The Backstays are Saint John, New Brunswick’s newest band, and in a fitting ode (of sorts) to the city, the band’s first single “Dreams” is all about living life uptown, for better or worse.
The Backstays epitomize Saint John life; their nautical name is even a tongue-in-cheek reference to our tendency on the east coast to yo-yo out to work in far-off-lands only to return home. Uncoincidentally, the band formed when Pete Johnston met Keith Whipple after returning home to work on a lobster boat. Conceptually, The Backstays are as much Saint John as Moose Light.
Their sound is anything but, though. The typical Port City sound that revels in a lo-fi DIY punk aesthetic is nowhere to be found. Instead, The Backstays, now a five-piece made up of Johnston and Whipple along with Serenna Chapman, Derek Hilchie and Lorne Kirkpatrick, are all synth, reverb, and polish.
The song itself, as the band explain, is about a stereotypical Saint John experience: that winter lull that overtakes the city, and trying to cope with maybe a few too many nights down on the boardwalk.
“I’d say most of what I write comes from where I am, for sure the city inspires a lot of what I write. The sort of ongoing recession here in Saint John has a big part in it. Sometimes it feels we are stuck, but there’s a character of the city that’s resilient,” says Pete Johnston who handles The Backstay’s vocals, guitar, and harmonica.
“I don’t think that the cold, stuck in a rut, lull is unique to Saint John, but for whatever reason, when it’s happening it sort of feels that way,” says Keith Whipple, the band’s bassist, in agreement. “When I heard Pete’s lyrics I instantly related to that feeling of being a bit down, but knowing you can usually find some friends on the boardwalk to snap you out of it.”
“I suppose to a big part of what the song is about is how we all look forward to the times when you get together with your buds have a few drinks and forget about whatever might be bugging you. When the winter ends and things start fresh,” says Pete.
Recorded with Adam Dincorn at Undertone Studio, “Dreams” is just the first single for the band’s upcoming EP which is set for release on August 2nd, 2018.
In the meantime you can catch the band at the Capital Complex in Fredericton on Friday June 29th with Joyful Noise. They’ll also be performing during the Canada Day Celebrations on the Market Square Boardwalk as part of their single launch. The band will be having their official release of their EP at the Five and Dime in Saint John on August 2nd with a Maritime tour to follow.