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It was an open stage deal in a Coquitlam, B.C., bar on Dec. 8, 1980. The band heard the news over the radio on the way to the gig.
"It felt very symbolic in a weird way," recalls singer Neil Osborne. "It had more meaning. It wasn't like an omen. It was as if all of a sudden you're fighting the good fight, rather than just making music."
54-40 has been fighting the good fight ever since. The secret to survival? Keep it interesting for the band and the fans will follow. It's a challenge when you're Canada's oldest continuously performing rock band, especially one that's had to rely primarily on Canadian fans. Yes, they've been around longer than the Tragically Hip, longer than Loverboy, even longer than the Guess Who, disqualified from the "oldest continuously performing band" honour by their 30-year "break."
Osborne says he tries not to think about it. "But we seem to know the tricks of survival," he says during a phone interview. "People are telling me it's kind of a badge. You know, like in cubs when you get your skating badge? This is our 20-year badge."
Playing tonight in the Joint, 54-40 has come up with creative ways to keep life interesting. The latest was a whirlwind 20-day tour of Thailand, Morocco and Kenya to make videos for the band's latest album, Casual Viewin'. Instead of spending $100,000 on one video with some fancy director and expensive 35mm film, the band suggested the money would be better spent getting great backdrops for several videos made on the cheap, using the latest digital technology. The label went for it.
The Juno-nominated album was inspired by a line in a Genesis tune which rhymed "Marshall McLuhan" with "casual viewin'." So the journey fit nicely into the "global" theme, Osborne says.
"There were a lot of smiles, a lot of onlookers, a lot of people jumping in front of the cameras. In a few places, we had to do it really guerrilla-style, because we didn't have any permits or anything. We were in this place called Fort Jesus in Mombasa (in Kenya), which was an old slave-trading fort. You pay your $2 to get in on Sunday and you're allowed to take pictures, but once the guy caught on that we were doing something a little more than that, he wanted $1,000 US or he was going to call the police. We managed to talk him down to $100 Cdn."
Fans might notice a more "comfortable" feel to Casual Viewin'. For the first time, the band was able to write and record in its own recording studio, taking their time.
"It's always been a dream for us," Osborne says.
"We can thank our friends Hootie and the Blowfish for that. The money that I Go Blind generated paid for our studio. That was nice."
Despite the decline in fortunes of Hootie & Co. since then, the two bands remain pals. Guitarist Mark Bryan joined 54-40 last year in a "dingy little club" in New York where maybe 40 people had turned up.
Poor Hootie. "They do get a lot of backlash," Osborne says. "But where are the 14 million people who bought that first record? It's like having Frampton Comes Alive or something. Hey, you had it, too."