SEE Magazine
Issue #393: June 14, 2001
Copyright © 2001. All Rights Reserved

Music PREVIEW by Colm Heaney soulDecision at Psykoblast Tuesday, June 19 at the Shaw Conference Centre The scenario is nothing new. Young singer/songwriter from touring Canadian band trashes the state of the music business in the post-Britney era to reporter from urban news weekly. Going so far as to mention the fact that he hasn’t seen a single episode of Making the Band, the ABC show which follows the exploits of O-Town, the latest product of pop impresario Lou Pearlman’s hit-making gulag in Orlando, Florida. Unlike other young artists, Trevor Guthrie has actually played a show with the O-Boys. Unlike other bands, Guthrie and his mates in soulDecision are coming to the Shaw Conference Centre on Tuesday to headline the PsykoBlast Tour, which isn’t exactly Ozzfest. The tour which features B4-4, along with a resurgent Snow and Niagara Falls’ Wave is pretty much the musical highlight of the summer for the YTV-watching, gum-chewing, "whatever"-saying demographic. According to Guthrie, soulDecision’s set will be easy on the Psyko, and feature almost no Blast. "We’re going to play a longer set (than the band did during the same tour last year)," said Guthrie. "There aren’t going to be any flames shooting out or explosives. It will be just us doing our thing." Unfortunately for Guthrie and bandmates Ken Lewko and David Bowman, doing their thing has led to the band earning the "Boy Band" moniker. While the band does have lyrics aimed at the hearts of adolescent females and really, really good hair, Guthrie is adamant that soulDecision doesn’t belong in that category. "We were playing a show – where the hell were we? – in Rochester, New York, and were out there rocking out, we’re all playing instruments and as we’re walking off the stage some guy calls us a Backstreet Boys rip-off," said Guthrie. "It pissed me off." And while a musician playing their own instruments should be akin to a member of the Oilers bragging about being able to tie his own skates, such is the state of pop music in the year 2001. In fact, Guthrie said the dynamic in soulDecision is more Tyler and Perry than it is Timberlake and Chavez. "I was watching a special on Aerosmith a while ago and it’s no different than what we do," he said. "The way they bring together the vocals and arrange the music, it’s just like we do it." At the end of the tour, soulDecision is heading into the studio to record the follow-up to last year’s No One Does It Better, which spawned the hit singles Faded and Oooh, It’s Kind of Crazy. Guthrie said the band is feeling the pressure of its upcoming sophomore effort, which will feature an ’80s vibe. "Are you kidding me? There’s an incredible amount of pressure. Everybody keeps coming up to me and asking me to do something like Faded," said Guthrie, adding that the band is striving for longevity. "I’d rather keep releasing the music we want to make rather than market to eight to 15-year-olds." And as for O-Town, N’Sync and Backstreet Boys, et al. "It’s too bad people get caught up in the hype," he said. "Unfortunately, pop music is packaged into what people want to see."

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