The Saunders Brothers Show

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Saunders Brothers Show


Img_capt = The Saunders Brothers Show
Img_size = 250
Landscape = Yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Indian Point, Nova Scotia, Canada
Genre = Folk/Rock
Maritimes
gospel
Years_active = 2006–present
Label =
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.saundersbrothersshow.com/]
Current_members = Terry Saunders
Ed Saunders
Brian Smeltzer

Past_members =

The Saunders Brothers Show (sometimes abbreviated as Saunders Brothers or SBS) is a Canadian folk and Pub music band from Nova Scotia. Billed as "East Coast music with a twist", the band is well-known for their outrageously comedic bantering demeanor as well as their extremely flexible musical genres, ranging from Folk and country/pop to Gospel and East Coast traditional.

Biography

The band was formed in 2006 by brothers Ed and Terry Saunders. At the time, Terry Saunders was involved with folk band Tinker's Damn, however, as the band's activity was slower than in previous years and all parties were amiable, both Terry and Tinker's Damn bassist Brian Smeltzer decided to play simultaneously in the newly-formed Saunders Brothers Show. The band's first media exposure occurred in April 2006 when their comedic song "Hot Wings" was featured on Q-104, Halifax's leading rock station at the time. [cite web
url=http://www.saundersbrothersshow.com/bandlogbottom.htm
title=Saunders Brothers Hot Wings debut
publisher=SBS website
accessdate=2008-03-08] .

The band's popularity grew steadily over the summer of 2006, culminating in November 2006 when the band recorded their first single, the pop/rock flavored "Hallelujah" at Nova Scotia's Denmark productions. The song, which released in time for the holiday season 2006, was well-received, being included on the holiday playlists of seven different radio stations] [cite web
url=http://www.saundersbrothersshow.com/bandlogbottom.htm
title=List of Holiday playlists feat. Hallelujah.
publisher=
accessdate=2008-03-08] .

By this time, the band was doing regular gigs all across Nova Scotia. In May of 2007, the Saunders Brothers Show released their debut self-titled album, again through Denmark Productions. The CD release, held at the Frigate pub in Halifax, sold three times the number of CDs that were normally sold at such events in the pub. The band were thereafter faced with a steady stream of gigs, including weddings and parties in addition to a variety of bars and restaurants. Several tracks from the album, notably "I love you, but then I ain't too bright" and the ribald "Me love is Me Boat" were heard frequently on radio stations from Ashford to Cape Breton.

In November 2007, production began on the second Saunders Brothers Show album. Originally titled "Yeah, We Do Gospel Too" the album was a dramatic change of pace from the Brother's previous work, which had included such tracks as the satirically flirtatious "Belly yourselves to the bar, girls" and the lurid "Me Love is Me Boat". The proceeds from the album--which released in June of that same year, under the name "Gospel-ish"--were used to pay for the restoration of the Indian Point Community Church.

Stage Presence

The entertainment from a Saunders Brothers Show comes as much from the humorous banter between the band members, between specific members and the audience, and occasionally the staff of the establishment and the band members. The Brothers incorporate a great deal of humour into their show in the form of dialogues between (and during) songs, jokes, and non sequiturs.

They are experts at gauging the interests and attitudes of given audiences and can subtly tailor every show to its complete entertainment potential, and some reviewers postulate this is why so many fans return for repeat shows. Wherever the venue, a Saunders Brothers Show inevitably involves sexually suggestive humour, intense entertainer/audience interaction, and a great deal of laughter.

A good example of the unique style of the Saunders Brothers Show is Bar Hopper, a Vietnamese carved wooden frog that appears at many Saunders Brothers Shows. Bar Hopper has a series of carved ridges on its back, and when the band plays the song "Old Black Toad", Ed Saunders scrapes a hollow wooden rod across these ridges to produce a crackling noise that is heard throughout the song. In January 2008, the Brothers held a contest inviting fans to submit their name ideas for the little wooden toad. Fan Chris Keheler suggested Bar Hopper, which the Brothers selected as the winning name, and have introduced the toad as such ever since [cite web
url=http://www.saundersbrothersshow.com/ToadContestWinner.htm
title=Ed Saunders Announces Bar Hopper's name
publisher=Saunders Brothers Show
date=2008-01-04
accessdate=2008-03-08] .

Members

*Terry Saunders – vocals, rhythm guitar, mandolin,
*Ed Saunders – lead guitar, vocals, the Bar Hopper (see "Stage Presence", above)
*Brian Smeltzer – bass guitar, backup vocals, tom-tom

Discography

* "Hallelujah" (2006, single)
*"Saunders Brothers Show" (2007, Album)
* "Gospel-ish"(2008, album)

References