Canadian rock band The Trews put out a new self-titled album this year and are bringing the blended acoustic and electric tour to Red Deer this month.

The group will play the Memorial Centre on Nov 6th with doors opening at 7 p.m. The show is all ages, with tickets for $35.

Tickets are available through the Black Knight Inn ticket booth.

More mature than their previous album, The Trews explores themes of loss, relationships – both personal and professional – and the growth of the band, according to vocalist Colin MacDonald.

“Everybody’s been changing in a lot of ways. A couple of the guys have gotten married, had kids – we’re all growing up and trying to move forward in a rock and roll band as we go further into adulthood. A lot of that stuff happens subconsciously but it all comes out in music,” said MacDonald.

“I find that when every record gets finished, it’s kind of a thing in hindsight where you go, ‘Oh, I was dealing with this theme throughout the entire record and I wasn’t really aware of it at the time’.”

The album dropped earlier this year and features the single, What’s Fair Is Fair. The tour, titled ‘Rise In the Wake’, has so far included stops in eastern Ontario and Quebec. Alberta cities that will be featured include Slave Lake, Banff, Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton.

The sound of the record has changed slightly from the previously released record, Thank you & I’m Sorry.

MacDonald said that the band mates were different people at that time and that they were excited to put out some new material that shows the growth of the members over the last few years.

He also said in the process of recording this album there was some learning. He said he recognized that at times he was too critical, and would return to a track with a new perspective only to realize they had produced some great music.

“Often times on the days when I thought we were getting nowhere and had no good ideas and things weren’t working out, I’d go back and listen to the tapes from that day a week later, and often times those were my favourite ideas. I definitely learned to not judge the process and to just go through it.

“It’s really important to let all those ideas flow and not to judge them at the time because you just never know what you’ve got until you go back with a new perspective and listen to the tracks.”

The Trews have had an exciting few years. From 2010 to 2012, the band was on tour almost non-stop. From 2012 to 2013, time was taken for families and to work on the album released this year.

“I think a lot has changed. We were totally different people when we wrote the Thank you & I’m sorry songs – they’re kind of tongue-in-cheek party songs. We like that, it’s a lot of fun but the new record is a lot more personal and direct.”

The Trews have won a slew of awards for their music previously and have worked for over a decade becoming one of Canada’s top rock bands. They have won five awards with the East Coast Music Awards and have won several Independent Music Awards from the United States.

MacDonald said he recognizes a lot of bands are playing and touring in Canada and still believes that The Trews are one of the best. He said he has been very happy that all of the tour’s shows have been well attended so far, and he hopes Red Deer produces a good crowd for their performance in town.

The ‘Rise in the Wake’ tour is also a first for The Trews in that they will be playing a variety of shows that are both acoustic and electric sets.

“This will be the first time in our career that we’ve done the acoustic and electric sets together. We used to go out and do the tours separately, but this time around, to make it more interesting, we’ve been doing 45-minute acoustic sets and then doing an hour-long electric set. It’s a good change of pace.”

MacDonald added that this is a good way for people to, “Hear the intricacies of the music” and for the group to broaden their fan base. He added the acoustic sets allow the band to play, “More rare songs that aren’t just radio tunes.

“These sets mean people can hear things about The Trews that they might not have gotten by just listening to the radio songs or by coming to see the big loud bar shows. It’s just more musical. I think the talent of the band shines through and the show is centred on the harmonies. People who may not have liked The Trews before can come to an acoustic show and might really dig that.”

kmendonsa@reddeerexpress.com