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Vancouver rockers 54-40 trekked off to Thailand, Kenya and Morocco between mid-May and early June last year to do some sightseeing, play and shoot a few videos as a companion to their just-released album, Casual Viewin'.
The impetus for the around-the-world-in-20-days journey -- the band wanted to realize the 'global village' theories of media guru Marshall McLuhan, who predicted the future union of cultures through technology.
"The whole thing came about organically," says lead singer-guitarist Neil Osborne as he gears up for the group's two-night stint at Barrymore's Monday and Tuesday night.
"We were listening to Genesis' Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. And there's a line on that album, 'Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin' that came up, which triggered us into writing and recording this record. And the more we found out about McLuhan, the more we believed that would be a great title for the album and, by extension, that whole trip."
Armed with a laptop computer, digital camera and satellite phone, Osborne, guitarist Phil Comparelli, bassist Brad Merritt and drummer Matt Johnson brought along a director, producer and cameraman for their journey, which would be broadcast back to Canadian fans via their website. Of course, their country-hopping ran into a few obstacles.
"We were most concerned about getting into Kenya and surviving there, but that went fine," Osborne says. "Then Morocco, we all expected to be the easiest to get in.
"Sure enough, a couple guys approached us and asked, 'What's all this?' We told them, 'We're a band. We're just taking pictures.' I guess they thought we were journalists, so they replied, 'Oh, we'll take (your camera and video equipment), 'cause you don't have permits."
After a train ride to the nearest Canadian embassy, permits and equipment were secured and the Moroccan journey resumed, though the group remained under heavy surveillance.
Scrutiny aside, that same trip also turned out to be a entertainment history lesson for 54-40. The four jammed in front of a castle where Orson Welles shot the film Othello and also took in the sights and vibes of Jimi Hendrix Village, the late guitar great's failed commune.
Casual Viewin', 54-40's self-produced 11th studio album since their 1980 inception (ninth with the current lineup), continues the band's '60s-style philosophy of keeping things simple, be it in the songs, recording and such. Simplicity has always reaped huge rewards in the form of hook-friendly '80s and '90s hit singles such as Miss You, Baby Ran, Nice to Luv You, Ocean Pearl, Since When and I Go Blind. The latter also reaped huge financial dividends as a monster hit for Hootie and the Blowfish .
"As a direct result, we got to build our own studio, started jamming and started recording this album," says an ecstatic Osborne. "The Hootie thing was great for that."