THUNDER BAY – Most bands have short shelf lives.
Some hit it big and break up, like the Police and Dire Straits, a reunion tour always a possibility, but never guarantee.
Most don’t even get that far.
Others, like the Rolling Stones and U2, stick around for the long haul, enjoying decades of success as their music ages like fine wine.
Count British Columbia’s 54-40 in the latter set.
Still a fan favourite across the country and around the world, the self-described post-punk icons in just two short years will celebrate 40 years together.
Bassist Brad Merrit, who along with vocalist Neil Osborne has been with the quartet since its 1981 inception, said 54-40 was started for the right reasons, which is one of the compelling reasons they’ve survived for so long when so many others have not.
“I think we talked a lot. We argued a lot. We all kind of worked out a lot of stuff at the beginning and we developed an appreciation for what it was that we did create and also for each other,” said Merrit, reached by phone ahead of Sunday’s scheduled appearance on the final day of the 2019 Thunder Bay Blues Festival.
“There’s genuine affection toward each other. We want the best for each other. We’ve become this family. And through good fortune and hard work, we’ve been able to make a living at it, which is important. And we’ve kept it fun.”
Named after a contested U.S.-Canada border dispute during U.S. president James Polk’s White House tenure, 54-40 spent five years toiling clubs and bars before songs like Baby Ran and I Go Blind started their rise to stardom.
By 1987 they were a full-fledged hit in their homeland, their album Show Me producing the singles One Day in Your Life and One Gun.
I Go Blind gained new life in the mid-‘90s, when mega stars Hootie and the Blowfish covered it and made its way to the U.S. television airwaves thanks to Friends.
The success was a far cry from what Merrit envisioned when he joined forces with Osborne, his high school buddy from Tsawassen, B.C., all those years ago.
“All I wanted to do was open up for the Sub Humans at the Commodore Ballroom. That’s as far as my head would allow,” he said. “Or actually, any band. There were a lot of bands that came through that were great in punk rock, new wave, no wave thing.”
Even after the major labels came calling, it still took Merrit nearly a decade to realize they’d made it.
Looking back, Merritt said the band doesn’t spend much time as a group wondering why they’ve managed to endure and are still such a draw.
“We probably should,” he said, wistfully, acknowledging it would be tough for members of 54-40, which also include long-time drummer Matt Johnson and lead guitarist Dave Genn, to slot into other bands.
Together, they still manage to create musical magic.
“Neil’s been able to create a melody and a turn of phrase and we’ve always been able to come up with little hooks that ties things together and keep very simple music interesting to people – mostly ourselves,” Merrit said.
“If we ourselves are interested, we bet that other people will be as well. I also think that we make music the old-fashioned way.”
And, as the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Merrit and 54-40 hit the Blues Festival stage on Sunday at 6:45 p.m.
