by PETER-JOHN KENNEDY

The ghost of Hank Williams groans as the thought of country music today conjures up images of Faith Hill draped in Prada or pseudo-cowboys like Alan Jackson sounding like a pick-up truck commercial. The Sadies, however, stick to a more traditional vein, playing country & western music influenced by rock, roll, rhythm ’n’ blues. More evocative of horses and saloons than NASCAR, y’all. Fronted by the brothers Good, Dallas and Travis, they return to Montreal’s Sala Rossa on the heels of their barnburning show during last month’s Pop Montreal festival.

While the rest of the band call Toronto home, fiddler/guitarist Travis takes the country thing up a notch, living on a farm near Peterborough where he enjoys such simple comforts as, uh, satellite TV. “We just got hooked up with the pirate dish with like, a million channels, so I’ve been watching a fair bit. I go out on the road and socialize four months of the year, so when I get home I’m pretty content with sitting back.”

But it’s not all couch potato action down on the farm, as evidenced by the work put into their new album, Stories Often Told, probably their most accomplished to date. It’s a shimmering, reverb-drenched affair, with hints of spaghetti-western alongside surf-twang instrumentals, as well as rootsier numbers reminiscent of, say, the Band. “We tried to make this one a little different. It’d be boring to make the same Sadies record.”

A more adventurous production and flourishes like strings and horns support his claim. Several friends, including Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor and ex-Eric’s Tripper Rick White, also helped out. Dallas and Travis’s mom even makes an appearance, lending vocals to the spooky ballad “A Steep Climb.” The Goods obviously inherited some of their passion for the genre from their folks (dad plays dobro and autoharp in a bluegrass band). But as anyone who has seen their live show can attest, their energy can seem, dare I say, a bit punkish? “We grew up with a lot of country records in the house,” explains Travis, “but as a kid that doesn’t necessarily make you a fan. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. I think that all that country music made me and Dallas get into punk rock. But then one day I realized that Bill Monroe played faster than the Dead Kennedys. I think we’re kind of punk rockers but our instrumentation is all very country.”

As stylistic lines become blurred, the Clash can sit quite nicely next to Johnny Cash in any audiophile’s record collection. The operative word here is versatility as the Sadies can play pretty much any style the occasion demands. Past collaborators have included Jad Fair, Neko Case and soul crooner Andre Williams. There’s even talk of doing soundtrack work for an animated, full-length Western. For now, the Sadies are in road-warrior mode and smoky, sweaty shows with an inch of beer on the floor are the order of the day. But first, Travis has some business to attend to. “It’s deer hunting season, and whenever I hear a shot go off, I like to go out to the trailer where we practice and play the drums as loud as I can.”

Now Bambi can feel a little safer from the Ted Nugents of the world. :

With Lil’ Andy and Karaoke Cowboy at
la Sala Rossa on Friday, Oct. 25, 9pm, $10

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