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Vancouver-based band The Paperboys are about to release a new album called Callithump. Paperboys founder and frontman Tom Landa said the word describes a riotous street parade or an assembly of noisemakers.
What better music to accompany Whistler’s Canada Day celebrations on Wednesday (July 1)? The band is set to play in Mountain Square at 1:30 p.m.
Landa said the music on Callithump is up-tempo and high-energy — exactly like a live performance by The Paperboys. In fact, he set out to make a record that would be representative of a Paperboys’ show.
“It (Callithump) describes the album to a T,” he said. “The whole record is festive, with a sort of street parade atmosphere to it.”
The album, which will be ready for release in about a week, is The Paperboys’ seventh. Landa said the Canada Day show in Whistler will feature a lot of new music from the album, as well as favourites from the past six records.
While The Paperboys have long been known for an eclectic mix of Celtic, Mexican, Latin, folk, soul, roots and pop sounds — all often in the same song — Landa said the new album has a greater focus on the Mexican and Latin grooves. Trumpet, saxophone and other horns are featured alongside guitar, piano, flute, fiddle, drums, banjo, vocals and more.
“It’s really quite a big sound,” he said.
The Paperboys have become the go-to band for outdoor, all-ages shows in Whistler and the rest of the corridor, and you’ll often find them onstage during 2010 Olympic countdown and related events. They recently played at the “Squamish Rocks 2010” event.
Landa said he thinks the band often gets booked for such gigs because it has a universal appeal. Audience members at Paperboys shows often range from little kids and people in their 20s to grandparents. The Paperboys’ music is a sound all ages can sink their teeth into, he said. The music is mostly upbeat and positive as well, which adds to its appeal for an outdoor, all-ages event.
Landa said the band’s diverse members also represent Canada’s multiculturalism. One member is originally from Scotland, another is Cuban-Canadian and Landa himself grew up in Mexico.
“We represent the different colour palates that are British Columbia and Canada,” he said.
The band has been collecting rave reviews, awards and nominations since Landa set out to start it in 1994. He said he moved from Ontario to Vancouver with the purpose of starting a band, and he recruited members by attending jam and open-mike nights and for placing ads in local papers.
The original band lineup was all male and each musician had delivered papers in the past, so The Paperboys name was coined. The band has seen various lineups over the years and by the second record, there were two female musicians, but the name stuck.
Kendel Carson currently plays fiddle and sings with the band, and Landa said he likes having a female presence. It adds to the band’s cultural and generational diversity, he said.
Join The Paperboys (and girl) for a festive street party on Wednesday (July 1) in Mountain Square. The show is free and gets underway at 1:30 p.m.
