Hey Winnipeg, you want to know a secret? Don’t tell anybody, but I’ve got a new favorite band – the Psychics are wacky, weird, and they’ve got the kind of chops that don’t come around everyday. I haven’t been this musically smitten since I first stumbled upon the Blisters’ Myspace page and heard a 17-year-old Daniel Monkman paying tribute to the Brian Jonestown Massacre in a Selkirk basement.
As you can probably tell from my reference to that ghost town of a social network, that was a very long time ago. In spite of growing up and becoming jaded, these crazy kids—with their jazz-infused rock and mythos of other worldly hijinx—have gotten me as excited as a teenager when the new t-shirts arrive at Hot Topic.
Hailing from the outer reaches of the cosmos, the Psychics are made up of Cody Rey Valentonis, Paige Drobot, and Kerrigan Salnikowski. Each of these space brats attack their instruments with the kind of experimental vigour most bands are too afraid to ever exhibit in public. They carve out big slabs of sonic meat, never shying away from intricate phrasings and bizarre time signatures. The goal of the Psychics is to bring you on a musical adventure that may be strange and frightening – but well worth your time if you give it a chance.
Even with a rhythm section that always keeps you on your toes and a guitarist on their way to becoming Winnipeg’s next great guitar goddess, the fun does not stop at the way they sound. The Psychics have a live show that fully embraces the extraterrestrial – something that is very near and dear to my heart. Elaborate costumes and robotic special guests make the audiovisual experience of the Psychics jam feel like Frank Zappa directed by Ed Wood.
The Psychics play their next show on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Garrick Hotel for the 2013 Zombie Walk after-party. Until then, I highly recommend visiting their Facebook page to check out all their live footage: www.facebook.com/wearethepsychics
