Performance review by Mackenzie Fisher   | Photo by Joe Sunstrum     |      May 27, 2010

Sooke seems awfully Rotten lately

Some new competition for 'best music group' has rolled into town. They come in the form of four 20-somethings, and in the sound of metal. The band consists of Rob Tayler on vocals, Jordan Benson on guitar, Dylan Jackman on drums and Shaun White on bass.

This past long weekend (on May 22, 2010) the band played at the Isabelle Reader Theatre in Langford, this being their first show outside of Sooke. Rotten Rails came together a year ago and played their first house party and seemed to take off from there. There was a show in early March at the Sooke Community Hall put on my Brave New Waves, a well known ska* band from Victoria, the show had a remarkable turnout. The band was asked to play this weekend with only a days notice. “We know we could have packed that place if we had had a few more days to put the word out,” says Benson, there is no doubt there, walking into the theatre there was an array of pre-teens, long hair, and familiar faces. The crowd responded well to the band, they have been asked to play again on September 10th with NinjaSpy. Rotten Rails would like to play at clubs downtown Victoria and also at Buffy’s here in Sooke. [* = a music genre based on Jamaican mento and calypso, American jazz, and R&B that was the precursor to Reggae and rocksteady; characterized by a walking bass line accented by rhythms on the upbeat.] 

The band writes original music, and it’s very clear that the band likes to write about situations close to home, “Welcome to our home; down on Otter Point; It’s rotten don’t you know; but still the taps will flow” lyrics taken from the song 2637. “We like to write about things that people from Sooke can relate to, things that we know about, we don’t want to come off as superficial, growing up here obviously effects our music and lyrics,” explains Tayler, who writes the lyrics to the songs. Rotten Rails also does covers, this takes time and lots of consideration: “We aren’t the band who does the Nirvana - Smells like Team Spirit cover, we like to mix it up and still keep our covers original,” Benson says. “Our music is an aggressive release of positive energy,” Jackman explains.

To the non-metal heads out there, Rotten Rails says, “Don’t judge a book by its cover, give us a chance, come out to a show and try something new.” The band has a very loyal following and their fan base is growing with every show they play. “Most of our friends don’t like metal, but they still come out and have a good time, and enjoy our music and energy,” Benson encourages. The band has no plans to try any other genre -- they seem to master what they are doing, why mess with something that works?

The band is reachable on their Facebook page and also has a Myspace profile, where you can listen to demos. Let’s just hope that The Rotten Rails stay, well... rotten! 

~ Please note that the bands Facebook and Myspace have explicit content and language.
~ Also note that while leaving this interview Nirvana - Smells like Team Spirit was playing on the radio... 
~ Rotten Rails will be playing on August 14/10 at the Isabelle Reader Theatre, opening for a Pantera cover band.

MM