This was a good year for One Bad Son.
With three Top 20 singles on the charts, tours with Def Leppard and Judas Priest, and gigs all over Canada and into the U.S., the Vancouver-based rock band hasn’t had much time to sit around and reflect on 2015 yet. But singer Shane Volk summarizes: “It’s been excellent!”
The latest One Bad Son single to break into the Top 20 on the rock charts is Psycho Killer, a Talking Heads cover.
Volk said the band doesn’t usually do covers and wasn’t aiming to make a chart-topper with the song. “We didn’t think it would turn out to be anything. We were just jamming and approaching it in a fun way …”
But the resulting tune sounded like it would fit onto a One Bad Son album. “We put our own stamp on it,” he added. After audiences embraced the group’s rocking live performances of the 1970s cover song, the band decided to add Psycho Killer to the 2014 Black Buffalo recording.
The successful single follows two previous hits from the same album — Satellite Hotel, which went to No. 5 on Canadian rock charts, and the Black Buffalo title track, which is at No. 6.
Volk is gratified that fans across the country are liking what One Bad Son is doing. “We’re really getting a name for ourselves in Canada. Red Deer fans are particularly enthusiastic. He said, “We’ve sold out nine shows in a row in Red Deer and we’re hoping our tenth will also be a sell-out show.”
The band performs with Australian rockers The Lazys on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at Bo’s Bar and Grill in Red Deer.
One Bad Son, including guitarist Adam Hicks, bassist Adam Grant and drummer Kurt Dahl, was formed in 2004 in Saskatoon. After putting out a couple of albums, the group won a regional contest to open for Grammy Award-nominated group Godsmack in 2007.
In 2012, the band members decided to just show up at various radio stations in Western Canada, offering to play their song Scarecrows live on air, and the tactic resulted in a Top 5 hit.
Since then, One Bad Son has played with Buckcherry, Monster Truck, Three Days Grace and Crash Karma. In 2013, the group won a nation-wide Sirius XM Radio contest to play at Grey Cup festivities.
With the success of the Black Buffalo release, One Bad Son is back on a Western tour that will end with a big hometown show in Saskatoon on Dec. 19. Volk said he and his fellow band members always look forward to playing for friends and family at Christmas time.
All the band’s musicians — except for bachelor Volk — got either married, engaged or had a child in the last year. In 2016, they are planning to continue touring and work on a new album.
Volk said it will feature songwriting that’s evolved towards a looser approach. Instead of one band member coming up with a definite idea of how a song should go, he said all the musicians will jam together, get input and let things go from there. “It’s more organic” — and seems to be working, he added.
The group also plans a greater push into the U.S. in the new year.
Volk said One Bad Son has already performed in Los Angeles and made some fans among Americans who live near the border cities of Windsor and Sarnia, Ont. and hear the Canadian band’s music on the radio.
Tickets to the Red Deer show are $30 from Ticketfly or the venue.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com