With their latest video, Murder Murder, the east-coast bloodgrass band from Ontario, are trying their hardest to convince us that they’re not a bunch of bloodthirsty murderous brutes. Taken from their 2017 album, Wicked Lines and Veins, their video for ‘Pale Rider Blues’ follows the band on a blatantly-staged, happy-go-lucky trip to Live From The Rock music festival in Red Rock, Ontario. Full of smiles and classic road-trip shenanigans, the band go to great lengths to put themselves in any light where the bloodstains won’t show. What are they going to try next? Photo shoots with puppy dogs?
“Ummm, the video tells most of it,” says Murder Murder fiddle player Geoff McCausland, as he hesitates to remark on the less savoury activities of their trip.
“Oh, here’s a family-friendly one,” he says, finally lighting on a story he seems comfortable enough to divulge. “We asked from the stage at our first show if anyone could take us sailing. Sure enough, someone came up right after to offer their boat and an adventure was born. We were out all afternoon in the gorgeous waters of Northern Superior.”
As is often the case, we were unable to track down the owners of the boat for further comment.
The band admit that the rest of their trip was not without incident, and that they had received complaints from at least one campsite. After reports of loud and disturbing noises, the band were approached and ultimately threatened by a group of campers.
None of the campers were available for comment.
At least two more individuals were witness to the events of the trip were Sudbury-based videographer Brandon Gray, who the band refer to as an “old friend, “and a mysterious “Tariq,” who can also be seen in the available footage.
The exact nature of the relationship between Gray, Tariq and the band has yet to be fully understood. Though claims of certain cult-like behaviours have been mentioned, witnesses have been hesitant to come forward. It is understood, however, that following the events of that weekend, Gray was asked to join Murder Murder in Europe later this year to help further the band’s false image as being morally upright individuals.