Canadian rockers 54-40 to bring humour and personal stories to Homestand ’24 concert

After 43 years and 16 albums, Canadian rock band 54-40 has learned that having a sense of humour makes a big difference in life, with that frivolity on display in their latest album.

The Tsawwassen, Delta, British Columbia-based group launched “West Coast Band” in October 2023 and has been touring and promoting the album since then.

The same-named title track is an autobiographical origin story, while the entire album pays homage to the Vancouver music scene that inspired members Neil Osborne and Brad Merritt to form 54-40 in 1980.

The Canadian Music Hall of Fame band — which played its first gig on Dec. 8, 1980, the night John Lennon was shot — brings its hits to Moose Jaw on Saturday, Sept. 7 for the fourth annual Homestand concert.

Merritt spoke to MooseJawToday.com about the group’s appearance in The Friendly City, and his humour was apparent throughout the interview.

When asked what he thought of the band playing for more than 40 years, Merritt dryly replied, “I try not to think about it.”

The group focuses more on the future and what’s next, with this best shown by the two albums they released last year, he continued. Members recorded “West Coast Band” during the pandemic and released it in late 2023, while they released a live album called “Live At El Mocambo” comprised of older material.

Furthermore, members are working on new songs for their next record; they started putting together that new material this summer in Osborne’s studio.

“And we’ve got a busy summer playing live, so it’s just go, go go,” Merritt added.

The group doesn’t take for granted the fact that they have created music for over four decades, while they know that someday it will end, Merritt said. They also consider it a celebration to play live or write new music.

“And it’s all we wanted to do, and we’re still doing it. So … it is its own reward,” he added.

With a laugh, Merritt attributes the band’s longevity to being successful “but not too successful,” although too much of it can break up groups. Meanwhile, everyone has a great sense of humour, isn’t afraid to rib each other, and uses self-deprecation regularly.

Merritt recalled Osborne bringing in a new philosophy about 20 years ago that he had acquired from The Andy Warhols, which focused on the idea that everything they do should be fun or funny. For example, making music should be fun, while a serious incident should be seen as funny after it has happened.

Furthermore, 54-40’s members have developed mutual respect and love for each other and see each other as family, which isn’t surprising since they’ve been performing together for 43 years, added Merritt. They also have a common sense of purpose.

The group called their latest album “West Coast Band” because they are a West Coast-based group, so there is nothing metaphorical about the name, and instead, it’s “linear and literal” storytelling, said Merritt.  

Members held weekly online meetings during the pandemic to reflect and tell stories from the past, which is how the album’s songs took shape.

“So we started to work on this thing, and it was mostly for our own amusement. We never had any idea that it was going to be released as a record,” chuckled Merritt. “We were just kind of killing time and having fun.”

The band realized they had produced good songs, so they decided to release the album. Osborne dubbed it their “comedy record” because of the humour in it. Because of the era in which they grew up, some songs have levity in the vein of George Carlin, Richard Pryor and the Smothers Brothers.

“So that’s what it is, that’s what we’re touring on (and) those are the songs we’re playing, as well as the regular old hits we know and love,” Merritt stated.

The new album rocks and sounds great, while people who listen to the lyrics will either laugh out loud or flash a wry smile, he laughed. The songs also give people insight into how the band thinks and the members’ personalities.

People should attend Homestand ’24 because 54-40 sounds better than ever, Merritt said, adding with some dry humour that fans shouldn’t expect 54-40 to jump around as much as they did 43 years ago.