Pieced together from four iconic Canadian bands, the TransCanada Highwaymen play the Capitol Centre April 23. The lineup, from left, Steven Page (formerly Barenaked Ladies), Moe Berg (The Pursuit of Happiness), Chris Murphy (Sloan) and Craig Northey (The Odds).
by John Law
You can practically hear Craig Northey wince over the phone as soon as he hears the words: Supergroup.
The frontman for The Odds is on the line from Vancouver talking about his latest project, The TransCanada Highwaymen, when the dreaded tag comes up. Inevitable, when your new band includes Chris Murphy of Sloan, Moe Berg of The Pursuit of Happiness, and former Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page.
“None of us see ourselves as super, as you’ll find,” he says with a laugh. “We’re as mortal and as ordinary as they come. I don’t know how you get past that. I think the idea about all super groups is that they fail, so why put pressure on anybody?”
As Northey describes it, this new foursome pieced together from old bands is all about the fun. Fun to watch. Fun to listen to. And for all them, fun to hang out with. All have been friends for years, this is just another way to spend quality time together.
“This is just an extended ‘hang’,” he says. “Jim Millan, the person who’s kind of the producer of this show, was one of the people who shepherded it together. I worked with him with The Kids in the Hall for a long time, and he’s also a friend of Moe’s. He though this would be a great thing for people to see four frontmen who were all in bands talk about what that means and articulate the music.”
The music, for now, is all familiar. Each member brings some of their old hits to the table, which is like playing fantasy football with actual players, says Northey. He’s not just playing One Week or I’m An Adult Now, he’s playing it with the guys who sang them.
“I think all of us look at the set list and go ‘Oh, next song’s my song, OK …’, and then ‘Oh man! It’s one of Moe’s!’ You don’t really think about your own songs that much. It’s one you didn’t have to learn.”
The band kicks off a 10-day tour this week which brings them to the Capitol Centre April 23.
If all goes well, an album should follow.
“It would be a place to start,” Northey says. “To begin with, it’s for the fun of playing our stuff. I think after we’re together and we realize it could be even more fun, we’ll go further.
“I’m hoping we don’t put a bunch of pressure on each other. We really enjoy each other’s company so much and enjoy the music. That’s part of how music starts … the hang.
“It’s not like we needed verification we had common ground."
--taken from: North Bay Nugget
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