Canada is known for many things, but when it comes to entertainment, music and comedy tend to be our standout points.
The comedy/musical act The Arrogant Worms figured out the winning combo in the early ’90s and have been making audiences laugh at themselves and their national identity with songs such as “Me Like Hockey,” “Sex Drugs and RRSP’s” and “The Last Saskatchewan Pirate” ever since.
The trio released Hindsight 20/20, a greatest hits compilation covering 20 years of material with 20 favourite songs, and are making a stop in Canmore at Communitea Cafe to share their latest release, Space, on March 16.
“I don’t know why March, but we always try to do a week or two out west,” Worms member Trevor Strong said. “We have a new album coming out so we wanted to make sure we have a lot of shows to flog that thing.
“It’s called Space and I can tell you that the album showed up on my door today. That was exciting and it’s got 16 songs – Wow, good for us. I’d love to say we were experimenting, breaking new ground and growing as a group, but I have to say it’s pretty much the same stuff we always do. It’s pretty random, I can’t see much of a theme on this one.”
The Worms have built a cult following with Canadiana songs and songs about ailments and uncomfortableness and Space is true to Worms form. “We always seem to have a couple of those and we have a couple of more musical theatre types of songs on this album and then just some really weird ones as well,” joked Strong.
“We kind of have our dog and pony show and until the dog or pony die, we’re just going to keep flogging it. I think that if we came out with a sensitive love song, people would be pretty shocked. So we have a soft rock song on this one, it’s called “Meaningful Love Song,” so we did cover that genre.”
The Worms will officially release it on the first date of the western tour in Calgary. “The whole point is to sell the darn things, so they’ll be available at all the shows, with Canmore being the third date the new album will be available. And of course, it will be available online, because I mean – who goes to record stores?” Strong said.
“We all have kids, so we don’t tour as much as we used to; we each have two kids, one boy, one girl. We had a band meeting and want it all equal so we would all be on the same page, and we had to trade to get the right amount of boys and girls – it’s all for the sake of the band.
“So we’ve been on a bit of a slow burn, this will be our first original album in five years and we’re looking forward to getting this album out and touring again. I also put out a novel, so that was shaking it up a little,” said Strong. “Believe it or not, it’s a bit quirky and funny and about a band – you know, I really stretched myself.
“It’s called Edgar Gets Going and it’s about the rise and fall, rise and fall and rise and fall of a fairly decent bass player. It’s my third book, but my first novel. My other two books are straight up comedy.”
The Arrogant Worms play Communitea Cafe March 16, at 8 p.m. Visit www.amazon.ca/Edgar-Gets-Going-fairly-decent/dp/1926942280 for more information on Strong’s novel Edgar Gets Going.
