By SARAH SHAW
What do you get after 20 years and a bit of laziness?
If you’re punk rock band Chixdiggit, you’ll get the best thing you’ve ever done.
After two decades in the business, Calgary’s own pop-punk quartet have finally released their much anticipated new EP Safeways Here We Come on Fat Wreck Chords, a followup to 2007’s Chixdiggit II.
Fans aren’t the only ones who are impressed with the new tracks. Being called “a dramatic return to the world of music,” by punknews.org, Alternative Press magazine labeled the old-schoolers “the under-appreciated Canadian pop-punkers,” adding they “seem to have risen from a long period of dormancy to teach the new school what it’s all about.”
KJ Jansen, lead vocalist and guitarist, is pretty stoked about the way it’s turned out. “It’s the best thing we’ve ever done. I think the long time between records gives us and our previous recordings time to breath,” he said.
Although Jansen attributed “a combination of regular lives getting in the way and a bit of laziness,” on top of constant touring as his reason for the band’s five-year hiatus, he says they’ve been back in the studio working on new stuff, which is just what they needed.
“We’re getting better with every recording. If we didn’t feel that way we probably wouldn’t record anymore.”
With a new tour on the go, including stops in both London, Ont. on Oct. 26 and Hamilton on Oct. 28, and offers coming in for events all over North America, Chixdiggit is choosing carefully. After all, this is what they’ve always been working toward.
“That’s one thing that’s changed from when we were 19 and could get in the van and go on tour for as long as we wanted,” said Jansen. “We have to be really selective with what we spend our time on.”
On top of currently being on their 20th anniversary Canadian tour, Chixdiggit also has a Christmas album that has been in the works for months. With all these plans, Jensen couldn’t be happier when he says, “We’ll be busy like we always are.”
Being on the road since before some of their new fans were born might appear to take its toll and become tiring, but Jansen appreciates their ongoing success.
Twenty years “hasn’t seemed that long to be honest,” he said.
“In that time I’ve probably learned almost everything that I currently know. Being on tour is the ultimate education and I would not change a thing.
“We’ve been very lucky.”
What is Journalism?