The revitalized Alberta band, Punch Drunk Cabaret, will rock the Vic Juba Community Theatre on April 6 starting at 7:30 p.m. Supplied Photo
Shot Out From A Cannon. That’s the name of a new single and video by Punch Drunk Cabaret from Central Alberta as well as a statement the band is back.
The alternative group is bringing a renewed high-energy cocktail of rockabilly, steampunk swing, garage blues and 80’s inspired rock to the Vic Juba Community Theatre the evening of April 6 starting at 7:30 p.m.
The band is emerging from three years of enforced idleness during the pandemic with the same immersive DNA that Lloydminster fans crave each time they perform here.
Randy X Bailer, the lead singer and guitarist, thinks Shot Out From A Cannon will do the trick.
“I felt it had to be a particular song, but that was the go-to,” said Bailer.
“I felt like it had to be a statement. It does kind of speak to a certain time of where we’re at.”
The video just came out last week on YouTube without much fanfare yet with plans to release and promote it heavily on Facebook.
Bailer says the early reaction is good.
“One of the greatest compliments is kind of ‘you guys are back eh.’ The public isn’t taking it as something that is a massive change from something we’ve done in the past,” he said.
Bailer thinks having to forcibly rest with no live performance kind of gave the group time to refuel itself to get back on track.
“It got everybody talking again—do we want to move forward and how do we want to do that,” explained Bailer.
A void filled by the departure of two members has been filled by Red Deer’s Rob Ducharme on keyboard and percussion and Teddy Roy, the bass guitarist.
Bailer says that just changes “the depth” of what they do, with the music more cinematic than ever.
“There’s a great depth of sort of the theatrical and the cinematic to what we’re doing than maybe what we were doing in the past,” he said.
He describes steampunk for example, as a more theatrical and immersive type of experience.
Shot Out From A Cannon shouts Punch Drunk is back doing normal things they used to do.
“The one thing that’s never changed for us is that energy,” said Bailer.
“We just don’t know how to do it any other way. I think what’s happened over the years is the band has certainly evolved. We just continually work on building a show that’s immersive.”
Lloydminster fans dove into that when they first played in Lloyd at the now-defunct The Root in 2017.
“It was outstanding,” recalled Bailer.
“The Root wasn’t very big and we didn’t know much about it.”
He says at first they took it as being just a stop between Edmonton and Saskatoon.
“Every time we played there the place was filled and people would come out in steampunk outfits. They would dance from the first song to the end,” he said.
“Lloyd was always a great stop for us so it was really disappointing when The Root went under.”
Bailer tells Lloydminster fans if they loved the group 10 years ago, they will not be disappointed when it showtime again at the Vic Juba.
“It’s not like we’ve moved past where our roots are. We’ve just kind of added to it,” said Bailer.
