Members of this local rock band may have careers during the day, but that doesn't stop them from still having that euphoric rush when they hit the stage and hammer out a solid set of old-fashioned rock 'n' roll.
Barstool Confession, whose members are in their 40s and 50s, includes Buck Goodbrand on vocals and rhythm guitar, Paul Sadlon Jr. on lead guitar and vocals, Brian Flindall on bass, and Jeff 'Biscuit' Hamilton on drums.
"Anybody who still has a little youth in their heart will relate to it," Goodbrand said, "but there's still a little part of me that still feels like I'm 25."
A little over a year ago, the guys decided to plug in and rekindle some of that youthful enthusiasm while also continuing to improve themselves musically on their chosen instrument and learn from each other.
"It began as the four of us just getting together to make some music and find our roots, because a number of us had been in music before," said Goodbrand. "We thought we'd get a band back together, play some tunes and find that love of music again. It went in a direction we never expected."
The idea was to play some backyard parties and maybe some small venues.
"We all have full-time lives, with families and careers, so this is a side thing that we enjoy," Goodbrand said. "It has to be fun."
But a steady stream of gigs was soon added, including an opening slot for Lee Aaron, "which was a nice feather in our cap," said Goodbrand, adding Barstool Confession's well-rounded set list runs from 1970s and '80s, some '90s and right up to the current day.
"The cover material we've been playing just clicked and we've been expanding ever since," he added. "We want to grab all the music that people will appreciate. Now we've been fine-tuning ourselves to be tighter and more musically in tune with one another."
Barstool Confession touches on bands such as Rolling Stones to Collective Soul and Billy Idol to Black Crowes and Northern Pikes to Neil Young.
The band has upcoming shows scheduled for April 27 at the Rockpile in Toronto, May 14 at the Bull & Barrel Pub in Barrie, May at downtown's Mavricks Music Hall, and another performance June 22 at the Rockpile.
But it's a date in July where they will get to rub shoulders with some rock 'n' roll legends.
Barstool Confession is set to perform the weekend of July 11-14 at the Roxodus Music Festival.
The lineup includes Alice Cooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, Matthew Good, Collective Soul, and Cheap Trick, where Barstool Confession will perform on one of the side stages.
"When I was in my late teens and 20's, I would have dreamed of being part of something like that," Goodbrand said. "After getting back into music with these guys, none of us would've expected doing anything like this."
The Barrie band, which gets together a couple times a week in an effort to pin down the songs, says things have progressed quicker than they thought would happen.
"We don't want to be a tribute band and we don't want to be an outright cover band," Goodbrand said. "We're trying to find our own sound. We want people to walk out of the venue saying, 'Those guys did a real cool version of that song'."
Although a set list for Roxodus hasn't been developed, Goodbrand says it will likely include a lot of Canadiana and even some of the bands on the bill.
"When you're playing on a side stage, maybe the next day you'll hear that band actually rip it out and do it the right way," he said with a laugh.
While the ultimate goal for Barstool Confession is to write their own music and a few songs have been penned by the band which are still being worked out, for now they're content covering some of the favourite artists.
"We need to build our foundation first and build up a repertoire," Goodbrand said. "At the end of the day, we're doing cover music, but with our own unique version of it.
"And that takes time, because anybody in music knows that you don't just walk in and come up with 30-plus songs in a weekend," he added. "We don't want people just rolling their eyes and you're opening yourself up to criticism, but that's just part of the game."
For more information on the band, click here.
