by JOHNSON CUMMINS

When talking to the always verbose GrimSkunk guitarist/singer Franz Schuller, nothing can fully prepare you for the flurry of answers and opinions the man volleys back at any question you ask. For the past couple of years, Schuller has been expunging most of his tireless energy manning the oak desk in the offices of his label, Indica. In the recent past, Schuller has been more inclined to talk up his label’s roster, which includes les Trois Accords, Vulgaires Machins, Priestess, Xavier Caféine and more, than he is his own band.

Although Schuller has lost count of how many records GrimSkunk has actually released, it would be safe to say that they have just finished launching their eighth full-fledged studio record, Fires Under the Road. Perhaps Schuller’s mile-a-minute verbal tsunami is due to this being the first real GrimSkunk record since 2002’s Seventh Wave. “I guess we really did take a while getting around to this record, but I think a lot of it just had to do with us being lazy,” admits Schuller.

Although most of the band becoming parents, while Indica’s star continued to rise over the past four years, played a part in the procrastination, it wasn’t until the band brought longtime friend and ex-Groovy Aardvark bassist Vince Peake into the fold a little over a year ago that momentum really picked up.

Fires Under the Road makes up for lost time with songs ranging from hardcore, a nod to their debut Autumn Flowers, to GrimSkunk’s signature psychedelic/progressive sound. However, self-indulgent excess gets trimmed, with some songs treading dangerously close to the mainstream radio dial. Take note that super-producer “GGGarth” Richardson (Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rise Against) was behind the board this time.

“We were still able to explore on this record,” says Schuller, “but after all this time off, we were also really able to play on our strengths and look at the band more objectively. We were lucky enough to ask what makes this band kick ass on stage more than any other band on the planet, and reconnect with that again.”

CD launches at le Spectrum on Friday, Dec. 1 (with les Dale Hawerchuk, White Cowbell Oklahoma and Gong Goya) and Saturday, Dec. 2 (with Psychotic 4, Subb and Wolfunkind), 8 p.m., $17.50, all ages

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