Northern Pikes pack prairie punch on new Secrets of the Alibi

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 18, 1988

By Steve Newton

The percentage of rock ‘n’ roll bands that make it big–or even to the point of just being able to put records out and tour–has never been high enough to make a career in rock a likely one. And if you’re from some place like Saskatoon, the chances of ever hitting the big time would seem smaller yet.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. A case in point: the Northern Pikes, currently working their way into the minds of Canadian rock fans via the infectious pop/rock tunes on their new album, Secrets of the Alibi. Like fellow Saskatchewan native Colin James, the Northern Pikes have nabbed a record deal with the heavyweight Virgin label, and they’re currently winging their way across North America on a tour that brings them to the 86 Street Music Hall this Wednesday (November 23).

According to bassist/vocalist/main songwriter Jay Semko, who talked to me from San Francisco last week, being from Saskatoon hasn’t really hindered the band’s fight for success.

“We used to look at it as a real detriment coming from there,” says Semko, “just because you feel like you’re so far away from the mainstream of music and everything. But in a way it was good because there was sort of an interwoven thing with all the musicians around Saskatoon getting to know each other. I mean Merl [vocalist/guitarist Merl Bryck] and I have been together since 1979.

“And even though we were isolated, we were lucky because we didn’t have to directly compete with whatever trends were happening at whatever time–which a lot of bands have to do if they’re in a big city. We were able to develop a little more on our own.”

The band has certainly come up with a sound of its own on Secrets of the Alibi. As accessible and commercially potent as tunes like “Place That’s Insane” and “Wait For Me” are, they aren’t the sort that make you think of any other band right off. Like last year’s “Things I Do For Money”, from Big Blue Sky, they’re immediately likeable little pop-rock gems that should stand the test of time.

Bryan Potvin’s tasty lead guitar bits and Don Schmid’s bang-on drumming help give the Northern Pikes’ material the edge that puts it ahead of the pack. The new album is particularly impressive, and Semko says it was recorded a little differently than the first.

“When we went in to do Big Blue Sky we’d been negotiating the record deal for almost three months, and we hadn’t really played all that much live, so it was all done in the usual ’80s layering style of recording everything separately and then overdubbing. When we went in to do Alibi we had been on the road from June ’86 till March ’88, so we had a lot more confidence and felt like we were a lot tighter. We recorded the whole album live off the floor and did overdubs on top of that.

“Also, when you’re recording your first album it’s like the greatest hits of your whole career, whereas your second album is basically a lot of newer material. I think that worked in our favour because we’d grown a little bit.”

Although Jay Semko had previously played with Merl Bryck in a band called the Idols, it wasn’t until he ran into Bryan Potvin at the University of Saskatchewan that the Northern Pikes started to take shape.

“We were both pretty fed up with the music scene because we’d tried numerous bands before that never really worked out. But school wasn’t really workin’ out either, so we thought, ‘Well what are we doing?’ Let’s play some music!’ We got a bunch of our pals together, hopped in a school bus, and away we went.”

The road has been the only real home for Semko and his mates ever since, but he says that they thrive on it–unlike many musicians who just grin and bear it. The group has made the most of opening for bands like the Alerm (who they backed up at 86 Street earlier this year) and Robert Palmer, who they were playing with last week.

“Every time you tour as an opening act you learn things,” says Semko. “There’s certain things you can pick up watching the headliners, because they must have done something right to get to the position they’re in.”

Semko and his bandmates sure learned something when they open for David Bowie at Toronto’s CNE stadium last year. They quickly discovered how to get scared spitless.

“That was one of the scariest bigs because there were 50,000 people there. We were pretty nervous when we first got onstage, but after you’re up there for four or five minutes you realize that the audience size is the only thing that’s changed–the stage isn’t a whole lot bigger or anything like that. It’s just a case of getting up there an playing.”

The Northern Pikes will be doing just that this Wednesday at 86 Street. Nothing fancy–just hard-nosed prairie pop-rock player with urgency and bite.