Weekend Dads are a Canadian punk band, hailing from Halifax, NS. They’re far from prolific but from the few tracks that the four-piece have released, they’ve stoked an appetite for a full-length LP which is in the works – personally it can’t come soon enough.
James Robertson (Vocals and Bass) wrote on behalf of Corey O’ Neill (Vocals and Guitar), Matt Grace (Guitar and Vocals) and Dexter Outhit (Drums).
“Matt and I play in a band called The Hemingways and Corey used to play in the Varsity Weirdos. He reached out to us about playing a couple of shows with Rivethead and The Copyrights and in hindsight that was a fucking awesome way for friends to meet,” explained James. It should become clear from this that Weekend Dads play punk rock that could well fall into that whole chasm that is Orgcore. They’re definitely influenced by Dillinger Four, Banner Pilot and The Copyrights.
James continued, “In regards to writing songs and playing shows, the Dads have been together for about four years”, though it was doubtful that they were even a band for a large chunk of those four years. It’s been a whole three years since their first EP was released as well.
“The band’s always been together, but the kicker is that three of us live in Halifax, NS while the other hunkers down about two hours away in Moncton, NB. The distance can be a factor – especially in the shitty ass winter – but we manage to make it work,” says James, citing the Canadian weather as a problem. The UK doesn’t have a patch on Canada in this respect.
The difficulties become clear, as James goes on to say: “There’s a lot of emailing of demos and shitty song ideas but everyone then does their homework and comes to practice knowing what needs to be taken care of. All of us also have unfortunate things like families and loved ones that we have to pay attention to so we have to kind of pick and choose our spots. That being said, if you want us to play in your attic in Bismarck, North Dakota, or your underground bunker in Belgium, we’re totally down for it, but we just need about four months’ notice. Just ask us and we’ll try our best to make it happen.”
Somewhat modestly, James says that there is no particular theme that Weekend Dads write about but he comes to the conclusion that “sometimes we do get grumpy or weirded out by things”. I picked one of the tracks off the Weekend Dads EP – ‘Desperation Mart’ – wondering if it was so much more than this and James confirmed this suspicion, calling it an “awesome song”, and I have to agree.
James continued to explain about ‘Desperation Mart’, stating, “That’s my favourite song that [Corey’s] ever written. That being said I called him today and got his permission to speak on his behalf, so he mentioned that it’s about how we live in a culture that continually and irresponsibly demands more of everything while there seems to be no plan of action either in regards to looking ahead or fixing what’s been broken and left behind.”
Holding your breath for the Nova Scotian punk band to come to the UK is not advised, but they do make it to FEST and Pouzza Fest among others. James wrote that “We just got to play with Against Me! at the Halifax Pop Explosion in October. To say we were excited to do so is an understatement.”
The Weekend Dads EP consists of four tracks but they’re all so strong. It’s not novel but the execution is great, managing to be fast-paced and approachable but poignant and honest, and this is why Weekend Dads need your attention in 2015: they’re “finishing writing a full-length and are planning on recording in the spring”. James concludes, saying that “the demos don’t make me cringe too badly, so that’s a good sign. In regards to shows, we’ll take it as it comes, but hopefully we’ll get to do a bunch out of town.”