Illuminating The Constantines

Bry Webb (L) and Steve Lambke (R)

When the Constantines’ Bry Webb shouted, “can I get a witness?” on ‘Young Offenders’, Sub Pop Records were among the many who sat up and took notice.

Sub Pop’s head A&R guy Shaun Rodgers was in town for Canadian Music Week 2002 and was so blown away by the Cons incendiary live show that he brought a group of Sub Pop staffers to the band’s 2002 SXSW gig which eventually lead to the band signing with the venerable label.

The band’s amazing new CD, Shine a Light, will be distributed via Sup Pop in the U.S.while they remain on Torontoindie powerhouse Three Gut Records in Canada.

“They’re open to us still doing Three Gut Records in Canada, which is sort of important. It’s been awesome so far,” Guitarist and singer Steve Lambke enthused.

Lambke told S&H.ca they’re taking all the attention and well deserved critical gushing they have received over the last couple years in stride. There have even been some rumblings about being the saviours of rock.

“It’s pretty strange,” he admitted. “It’s cool though, just sort of taking it as it comes. Making sure everyone’s comfortable with any decision that we make or any steps that we take forward. It’s a lot more than any of us, or me certainly, thought it would lead to when we started the band.”

Given the hype surrounding 13 Songs, the first LP’s unofficial title, there was some pressure in recording its follow-up so they used the same strategy they used for the first album: set out to record the best album they could.

“There’s a bit of pressure but you try not to think about it in those terms,” Lambke said. “We’re just trying to make this one as good as we can too - for ourselves as much as thinking about how other people are going to hear it. Because that can be pretty disruptive to the entire process.”

They consciously left the recording of the album loose to capture the energy of their explosive live shows. They also recorded the songs live and to tape. It’s the next best thing to being there.

Further fleshing out the band’s sound is keyboard player Will Kidman. Kidman came on board after their old keyboard player, Evan Gordon, left the band in 2002. They were so impressed by what he brought to the table that they asked him to go out on a week-long tour. Unfortunately, they didn’t teach any of their old material so the tour was a trial by fire.

“He stood up well under fire I think,” Lambke laughed. “Adding someone can always lead to slow things down if you have to start learning all the songs again. But it’s just worked out awesome.”

The Constantinesare a band that have to been seen live to truly be appreciated. Their gigs have been described in almost transcendent terms and Lambke admits that this happened by chance at first.

“It’s the same with writing a song. You do something that works and you try and do it again,” he explained. “There’s a pretty huge element of chance involved. You try to take things in certain directions where stuff like that is encouraged or at least the possibility of it happening remains open.”

The memorable gigs are far too numerous to mention though a sparsely attended gig in North Baystands out. They have a song that they draw out the ending of and the band started stomping and clapping when an older woman, who had been sitting at the bar and more or less ignoring them, joined in and started singing a Janis Joplin tune at the top of her voice.

“By this point we’re standing on the floor at the front of the stage and scattered throughout the bar doing this and she took over and it was just one of these really, really awesome moments,” Lambke said.

“Then there’s times when there’s more than 5 people at a show and you get the feeling that everyone’s really excited, tambourines being shaken and hand claps and lots of stuff like that can happen there. Or crazy destruction when we’re playing. There’s lots of memories.”

Photograph by Jennifer Adams, courtesy Sub Pop Records