Jason Pierce knows he has pounded the drums in Prince George before, but he can't place which act he was with. He's under no such uncertainties now, as the backstop for headliner rock band Our Lady Peace.
As a lifelong freelance musician, he has toured and recorded all over the country with all kinds of bands. Maybe his P.G. performances were with Treble Charger? But maybe it was with Carly Rae Jepsen or perhaps Dallas Green or was it Chantal Kreviazuk? The specifics blur, but the knowledge is firm that he has been on the P.G. stage and he is about to add to his history here.
His mind is perhaps more focused on Our Lady Peace than his past jobs because the now legendary group is on a major resurgence and Pierce has been an intrinsic part of that, not just in a peripheral mercenary role like he has been at other times in his life.
That was largely due to the "no I in team" position taken by frontman Raine Maida a couple of years ago when the rebuild of Our Lady Peace first began. Pierce was called in as a fill-in drummer for some live performances here and there in 2014, but when the band decided no, they were hungrier than that, they wanted a new album, and they wanted it to be damn good, Maida made his selfless move. Usually the band's predominant songwriter, Maida opened those doors to everyone in the group for the new album.
"The four of us actually came together with our ideas, compiled them, and took the strongest to record. It was awesome," Pierce said. "I actually got involved and brought in on the writing process, which is completely different for me, and I think different for the band too. I have a past that includes record production, so I do have songwriting experience, but not specifically in a band format, more like an outsider. This was four hearts working together for the greater good. It was awesome."
The fans have deemed the whole album awesome. The band started with an EP that served as the first half, and now they have unleashed the entire package called Somethingness. The sales have been significant and the tour tickets have been selling out. Our Lady Peace is back, but with fresh musical relevance, not doing a retro show.
"It's amazing to see the fans so responsive to it," Pierce said.
"They want to see the legacy of the band and see the band move forward too."
The energy and business of the band was robust since the moment he joined, he said, but "Since we released the new material, it has only ramped up" and when leadoff single Drop Me In The Water got ignited, there was a noticeable surge in positive fan pressure.
Obviously, because he was there since its inception, Pierce is intimate with the new music. What excited him most about playing for Our Lady Peace since he got the call in 2014 was the catalogue. He knew that as well.
"Honestly, because I'm a Canadian born and raised person, and I was born in '85, I grew up with this music as a fan before I actually became a member of the band, so I knew all the songs before I did the audition," he said.
"It was great to have it all committed to muscle memory before you even had the gig. That was my childhood; I used to practice those records every day."
Our Lady Peace is not the only resurgent Canadian rock act still producing vibrant new music. They found a kindred spirit in Matthew Good, so the two are on the road together on this tour.
Their show comes to Prince George on March 28 at CN Centre. Tickets are on sale at the arena box office or online at the TicketsNorth website.
