Bringing it Back to Where It All Started – Spoons Reflect on Where They Are Headed Now

Submitted by Michael Williams

Spoons bring back all the experience to enrich their sound of their great new release Nightlife. We go back to where it all started 46 years ago in an Oakville music store.

MW : Michael Williams was with Spoons at Gear Music in Oakville — really on the border of Burlington.

Is this where Spoons (Sandy Horne bass, Gorde Deppe guitar) started, at a music store.

SPOONS: Being kids, the music store was like the hub. The first video we did for this record, we thought, “Let’s go back to where we started.” This is where we met, where we got our gear and where we rehearsed on weekends.

We’d take the best Les Paul’s, the Marshall amps and go down to the basement and rehearse. Then we’d polish everything up and put it back. They never knew!

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: Sandy how did you decide on what kind of bass you wanted?

SPOONS: Every night I’d try a different bass until I decided which one I wanted. It was like being a kid in a candy store.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: Which one did you take?

SPOONS: The Gibson Grabber — the biggest bass for the smallest bass player.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: And which guitar did you choose?

SPOONS: A black Les Paul Custom and then a white Strat. I still have both.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: How long have you guys been together now?

SPOONS: Before Spoons, we had bands all through high school. Spoons started around 1980, so I guess about 46 years.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: What keeps you going?

SPOONS:

Gord responded: I get up every morning and look forward to it like the next Christmas and the news. I get a cup of coffee, get my guitar and write a song. I’ve gone through everything else. Music is the only thing that keeps my soul happy.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: Now you guys have a new album.

SPOONS: Yes.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: It sounds great. It’s a little bit different — nice progression, nice vibe, which sounds great live. The last two records have not been what I expected, or maybe what fans expected.

SPOONS: We had a formula that worked for us, and we strayed from it for a while. We signed with RUSH’s label and got into rock ’n’ roll and did different things. I think this is where we belong — that combination of synthesizers, drum machines and the right amount of guitar.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: I hosted the show in Oakville and the crowd really loved “Phenomenal”.

SPOONS: We did a festival, and some guy said, “Meet my friend. He never liked you guys, but he likes you now.” A little late to the party but better late than ever.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: So, the new album is called Nightlife. Tell me about it. It sounds different, but it sounds like a progression of what you’ve done before.

SPOONS: Nightlife could mean going out dancing in clubs, but it’s not necessarily that. It’s more the other side of things — the dark in the shadows, the truth in the shadows and the cool side of things.

The artwork is the subway stations of Berlin. The whole vibe is dark disco — think John Wick, gritty and cool. Berlin has that incredible German art-rock history, with Bowie and so many great producers and records coming out of there.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS: We just lost a friend of mine — and yours — David Marsden. A few words about David in those early days?

SPOONS: In high school we had a little band called Impulse. David was one of the judges at a Battle of the Bands. We came second, but he put his arms around us and said, “You’re part of the family now.”

He was the first guy to play us on CHUM and CFNY.

That’s how he was. He was like the Mr. Rogers of the Canadian music industry. “Take off your slippers, sit down for a while and listen to this song. David Marsden supported us and gave us the love that he gave Canadian bands. We will always be grateful for that and for knowing him.”

Nightlife is available for pre-order here: https://spoonsmusic.myshopify.com/