Photo Sony VANCOUVER’S 54-40 at the Tempieton Cafe on Granville St.: (left to right) Matt Johnson, Neil Osbarne, Phil Comparelli and Brad Merritt. ~ 54-40 back home with fresh retro sound for Vogue Theaire Wi 54-40 at the Vogue Theatre, tonight and tomorrow night and Sat., Dec. 12 at the Whistler Convention Centre. Bob Mackin Contributing Writer FANS who managed to score tickets to 54-40’s homecoming concerts at the Vegue Theatre tonight and tomorrow will finaliy get to see the new/old ver- sion of tie durable band. 54-40 is playing its hometown for the first thne since last June's release of Since When. The album is arguably the most ambitious for a band that was formed 17 years ago amid the west coast’s pos punk scen Between the "80s and mid-790s, 54-40's sound straddled feedback-laden alternauve rock and con- temporary folk-rock. So it came as a surprise to longtime fans that the fruit of 54-40’s latest studio labour was a record rooted in rock and roll’s classic sounds of the *50s, °60s and carly °70s. “It’s another way of keeping things for us and the people who enjoy our mu Brad Merritt told the News. “We've never been interested in making the same album twice. This obviously is our greatest departure yet. It’s some- thing we felt very comfortable with.” Merritt met singer/guitarist Nei! Osborne at South Delta secondary 20 years ago. They started 54-40 with drummer Tan Franey thre rs lat debuting live at Hastings Strect’s legendary Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret on New Year’s Eve 1981. Guitarist ‘Hi joined in 1983, but the current lineup wasn’t set until a year later when Matt Johnson rerlaced Daeryl Neudorf, the band’s see- ond drumnicr. When it came time to begin work on album number seven in the spring the band wa: ig to rock standards | Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street and the Beatles’ Let It Be, as well as the epic cight-CD Atlantic Rhythm and Blu “We thought the best w songs is With a timeless production, the Since When sessions. “You don’t want the sound to be so representative of the late- 1990s, as you want it to segad good in 2003, It could've been made in 1968, 1977 or 1980-whatever.” The batch of simple, expressive songs was pared down. Space was ieft in the mix for the eventua! addition of strings, electric piano and & Sinee When, produced by GGGarth Richardson, was recorded at Yaletown Sound and Blue Wave Studios and mixed at Bryan Adams’ Warchouse Studio in Gastow a few blocks from the site of the now-defirnet Smilin’ Buddha. Sarah MeLachlan’s back-up singer Camille Henderson is on six Since When cuts. B orn, daughter of Canadian jazzman John Alcorn, sings Henderson’s paris with the band live. She plays an integral role during the band’s nvo- hour concerts with jazzy rearrangements of 54-40 hits like Ocean Pearl and She-La, : Multi-instrumentalist Dave Osborne, Neil’s brother, is the other sideplayer on tour. “They help round out the sound, with four-part harmonies and neat vocal arrangements and ideas,” Merritt explains. “With that in mind we put the show together with the idea of making (the older Phil Compa: ” Merritt says of ale singers. songs) fit the new record. That's exactly the reason for it, to fir the esthet- ic of the new record. (We wondered) how du we present these new songs iu their best possible light, at the same time give the fans a show that they're going to remember?” The memories will be for sale next year when the band releases its first live greatest hits album through its official website, . Every show on the fall Canadian tour is being raped includes a poll where fans can vote ourite songs. Fans’ wishes are being con- sidered for each show’s set list and ultimately the live album. snot where the interactivity ends. One and a microphone with the band. A Winr test winner successfully proposed to his girl from the stage after his moment in the spotlight was over. just been laughs and giggles for every body,” Merritt says of the Forty-oake promotion. “An Ev ning with 54-40" at the Vogue is sald out both Friday and Saturday, Promote? Universal Concerts told the News that a handful of tickets may be released before cach show, Check with Ticketmaster (280-4444) or the Vogue's box office (918 Granville St.). To avoid disappointment, mark Dee. 12 on your calendar and head to the Sea-to-Sky Ballroom at the Whistier Conference Centre for An Evening with 54-40. Tickets tor that show went on sale yesterday and are $23.50 cach, plus service charge, at Ticketmaster. Next chance to sce 54-40 locally could come in the spring if the proposed reopening of the Commodore Ballroom succeeds. - Mia Me i 1O8t Fight For Love ie sy - Sweets as? TIO] > » Dear Dear V992) - Suatdees” Biuddba Cabaret (19941 - Trusted in Millions (1996+ - Sanaa af Tenth * (19974 - Sonce When (1998 (best of “combined reps of Selection and Set the Fi PLAYERS: - Neil Osborne: vocals /guitar ~ Brad Mervitt: bass — Phi Conmparelli: gui- tar/trumpet /kevboards (1983-present+ ~ Mart Johnson: drums (1984-present) - Darryl Neudort: (1983-84) ~ Jan Franey: drums (198) -83) - Case Love Alcorn (vocals /trumpet) and Dave Osborne (accordion /saxophone/h armonica/ string sam- ples} are part of the Sruce f touring band. refers toa id 19th cen- tury U.S, Deocratic slogan. “54-40 or fight” was the rallying for advac ie to risk war with Britain to extend the U.S. through what is now B.C. to lati- tude 54°40", che southern boundary of Alaska, a Russian territory at the time. The band has been outspoken on issues relat- ing to Canadian cultural sovereignty. ewww.5440.com> eat) Photo Doane Gregory SFU grad Paul Dolden specializes in electroacoustic composition. He has worked at France's Groupe se Musique Experimentate de Bourges and EMS in Stockholm. INFLUENTIAL U.K. music magazine The Wire has chosen SFU-grad Paul Dolden’s 1994 CD L’ivresse De La Vitesse (Empreintes Digitales) as one of the most radical recordings of the twentieth century, Tired of endless lists that promote the same top of the pops pantheon, Ware editors polled critics for 100 records that should have ignited the world’s imagination, but we ored at the time. British writer Brian Duguid nominated the Vancouver musician and wrote this about his work: “Electroacoustic composer Dolden champions a ‘theory of excess’, a belief that the intoxication and seduction of information overload is a desirable condition, one that sus to perceive the world afresh... Nirvana or nihilism? No matter, you can lis- ten to ita thousand times without wanting it to make s : The Wire 100 is presented in alphabetical order and besides Dolden includes, among others, Miles Davis’ funk mai Corner, Captain Beetheart’s unreleased Bat Chain Puller (1976); Ornette Coleman’s har- molodic debut Dancing In Your Head (1977), Al Green’s gospel Belle Album: (1977), Charles Ives’ Fourth Symphony (1910-1916); Son House’s Original Delta Blues (1964) and Galina Ustvalskaya’ 's No. 1 (1991). The full list is in Wire’s Issue No. 175. — Jota Goodman