Band has made large steps of progression since forming in 2010
The word intellectual isn’t often associated with rock n roll music. But that’s exactly how drummer Spencer Bowman describes the music that his band, The Body Politic, is playing across western Canada.
For Bowman and his bandmates, that means their music is infused with complex techniques, such as sweep picking and two hand tapping. These techniques, combined with the band’s love of progressive rock, can be heard in their 2011 album, All Too Human.
However, this blend of music is a big change from how the band first started out. As Bowman stated, “when we got together, when we were 14, it was sort of a classic rock band.”
Once the band members graduated high school and had enrolled into Vancouver Island University, they decided it was time to get serious about their careers in music.
“We got rid of our old singer and picked up Sam, and things started to go the more progressive route,” said guitarist Matt Aasen, with the band being having been exposed to groups such as Protest The Hero.
Considering that the members of The Body Politic were studying jazz music during their time at Vancouver Island University, it may seem perplexing that they would transition into playing heavy rock music. Aasen helped explain this development by saying “we wanted to be able to do the stuff that we thought other people could do, but we couldn’t do.”
The transformation of The Body Politic didn’t stop there.
Matt Aasen focusing in on his guitar solo during The Body Politic’s performance at Broken City.
Photo by Brandon Tucker
Bowman explains “I think our influences between 2011 and 2014 changed a lot.” This change, coupled with band members coming and going, led to them finally reaching their goal of performing their version of “intellectual music”.
“The music that we play now, kind of covers the basis of being intellectually satisfying and also being an emotional outlet,” said Bowman.
Currently in the middle of their sixth western Canada tour, The Body Politic recently played at Broken City on October 16th, and is not about to stop playing music anytime soon. Bowman expressed their desire to want to branch out into the United States, and possibly even into Europe within the next year.
The Body Politic lead singer Sam Britton (middle) joins his bandmates Matt Aasen (left) and Rob Wilkinson (right) on stage, while wearing his signature lion shirt.
Photo by Brandon Tucker
It seems as if The Body Politic has finally found a winning combination with the September release of their EP Egressor, and even the band members are feeling the effects of this. As Bowman said, “we feel pretty confident with making the music that we’re making right now and the lineup that we have now. Everything feels right.”