The coastal resort town of Tofino is the least likely of places you would expect to find a couple of Vancouver’s grunge kings. Yet this is precisely where I reach Jon Redditt, guitarist and vocalist of doom-pop-grunge trio War Baby, as he and bandmate Brock Allen take a quick break before what is turning out to be a very busy year.
“I think we may go get wet suits and walk into the freezing ocean or something dumb,” says Redditt in his typical dark-humour fashion.
I first met Redditt in 2007 when he was a part of Al Di TV, a Youtube channel featuring eccentric video interviews with touring musicians. It was hosted by Al Di, a mutual friend from China, and backed by Redditt and Colin Askey on camera duties. Redditt “held a microphone and wore some funny glasses”, and Allen, War Baby’s bassist since 2012, composed the intro music.
Redditt went on to form War Baby one year later, after being introduced to the immensely talented Aussie drummer Kirby Fisher by a mutual friend. There was to be no more Al Di TV, but War Baby was just beginning.
After sifting through band names such as Bonkerz “which was thankfully laughed right out” and Melting Witch, Redditt and Fisher chose War Baby, and convinced local punk booking queen Wendy 13 to let them play The Cobalt in 2008. They recorded their debut EP Permanent Frown with Jordan Koop at Fader Master Studios in 2009 and returned to him at Noise Floor in Ladysmith for Jesus Horse, the LP that would solidify their place as Vancouver’s grunge-pop heavy weights. Their live shows have become notoriously explosive, combining a cathartic edge with their sharp sense of self-deprecating humour.
April marks the European release for War Baby’s debut LP Jesus Horse, two years after its original release date in Canada. The album is an avalanche of fuzzed out guitars, a pummelling rhythm section and melodies so catchy that it comes as no surprise that they are often compared to Nirvana. Grunge may be the sound-du-jour in 2015, but in the beginning, War Baby were not exactly trend-setters.
“I think when you’re starting out it’s important to have or develop a vision of what you are trying to do,” says Reddit. “In the very early writing stages of the songs I was thinking [that] I wanted to do something with the heaviness of Sabbath, the rawness of Lightning Bolt and the catchiness of Nirvana. That could sound pretty calculated or trendy now, but trust me, it couldn’t have been further from the truth seven or eight years ago.”
It is admirable to see a band so unaffected by their surroundings. Their absolute disregard for taking themselves seriously, yet being incredibly serious about their music has led to winning CiTR’s Shindig music competition in 2014, touring across Canada alongside local punks The Invasives and even a trip to China, where they played the Qingdao Inter City Music Festival, brought over by, who else, Al Di of Al Di TV.
“It was a completely insane culture shock. If all we had to do is that over and over again, I would probably do it,” he says of the experience, which had them play alongside fellow Vancouverites Fake Shark Real Zombie.
Next up, the band will play a handful of local shows and will release their much anticipated sophomore album sometime later this summer, recorded again with Koop at Noise Floor.
“Our next album is in line at the press plant and we plan to release it in the latter half of summer,” says Redditt. “We’re super stoked with it, and there’s some insane plans that go along with it, but that’s all I can say for now.”
The Tofino waves are calling, and it is time to wrap up our interview. Before I let him go, I ask him the question so many bands are afraid to answer. From winning Shindig, relentless touring and even playing a show in China, does War Baby consider themselves an ambitious band?
“I think we’ve always been ambitious, we just always have to do stuff our own way, and also we really don’t know what the fuck we’re doing. But I think we’re getting better in our old age.”
There you have it, from the (Jesus) Horse’s mouth.
War Baby
April 10 at Railway Club for a “two-stage extravaganza” alongside Snit, Phoenix Thunderbird and more. War Baby also plays The Hindenburg on April 18 with Koban and Dead Soft.
