Ottawa based hard rock/ grunge band Project Mars are enjoying their first tour across western Canada with Riding Shotgun.
 They stop by the Front Row Pub, July 28.
“ So far, it’s been a lot of high energy shows. It will be a high energy rock show that will be well worth coming out to,” said guitarist Jason Connolly from tour stop in Medicine Hat.

“It’s been a challenge. We’re in Saskatoon last night and before that we were in Timmins and North Day. I must have driven 12 straight hours,” he said.
“It’s been challenge. We got put up in a hotel tonight. But before that we were staying in a tent in the middle of a thunderstorm and before that I slept in the car,” he said.

“But it’s been nothing but fun,” he said, adding it is exciting to tour with Riding Shotgun, who have also never toured out west.

 I’ve never been out of Ontario and Quebec,” he said.

“ But what’ve noticed is the hospitality. The further west we go, the better the hospitality gets. People have been really good to us. There has been a great vibe,” he continued.

 They will be releasing their debut CD “Don’t Hold Back”  in mid-September.

“ Much of it is about political and personal things. We wanted to write about more meaningful subjects. We didn’t just want to write about girls and bars,” he said adding they worked with a really good, Juno awarding engineer for this project.

 The new CD was influenced by former bassist Jordan Elliott, who left the band to join the military and was sent to Afghanistan.

 

“ He’s my best friend and was the best man at my wedding. He was with us for three years and we formed the band eight years ago, but it wasn’t  doing it for him. He was in university and needed a change, so he joined the army,” Connolly related.

“He’s transferred to the navy now. He’s actually stationed in Edmonton, so he will be coming down to see us in Calgary and Edmonton,” he said.

“ He was going to Afghanistan for nine  months, but before he left he gave me a guitar and told me to write some good tunes on it. ‘Just in case something happened.’”

He also wrote the lyrics to the third song on the CD “Right To Know,” and the band still plays some of the older material he wrote with them.
People have really responded to the new music.

“It seems to be catching on, we haven’t had a lot of people out. In Saskatoon, we played a new club on a Wednesday and there were about 30 people out,” he said.
“But hopefully people will come out,” he continued.