HOLLY CULP
Arts Editor

It’s Halloween at the Yard and Flagon and there are a number of rambunctious patrons. One — dressed as the Queen of Hearts from the most recent adaptation of Alice in Wonderland — is particularly obnoxious and posed a bit of a problem for the interview that was about to commence with local new band Fingerprince. She wouldn’t stop yelling.

Sitting opposite me was the creator of the band, Sean Grant, dressed in his Bill Murray What About Bob costume with a shirt that read “Don’t Hassel Me I’m Local.” Next to Grant, vocal powerhouse Ariel Sanders and bassist/drummer Chad Reynolds, perusing a menu. Missing from the interview were members Ben Fawcett and Rylan Schultz. They didn’t come because I was convinced I would get nervous if there were too many attractive people.

Since their initial debut this past spring as a new new wave band with an affinity for Prince songs (hence the name), Fingerprince have been practicing like mad in preparation for their anticipated return to the stage.

“We’ve got like, a ton of new material,” said Grant. “But we still only have a handful of originals.”

Since most of the members have their hands in a variety of separate musical endeavors throughout the city, coordinating practices can be a feat in itself.

“We practice in Rylan’s basement,” said Sanders. “His mom’s a doll! She lets us play until 9 o’clock.”

Fingerprince is probably unique in the fact that it is one musical enterprise in which the name came before the band, serving as a major draw for some of Saskatoon’s local talent.

“It was definitely the name that made me want to get involved,” said Reynolds.

As far as putting bands together goes, Fingerprince was a bit of a cakewalk.

“Pretty much everyone was in the band after some drunken night being like, ”˜Man, we should totally play music together, man,’ ” said Grant.

The wrangling in of members seemed to follow this trend until eventually the band became a reality.

“Sean approached me at a club or at Scratch or something and said, ”˜I need you to sing some songs for me.’ And it just progressed from there,” said Sanders. “And we’re not alcoholics,” she added.

A striking feature of the band is how nice looking everyone is (see attached photo). I timidly inserted this into the conversation at some point.

“The only way I could make it into the band was by inventing it,” said Grant. “Otherwise they’d be like ”˜Yeah, you’re like a seven”¦ we’re looking for a nine.’ ”

“We all have crushes on each other,” added Sanders.

In addition to being charmingly attractive, the band also plays music on occasion, adding a more soulful spin on the variety of covers they perform in addition to their original songs. Later this month they will play Scratch nightclub and it guarantees to be one hell of a Wednesday night. The hope is that, after the show, the band will gain some more momentum.

“We’re talking amongst ourselves about doing a mini tour,” said Grant. “Maybe to Moose Jaw or Regina. Basically every city mentioned in ”˜Running Back to Saskatoon.’ Watch out, Moosomin.”

The sixth member of Fingerprince at the upcoming Scratch show will probably be the elaborate lights and flashy appearance of the show,

By the end of the interview, the Queen of Hearts had quieted, more beer was ordered and Sean Grant pledged his hatred for Nazis. All in all it was a fun interview with a promising new local band.

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image: Amber Buchholz