Mar. 13, 2013 - Issue #908: In Your Face
Long may you run
Captain Tractor celebrates 2o years of music
The Celtic-tinged, spirited brand of folk churned out by local stalwarts Captain Tractor is ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Not that the band ever needed an excuse to get a party started.
The six-piece has become known for its riotous live shows, with sing-along lyrics that speak of the heritage of the city—and province—through tunes like "The Bastard of Strathcona County" and "The City of Champions." Hell, the band even has its own beer—Captain Tractor Yellowhead Wheat Ale—which commemorated the band's 10th anniversary. While there'll be no new personalized alcohol to mark year 20, the group is putting together a live album to capture the spirit of its shows through songs spanning its discography.
"In band years it must be like 350," laughs co-founder Scott Peters of the accomplishment, acknowledging it can be tough for bands to stick around and that when Captain Tractor first started out he never imagined it would crack to the two-decade milestone. "We started out just to have fun and play music. I don't think we were looking too far into the future when we first got together and started doing it, but then things went on and we started touring and selling out shows and stuff in Toronto for a while. We started to think about what we were doing ... and now it's come back to after 10 years of really slogging it out, we play just to have fun again."
Captain Tractor has remained staunchly independent during its career, something Peters jokes is likely for the best, considering no sane record company would be keen on letting the band get away with some of its antics—such as entering a recording studio without having rehearsed new material, much like Captain Tractor did for its previous album, Famous Last Words.
The ability to pull off a feat such as that is one that comes with experience and building strong camaraderie amongst one's fellow band mates. With a deep pool of inspiration to draw from, which Peters notes stems from numerous members of the band having other projects and an array of life experiences, there's no shortage of stories left for Captain Tractor to tell.
"It's kind of cliché to say, but we'll still be doing it as long as it's fun and people want to listen," Peters says. "We have no reason to break up."
Sun, Mar 17 (9 pm)
Cook County Saloon, $7
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