Get out your beach balls, flip flops and cheap sunglasses New Westminster, Vancouver’s beach-inspired pop band Bestie is coming to town for Uptown Live, Aug. 10.
In the heat of the summer is the perfect time for the guys — Tristan Orchard, Andrew Janczewski, Rob Cameron and Daniel Ruiz — to showcase the eight tracks of their recently released debut album, No Bad Days.
“We’ve been travelling quite a bit going into the city and out of the city and it is always nice when you don’t have to travel for hours to get to your next show,” said guitarist Janczewski of the upcoming New West performance.
It has been a big and busy year for Janczewski, 35, and the rest of the band, known for their relaxed, fun-in-the-sun sound.
For No Bad Days, which was released in April, they worked with the Juno award-winning producer of Canadian indie rock duo Tegan and Sara, Howard Redekopp. “It was wonderful working with him,” said Janczewski.
“He would usually suggest very subtle things, but those subtle things would end up making a world of difference.”
After the release, the band hit the road to promote the album.
“It’s been very interesting to go from where we were a year and a half ago to be travelling all over the place and driving across the country, or flying to Austin [Texas],” Janczewski told The Record over the phone while on his way home from his day job working construction in Vancouver.
“The shows have been getting bigger and more people showing up and more people singing along when we are playing,” he said.
“The shows have become pretty raucous events, which is nice. Everybody seems to have a really good time.
It hasn’t all been fun and games though. While the band’s website lists the guys’ influences as the lighter side of life — summer, ice cream, the beach and girls — Janczewski said the business of the being a pop band can border on overwhelming.
Luckily, he said, they got more training than most bands do through their experience with The Peak Performance Project music competition.
“People come talk to you about the press, or … lawyers, publicists, you know, the kind of things that would take bands years to learn,” said Janczewski, who is also the main accountant for the band.
Bestie came third in the Peak contest in 2013, earning $50,000 towards the band’s musical career.
“It is amazing how fast the money goes,” Janczewski said, with a laugh.
As for the band’s future, he said the rest of summer is filled with touring, but starting in the fall the guys hope to get back to the studio.
“We are just trying to work on new material, which we have had very little time to do,” he said.
For the New West show, Janczewski said fans can expect to come out and have a good time.
“Hopefully it will be sunny,” he said.
For more on Uptown Live, go to www.uptownlive.ca.
