The title of Andre Pettipas and The Giants upcoming sophomore album, No Fools No Fun, implies that some mistakes are inevitable, it’s more a matter of how you handle them. “Sympathy Card,” the final track recorded for the album, is a song about recognizing those mistakes and owning up to them.
Pettipas sings, “Stop playing the sympathy card because the only joke that’s left is on you,” belting it out over a light mechanical grinding of hard rock. It’s a bit of high energy fun from a band known for their high energy fun, with a bitter kickback.
When it comes to pointing fingers, however, it seems that Pettipas’ experience has him largely concerned with some pinpointed problems that might prove perennial, but have become particularly prevalent over the course of the pandemic.
“Sometimes the biggest thing holding you back is yourself,” says Pettipas. “Don’t dwell on the things you didn’t accomplish or things that might not have gone your way. That will only slow down the progress.
“In the music industry, you have to keep thinking about that next step. Plan, plan, plan then make a backup plan because you could end up in the middle of a pandemic during the most important time in your career. At the drop of a hat, things can change. It’s what you do with the hand your dealt that helps you succeed. Take small steps to help you make a giant leap.”
And it seems like Andre Pettipas and The Giants have been doing well in that regard. Throughout lockdown, their livestreams have had a huge draw – entertaining aplenty and bringing in new fans.
They’re certainly not slouched when it came to recording their new album either. They’ve been working with John-Angus MacDonald (The Trews) as their producer, after meeting at Canadian Music Week last year.
“The Trews are a huge musical influences to the band. After sending the batch of demos this song stuck out to J.A.,” says Pettipas. “He heard a CCR-meets-Zeppelin vibe and wanted to simplify the song into a three-chord song.
“Fast forward to Fall 2019 and the final song to record on the album. John Angus had flown in from Spain the night before as he was over playing for the troops with The Trews. We began working at noon and let the final vocal track go at around 2 A.M..
Add in Jessie Brown to kick out the stops with some vocals, and the end result sounds like Andre Pettipas and The Giants have nothing to regret.