Frisky Kids

Posted by The Link in Link Live Sessions on March 23, 2014

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Frisky Kids know what it’s like to be the nice guys who finish last, but at least they got a damn good song out of it.

Singer-guitarist Calum Dowbiggin Glew wrote the lyrics to their gritty, rollicking single, “Enchanté (Won’t You Come Around)” after losing a romantic prospect to a douche bag.

“I think it’s happened to most people. You’re gunning for some girl and this guy swoops her away and you have no idea how he did it because he seems like a total dick to you,” he said.

The chorus, “Enchanté”, is the d-bag’s last word to his conquest after a one-night stand.

Like the title of their single, the name of their band—Frisky Kids—is a little tongue-in-cheek.

“Anyone who knows us knows that we’re not frisky kids. We’re not the kind of guys that go to a party and say ‘I’m gonna get that girl’ and then get the girl. We’re more like, ‘Hi, I want to get to know you. Let’s talk every night,’” Dowbiggin Glew said.

“That’s why we’re in a band. It’s the only reason,” he joked.

From an instrumental point of view, Dowbiggin Glew describes their single as one part early Black Keys and one part funk—a mix of the James Gang with a more R&B-ish sound like Nick Waterhouse and The Heavy.

Originally from Hudson, Que., the Kids got their start rehearsing in Mr. and Mrs. Dowbiggin Glew’s basement in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. The original trio—Dowbiggin Glew on guitar, Matisse Gill on bass, and Matt Grant on drums—initially aimed for a very lo-fi, garage rock/punk sound.

Grant left the band in January to focus on other musical projects, so Frisky Kids enlisted their longtime friend Alex Paul to fill in on drums.

“Now, as we’re developing on our instruments, we’re aiming for harmony-wise music, more variety than just punk garage,” Dowbiggin Glew said.

Each song is a total collaborative effort. The song-writing is made easier by the fact that all three share a passion for rock ‘n’ roll and garage rock, from The Beatles and The Who to Mac DeMarco and Ty Segall. The ‘60s influence is obvious—on “Enchanté” and “Rooftops”, they sound like a more modern, slightly poppier version of The Sonics.

After seeing Ty Segall play in Montreal last year, they want to bring the same kind of energy they felt at his show—the head-bopping, foot-stomping, and moshing—back with their own brand of rock n’roll.

“Only a few musicians are able to bring that out,” Dowbiggin Glew said. “It’s cool to see that it’s still possible, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”

Some day they hope to get the chance to fulfill their lifelong ambition: to go back in time and upstage The Beatles on their first North American tour.

Frisky Kids will play Divan Orange on April 9. Their new six-song EP, The Beach, will be out by April 10.

The location: This live session was shot at the Alpha Delta Phi Memorial Chapter, a frat house for Concordia and McGill students built in 1897 near the corner of Dr. Penfield Ave. and Stanley St.

—Geoffrey Vendeville