The Perms celebrating new album with Brandon homecoming

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This article was published 27/02/2018 (2955 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alt-rock trio The Perms are coming home to Brandon next month to celebrate the release of their seventh album, “Miracle.”

The group is based in Winnipeg, but has deep roots in the Wheat City.

“The band was actually born in Brandon. We started when we were kids,” said Shane Smith (bass/vocals). “We go back quite often not only to play, but to see family and stuff like that. It’s like a home away from home.”

The band formed in Brandon in 1998, and still has two original members — brothers Shane Smith and Chad Smith (guitar/vocals). The current drummer is Steve Martens, who joined last year.

“Miracle” was released in November, and the band is hosting official release parties in Winnipeg on March 16 at The Cavern, followed by the Brandon show at the Double Decker on March 31 at 10 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to it … we haven’t really played in Brandon very often because we’ve been focused on Europe and Canada as a whole,” Smith said. “It’ll be a nice homecoming I think.”

The nine-track album features some new sounds for the band and more collaboration.

“It’s more experimental in the sense that we were experimenting more with synthesizers and other sounds that we’ve never explored before,” Smith said.

“This record was more of a collaborative piece between all three members of the band … It was nice to have that relationship during this process.”

Last May, the band toured France and Spain, which Smith said was an unforgettable experience.

“We had done France before, a couple years previously, but we had never played in Spain before,” he said. “It was unbelievable. The music scene there is just so refreshing. People really like their music there, and people really support their own local scene, but more importantly for us, Canadian bands that are coming over.”

Shane and Chad are marking 20 years with The Perms, and unlike the infamous Oasis brothers’ feud, these two manage to get along.

“We enjoy being around each other, making music and touring,” Shane said. “It’s a good relationship.”

The band’s name was inspired by old family photos, when the brothers noticed their mom gave them perms when they were kids. Their first album cover was a photo of Chad and Shane with their dad, all sporting perms.

Looking back on two decades of music, Smith reflected on a few highlights — and lowlights.

“Europe — breaking that market has been for me personally … a great experience,” he said. “Playing with some of the more higher level bands, I remember playing a festival in B.C. one time, and we actually played with Kevin Costner and his band … that was pretty interesting.”

Back when the trio was just starting out, Smith recalls the less-than-ideal overnight accommodations.

“We were young kids we didn’t have much money. It would be winter time, we’d come out to Winnipeg to play a show, and we’d be staying overnight in a van in the winter with a heater. It was pretty rough,” he said with a laugh.

The band will continue promoting its new album, which is available on iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon and Spotify. Visit theperms.com.

“Then into the summer, we’ll be doing the festival circuit again and then hopefully figuring out the next time we can get back to Europe.”

» jaustin@brandonsun.com

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