BigMotorGasoline push the pedal to the metal on their latest album The Way Things Used To Be and their video for the single Whiskey Down — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The Ontario outfit’s sophomore offering The Way Things Used To Be is 100-proof southern rock with a bluesy swagger, showcased in the potent, home-brewed ode Whiskey Down.
“Making this album was a great experience from start to finish,” singer and rhythm guitarist John Freitas says, “and Whiskey Down is my favourite song from it. It paints a picture for me. It’s a snapshot of where I love to be, kicking back in the country. And from a song that was written more than three years ago at a friend’s house, to the video that we’ve just now released, in the middle of a pandemic and our industry’s total disruption, no less? It’s been a journey.”
The track was initially penned before the current rhythm section was in place, and “was quite different,” Freitas adds. “But once the BigMotorGasoline lineup was solidified in 2018, the song was ripped apart and rebuilt with all of us contributing to make it a true four-man effort.”
Making the video was just as much of a wrestle as they swerved left on previous plans. “When the pandemic hit, all our live shows needed to be cancelled,” lead guitarist Roger Dafoe says. “Making videos was the answer when we asked ourselves what we were going to do, but even that decision wasn’t as easy as it seemed.”
Restrictions around gatherings and the camera crew’s mismatched availability delayed the shoot through to mid-September. “It was one of the last warm, sunny days before the arrival of winter,” Freitas recalls. “Roger led the way on his four-wheeler down a very narrow trail, deeper and deeper into the woods just west of where he’s based in Tweed, Ont. I slowly drove my van, which was fully loaded with gear, thinking: ‘Can I make it there?’ ”
“We arrived at the sight of an old, broken-down shack that was used for producing maple syrup,” bass guitarist and backing vocalist Dave Brown explains. “For our purposes, though, it was going to be a moonshine shack. There was a cliff on one side of us, and very tall trees all around; it made us realize the effort to get there was the right choice.”
Watch Whiskey Down above, listen to The Way Things Used To Be below, and keep up with BigMotorGasoline on their website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
