Vancouver’s Slip~ons are sharing their new track, “Graystone,” their power-pop tribute to the legendary Detroit venue, along with a fantastic music video.
Watch the official music video of “Graystone” here:
The recording of the song took place at Afterlife Studios in Vancouver during May and July 2024. The song was produced by Brian Minato and the band. The mixing was done by Dave Ogilivie, and the mastering was handled by Ronan Chris Murphy at Veneto West.
Band member Brock Pytel says:
“The first number of years of SLIP~ons was very casual. I was working, like, 60-hour weeks in film and had a couple tour managing gigs, so the band was mostly an afterthought. We’d play just about any gig anyone offered but didn’t record or release anything. During/after the COVID lockdown, we started writing a lot more collaboratively. That and my getting sick kinda lit a fire under us a bit.”
Slip~ons feature Brock Pytel of The Doughboys and Brian Minato, who is known for his collaboration with Sarah McLachlan. The band also feature Rob “Shockk” Matharu of The Spitfires on guitar and Shane Wilson on drums.
Pytel also reflects on the inspiration behind the song:
“The Graystone was a venue we used to play in Detroit back in the late ’80s when I was in the Doughboys. It was always an adventure, from just getting across the border to dealing with the promoter, Cary Safarian, who everyone referred to as ‘scary.’ When Rob and I started exchanging voice notes of the main riff, it brought to mind the MC5/Stooges Midwest sound. I wrote the lyrics based on my memories from those trips and reached out to my old bandmates, Scott McCullough and Jon Asencio, to gather their recollections, which also found their way into the song.”
The video for “Graystone” was produced by Scott Gordon at Halo Creative LA.
Pytel adds:
“I stumbled upon J Robbins’s ‘exquisite corpse’ video and loved the concept. Nobody needs to see us old guys dancing around in a classic rock video, so animating it felt like a perfect solution. Scott was excited about the song and the ‘80’s Detroit punk scene theme, which allowed for cool imagery featuring flyers, illustrations of the club, and photos from our past. I’m hoping to see a photo of teenage Shockk doing BMX tricks included in it.”
Order Graystone and Slip~ons music and merchandise here.
Follow Slip~ons on Facebook.
Photo courtesy of R.D. Cane
