The Mandates

This is turning into a summer of blockbuster albums, and one that should not be overlooked is the self-titled debut album from The Mandates. The Calgary foursome does that '77 punk meets powerpop type thing that I can never get enough of, and fist-pumping anthems like "Daggers' Girl" should be a lock for everyone's summertime mix. In the music of The Mandates, I hear the strong influence of '77 style punk both classic (Boys, Dead Boys) and contemporary (Exploding Hearts, Clorox Girls). If their sound seems to lean just a little bit more towards the latter, it's probably because they enlisted the legendary Pat Kearns to mix and master the album. And of course it sounds great! If you're into newer bands like Youthbitch, The Cry!, and Barreracudas, surely The Mandates will be right up your alley.

While still a relatively new band, The Mandates are made up of seasoned veterans of the Calgary punk scene. Guitarists Brady Kirchner (Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome, The Funfuns) and Matt Wickens (The Tension Slips, Hollywood Gods, Mossleigh) are joined by Jimmy James (Knucklehead) on bass and Warren Oostlander (The Throwaways, No Problem) on drums. Kirchner and Wickens share singing duties and team up for a dual guitar attack that channels Thunders & Sylvain via Terry Six. Opening track "Is She Coming Back?" comes on with high energy glammy swagger a la New York Dolls/Hollywood Brats, and overall there's a major rock n' roll element in this band's music that you don't always hear in contemporary variations on punk/powerpop. Songs like "Gotta Forget That Girl" and "I Stayed At The Arcade" show plenty of Exploding Hearts love, and I've got no objection to that whatsoever. And when these fellas slow down the pace and find that perfect powerpop groove, they really hit the target with hooky gems like "Daggers' Girl". All in all, this is a super-good debut from a band that's got plenty of talent to go with all that impeccable taste. The guitar work (clearly a point of emphasis for mixmaster Kearns) is killer, and the whole album works up a goodtime energy that's ideal for summertime listening. Song lyrics revolve around being young and girl crazy - Who can't relate to that? This is what some might call a "party record". Even the songs about heartbreak and rejection are tremendous fun. If "Tonight" doesn't get you revved up for a night of teenage kicks, perhaps nothing will!

Alright! The Mandates have delivered a dark horse contender for my year end top five. Get the cassette from Shake! Records. Vinyl still available from Mammoth Cave! - Faster and Louder

We did a video feature with Vice Canada! - www.vice.com

We did a video feature with Vice Canada! - www.vice.com

"Huge." Shawn Petsche, Sled Island. - Shawn Petsche, Sled Island.

"Huge." Shawn Petsche, Sled Island. - Shawn Petsche, Sled Island.

Calgary quartet the Mandates toe a lovable line between '77 punk, melodic power pop and fist-pumping rock'n'roll. Today (March 28) marks the release of their debut LP. If you're on the fence about picking it up, we've arranged a stream of the whole thing to make a believer out of you.

?The 11-track release was recorded with Calgary local Ryan Sadler and mixed and mastered by Portland punk veteran Pat Kearns. In an interview with Exclaim!, Mandates guitarist Brady explains why they chose to get it mixed in Portland.

?"He's worked in his studio with a lot of our favourite artists of all time, groups like the Exploding Hearts, Clorox Girls, the Nice Boys… the list goes on," he explains. "The experiences I had in Portland left a pretty big impact on me, and his ability and ear for the genre are, in my opinion, basically unmatched. I called him up because we were trying to do all the mixing ourselves. It was taking weeks and the weeks turned into months, and I needed an objective ear. Luckily he was happy to oblige and he did all the mixing and mastering in Portland, in two days. Obviously we think he nailed it."

?Hear for yourself with an exclusive stream of The Mandates below. If you like what you hear, pick up a copy through the group's Bandcamp page. - Exclaim

Calgary quartet the Mandates toe a lovable line between '77 punk, melodic power pop and fist-pumping rock'n'roll. Today (March 28) marks the release of their debut LP. If you're on the fence about picking it up, we've arranged a stream of the whole thing to make a believer out of you.

?The 11-track release was recorded with Calgary local Ryan Sadler and mixed and mastered by Portland punk veteran Pat Kearns. In an interview with Exclaim!, Mandates guitarist Brady explains why they chose to get it mixed in Portland.

?"He's worked in his studio with a lot of our favourite artists of all time, groups like the Exploding Hearts, Clorox Girls, the Nice Boys… the list goes on," he explains. "The experiences I had in Portland left a pretty big impact on me, and his ability and ear for the genre are, in my opinion, basically unmatched. I called him up because we were trying to do all the mixing ourselves. It was taking weeks and the weeks turned into months, and I needed an objective ear. Luckily he was happy to oblige and he did all the mixing and mastering in Portland, in two days. Obviously we think he nailed it."

?Hear for yourself with an exclusive stream of The Mandates below. If you like what you hear, pick up a copy through the group's Bandcamp page. - Exclaim

I’ll admit, I was totally unaware of Calgary rocknrollers THE MANDATES until I began wading through the massive list of bands playing this year’s OTTOWA EXPLOSION WEEKEND, and I’ve been listening to their recently released self-titled LP all morning. I guess I would classify these guys as a power pop band that has a giant collective boner for THE DEAD BOYS. Plenty of Ooh’s and Aah’s, catchy guitar hooks, and bouncy beats, I am reminded of THE EXPLODING HEARTS which makes sense because this album was mixed and mastered by Pat Kearns. I like that the vocals tend to be a little bit on the gritty side, yet there are still plenty of sweet harmonies. I keep listening to “I Stayed At The Arcade”, a perfect song about unrequited love, the insane talking part at the end is just as good if not better than that little guitar part in the beginning! This album will charm the pants off of you, so go buy it now! - Boston Hassle

I’ll admit, I was totally unaware of Calgary rocknrollers THE MANDATES until I began wading through the massive list of bands playing this year’s OTTOWA EXPLOSION WEEKEND, and I’ve been listening to their recently released self-titled LP all morning. I guess I would classify these guys as a power pop band that has a giant collective boner for THE DEAD BOYS. Plenty of Ooh’s and Aah’s, catchy guitar hooks, and bouncy beats, I am reminded of THE EXPLODING HEARTS which makes sense because this album was mixed and mastered by Pat Kearns. I like that the vocals tend to be a little bit on the gritty side, yet there are still plenty of sweet harmonies. I keep listening to “I Stayed At The Arcade”, a perfect song about unrequited love, the insane talking part at the end is just as good if not better than that little guitar part in the beginning! This album will charm the pants off of you, so go buy it now! - Boston Hassle

Terminal teenagers
The Mandates bring on summer with a perfect power-pop LP
Published May 2, 2013 by Josiah Hughes in Music Features

DETAILS
The Mandates LP Release with Greenback High, The Von Zippers & Bitter Pricks
Broken City
Friday, May 3

More in: Rock / Pop

There are few bands like The Mandates. The vintage punk enthusiasts with a knack for power-pop formed their group three years ago, coming out as a fully realized quartet complete with matching leather jackets, badass attitudes and a handful of ridiculously catchy tunes. Since then they’ve been rising steadily, gaining momentum in their pursuit of perfection.

“Our first show was a house party, and our second show was at Republik,” guitarist and vocalist Brady Kirchner tells me in his West Hillhurst home. “People were just excited right off the bat. The same 10 or 15 kids were at the first seven or eight shows. They were dedicated fans from the first house show, and I had never experienced that before.”

Kirchner started jamming with fellow guitarist Matt Wickens and drummer Warren Oostlander back in 2010. They didn’t have a name yet, and they had an entirely different lineup: rounding out those three were Calgary ex-pat Sarah Ford and Sabertooth vocalist Ryder Thalheimer.

“We had a song called ‘Late for Class,’” Kirchner recalls. “That was the original Mandates, but we weren’t The Mandates. Eventually it just kind of died off.”

Though that lineup amiably disintegrated, it did plant a seed for Kirchner and Wickens. “The remarkable thing was Matt and I would come to practice and we had both written a song in A. And not only was it written in A, but it went from A to D to E.... I didn’t know him well at all, but I thought this is exactly what I want to do. Literally.”

As time went on, the original three couldn’t resist the pull of The Mandates. “I remember thinking ‘Fuck, I want to get back to doing that,’” Oostlander says. So he made it happen — while his parents were at work, the band would use his house as a makeshift practice space at 9 a.m.

“After you jam at somebody’s parents’ house for so long, you decide you need to be cooler than that,” Wickens says, laughing. The plan? Recruit local punk hero Jimmy James to play bass. “I don’t know how we came to a conclusion, but we decided Jimmy had to be in our band. We knew him from Knucklehead, and we decided he was a cool guy. He wasn’t a bass player, but we didn’t let that stop us.”

Then just an acquaintance, Wickens drunkenly approached James at a cramped Tubby Dog show. Since then, the one and only lineup for The Mandates has been locked in place. As for Thalheimer? “He’s actually missed every jam since,” Kirchner jokes.

Between them, The Mandates represent a formidable batch of Calgary bands past and present. Kirchner has spent time in Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome and The Funfuns alongside Sarah Ford, as well as had turns in local institutions like The Pants Situation and The Dudes. Wickens also spent time in pre-Funfuns group The Tension Slips along with Hollywood Gods and Mossleigh. James is no stranger to Calgary scene strongholds, with tenure as Knucklehead’s lead guitarist and a recent turn as bassist in Chixdiggit. Oostlander’s manned the skins and delivered grins in bands like The Throwaways and world-class Edmonton hardcore outfit No Problem.

While each member of the band is bringing a ton of experience to the table, they’ve also refused to rest on their laurels, instead building The Mandates from the ground up.

“Starting this from scratch with everybody has been super cool,” James says. “Everybody has learned their roles from ground level, and the songwriting has been going in different directions....”

Oostlander also feels included in the process. “There’s a difference between No Problem and The Mandates — I mean other than the music and the guys. In No Problem, I was stepping into someone else’s shoes to fill the void. And with The Mandates, this is my baby too. I feel like I’m part of the process.”

Building their sound around vintage punk influences like the New York Dolls along with recent Portland power-pop groups The Exploding Hearts and their offshoot, The Nice Boys, the band’s songs were a long time coming.

“I always liked my previous bands but it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” Wickens says. “I was writing songs for them or writing leads for them, but it wasn’t the style I wanted to play. I’ve wanted to play this style of music since I was like 15 years old, but I haven’t had the group of guys to do it.... This is purely what I want to write.”

For Kirchner, it’s the first time he’s playing guitar in a punk band. “A big difference for me was playing guitar instead of bass. All the fancy fingerwork I’m trying to accomplish — I have to speed up triple. It kind of made me think in a different way, and made me write simpler with more of that in mind.... We continued to get faster and faster for every jam. It’s a completely new wor - FFWD

Terminal teenagers
The Mandates bring on summer with a perfect power-pop LP
Published May 2, 2013 by Josiah Hughes in Music Features

DETAILS
The Mandates LP Release with Greenback High, The Von Zippers & Bitter Pricks
Broken City
Friday, May 3

More in: Rock / Pop

There are few bands like The Mandates. The vintage punk enthusiasts with a knack for power-pop formed their group three years ago, coming out as a fully realized quartet complete with matching leather jackets, badass attitudes and a handful of ridiculously catchy tunes. Since then they’ve been rising steadily, gaining momentum in their pursuit of perfection.

“Our first show was a house party, and our second show was at Republik,” guitarist and vocalist Brady Kirchner tells me in his West Hillhurst home. “People were just excited right off the bat. The same 10 or 15 kids were at the first seven or eight shows. They were dedicated fans from the first house show, and I had never experienced that before.”

Kirchner started jamming with fellow guitarist Matt Wickens and drummer Warren Oostlander back in 2010. They didn’t have a name yet, and they had an entirely different lineup: rounding out those three were Calgary ex-pat Sarah Ford and Sabertooth vocalist Ryder Thalheimer.

“We had a song called ‘Late for Class,’” Kirchner recalls. “That was the original Mandates, but we weren’t The Mandates. Eventually it just kind of died off.”

Though that lineup amiably disintegrated, it did plant a seed for Kirchner and Wickens. “The remarkable thing was Matt and I would come to practice and we had both written a song in A. And not only was it written in A, but it went from A to D to E.... I didn’t know him well at all, but I thought this is exactly what I want to do. Literally.”

As time went on, the original three couldn’t resist the pull of The Mandates. “I remember thinking ‘Fuck, I want to get back to doing that,’” Oostlander says. So he made it happen — while his parents were at work, the band would use his house as a makeshift practice space at 9 a.m.

“After you jam at somebody’s parents’ house for so long, you decide you need to be cooler than that,” Wickens says, laughing. The plan? Recruit local punk hero Jimmy James to play bass. “I don’t know how we came to a conclusion, but we decided Jimmy had to be in our band. We knew him from Knucklehead, and we decided he was a cool guy. He wasn’t a bass player, but we didn’t let that stop us.”

Then just an acquaintance, Wickens drunkenly approached James at a cramped Tubby Dog show. Since then, the one and only lineup for The Mandates has been locked in place. As for Thalheimer? “He’s actually missed every jam since,” Kirchner jokes.

Between them, The Mandates represent a formidable batch of Calgary bands past and present. Kirchner has spent time in Sudden Infant Dance Syndrome and The Funfuns alongside Sarah Ford, as well as had turns in local institutions like The Pants Situation and The Dudes. Wickens also spent time in pre-Funfuns group The Tension Slips along with Hollywood Gods and Mossleigh. James is no stranger to Calgary scene strongholds, with tenure as Knucklehead’s lead guitarist and a recent turn as bassist in Chixdiggit. Oostlander’s manned the skins and delivered grins in bands like The Throwaways and world-class Edmonton hardcore outfit No Problem.

While each member of the band is bringing a ton of experience to the table, they’ve also refused to rest on their laurels, instead building The Mandates from the ground up.

“Starting this from scratch with everybody has been super cool,” James says. “Everybody has learned their roles from ground level, and the songwriting has been going in different directions....”

Oostlander also feels included in the process. “There’s a difference between No Problem and The Mandates — I mean other than the music and the guys. In No Problem, I was stepping into someone else’s shoes to fill the void. And with The Mandates, this is my baby too. I feel like I’m part of the process.”

Building their sound around vintage punk influences like the New York Dolls along with recent Portland power-pop groups The Exploding Hearts and their offshoot, The Nice Boys, the band’s songs were a long time coming.

“I always liked my previous bands but it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” Wickens says. “I was writing songs for them or writing leads for them, but it wasn’t the style I wanted to play. I’ve wanted to play this style of music since I was like 15 years old, but I haven’t had the group of guys to do it.... This is purely what I want to write.”

For Kirchner, it’s the first time he’s playing guitar in a punk band. “A big difference for me was playing guitar instead of bass. All the fancy fingerwork I’m trying to accomplish — I have to speed up triple. It kind of made me think in a different way, and made me write simpler with more of that in mind.... We continued to get faster and faster for every jam. It’s a completely new wor - FFWD

t’s been about two-and-a-half years since the Mandates first picked up their instruments and blasted through three-chord, three-minute power pop ragers, but only now are they set to unveil their debut full-length. To be sure, they have released little nuggets here and there, such as 2011's 7?, Take You to the Dance, but these have done little to quench their fans’ thirst for more material. Indeed, looking around at the Mandates’ excited faces at Milk Tiger, this release means as much to them as it will for their fans.

“Everyone is so stoked, almost as stoked as we are,” laughs guitarist/vocalist Brady Kirchner. “We’ve done a lot of shows and it’s so nice to have these songs out so people can take something home with them, learn the words, get excited about the new songs. Calgary’s treated us so well. We’re excited to have it out.”

Their debut self-titled LP has been a long-time in the making, even if it is just now seeing the light of day. They finished recording last February, but the mixing and mastering process hit unexpected snags along the way and delayed the release for what seemed to them like interminable months on end.

mandates-sm“Initially, we thought it would be quick,” says Kirchner. “We went with our buddy, Ryan Sadler, which was amazing. We’d worked with him prior to this album and loved it, but mixing took a bit longer than I thought. We took it to my friend, Pat Kearns, in Portland, who is a legend to me. In two days, over Skype, he mixed and mastered the whole thing. We’re finally finished, a year later.”

The Mandates have always had an ear for dapper, ’70s-styled punk rock, bridging the gap between the Ramones’ buzzsaw assault and the Exploding Hearts’ infectious power pop. Working with Kearns, then, who recorded the Exploding Hearts, was a no-brainer.

“I recorded with Pat in 2008 with a band called the Fun Funs. We went down to his studio where he recorded the Exploding Hearts and all my favourite Portland bands ever. We did an album in about two days, I think. We did a 12? EP and he came to our show at the anarchist punk house — or, well, one of the anarchist punk houses in Portland — and we became instant friends. When I called him up to see if he wanted to work with us, he was really excited.”

Having a full release under their belts has given the Mandates, including Matt Wickens on guitar/vocals, Jimmy Sixx on bass and Warren Oostlander on drums, some rare perspective. With the distance the LP provides, they are not only able to conceptualize their own individual places within the band better, but also how the band operates on a larger scale.

“It’s been awesome to do this from the ground up, all together,” says Sixx. “It’s been two-and-a-half years and we’ve never even thought about having other members come in. It’s pretty cool to be there, right from the beginning.”

“This is the only [band] where I sit down and I go, ‘Today, I’m going to write a Mandates song. I want to play fast as hell and sing about this girl I like, or this girl I know, or this night on the town I had,’” furthers Kirchner. “It’s mostly fictitious, but it’s got the spirit of what we enjoy in punk music.”

The Mandates will release their debut self-titled EP at Broken City on May 3.

By Sebastian Buzzalino
Photos: Ryan Kostel - Beatroute

t’s been about two-and-a-half years since the Mandates first picked up their instruments and blasted through three-chord, three-minute power pop ragers, but only now are they set to unveil their debut full-length. To be sure, they have released little nuggets here and there, such as 2011's 7?, Take You to the Dance, but these have done little to quench their fans’ thirst for more material. Indeed, looking around at the Mandates’ excited faces at Milk Tiger, this release means as much to them as it will for their fans.

“Everyone is so stoked, almost as stoked as we are,” laughs guitarist/vocalist Brady Kirchner. “We’ve done a lot of shows and it’s so nice to have these songs out so people can take something home with them, learn the words, get excited about the new songs. Calgary’s treated us so well. We’re excited to have it out.”

Their debut self-titled LP has been a long-time in the making, even if it is just now seeing the light of day. They finished recording last February, but the mixing and mastering process hit unexpected snags along the way and delayed the release for what seemed to them like interminable months on end.

mandates-sm“Initially, we thought it would be quick,” says Kirchner. “We went with our buddy, Ryan Sadler, which was amazing. We’d worked with him prior to this album and loved it, but mixing took a bit longer than I thought. We took it to my friend, Pat Kearns, in Portland, who is a legend to me. In two days, over Skype, he mixed and mastered the whole thing. We’re finally finished, a year later.”

The Mandates have always had an ear for dapper, ’70s-styled punk rock, bridging the gap between the Ramones’ buzzsaw assault and the Exploding Hearts’ infectious power pop. Working with Kearns, then, who recorded the Exploding Hearts, was a no-brainer.

“I recorded with Pat in 2008 with a band called the Fun Funs. We went down to his studio where he recorded the Exploding Hearts and all my favourite Portland bands ever. We did an album in about two days, I think. We did a 12? EP and he came to our show at the anarchist punk house — or, well, one of the anarchist punk houses in Portland — and we became instant friends. When I called him up to see if he wanted to work with us, he was really excited.”

Having a full release under their belts has given the Mandates, including Matt Wickens on guitar/vocals, Jimmy Sixx on bass and Warren Oostlander on drums, some rare perspective. With the distance the LP provides, they are not only able to conceptualize their own individual places within the band better, but also how the band operates on a larger scale.

“It’s been awesome to do this from the ground up, all together,” says Sixx. “It’s been two-and-a-half years and we’ve never even thought about having other members come in. It’s pretty cool to be there, right from the beginning.”

“This is the only [band] where I sit down and I go, ‘Today, I’m going to write a Mandates song. I want to play fast as hell and sing about this girl I like, or this girl I know, or this night on the town I had,’” furthers Kirchner. “It’s mostly fictitious, but it’s got the spirit of what we enjoy in punk music.”

The Mandates will release their debut self-titled EP at Broken City on May 3.

By Sebastian Buzzalino
Photos: Ryan Kostel - Beatroute