THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.
MIKE CUTHBERTSON
Arts Writer
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In the music world today, new genres and novelties have left some listeners disillusioned. One wonders, “Where is our generation taking music?”
 It is this that makes Saskatoon’s rock-powerpop group Ride ‘Til Dawn so refreshing to hear and to see live. The band plays a genuine style of rock that draws on the best of rock history, such as Neil Young and Crazy Horse or The Replacements. Yet Ride ‘Til Dawn has a distinctive sound.Â
Their uniqueness may be attributed to the down-to-earth vocals of singer/songwriter Mitch Grier, as well as the undeniably rockin’ and quick moving guitars and drums. But through all the rockin’ and rollin’ the group somehow sounds very cohesive. Lead guitar riffs tend to play along with the songs instead of needing to stop the song for a solo. Also, the band does not use much for guitar effects or production.Â
Their album Hearts of Worlds Forgotten has the same raw excitement that the first generation of rock bands must have had when they began making music with electric instruments.
On March 27, Ride ‘Til Dawn will be playing covers of The Replacements at the Broadway Theatre. They will be joined by five other local musicians to raise funds for BlackFlash Magazine, a new-media arts publication.
The show will be a great opportunity to see the music of The Clash, Will Oldham, The Replacements, The Rolling Stones, John Cale and Ryan Adams as reinterpreted by local talent. The Sheaf got in touch with Mitch Grier to ask him a bit about Ride ‘Til Dawn’s upcoming plans and talk about the band’s sound.
The Sheaf: You’re going to be playing songs by The Replacements at the Blackflash Magazine covers night. What about the Replacements made your band want to cover them?
Mitch Grier: Well they’re one of our favourites and The Replacements also kind of had a reputation of being a “covers” band.
Sheaf: Now Ride ‘Til Dawn brought in a new guitarist, Corey Dallin.
Grier: Yeah, Ian (former lead guitarist) left the band to go to South America and Corey had actually played bass in an earlier lineup of Ride ‘Til Dawn.
Sheaf: Having a new lineup, are you going to take your music in a new direction?
Grier: I don’t know. Right now we’re kind of just catching Corey up on the songs and doing the covers.
Sheaf: Can people expect a new album coming out any time soon?
Grier: We recorded an album with Ian before he left. Right now we’re just working on mixing it.
Sheaf: A lot of your songs harken back to the bygone era of music. Is there anything from older rock music that Ride ‘Til Dawn puts in its music?
Grier: I guess the turning point in my music listening was when I started buying records instead of just CDs. You know, you can always find great old records that are really cheap. So I guess, yeah, old rock music is a lot of what we all like.
Sheaf: Your lyrics often remind me of life in Saskatoon. Is there anything about living here that inspires your lyrics?
Grier: Well, when I write songs I’m mostly just trying to write in that style of older rock tunes. But yeah, I guess to write anything great you got to really throw yourself into the experience.
Sheaf: For anyone who hasn’t heard Ride ‘Til Dawn, how would you sum the band up?
Grier: Crunchin’ guitars, thumpin’ drums and rock ‘n’ roll beats.
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photo: Ryan Davidson
