It's been almost two months since we last talked about local/Barrie crossover thrash quartet Spades GT's activity on here, so let's make up for lost time! We'll pick things back up with a "Reel" on their Facebook page on April 10th, where guitarist Daniel Horton gave a "public service announcement" during a jam break, where they were rehearsing a new live set. Reportedly, the last time that fans would hear their standard set that they have played since last year would be at their concert in Newmarket on April 20th (more on that in a bit). Truthfully, local fans have only seen that set live once, but it'll add variety to videos until they return! Drummer Tyler Reiner followed with another "Reel" on April 16th to plug four upcoming shows and the unstated ones to come. The former Jack Spades played their first concert of 2024 at The Ten Gallon Bar & Grill on 4/20 when they and other bands opened for Toronto hardcore punk band Choices Made, and a recap video was posted two days later, so what can be seen there?
Sadly. it is a "Reel", which isn't shocking at this point, but still not ideal compared to a longer, horizontal, and embeddable video. Within, you'll see Spades GT arriving at the Ten Gallon, setting up, and hanging out, as well as some brief performance footage (no live audio from the concert proper is heard, but two Spades studio tracks are used as background music). The most unique aspect of the "Reel" is that they filmed someone getting arrested, apparently for refusing to pay the cover charge to get in that night. Amusingly, clips of the TV show Cops were inserted beforehand, so kudos to the guys for keeping things light, and obviously, if you're attending a concert with a cover or admission fee, don't question it, support the venue and bands! Via the poster seen in this "Reel", Spades also announced the rest of their then-known tour dates in 2024, though none of them (so far) are closer to the Soo than a six hour drive.
The guys next took the stage at Lee's Palace in Toronto on May 11th, where they and other bands opened for The Bunchofuckingoofs, who played here at the former Roosevelt Hotel back in 2013. Spades debuted their new live set here as the very first band on the bill, and you can see a bunch of excellent (if black & white) photos of their set that night by Miles LeBlanc at this link. Shockingly, the recap video for this gig was first uploaded to Facebook as a standard video, not as a "Reel", so while it's still vertical and short, it is embeddable on external websites like this. The audio wasn't content-matched either! No performance video here at all, but lots of casual footage of them hanging out and setting up at Lee's, including remarks to the camera by everyone except James, and even a cameo by one of their regular promoters down south. If you like the format of these short recap videos, this will be up your alley, so give this non-"Reel" a watch on the SMS below!
We'll close today with one more video, as the local half of Spades GT (Daniel and singer J.D. Pearce) were interviewed on May 15th by Dave Standridge of Pennsylvania-based agency This Is Pop Punk Promotions, who conducts multiple artist interviews for their YouTube channel. "Pop punk" is a stretch in terms of Spades GT's sound, but kudos to Dave for giving them the spotlight, and he interviewed Daniel again with his other Barrie-based punk band The Fast Life just last week! The 15 minute remote interview features J.D. & Dan talking about how they formed (their Soo origins do come up briefly), the response to "Sewer City Radio", their promotional efforts in Barrie and the G.T.A., their favourite venues and bands in Barrie, their influences, and their ideal bands to tour with, before diving into some non-musical questions to better know them as people. Questions here include their favourite seasons, school subjects, beer, ...
...famous people they'd talk to in the past if they could, favourite Batman actors, favourite charities, and places to check out in Barrie. The questions and responses are good here, but Dave should have more natural segues between questions, as it felt very abrupt and impersonal at times. Still, this was a fun & laid back interview, and Dave definitely liked visiting in Canada a while back, which showed in the discussion! Check out the full interview for yourselves below, and see more from T.I.P.P.P. above!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post next, before we begin this very busy stretch of weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!
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