Indie band with local roots tours Canada

Posted 3 months ago

Photo courtesy Katie Huisman - Left to right are Minto: Kalvin Olafson, Jimi Cuell, Ryan Hoben, Suzy Easton and Evret Tucker. The band is on their Canadian tour, and will be in Calgary this weekend.

Kirsten Mundy

Standard Reporter

A Wheatland County native is spending the fall and winter months of this year trekking across the country, all in the name of music.

The band Minto, a Vancouver based Indie group, includes guitarist Evret Tucker, who spent most of his life playing around with music and drama in Strathmore.

Now, the band is well into their first Canadian tour, promoting their new CD, and loving every minute of it.

Music wasn't always what Tucker thought he would be dedicating his days to when he moved to Vancouver in search of a very different career in 2001.

It was actually the drama program at Strathmore High School that sent Tucker to Vancouver, in search of a career in theatre.

While in school, Tucker said he was always composing his own music.

"I met up with a few people who were doing the same thing," said Tucker.

"We weren't taking it very seriously until a band we knew asked us to open for them. Since then we just kept on writing, kept on performing."

From there, the band produced their first record under a different name, The Smokes, and since the name change have released another record, called Lay It On Me, under their new name, Minto.

Since releasing the record earlier this year Minto has been promoting it as best they can, and decided to trek across Canada in an effort to get noticed by more fans, as well as a music label.

The tour thus far has gone quite well, said Tucker.

"It's been pretty good. I would say Saskatoon would have been the best show we've had so far," said Tucker.

"The crowd was huge and really responded well to our music. They wouldn't let us off stage until we played one more song."

Tucker explained that although they are always prone to giving really great shows, it's more fun for them and easier to get into the show if the audience is really into it.

The size of the crowd rarely has an impact on the quality of their playing though.

When fewer people come it's just more likely they are truly there for the music.

"We make sure to put a good show on no matter what, but sometimes it's easier to get into it," said Tucker.

Getting into the show sometimes is easier on weekends, the nights you would typically go out to see a show.

For the duration of this tour the band has been playing Tuesday through Saturday nights, so some shows are destined to be smaller due to time and weather.

A show in Edmonton was snowed out, said Tucker, so they had a very small crowd of very dedicated music lovers.

"The people who were there came out to see music," said Tucker.

That isn't true of the upcoming show in Calgary. Tucker said they are set to play at Verns at about 10 p.m. on Nov. 7, a Saturday night.

For their first cross Canada tour, Tucker said it has gone quite well for the band.

Most of the ease has been due to the work they put into everything before leaving Vancouver.

Tucker said they sent out hundreds of e-mails, made many more calls and planned and booked the entire tour themselves.

"So far all the promoters have loved us, which has helped quite a bit," said Tucker.

Making the great Canadian tour trek is something Minto just had to do, said Tucker, if they have any hope of being signed by a label.

"Basically, every band to get that creditability, you have to make the Great Canadian Tour," said Tucker.

"It's experience. Labels, they want to see a band that can actually function on their own, and who are self motivated."