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The Sturgeons

Sharpen that axe. Winnipeg roots duo The Sturgeons honed its sound and wrote much of its debut album The Wood Shop in an actual workshop.    
   
"We grew up in Norwood where our dad had a little wood shop in the garage," says  percussionist/back-up vocalist Luke Hamilton, 23, who is joined in The Sturgeons by brother/identical twin Cal Hamilton.
   
"Eventually my parents moved out to the lake so we built a little studio in there and that’s where we wrote almost all these songs. Also, The Wood Shop title represents the songs really well because they’re all constructed differently."
   
Yes, the Hamilton brothers came out of their creative workspace with a diverse debut.
   
"It has a good mix of everything, some soft sweet stuff and some grungy stuff too," says Cal, who handles lead vocals and guitar. "People always get shocked because we sing these nice sweet songs and then all of a sudden we’re into a raspy Tom Waits-style thing."
   
Adding to the variety is the fact that The Wood Shop was recorded with two different audio engineers in two different places. The Sturgeons started the process with Gil Dudgeon at Dudge Recording Studio in Darlingford, Man. and finished recording with Lee Galinaitis (drummer for The Root In Fluents) in his Fluent Sound mobile recording studio. The Hamilton brothers were joined by an assortment of guest musicians, including Winnipeggers Rory Verbrugge and Sean Loewen, as well as some out of town company.
   
"We got Chris Dunn to play on the album. He plays with Ridley Bent and is a chicken picking guitar player," Cal says. "We got Bernadette Fortin, a musician from Montreal, to play some fiddle on a few songs. Also, Ian MacIntosh, our buddy that we originally started The Sturgeons with, moved to Montreal (where he runs Soundwell Studios) so sent him the album to be mixed. He did a little recording on the album as well. We wanted to give him a chance to be a part of the creative process, because he’s been such a big part of us and our lives."
   
Also playing a big part in The Sturgeons is Brock Hamilton, the twin’s father. Not only did pop provide the aforementioned wood shop, his huge vinyl collection (he inherited thousands of records from his old man) was a big influence on the boys growing up. Also, dad came up with band’s name.   
   
"He likes to fish so The Sturgeons was brought up," Luke says. "At first we weren’t too sure about it, but we were just over thinking it."
   
"It actually really works with our style of music," Cal says. "The sturgeon is an old fish, a prehistoric fish, but still kicking around. We’re playing an old style of music but it’s still new and unique."
   
The Sturgeons release The Wood Shop on Nov. 19 at The Park Theatre Café. Go to www.facebook.com/thesturgeons for more info on the show and the duo.
   
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