{"id":187,"date":"2022-07-05T21:46:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T21:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agoria.ca\/thebsideblog\/?p=187"},"modified":"2023-08-23T21:57:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T21:57:49","slug":"almost-famous-the-fabulous-ways-of-the-modern-day-rockstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agoria.ca\/thebsideblog\/index.php\/2022\/07\/05\/almost-famous-the-fabulous-ways-of-the-modern-day-rockstar\/","title":{"rendered":"ALMOST FAMOUS: THE FABULOUS WAYS OF THE MODERN-DAY ROCKSTAR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meet FKB, the band that fell to earth-, and landed themselves on the Canadian Music Week stage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rockstar. Deeply embedded in the collective psyche of pop culture, the rockstar is an emblematic figure representative of life in the fast-lane. It is a title reserved for those who have reached a peak of flamboyant, self-indulgent artistry; whose music touches the soul, and whose presence is larger than life itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FKB, the Edmonton-native rock band who kicked off Canadian Music Week (CMW) 2022 with a bang earlier in June, describes the rockstar they wish to embody with just two words: glamour, and excess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When FKB takes to the stage at the Wheatsheaf Tavern, Toronto\u2019s oldest bar, their glamour and excess kisses the cheek before slapping the audience across the face. The atmosphere in the bar, once hazy in a Monday-night stupor, has been resuscitated by the final act of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their dazzling getups are flashy and vibrant, outshone only by the band\u2019s electrifying energy on stage. To their audience’s delight, FKB performs choreographed moves in unison while they play. The band\u2019s lead guitarist, Travis Topylki, begins shredding a solo on the floor in front of the stage in a hot-pink fur coat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is reminiscent of the type of rock show you\u2019d expect from a bygone era, where rockstars are hailed as icons, and a backstage pass is the golden ticket to glimpse into a life of luxury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Travis
Travis Topylki of FKB. (@Truffleimages \/ The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe like to do everything over the top, and kind of fabulous. I mean, we like to dress crazy, jump around, and really give an exciting performance,\u201d says Drew Shalka, FKB\u2019s bassist and lead vocalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe moment we step into the venue, the performance starts,\u201d says guitarist Alex Fedorouk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wear our outfits, and people start to think, \u2018what\u2019re these guys about to do?\u2019 and then at the end of the show, if they enjoyed it, hopefully they\u2019ll remember it for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After two consecutive years of scrappy, capacity-reduced live shows, FKB\u2019s on-stage shenanigans are the sweet hit that everyone\u2019s been craving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get super excited when we\u2019re going onstage, you see all the people and you can just feel their energy in the room. You can just tell we\u2019ve all been doing nothing for two years, and now there\u2019s this huge demand for live music. There’s this need and a hunger for it again,\u201d says Topylki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"FKB
(@Truffleimages\/ The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

been to a good show in two years are even more blown away,\u201d adds Shalka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want them to feel like they haven\u2019t seen this<\/em> show ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band is young, fresh-faced, and having a blast. Previously, CMW 2019 had been FKB\u2019s last opportunity to expand their reach in Eastern Canada. This time around, they return to the city with a vigorous excitement, amplified pressure, and an extravagant, solidified identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their ambitions included meeting as many people as they could, and making as many friends as possible along the way. Very rock n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMeeting all these people during CMW has really helped us in forming our band\u2019s identity,\u201d says Shalka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll these people we\u2019ve met who\u2019ve been in this business for a while have given us advice, given us fashion tips and weird bits of knowledge, and I’d say CMW has helped us walk away feeling more together than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Drew
Drew Shalka of FKB. (@Truffleimages \/ The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all individually getting better as musicians and getting more creative with how we dress and present ourselves on stage. As a group, we\u2019re all still working to play with each other, but we\u2019re also trying to build our own respective stage characters,\u201d says FKB drummer Derek Chalut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their passion and personality come across as candidly unrehearsed. According to Topylki, much of their theatrical stage routine is taken from random improvisations that each member has pulled on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re actually pretty authentic on stage, and who you see is who we are. Even with the crazy outfits, the energy on stage is all us. It wasn\u2019t necessarily a strategy that somebody suggested, it just sort of naturally comes out when we\u2019re all together,\u201d says Fedorouk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having played around 250 shows together as a band doesn\u2019t hurt either. In fact, it\u2019s helped FKB remain confident in their group ability to pull off a series of ridiculously entertaining stunts during their live performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think being coordinated tends to make it feel like a group activity, and a lot of it just becomes intuitive. A lot of the ideas just pop into your head, and it\u2019s like, \u2018This would feel right-, I think\u2019,\u201d says Shalka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Drew Shalka and Alex Fedorouk of FKB. (@Truffleimages\/ The B-Side<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the Wheatsheaf, the audience certainly felt in on the joke when FKB closed the show by continuing to play their instruments in a single file line, right out the front door and into the night\u2019s downpour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They return to the stage, drenched, only to be flooded by industry representatives, who felt compelled to follow up with the immensely talented, soggy, rockstars. On behalf of The B-Side, I was one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole industry is dependent on so many people, you know? Journalists, photographers-, there\u2019s just so many. It\u2019s really nice to see all of those people coming to town for CMW, because that\u2019s also a huge part of live music,\u201d remarks Fedorouk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secret to FKB\u2019s attention-grabbing performance lies in their ability to incorporate what they\u2019d personally find entertaining into their set. They use old performer tricks, trademarked by the likes of Elvis, to give their shows a sort of nostalgic campiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sound-wise, picture a cross between Queen and The Weeknd. Bruno Mars meets Bowie. It\u2019s loud, it\u2019s audacious, with a rhythm that practically demands for synchronized pelvic thrusts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
(@Truffleimages \/ The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FKB owes their glittering presentation to a host of some of the most fabulous musicians in popular culture, like James Brown and Prince. As they all shimmy on stage in a manner that would make Mick Jagger blush, their nod to The Greats is made abundantly clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, behind the exuberant charisma that drips off the band as they perform, FKB of Edmonton, AB., is simply thrilled to be getting an opportunity to do what they love, in a city with so many new people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Toronto, so many of these places we’ve played are staples that have been here forever. The number of legends who have come through these historic venues is really interesting too-, hearing the histories of these tiny bar rooms, it\u2019s like, wow, Neil Young has played here!,\u201d says Shalka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FKB was initially formed in 2009 while Shalka and Chalut were still in high school, after connecting over their mutual love of music from the teenybopper era of the early 1960\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Derek Chalut of FKB. (@Truffleimages\/ The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe started discussing the Beatles and all those classic artists, so we decided we\u2019d start a band that focused on that 50\u2019s and 60\u2019s-inspired music,\u201d says Shalka. \u201cWe used to do a lot of Elvis and Chuck Barry, and we\u2019d play lots of influences that the Beatles and the Beach Boys would\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following their display at CMW, if the band\u2019s goal was to gain recognition and leave a lasting impression on Toronto, one could say they succeeded with flying colors. To the members of FKB, it\u2019s nothing less than a childhood wish come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting out and playing in front of people in our home town was a big step, and now playing across the country, it\u2019s a dream come true because I’d always visualize it as a kid. Being here, it\u2019s extremely fulfilling,\u201d says Chalut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re performing, every night is a different night, and nothing\u2019s the same. Different people, different energies, different faces-, the connection you make with everyone at these shows is why I love doing this.\u201d adds Fedorouk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat connection you make with your audience is just unmatched. For me, that\u2019s what really fuels my performance. I love writing music and all those behind-the-scenes parts of the job, but nothing beats a live show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes down to what truly makes the group so uniquely captivating, the answer lies in the honest truth that FKB holds a genuine love and respect for the art of live music above all else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
(@Truffleimages \/ The B-Side)<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Their sound is refreshingly bona-fide, and instills their audience with the same devil-may-care demeanor that they carry with them on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d just like to be able to help people have fun, and forget about whatever else is going on in their life while the show\u2019s going on. I mean, that\u2019s what live music really is, it\u2019s just a chance to forget and enjoy the moment, and have fun,\u201d says Fedorouk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeeing how the songs translate live, it\u2019s like, what makes people wanna sing? What do people enjoy, and what will turn their day around?\u201d adds Shalka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter the show, sometimes we\u2019ll get comments from people saying we changed their entire day, and that\u2019s very exciting for us. That\u2019s really when we all get to see the power of live music in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the Toronto music scene waits patiently, with ears open, to find out just how high FKB will climb on their stairway to heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jess Bertan for The B-Side.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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