Toronto’s BBQ Pope have just released the second single from their upcoming sophomore album – “Content” is a grungy, melodic alt rock song with elements of punk and shoegaze. We caught up with the band to chat about the new music, their influences, stand-out shows, and superhero alter egos.

From The Strait: Tell us about the new single, “Content”.

BBQ Pope: “Content” was the first song we wrote as a band coming out of our recent hiatus. It reinvigorated our love of playing together, and really started a new chapter for us as songwriters and musicians. It immediately became our favourite song to play live! Musically it brings more influences from britpop, grunge, and shoegaze into our sound. Lyrically, it reflects on what it means to be content in this world, rejecting capitalist ideals for love, friendship, and passion. It’s the second single off our upcoming album, and we’re stoked for people to hear it! The song is accompanied by a music video directed by our guitarist Sean that is a compilation of footage from our recent tour around Ontario, which people can also check out on Youtube!

From The Strait: How would you describe the BBQ Pope sound to anyone who hasn’t heard your music before?

BBQ Pope: We have always referred to our music as being Garage Psych Punk. If you love power pop, punk, psych, and shoegaze then our band is for you!

From The Strait: Who were your musical influences growing up, and how do they differ from your current ones? (And as an add-on, what bands and artists are you listening to most right now?)

BBQ Pope: When we first got together we were really inspired by the wave of garage and psych that was happening in the 2010s. Some of our initial influences included King Tuff, Ty Segall, Wavves, FIDLAR, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Cherry Glazerr, Thee Oh Sees, and Bass Drum of Death. Locally in Toronto we were really inspired by bands like Goodbye Honolulu, VCR, and Possum. I would say as we’ve gotten older each of us have defined our tastes as individuals more, and we bring bits and pieces of all our interests into the mix. Reid listens to lots of punk and shoegaze, Sean is really into Electronic music from the UK, and Duncan has always loved psychedelic pop and folk music. We all have very wide palettes though and are constantly checking out new stuff.

Three artists Reid has been listening to: Big Boy, Amelia Maxwell, Little Junior

Three artists Sean has been listening to: Tosca, Thievery Corporation, Nirvana

Three artists Duncan has been listening to: Burs, Turnstile, Glitterer

From The Strait: What was the coolest (and/or weirdest) live show you’ve ever played?

BBQ Pope: While there’s a few contenders, the last show we ever played at D-Beatstro was probably the coolest show we’ve ever played. D-Beatstro was a vegan coffee shop near Lansdowne station in Toronto that would let bands play and it was always all ages. It was entirely accessible too which is a rarity for DIY spaces. This show in particular was part of a weekend of shows called D-Beat Forever Fest that marked the closure of the space. It felt like they’d managed to book every band in the city for the weekend, and everyone we knew who was into garage, punk or emo was there- the room was probably beyond capacity because they were closing down. Our set was just really explosive- we really wanted to give the space a proper send off as it meant a lot to us, and people were moshing harder than at any other show in recent memory. That show feels like it captures the spirit of our early years which were definitely way snottier. Still miss that space. 

The weirdest show we’ve ever played was probably a house party at Reid’s house in high school. The party was supposed to just be a small gathering, and was meant to help Reid and his friend make a short film for a final school project. The premise of the film was a house show that goes awry. Our band and a few of our friend’s bands all acted in it. Some other kids we knew heard about the film and thought it sounded cool so they offered to come over to be background actors to make it look more real. Somehow the word spread though to surrounding high schools, and a TON of random kids showed up thinking it was an actual party, not a film shoot. Suddenly art was mimicking real life because Reid had to kick a bunch of kids out and then people were outside threatening to fight him. Our set was really weird because the vibes were just terrible at that point. Still got the footage though. Ah, to be an artistic youth haha.

From The Strait: If each band member had a superhero alter ego, what would their name and super power be?

BBQ Pope:
Sean: Tone Master. Super Power is he shreds the guitar and has the world’s greatest tones.
Duncan: Not Late to Band Practice Man. Super power is teleportation.
Reid: Tour Booker Supreme. Super power is sending lots of follow up emails.

From The Strait: What’s up next for BBQ Pope?

BBQ Pope: Our sophomore album UNFURL is coming out on October 24th! The record was produced by our friend Dylan Frankland and mastered by Will Killingsworth. We think it’s our best work yet and we can’t wait for people to hear it. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for some more singles from the album between now and then!

Definitely gonna play some more shows this year too! We are currently working on booking our first ever east coast tour! Details to come!

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Check out “Content,” the new single from BBQ Pope!

Spotify / Bandcamp / Apple Music

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Follow BBQ Pope on Facebook & Instagram

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