Alternative Rockers to Play Crocks
By Kris Ketonen
Alternative rockers Hollerado are forging some new ground with their latest album.
“It’s our most political record,” vocalist/guitarist Menno Versteeg says of Born Yesterday, which was released on April 14. “We’ve always been people who have strong opinions, but it’s the first time we’ve felt the urgent need to sing about those opinions.”
Diving into such potentially hazardous territory isn’t worrying Versteeg, or his bandmates.
“With our music, there is an element of preaching to the choir,” Versteeg says. “Our fans are pretty open-minded, liberal, well-intentioned people, but yeah, I hope it opens some dialogue with people who do have some opposing viewpoints.”
But there’s something else going on with Born Yesterday, Versteeg says. Putting the album together landed the members of Hollerado—also Jake Boyd, Nixon Boyd, and Dean Baxter—in a really good place. Versteeg doesn’t mince words on that front, calling a 10-week tour earlier this year the “most fun” they’ve ever had on the road.
“We’re just loving the new material, we’re loving playing these songs, and we’re really putting no expectations on ourselves,” Versteeg says. “That feels really good. We’re just enjoying the process, and it’s really nice to do it that way.”
All in all, it sounds like now is a really, really good time to see Hollerado live. Luckily, Thunder Bay residents will have a chance to do just that on May 31, when the band takes the stage at Crocks. The local gig is part of a two-month-long tour that will take Hollerado from southern Ontario out to Canada’s west coast. After that, it’s summer festival season, but Versteeg fully expects the band members to be turning at least some of their attention to their next album. “We haven’t really started it,” he says. “But I’m sure we’ll start picking at some ideas this summer.”
