After a few years of trying to make the band work from opposite coasts, the Got To Get Got have planted their flag in Halifax. Front-man Mark Mullane took his time looking for the now six other talented musicians, plus a few helpful guests. He began working on Sahalee three years ago with two others in Vancouver (including one of his former North of America band-mates, Mark Colavecchia) but after two years of getting to know the new line-up, it took only two months to record the album. Even after only truly discovering their sound in the studio, Sahalee shows how well they can work together while having plenty of fun at the same time. It didn't take long for them to start calling one another family. Basing each track on a formula that works for their sound, the Got To Get Got begin with peppy build-ups that are more focused on the lyrics but then flow right into more fast-paced, guitar-driven jam sessions. With 11 tracks of swelling choruses and layers of pop rock to work through, it's still easy to hear every single voice and instrument.
You have a lot of pop culture references on Sahalee.
Mullane: There's a ton of songs [that] have some band namedropping on the record. I namedrop a couple Push Kings songs on there. There's the song, "Peyton and Perry," which is about football.
What about "Bethpage Black," with the unmistakable "umbrella-ella-ella"?
I actually hadn't even heard that [Rihanna] song, that was hummed to me. "Bethpage Black" is a couple years old and Brad [Lahead], who plays in our band, was singing it or something and I was like, "oh, yeah, that's neat." We had a line about the umbrella in the song anyway so it's little tribute to [the band]. There's no direct meaning to Rihanna; they're just inside jokes.
What made you want to focus in on pop culture like this?
Probably because of my day job; I work in various outlets in the media. Now, I work at This Hour Has 22 Minutes as a field producer, so I guess pop culture has always been part of my daily life. I write about what I see and I don't generally write songs that are too lovey-dovey. You've got to say something.
(Noyes)You have a lot of pop culture references on Sahalee.
Mullane: There's a ton of songs [that] have some band namedropping on the record. I namedrop a couple Push Kings songs on there. There's the song, "Peyton and Perry," which is about football.
What about "Bethpage Black," with the unmistakable "umbrella-ella-ella"?
I actually hadn't even heard that [Rihanna] song, that was hummed to me. "Bethpage Black" is a couple years old and Brad [Lahead], who plays in our band, was singing it or something and I was like, "oh, yeah, that's neat." We had a line about the umbrella in the song anyway so it's little tribute to [the band]. There's no direct meaning to Rihanna; they're just inside jokes.
What made you want to focus in on pop culture like this?
Probably because of my day job; I work in various outlets in the media. Now, I work at This Hour Has 22 Minutes as a field producer, so I guess pop culture has always been part of my daily life. I write about what I see and I don't generally write songs that are too lovey-dovey. You've got to say something.