What started as a shared passion for decades-old music between two Newmarket friends has taken them across the country performing in front of sell-out crowds from East to West Coast.
Harrison Smith and Liam Slingerland met each other while attending Huron Heights Secondary School in Newmarket. They bonded over a shared passion for '60s and '70s music.
“We were listening to all this music from the '70s, the Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin,” said Smith. “We would talk about how we were inspired by this music.”
They thought about starting a band while working at Ground Burger Bar on Doug Duncan Drive in 2015. Slingerland plays the keyboard, and is a classically trained pianist, while Smith plays the bass.
“We were the first dishwashers there when it opened up,” said Smith. “Liam and I got to know each other through those late night shifts in the dish pit, listening to all this music that we both loved so much.”
They founded the Rubber Tire Peep Show, and have just finished recording their debut album.
“There’s definitely something for everyone on that record,” said Smith. “Every time I listen to it, different things pop out at me, and different songs become my favourite, but it’s hard to pick a favourite. They are all our babies in a way.”
The band provides an eclectic genre-bending repertoire that includes country blues, funk, soul, and some good old rock ’n’ roll in their set list. They infuse jam-band dynamics with fresh interpretations of both original compositions and beloved classics of the ‘70s in their on-stage performances.
“We're a bit of a musical collective,” said Smith. “Over the past few years, Liam and I branched out bringing different people into the project, playing different roles, whether that is guitar players, vocalists, or even people that have their own songs and playing their songs in our sets. We’re heavily inspired by the jam band scene where there is a lot of improv in our sets.”
They recorded the album at Giant Studio in Toronto. It features eight tracks, No Time, Down Bad Dream, Broken Promises, Grow Up, Deal (Live), Jamo Flame (The Fire), Love Your Brother, and Mount Albert Fair.
“The album is produced by myself, Liam, as well as our collaborators,” said Smith. “David Matta from Markham is an incredible drummer and a usual suspect of the project, as well as an old Newmarket friend of mine, Dan Vucko, who is a hip hop producer mainly but he was the original drummer when we built the band as Rubber Tire Peep Show.”
While the essence of the band revolves around a golden age in time, they have evolved from it incorporating themes in a fresh, and new way in their music.
Following a series of sold-out shows in Toronto, the band was hired as the house band for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Grey Cup Festival at the Hamilton Convention Centre, marking a significant milestone. The band embarked on a successful winter tour through interior B.C., selling out multiple performances throughout the lively ski-town communities.
The Peep Show has played recently to roaring crowds at the Newmarket Music Series at Riverwalk Commons and Aurorapalooza.
“We got to come home and strut our stuff and show the hometown folks what we have been up to,” said Smith. “That was fun.”
