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Music

The Sheepdogs

THE SHEEPDOGS with MONSTER TRUCK and others as part of JINGLE BELL ROCK at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor West), Friday and Saturday (December 9 and 10). $15. RT, SS, TM. See listing.


The meteoric rise of the Sheepdogs over the past year is the kind of classic underdog story Canadians love.

After seven years of toughing it out on the road with only modest recognition and success, the Saskatoon classic rock enthusiasts beat out 1,200 other applicants in a contest to become the first-ever unsigned band to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, which hit stands in August.

Since then, they’ve quit their day jobs, moved out of their parents’ basements and signed a deal with Atlantic. It’s been immediate and intense, but guitarist/lead singer Ewan Currie insists it’s not a straightforward rags-to-riches tale.

“It’s been a dream come true – don’t get me wrong,” he drawls over the phone from a tour stop in Fredericton. “But just because we won the competition doesn’t mean we can sit back, put our feet up and watch the money roll in. It puts us in a better position, but we’ve still got to work hard.”

And they’re working harder than ever. Since winning, they’ve supported Kings of Leon on an arena tour, played across the U.S. twice and are now headlining a Canadian tour that has them doing 24 shows in 26 days.

“We’ve put over 37,000 kilometres on our van in the past year,” Currie says, only half-bragging.

It’s all paying off. Their 2010 Learn & Burn album, a stoner-friendly throwback to the Allman Brothers, Cream and just about anyone who appeared on the Dazed & Confused soundtrack, has gone gold in Canada, quite a feat considering it was self-recorded on a computer to save studio fees.

In the States, though, they’ve achieved notoriety for a more embarrassing reason: their appearance on Project Runway. It was an undeniable profile boost, despite the fact that the fashion-centric reality show doesn’t exactly reflect their long-hair-and-bell-bottoms aesthetic.

“That seems to be the number-one thing people know us from over there, even more than the Rolling Stone cover,” chuckles Currie bemusedly. “People recognize us, which feels great until they go, ‘Oh yeah, Project Runway.’ We’re good sports about it, but you can add that to the list of things we won’t be doing again.”

Interview Clips

Some people, including Mayor Don Atchison, were upset at the way Saskatoon was portrayed in the Rolling Stone article. According to Currie, he wasn’t bothered at all.

Download associated audio clip.

Ewan Currie on the strangeness of hearing The Sheepdogs single I Don’t Know on the radio.

Download associated audio clip.

Does the profile boost create pressure the next Sheepdogs album?

Download associated audio clip.

music@nowtoronto.com

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