Things were going well for The Sadies two years ago. The band had released a new record – Colder Streams – which was being praised by critics, and they were set to head out on tour.
That all came crashing down on Feb. 17, 2022, when singer/guitarist Dallas Good passed away suddenly. And while the band has managed to pick up the pieces and carry on as a three-piece, drummer Mike Belitsky said it wasn’t – and still isn’t – easy for the surviving members.
“I wouldn't say that that element has ever, or will ever get, easier,” he said over the phone from his Toronto home.
“I think that was sort of the pinnacle of where we were at that particular time,” Belitsky said of the album, which was named the Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the 2023 Juno Awards and shortlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize. “That's also one of the tragedies. As that unit, we were always getting better and more creative and more interesting, in my humble opinion.”
The Polaris nod was the second for the band with the first coming for 2010’s Darker Circles.
But as time goes on, the group has been able to keep things moving forward. The band has been putting itself back out there and will be coming to town for a stripped-down acoustic show on Oct. 26 as a part of the Pelham Concert Series at Old Pelham Town Hall.
“I think we've managed to adapt and become comfortable in knowing that we can perform really proficiently as a three-piece,” Belitsky said. “It was super challenging at first, both emotionally, trying to figure that out, and then also just trying to figure out, what do I do musically without Dallas there? There were so many cues that I got from him, or I gave him.”
Dallas’ death has brought about a new chapter for the band. Over three decades the band has worked with artists as diverse as Jon Langford of the UK post-punk icons Mekons as well as Los Angeles first wave punk John Doe of X.
The work with Langford came about by being on the same label – Chicago-based Bloodshot Records – as Mekons’ Jon Langford, whose side project was the Waco Brothers. The two groups toured together in the UK and got along quite well.
“We just hung out all the time, and we're like, wow, we really like each other,” Belitsky said. “Our musical interests have these cross-sections.”
They wound up recording the 2003 album Mayors of the Moon as Jon Langford and His Sadies.
It was a similar story when the opportunity to work with Doe came about in 2009 for his album, Country Club. The Sadies found themselves on another label – Yep Roc Records – alongside Doe.
“It just seemed like before we ever agreed to make music together, we always had a hangout, getting to know one another,” Belitsky said. “Because if, if we don't want to hang out, then we probably aren't going to have a great time in the studio, because that's pretty intimate.”
Things must have gone well because Country Club peaked at No. 32 on the U.S. country charts.
The Sadies have released an album this year with Eric’s Trip/Elevator singer Rick White appropriately named Rick White and The Sadies. White is a long-time friend of the band and had previously recorded his own album of Sadies covers in 2022 following Dallas Good’s death.
It will be a stripped-down Sadies show at Old Town Hall, something Belitsky said it takes a little getting used to.
“It's a challenge, and after 25-plus years of coming out and hammering people over the head with volume, it's refreshing to do something with a little more light touch.”
Tickets are $39.99 and can be purchased online at tixr.com. Doors open at 7 p.m. Old Pelham Town Hall is located at 491 Canboro Rd. in Fenwick.
