Monster Truck is bringing its classic rock sound and a batch of new songs along when they visit Ottawa’s Bronson Centre on Dec. 6.
Fresh off a tour through Europe opening for Slash feat Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, the Hamilton, Ont. natives are playing a string of five shows around Ontario to close out 2014. Following the success of their 2013 album Furiosity, the band plans to release a new album sometime in 2015, and have already begun playing new tracks at their live events.
“It’s important to us to see how they feel live and get that feedback,” said guitarist Jeremy Widerman. “It was really cool, some of the places in Europe we played the brand new songs and they are so enthusiastic about rock and roll they are singing along by the end of it, and they’ve never heard the song before. I think it’s hugely encouraging, not only for growing our fan base in Europe, but also for how good the songs are and how catchy they are for people to grasp onto which I think is the hallmark of a great song.”
Monster Truck had plans to do some work on the new album during the fall, but bumped those back after the tour offer from Slash came down. The legendary guitarist had done tours with the band before and as Widerman put it, “I think it’s written in the Bible somewhere that you can’t say no to Slash.”
Winners of the 2013 Breakthrough Group of the year at the Juno awards, Monster Truck has found success not only nationally but internationally as well, nominated for International Breakthrough Artist at the Bandit Rock Awards in Sweden.
Avoiding the “traditional Canadian rock sound” and opting for a more “southern, classical style,” has helped the group gain that following in markets like the U.S., while also helping them connect with acts like Slash, Alice and Chains, Deep Purple, ZZ Top and Rival Sons.
Their traditional sound and high energy provides something for almost every demographic, making Monster Truck shows an interesting place to be.
“We end up with a lot of 30-40 something’s and in some cases their kids,” said Widerman. “In a way it’s really neat for us because it feels like we’re bringing families together. Their nine or ten year-old son or daughter likes the band a lot and so does dad and mom, so you’ve got whole families coming out to the show.”
But the crowds can also be the rowdy types you’d expect at a rock show, as was the case when Monster Truck played a wild show at Ritual last year.
“We kind of had to yell at the crowd to calm down and everybody was able to rein it in just enough to make sure that no one left in an ambulance,” said Widerman. “It was a small place and it was sold out. You don’t wanna see any of those bigger guys moshing out of control and hurting those people that are just there to kind of watch the show. It’s kind of important to us that you have that good balance between rowdiness and the average music listener that just wants to listen to the show and not get slammed into by a 250 pound dude.”
This time around they’ll be playing the 900-seat Bronson Centre along with Eagle Tears. Tickets are still on sale at $31+service charges. Doors open at 7pm.