Excitement is stirring for the soulful, blues-rock band Arkells who hail from Hamilton. The band is moving quickly towards great heights with their recent signing to Dine Alone Records, hopefully bringing with it the nation wide exposure they richly deserve.
Arkells front man Max Kerman filled us in on how the band is taking this new excitement in small steps, displaying the maturity of a band already exposed to the dark side of the music industry.
Dine Alone Records is known for turning artists like Bedouin Soundclash, and City and Colour into household names. Since signing, many fans may have been surprised with the band’s recently changed name, but Kerman explained that the decision to change was not as sudden as many think. “We knew we had to change the band name for awhile because there is already another band named Charlemagne. Our record company caught us off guard when they told us they were going to print our name in the insert of the new City and Colour album. We were like, ‘By the way, you probably want to change the name’ and then we had to think of a name really quick.”
The group came up with Arkells- a moniker they picked simply because of their interest in its random connections to things. “Mike knows an Arkell St. in his home town of Guelph, and there is also an Arkell St. in Hamilton. We Googled the name and there is an Arkells Brewery in England,” Kerman explained.
Other changes are building slowly for the guys until three out of the five members will graduate from McMaster University, and have the ability to commit themselves wholly to the group. “The three of us who still go to Mac have been managing school and the band for the last few years, and we’re used to it. We try practicing once a week, but the hardest part is getting everyone together. Even still, we are super responsible with all our commitments.”
Kerman revealed the group’s collective anticipation for upcoming shows adding, “When we played with Alexisonfire it was great because there was a crowd of 3,000 kids of all ages. We want our music to be accessible to a younger crowd, and not restricted to 19 and up.” As he pointed out, the band’s melodic, yet edgy rock tunes are suited for any age group.
When describing how the band’s sound was created, Kerman pays homage to the many artists who influenced them to focus on the process of songwriting. “I think that at heart we love a lot of singers and songwriters. Some bands think more about the rhythms or achieving cool riffs, but we like how bands like Wilco can put together flawless albums mainly because they write good songs.” Kerman adds, “We are very critical of ourselves when we write songs, and there is lots of editing involved. But we have a lot of material-new and old recordings that we hope to release soon on a full length album.”
When reflecting on the band’s potential for fame in the future Kerman relayed mixed feelings. “It depends on what day you ask me. Sometimes I’m confident that we will be [popular], and other times I’m not so sure. I think musicians like my band mate Dan Griffin, and singer/songwriter, Robyn Dell’Unto are more likely to be the famous ones who went to McMaster”
Despite his modest attitude, Kerman confessed a new love of perks as the band gains more recognition with a new label. “Dine Alone Records had a party for all the bands and paid for our dinners and drinks. We’re not used to those kinds of perks, and we’re really grateful for them.” He is however, quick to express caution toward the band’s growing attention. “I notice we’re getting greedy and we have to be careful of that. Like if we get less than 900 hits on Myspace in a day then we’re disappointed,” he joked. One simple luxury that the band has no shame taking pleasure in is their new band van. Kerman laughed over this seemingly small but integral bonus, adding “It’s nice to have a van because we no longer have to take a city bus to our shows.”
Arkells display a mature and prepared attitude towards dealing with the ups and downs of the music industry. “Our music career is like running a business, except we’re not making money, Kerman said. “We’re always networking and learning from other bands that make bad decisions. We’re very aware of how the music industry works.”
The band exemplifies this attained knowledge by reflecting on the status of one of their favourite bands, Constantines. “The Constantines are still not getting anywhere and they’ve been around for awhile. If things don’t go our way in five years, I hope I’m not jaded. I hope we remember why we got here in the first place. I still want to be enthusiastic about music and I want to keep writing albums. I want to remember how good it is.”
As for the present time, the Arkells have no reason to worry and have every reason to be thrilled as they look forward to a host of potential milestones. Their recent success on an episode of MTV Live on February 21st marked the beginning of a promising journey for the group. In characteristic fashion, Kerman and co. are taking the deserved achievement as they’ve taken everything else thus far-in appreciative stride.