wife split for Vancouver where they have been playing with members of Rodney DeCroo’s band, Ed Goodine and guitarist John Wood along with bassist Chris Young and his wife, Rachel Horst on keyboards and vocals. This is the band who will be playing with Rodney DeCroo at the Slice, April 16.
“I guess I’ve got an east coast band and a west coast band. This band has more of a pscyh-country sound with a touch more  of a garage sound. I listen to a lot of things like the Thirteenth Floor Elevators. And I grew up with the music of Crosby, Stills and Nash and Young. It was always around the house,” he said adding by the time he and his wife moved to Vancouver, he already had enough songs to the CD, though one of them, ‘Emmanuel’  remains from his last days with the Royal Mountain Band.
“The ’70s feel was pretty easy to record. We recorded most of the tracks live off the floor using vintage instruments. Most of the time all of us were gathered around one microphone. And we’d say ‘you, a step back a little bit’ if we didn’t want as much of them,” he described.
“This Cd was also a reaction to the Royal Mountain Band. We didn’t spend a lot of money to record this one and we did most of this one ourselves but we spent a lot to record with  the Royal Mountain Band,” he said.
“We just released it, but it’s getting good reviews and good press. It’s not flying off the shelves like hot cakes, but people are really responding it. They are coming to the shows and buying CDs. And that’s about all you can ask for,” he said adding he is already writing songs for a CD with the west coast band.
“We‘ve never actually sat down and talked about it. But John Wood owns and runs the studio where we recorded, so we’ve batted some ideas around. Some of the new songs will be included in the band’s set, though all of them will be new to Lethbridge as he has never toured here or even Alberta, but is looking forward to it.
“If B.C. is any indication, I have a hunch Albertans should also have an interest in the folk and roots music that I do,” he said adding since relocating, he  has been focusing on getting a following in and around Vancouver.