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Vancouver power-pop sensations hitting Cranbrook Hotel Pub
By Ferdy Belland
“We’re so excited to have our new album out,” said guitarist-vocalist Vic Wayne, the driving force behind Vancouver’s much-respected power-pop band Star Collector.
“We spent the better part of a year perfecting the songwriting and slaving over the recording, which we’ve done for our previous releases. It felt great to create the official video for our song ‘Feel It Coming On.’ We’re working on the second video for the album right now, but we’re breaking up the schedule to hit the road and play shows across B.C. and Alberta – and we can’t wait to come to Cranbrook!”
Star Collector takes the stage at the Cranbrook Hotel Pub (719 Baker Street) for an early-evening show on Thursday, April 13, along with Vancouver’s hard-rocking heroes Day of the Dog and opening local support from the Brotherhood of Lost Souls – a killer lineup for a weeknight event!
“We’re having fun working in our new bassist Tony Kerr,” said Wayne. “He’s such a great guy and a stellar player. It’s funny how that all worked out for us; after his previous band suddenly broke up, he had decided he was retiring from live performance and just being musically active. As for us…Star Collector has seen no less than nineteen people playing bass for us, and we were getting more than a little tired of playing some sort of Spinal Tap musical-chairs shuffle. So when we heard Tony was a freelancer again, we pounced!
“He’s a long-time veteran of the Vancouver scene, and he’d played with Winston Hauschild and he’d played with our drummer Adrian before in The Tomorrows, so we knew him from sharing bills together and we’d gotten friendly because of it, and we knew he’d be a good catch. Adrian had always said he’d love to have Tony in Star Collector, but he never asked Tony directly since the word was out that Tony was done with being in bands. I figured the worst he could say was no, so I sent him a note – and within minutes he responded and said ‘absolutely!'” Which was one hell of a surprise for Adrian. But hey, better late than never, and our band is a better entity because of Tony’s presence.”
And what a band it is. Formed by Vic Wayne back in 1996, Star Collector (whose lineup is rounded out by stalwart drummer Adrian Buckley and former Wasa resident Steve Monteith on secondary guitar) is one of the longest-running bands the bustling Vancouver scene has seen in almost 30 years.
The group has been favorably described by leading Canadian rock critics as the West Coast’s answer to Sloan – a tight unit who smartly crafts together punchy, melodic, hook-laden Power Pop that reminds the listener of the best aspects of Cheap Trick, Big Star, the Raspberries, the Knack, Todd Rundgren, the Move, the Records, Shoes, Dwight Twilley, the Posies, XTC, Matthew Sweet, Red Kross, Teenage Fanclub, and the Romantics.
With six albums and hundreds of memorably energetic live shows to their credit, Star Collector remain one of British Columbia’s best-kept musical secrets, but with their new album Attack, Sustain, Decay…Repeat gaining a strong head of critical and audience steam, one would hope the band and their huge raft of killer tunes will not remain secrets for long.
“Even with all this newfound praise and excitement, we’re still just the same guys having fun with the band, without weighing ourselves down with a lot of unrealistic expectations,” Wayne said.
“Having said that, we’re communicating with club owners and concert promoters in the Pacific Northwest and California and we’re aiming to do another tour of the US West Coast. Through all these new social-media outlets it’s been great to coordinate and network with the power pop communities that exist across North America…across the entire world, really. When we started out, we were dimly aware of small Power Pop pocket-scenes here, there, and everywhere, but details were scarce, and it all seemed too far away to reach.
“Now, when we search out what’s happening online, it’s incredible: there’s so much happening everywhere, and it’s beyond thriving. There’s all these online podcasts and internet radio stations and digital talk shows, all focusing on power pop, and there’s a lot of people tuning in and listening…it’s not some niche cult following anymore. And a lot of this culture and activity exists on the US West Coast, and a lot of these media personalities are encouraging us to be part of that world. Which was so exciting and so validating – we didn’t think these people even knew who the hell we even were!”
And it won’t be long before the rock-loving musical world wakes up to the good sounds crashed out by Vic and his bandmates.
“Every morning when I wake up and realize that Star Collector is still a going concern, I always feel nineteen years old – forever.”
Vancouver’s amazing power-pop sensations STAR COLLECTOR play Thursday, April 13 at the Cranbrook Hotel Pub (719 Baker Street), with guests DAY OF THE DOG and THE BROTHERHOOD OF LOST SOULS.
Admission $10 advance (available at the Pub during regular business hours), $15 at the door. Doors open 7 p.m., Showtime 7:30 p.m.
There isn’t a better way to spend your weeknight anywhere else in our fair Key City – See You There!
Lead image: Vancouver’s Power Pop heavyweights STAR COLLECTOR (L-R: bassist Tony Kerr, singer-guitarist Vic Wayne, guitarist Steve Monteith, drummer Adrian Buckley). Photos submitted
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