A Threat From Outer Space is making its way to Dawson City in the form of live hip-hop.
Talking with Tameem Barakat, lyricist for the Vancouver-based group, from his home in Vancity, I learned that this threat may not actually be … unless you’re afraid of dancing.
“You can expect one of the best live shows you’ve ever seen,” he says. “I imagine there is going to be a lot of good live shows, but we’ll be one of the best.
“If you want to dance, we are the band, if you want a lyricist that is making you think, we are the band, if intelligence and dancing is what you’re into, then we are the band,” says Barakat.
“Everything is like bang, bang, bang. There’s no joking around. We don’t tolerate slackness. Every note has to be bang on and that’s what we’re known for.”
It is a live show consisting of saxophone, trumpet, bass, guitar, drums and a well-versed lyricist.
A band that got its name from an X-Files episode, it has been together for 11 years. Having gone through a variety of changes including the members themselves — they’ve gone between four to six members over the last decade — Threat has stood the test of time and continued to make music together.
“In 2006, I was going to quit, I was done. I’m sick of these guys and music and I was going to be a full-time youth worker. I tell the drummer and the crew I’m done and then we got a letter from Factor saying we just got $20,000 to do an album, Bleeding the Dying Elephant [This year’s release],” says Barakat.
“Truthfully, it sounds a bit shallow, but when the money is right and it’s not a burden, it’s easy to contemplate the projects of the future. Not that it’s all about money, but when money is right and people can walk in and all they have to do is contribute their creativity, it makes things a lot smoother.
“People don’t mind giving their time, but people can’t afford to give the thousands and thousands of dollars.”
With numerous EPs behind it, and its first full-length album recently released, this band is clearly most proud of its live show: “I’m always hesitant about the recordings, but not the live shows, we rock those hard. We have one of the best live shows going. We put importance on it. Our live shows are tight, like James Brown tight!
“We know how to create excitement. We just give you what you need. We build you up and take you right there. Like sex, there’s a buildup and a climax,” laughs Barakat.
With songs with content you can relate to and years of experience behind each member, including years of musical education, they have grown musically and their live show proves this.
“We’re going to be playing lots of stuff. When you have been playing for so long, you can put together songs that span a whole era … you can see the progression,” says Barakat.
“Everything is political, we’re not trying to rip the headlines and turn them into songs, you lose people like that. You don’t go to bed thinking about Barack Obama, you go to bed thinking about the people around you and relationships.
“People don’t need sermons or lectures. It’s cool to talk about the world around, but we don’t need another song talking about George Bush, we’re not really interested in that, we’re interested in stories,” says Barakat.
“We try to make it personal, what is happening to us today. We’re interested in what is happening in the world of political events but people want personal stories they can relate to.”
Having been to most places around Canada — minus Newfoundland and the Territories — the expectation for its Northern show is high and in reach: “I think it’ll be awesome! People in the North have a reputation for being into music, they have a bit more enthusiasm than city people. People are more receptive when you have to travel so far to play for them.”
Threat From Outer Space will be playing at the 30th Annual Dawson City Music Festival July 18 to 20. For more information, check out www.myspace.com/threatfromouterspace and www.dcmf.com.
