A Little Love for the Easiest Province to Draw

For all you non-Canadians out there, let me explain the pure joy of being assigned Saskatchewan when your grade 4 class does a project on Canadian provinces. It’s a rectangle – a simple and easy to draw shape with no weird protrusions (Ontario), not so small you can barely see the thing to copy it (PEI), and don’t even get me started on trying to colour in Nunavut. Once you leave the interminable “Canadian Geography” unit of elementary school social studies behind though, Saskatchewan tends to become just another expanse between Toronto and Vancouver (you know that massive chunk of the country bands all tend to forget exists when they announce a “North American Tour”). Today I’d like to give some credit where its due and give you a few reasons rock fans should thank Saskatchewan – or at least learn to spell it.

Reason 1: New bands

There is a ton of new music sprouting in the dust of the Canadian prairies. Naturally, there is a huge country scene in this area and for any country non-believers I would still recommend you check out SK native Colter Wall. Wall’s music leans more folky than hoedown-y and his voice sounds like the smoke curling upwards out of an old woodstove on winter night. For those who like to rock a little harder, give Saskatoon’s guitar-centric One Bad Son a listen – their self-titled record is a heater. If you like a blusier vibe, Saskatoon still has you covered with the 70s inspired sounds of The Sheepdogs. Finally, I have to mention The Hourhand, a kick-ass three-piece continuing that great Canadian tradition of making way more noise than the amount of dudes producing it should logically allow.

Reason 2: Old Bands

And don’t think that good tunes have only recently exploded from the flatlands because rising real estate prices finally pushed some West Coast hipsters eastwards, this is not a new thing. There was some great mid-80s pop-rock out of Saskatchewan, notably The Northern Pikes (give She Aint Pretty a listen if you like snark-heavy lyrics) and Queen City Kids. Okay now lets mention one you’ve heard of, although they eventually relocated to Winnipeg, iconic Canadian band Streetheart also got their start in Regina. This city also contributed to the Hair Metal Era (and its penchant for silly-endearing band names) in the form of Kick Axe.

Reason 3: Song Inspiration

We all have this oft-overlooked province to thank for one of the greatest Tragically Hip songs of all time. The hauntingly beautiful “Wheat Kings” was written about a crime committed in Saskatoon and the subsequent trial of the accused which took place in Regina. It’s one of my personal favourite Hip tunes and from its opening loon call is instantly recognizable.

Reason 4: Todd Kerns

Yes, he gets his own slot. Hailing from Estevan, SK Mr. Kerns and his brother formed the 90s alt band Age of Electric and he now melts faces alongside Slash and Miles Kennedy as a member of the Conspirators.