Homegrown hardcore band Tattered will be playing a gig in Olds for the first time in close to two years on June 18 and they'll be doing it to raise funds for the Canadian Red Cross.
The show starts at 7 p.m. at the TransCanada Theatre. Admission is $10 at the door and proceeds are going to Fort McMurray disaster relief.
Brad Rempel, lead singer for the band, said they decided to hold the concert after having friends from the affected areas stay at their houses.
"They said it was a scary drive; they saw a couple diesels with the fender flares melted right off of them. After seeing my friends and meeting with them, it's like wow, it really hit home for me. I need to do more to help than just send a few bucks to the Red Cross," Rempel said.
Rempel said he was also searching for local supporting acts.
In 2014, Tattered landed a spot on the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival tour, playing with bands Godsmack, Seether, Skillet and Buckcherry. They played shows in front of crowds that ranged from 3,000 to 15,000 people.
Rempel said they learned a lot from the experience. Of the major lessons was that they had lots of time to get their big break; that they weren't too old to be trying to make it as musicians.
"At that time I was 28 and was thinking, man, starting to get a little older. I don't know how much longer I can be kicking this can," he said.
"I do have those real jobs but I really like the other one way better. When we were on that tour, everybody was in their late-30s, early 40s or even into their 50s. It was like, ‘right on, I have a lot of time to work with this.'"
The band also experienced life on the road. On the one hand, they were all friends, doing what they loved. But many members of the band are family men.
"You really miss your kids. My wife got to come for a few weeks on the tour. You really miss your wife. You're somewhat torn because it's your dream," Rempel said.
He said the band had not been active since then, due to a legal dispute with their record label. Thanks to the help of a management firm, they were able to terminate that contract.
That firm booked Tattered for about 42 Canadian gigs in 2016, he said, but their relationship didn't work out.
"Thankfully I didn't sign a contract with that firm yet. We just parted ways. But unfortunately I kissed goodbye all my gigs in 2016," Rempel said.
They are now free agents; an unsigned, independent band. Rempel said they plan to record singles and pitch major record labels their new album.
Whereas their previous label pushed them into a post-hardcore genre, Rempel said their new release will sound much more like hard rock. Although their style, with the use of growled vocals, resonated in the U.S., they're going for something that will be more palatable to Canadian radio stations.
"Canadian radio stations, almost any screaming, they go, ‘we have 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. designated for bands like you guys,'" he said.
"And then the rest is for rock and roll. We need to get some singles out there that are more along the lines of stuff within our country so we can get more support here."
"At that time I was 28 and was thinking, man, starting to get a little older. I don't know how much longer I can be kicking this can." BRAD REMPEL, Tattered
