Private Lives: "We Just Got Better as a Band and Sort of Figured Out Who We Are"

More musically accomplished, more obsessively self-questioning, and with equally energetic yet simply deceiving performances, Salt of The Earth finds Private Lives coming into their own. The Montreal group of hitmakers — vocalist Jackie Blenkarn, guitarist Chance Hutchison, bassist Josh Herlihey, and drummer Drew Demers — swerve through a bumper-to-bumper sprawl of charging vocals, searing guitar lines, and a bolting rhythm section that proves sheer rock 'n' roll is still very much alive. Where their debut LP Hit Record was a snapshot of a band in motion, Salt of The Earth is a perfect result of the group's rapid evolution, undercutting power pop conventions and challenging itself track after track. "I Get Around" and "Be Your Girl" refuse to keep their foot off the pedal with their snappy and primitive at best garage rock while the simply deceptive pop charm of "Wrong Again" is slashed, spurted, and jangled. "On My Own" bursts through the speakers with its one-two punch of '60s girl group melodies and "Psychic Beat" and "Dealer's Choice" are a glorious jolt of high-power guitar bliss. In a time of derivative punk trends, Salt of The Earth is a refreshing take for pure pop for now people.

What have you all been up to as of late? Any good music or books you've been digging into you'd like to share? 

Drew Demers: I've been playing a lot of video games set in the middle ages to ignore the current hellscape and reading all the Silver Surfer comics Moebius did.

Chance Hutchison: I've been sucking the life out of those three Sharp Pins singles, watching the new WCW channel on YouTube and watching '60s and '70s exploitation movies. Reading all of the Energon Universe comics which are excellent.

Jackie Blenkarn: Some books I've enjoyed recently: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino; Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe, and Inside the Blood Factory by Diane Wakoski.

Josh Herlihey: I'm really into Medieval stuff right now, it's new and weird for me. 

How did you each get into playing music and how has what you were doing earlier in your career musically have an effect on Private Lives? 

DD: I started playing drums when I was ten, playing in a ton of bands and evolving as a musician for the past 30 years. I've been collaborating with my ding dong Chance for almost ten years now, which makes it easy work on Private Lives material.

CH: I got into playing music with my two best friends growing up. We started playing shows when we were 13. Learning to work with people creatively from a young age has been very helpful. I am 40 now so I've had a lot of practice.

JB: I've also been going to shows since I was 13, but it never occurred to me that I could be IN the band. I joined my first band, Pale Lips, in my mid-twenties. I had zero experience or talent, but I loved karaoke so they asked if I might wanna try it out with them. I’m really lucky to have spent close to a decade with them, we did a lot and had some fun. I wouldn’t be here doing this without them, so what I learned from that band will be indelibly stamped into the DNA of everything I do forever.

JH: I always played in bands where I was the primary songwriter-creative force, so playing with Private Lives was a bit different for me.

For our readers unfamiliar, tell us about the origins of Private Lives. How did you all meet and decide to start making music together?

JH: christianmingle.com

DD: I joined the band a couple-ish years ago. I was just going to fill in for a couple gigs over the summer but I don't know, I love my pals and making music with them, so I guess the relationship got serious.

CH: Jackie and I fell in love and got married. We were both playing in different bands but when the pandemic happened, we started writing together. We did one release as Chance and Jackie, which was a bunch of demos that were very different from what we do now, but I'm still quite proud of 'em. More sappy, less rockin'.

Over the last few years, you've been able play shows across the USA. What’s that been like compared to shows in Canada and what have been some of the highlights? 

DD: It's exciting coming to the states because everything feels new. New crowds, new towns, new foods (!)  I've played everywhere you can probably play in Canada and it gets boring going out to Toronto for the trillionth time. That being said, my favorite place to play shows is still Montreal, where there are no tariffs to be had on merch. 

CH: USA is great! We have a lot of friends there who play music, so it makes it a lot easier and more fun. In Canada things are cool. There's a lot happening in Montreal but I will admit, I have kind of aged out of what's happening or it's just not very good…. I can’t tell which is more true. Jackie will say I'm just old and me, I say pretty much it's all shite unless it’s something from Celluloid Lunch or a few small punk bands I have a lot of respect for like New Vogue, White Knuckle, Durex, The Sad etc.

JB: Canada's scene is just so tiny compared to the USA, so it's hard to compare. Canada is huge and sparse, with approximately twenty rockers in total, which means we mostly play the same three cities over and over. Anything further requires a lot of money (and time) for either a plane ticket or gas. Highlights of the USA for me, were playing in a garage in Indianapolis and a vintage shop in Detroit. Great people and vibes. Another highlight was when we played the after show at Gonerfest. It was really late, I wanna say 4:00 a.m., and Danny [Kroha] from The Gories fell asleep watching us. That's funny! It's my own little rock 'n' roll badge of pride. We're not worthy…we suck!

JH: Less billboards here. Take me back to Memphis.

What are some fun facts that every fan should know about Private Lives? 

DD: We're all square heads from Ford Nation.

CH: Non-virgins.

JH: We all have hemorrhoids.

JB: Help me.

Photo by Aabid Youssef

I found out about you guys after the release of your debut cassette tape from '22. How do you feel looking back on your catalog and how has the group evolved over the last few years? 

CH: This sort of rolls back to the Chance and Jackie project. A lot of those tunes were from that, but re-recorded. I feel great looking back. I think the early stuff still has a special quality to it. I still really like "All the Queen’s Men," even though we don’t play it live anymore. It's one of the best songs I've been a part of creating.

JH: All of those songs are great. There's a certain level of authenticity that comes with any band's first release. Things progress, but for me, those songs still help stir decision-making in the jam room.

What can you tell me about your new full-length album Salt of The Earth and what insight can you share about how and where it was recorded? 

CH: It was recorded at the Blueberry Patch, which is the basement studio at our house here in the Montreal suburbs. It is a departure for sure, leaning more into power pop and the start of my British blues/pub rock rabbit hole. I'd say our biggest influence that has always stuck is '60s garage and girl groups. This has a little of that and a lot of the other.

How would you compare this new album to 2023’s debut LP Hit Record? 

JB: Salt of the Earth is our Rubber Soul, whereas Hit Record was our White Album.

CH: In my opinion, we just got better as a band and sort of figured out who we are. When our old drummer Frank was in the band, we were still trying to figure out what the band was, live. Some songs were really mellow and we were all coming from not very mellow bands. When Drew joined, we were already at a kind of turning point, so it was a happy accident. The band naturally was progressing into more of a rock 'n' roll unit and that's where Andrew shines as a player.

JH: Better tones! Fuller songs!

Diving into the toons here, how did the opener "Dealers Choice" come about?

CH: Musically speaking it just sorta fell into my lap. I am a very big fan of Lynch, but especially the way he talks about creating. For me it’s like fishing. You toss out the line and allow the idea to bite on. The rhythm section came first as a driving force and the guitar was colour. Jackie filled it all in and I think it came together.

JB: One of the oldest songs written for this record. I was trying to convey how it feels when a relationship that was once solid falls apart. I love that it is a song without a real chorus, but I think each separate part is catchy in its own way.

What can you tell me about "Wrong Again"?

CH: Same thing as "Dealer's Choice." The song wrote itself in a matter of 30 minutes. I was still recording a lot of full demos at home at this point. I sent it to Jack and Josh and they really dug it. We jammed it and it was done, c'est ça. Jackie is a crusher on melodies and words. Josh's bass line is great.

JB: From the moment the opening line sprang into my brain, I knew it would be a good one. I’m poking fun at myself a bit in this one, but I do have an insatiable appetite for truth, and a compulsive desire to share my learned knowledge with those around me. I think sometimes people assume I am just a know-it-all, but I want to be challenged when I’m wrong! Because truth is universal, not subjective. No one person can know everything, but I do try. I just wish we were all better at admitting when we don’t get it right.

The label shared with me today your latest single "I Get Around." How did this one come to be?

CH: I wanted a "Private Lives"-ish tune, which is a song from our first record. If you compare them, they're super similar in the verse, they just have a big tempo difference. 

JB: I really heard my garage idols in this one from the jump. I think it's also pretty obvious that this is a song about being horny.

What's the story of "On My Own"? 

CH: I learned how to do the pinky trick and started writing songs around it!

What do you recall about the origins of "Be Your Girl"? 

CH: "Be Your Girl" is a rip on a Motorbike song from their first record. I was listening to the shit out of that record and was playing guitar one day and was like, "Ohhh, I got a good one!" Then I was listening to their record in the car again and was like, noooooo fuck I ripped it! So I changed one chord and now they can't sue me.

Josh, did the recording of the new Plastic Act EP help influence this new Private Lives LP? Or was it the other way around?

JH: I'm not sure either project necessarily influences the other in any direct way, to me they're very different. That said, Chance, Jack and Drew are all great songwriters, so they definitely have an impact on my creativity and I've learnt a lot from all of them.

What would you like or hope fans come away with after hearing this new album? 

DD: With the hooks stuck in their heads forever. Singing chunks of our songs out loud in the shower by accident two weeks after listening to them. 

CH: I hope they dig it! I really feel like it's a special record but '’ve been pretty close to it for a long time. Especially because I recorded it. For me it's a pop record for driving in the car and singing along. Hopefully that comes through.

JB: Brain worms. I mean, ear worms.

What are some future plans for Private Lives? 

CH: We just finished mastering a new 7" that we recorded a few months ago. FFO Eddie and the Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood. Shows in Canada are coming up and we are planning to head to Europe as soon as possible. We'd love to come back to the US, but things are a bit weird right now…

This is possibly a big question, but what excites you to play music and keep doing it? 

DD: Friendship.

CH: It's one of the only things that makes me happy as a human person. I thought a lot about stepping away and I even tried to take a long break from writing, but it really just made me feel like shit. Depression is a bitch. I realized I have to make music and art. If other people like it, that's great. I'll be doing this until I’m gone.

JB: I feel extremely privileged to be able to travel and meet people and see bands who share my interests and passions. Maybe one day I'll even learn how to sing. Not every show is an amazing one, but when you get those special ones with that perfect energy, the give and take and the communal experience…that keeps me motivated to continue putting my art out into the world.

JH: I think the answer to that changes a lot overtime, right now, I think it helps the world be a bit less shit. 

Any advice or last words you'd like to share with our readers?

CH: Start a band! Make art!

JB: We need community more than ever. Nothing else will save us. We need to be the ones to build each other up and protect each other. Resistance can't be bought, bribed or stamped out by force; we are in this together. Truth will always prevail. Courage my friends.

Salt of the Earth is out March 21st on Feel It Records.