The Wisers

It is The Wisers’ very own What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A story so crazy, a moment so bizarre, a phrase so perfect, that, well, how could it not be immortalized in rock ‘n’ roll lore? And, unlike that R.E.M. song that references the nutty New York City street incident involving newsman Dan Rather, this truly Canadian story actually happened to the Calgary quartet during the making of their album, and is, as a result, more than deserving of the title of their debut record.
It’s Safe I’m Not Here.
The origins: Well, as the core of the band — vocalist Chad Thomas and drummer Darryl Swart — tell it, on this particular afternoon at Wild Rose Brewery, it goes back to period when they were actually recording the album, which will get its proper release Saturday night at The Palomino. For that, they’d flown out to the Tragically Hip’s famed farmhouse studio The Bathouse for six solid days of laying down tracks.
The schedule, the pair say, consisted of making music from 11 a.m. until 3 a.m. the next day, whisky
drinking for much of that time, a few hours of sleep in the living quarters in the rural Ontario facility, and then a big, ol’ greazy breakfast to kick things off again.
One particular morning, Swart awoke, trotted downstairs for some coffee, and found the Bathouse’s resident engineer Nyles Spencer speaking cryptically on the telephone in the kitchen and looking concerned.
“I walk into the living room and there was this girl dancing in the living room,” Swart says. “And, I’m like, ‘Nyles went out at five in the morning and picked up some broad,’ is what I’m thinking.”
At that point, he then realized Spencer was on the phone to the police, obviously speaking about the apparently uninvited guest who was “not all together.”
“So she walks up to me, and she’s like, ‘Is your name Barry?’ I’m like, ‘No.’ And she says, ‘Because Barry is responsible. But don’t worry, it’s safe, I’m not here.’ ”
“She kept repeating that,” says Thomas, joining the tale. “She kept walking in circles with her hands in the air saying, ‘Don’t worry about me. It’s safe, I’m not here.’ ”
Evidence to the contrary existed in the fact that they discovered the girl had actually driven through the wall of one of the rooms of The Bathouse, and was seated in a chair in the living room smoking cigarettes — “All of our cigarettes,” corrects Thomas — when Spencer walked in on her that morning.
Before the police arrived to take her away, they’d managed to glean that she was tripping out on mushrooms and, from her also speaking the phrase, “God is Rob Baker, Rob Baker is God,” that she was a stalker of the Tragically Hip’s guitarist.
“So basically she’s a psycho fan, she got high and she decided to come and try to find Rob Baker,” says Swart, before smiling. “And she gave us a sweet album title.”
That she did. To go along with a pretty sweet record.
It’s Safe is a shambolic, alcoholic, Canrock record that recalls such other of this nation’s better, back­ to­basics, blue­collar, red­meat guitar bands such as The Sam Roberts Band, Sloan, The Trews, The Sheepdogs and, yeah, even some Hip shaken in for good measure.
And it, like the title, is very much the product of the studio in which it was recorded and the experiences surrounding their weeklong Bathouse stay, where they worked, dined, drank and slept the 11 songs on it.
“It was one of the greatest musical experiences of all of our lives,” says the South African ­born Swart. “There’s more Canadian history in that recording studio than anything. And The Wisers are very Canadiana. There couldn’t be a better vibe.”
“It was all about the environment. Let’s find a good environment where we can get away from everything, no distractions, lay down a good vibe and have a good time,” says Thomas noting that the 12 litres of whisky certainly helped keep the good times going.

In fact, the engineer actually commented that he’d never recorded with a band that could hold their liquor as well as they could, a badge they actually seem to wear with as much pride (see their name) as the material itself.

That, again, is well­placed. From the rousing, anthemic Robertsy opener Get Low, to the chugging, prairie blues­rock opener Ms. Youth, which features an epic rant by Thomas at the end about his strait­laced religious upbringing, and the slightly unnerving, swampier Lost, which, Thomas notes during the previous discussion of the album title, has the same chords as that R.E.M. song, it’s all familiar but still seems fairly fresh.
“I think we have a kind of unique sound,” says Swart. “But as you said, I don’t think we’re reinventing the wheel. We have great songs and we have great melodies ... and we love the music.”
Others certainly do, too, obviously taken in by the songs but also the infectious and intoxicating liquor up and laissez­faire attitude of The Wisers. It’s a way of doing things that certainly stands in stark contrast to Thomas’s previous and somewhat acclaimed musical persona, as a member of Britpop­ influenced act Strada, who released one pretty excellent record before disbanding amicably in 2007.
At that point he began listening to this country’s contemporary rock songbook and found it was the “music that turned me on,” and inspired him to keep writing. “I wrote some s­­ty, depressing, I­ lost­ my ­music­career songs for awhile,” he says.
Then he met Swart through an acquaintance, and the pair, sharing mutual tastes and musical backgrounds, began jamming out some tunes, eventually getting on tape some rough demos that piqued the interest of the folks at Rawlco Radio who gave them one of the company’s coveted $10,000 recording grants. With some songs and that money, they then filled out their sound and roster with the addition of bassist Greg Peace and guitarist JJ Shiplett, who has a notable solo career of his own, but was definitely down with what The Wisers do.
As are many others, who, Swart says, “like it, relate to it and want to be a part of it,” including a large, live following earned in their relatively brief but eventful time together, and the powers that be at local alt rock station X92.9, who’ve been plugging and playing them.
For their part, while obviously they’re happy to have people join their party, they’re more concerned with their own revelry and making sure it meets with their new belief system.
“The spirit of rock ’n’ roll is about being multicoloured in a black ­and white world,” Thomas says. “No agendas, just trying to have a good time and be honest with where you’re at.

“That’s what this is all about, just buddies playing music. We’re having fun. We’re taking it seriously but at the same time we don’t really give a s­­hit if we’re doing it perfectly.”
The Wisers release their new album It’s Safe I’m Not Here Saturday night with a show at The Palomino.
mbell@calgaryherald.com
Twitter.com/mrbell_23 - Calgary Herald - Mike Bell

Do you need your rock fix? Calgary band, The Wisers, definitely deliver all your rock n' roll needs on their debut album It's Safe I'm Not Here. Each song gives you something to hold onto, and with their high-energy, don't you dare let go.
Right off the top Get Low gets you moving, mixing classic hard-rock with beautiful shimmering breaks, with a soulful guitar solo reminiscent of The Beatles or Led Zeppelin. With simple, yet powerful, chorus lines and a dirty fuzz Get Low has all the means of a killer
opening track. Following is Outsider, opening with a killer lick and pulling you into a groove that you just can't leave. The lyrics paint the picture of an outsider's life crashing, full of memorable guitar licks and classic ad-lib screams and shouts that can only come from real feeling.
Like the calm before a storm The Devil's in the Suburbs traps you with a steady beat, relaxing guitar and vocals - and then it explodes. The Devil's in the Suburbs is where if you were rocking out already, you're forced to turn it up to 11. The Wisers give you so much rock that is would almost feel wrong if they didn't also deliver on the sexiness that the genre brings. Happily, Sweat Dance delivers it in handfuls. With seductive vocal melodies, sexy, soulful rock interludes, and a revealing chorus of "You're going home alone tonight," The Wisers paint the perfect picture of the one night stand, before reminding you that you'll be going home alone one more time.
For the next track please crack your beers, pull the lawn chair out, and chill the hell out to this fine piece of music. Ms. Youth allows Chad Thomas to tell you a story of what can be interpreted as lost youth. Open your ears for this rocking dreamscape. When Ms. Youth ends, you are brought into Miles, a combination of shimmering guitars, steady beat, and melodic bass groove that creates a great album center-piece that is lyrically relatable for everyone. Next, sneaking into your ears comes White Woman with a chorus that drags you in with its echoey, haunting vocals, hammering guitars and drums, before crashing into a last breath of life that seems to come from the guitars. A short listen into the next track Comeback gives you everything you need. Rocking guitars, the bass jamming away, beautiful lyrical breaks filled with warming background vocals that give you goosebumps. I'm absolutely lost in this track, and stuck between its beauty and its dirtiness.
Like a breath in and out Baby You Were Made in Paris' opening is calm and peaceful, launching soon into the louder sections, and then relaxing again with a calming instrumental. With heartfelt lyrics, this track has the making for another great album center-piece. Lost brings back the shouting, not letting anyone say they are lost or wrong. Basically, Lost tells you not to screw with The Wisers, they know what they're doing - just don't get in their way.
More often than not artists don't pay attention to how they end an album and just throw something in to fill the space. The Wisers are not one of those artists, and with such a great song as Slow Groove ending the album off they definitely don't let you down. It's a down to earth song
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The Wisers - It's Safe I'm Not Here — Geyser Music 2015-10-04 5:30 PM
 - By Adam Briscoe - Geyser Music

Calgary, Canada quartet The Wisers create the sort of full- blooded, gritty garage rock that’s been pushed to the fringes somewhat by ProTools layering and endless effects. It’s Safe I’m Not Here recalls Jet, Rocks-era Primal Scream and even early Rolling Stones. The fist-pumping thrill of a bunch of talented mates making an enthusiastic noise is augmented by some songwriting nous that are revealed in greater clarity each time the album is played.
Album opener and first single Get Low lays out The Wisers’ stall, all jangly old-school R&B guitars, strong simple melodies and anthemic chorus. Outsider continues in similar vein, throwing in a Led Zeppelin-style intro riff for good measure and The Devil’s In The Suburbs refines matters slightly, bar a chorus in which singer Chad Thomas channels Zack de la Rocha.
There’s more in that (impressive) vein elsewhere, but too much of a good thing might have had an adverse effect on the overall impression the album makes. Happily, then, the band prove they are able to mix melancholy with muscle, with Miles being a radio-friendly ballad likely to make it onto hundreds of mixtapes made by love-lorn youngsters, should The Wisers commercial reach expand as far as it deserves to. -

The Wisers
Another 2015 PEAK Performance Project Alberta Top 12 alum to pay attention to is The Wisers. The four-piece play blue-collar guitar rock that’s been compared to The Tragically Hip and The Raconteurs, which received a lot of love on college radio airwaves in early days. Their debut album, It’s Safe I’m Not Here, was recorded at the famed Canadian Bathouse and ranges from danceable rock to by-the-fire ballads, with bluesy guitar and smokey vocals. - Calgary Buzz