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Elk
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by
Jordy Yack
February 25 - March 3, 2010 |
An elk is a majestic animal that mostly feeds on grasses and can be found grazing in parts of North America and Asia.
Elk is a mighty rock n’ roll band with a garage rock aesthetic that hails from St. Catharines. The rock n’ roll four–piece insists on always moving, expanding and never stagnating. This Sunday marks the release of the band’s debut self–titled album, that for the most part was recorded live off the floor with a few overdubs. “We didn’t want it to sound like it came out of a studio, but it does,” concedes Josh Korody, Elk’s drummer and producer. “A lot of the things I do are pretty heavy–handed production projects; it came out a little too clean – I was listening to a lot of Hives at the time. Their albums sound clean, but dirty.”
“I don’t think we know what we wanted [at the time of recording], but we’re happy with it,” adds guitarist Kyle Connelly.
Elk’s debut is brave, mature and exceptional. Not only is the quality of the recording spot on, but the material is good enough that it could fend for itself among garage–rock heavyweights like King Khan and The Black Lips. The album bounces between super–catchy hooks (“Sometime Together” and “Blonde”) to slightly alternative, ‘90s–inspired college–rock (“Darling” and “Coming Home”) to the ferociously fuzzy (“Blonde” and “The Door”). “At the start when I joined the band, I felt like everyone contributed. No ideas were really thrown out and there were really rough ideas that ended up as songs on the CD. Maybe we’ll write better songs after this,” maintains Korody.
A week after the band release their debut, they plan on entering the studio again to put some songs to tape. Luckily for Elk, they have access to a recording studio; Korody’s been producing albums for the past few years. However, despite having free access to a studio, the band is less interested in nitpicking over small details and would rather spend more time evolving and writing new material. “There are fuck–ups on the album: we go off time, there are tempo changes, but we’re not really concerned about it. We went with the vibe and it’s not pieced together,” continues Korody.
“We’d rather jam than get hung up on a vocal track,” adds Mike Price, the band’s lead singer.
Elk formed a couple of years ago when Price and guitarist Kyle Connelly continued to write music after an old band they played in broke up. They added Benjamin Pokol and (for a short time) Justis Tremblay just after Welland’s Consumer Alert ended their short run. “We pounced on ‘em” laughs Connelly. “Then Josh joined us as drummer.”
Elk isn’t quite a household name yet, but with a few of the right moves, and the ability to play off the energy of their self–titled release, they’re going to be burning out amps and speakers in Niagara and beyond. A few weeks ago, Elk played their first show in Toronto at Howl, a monthly garage–rock series held at Graffiti’s. And due to the band’s success at Howl, they’ve scored a gig at the almost–legendary El Mocambo. “Apparently Ryan Gosling was there,” explains Korody. “Getting a gig at the El Mo is a lot bigger than playing in a basement in Welland.”
After the CD release party on Sunday, Elk plan on getting right back into the studio – the ultimate goal is to have a label put out the next album and make more than a limited run of 100 copies. “We do want someone to put out this record. Even vinyl would be awesome,” explains Korody. “One thing I really like about this band is that we’re not too serious, but we do want people to take us seriously. We’re not into ourselves and we don’t really look back on what we’ve done. We don’t put hours and hours into a song, we just go. It’s fun and allows us to keep moving.”
As for an upcoming tour featuring Elk and Caribou, no plans have been made, although a summer tour across the grasslands would make sense in an ironic–wilderness sort of way. Unfortunately, Dan Snaith was unavailable for comment. “Better watch out for Deerhunter too,” laughs Price. P
[JORDY YACK]
Elk (St. Catharines, ON)
w/Northern Primitive, the Dirty Nils
@ Merchant Ale House.
98 St. Paul St., St. Catharines.
Sunday, February 28, 8:00pm.
myspace.com/elkelk
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