When the Boom Boom’s vocalist Aaron Ross and bassist Geordie Hart were in their early 20s, they went on a road trip from Vancouver to Panama. After purchasing a van, they drove down and had countless amazing experiences—but one thought kept recurring: that it would be great to bring a video camera on their next trip to document the experience.
Fast-forward a few years, and the life-long friends (and founding members of the Boom Booms) are bringing that dream to life: after the band plays their upcoming show at Sugar, the six-piece is hopping on a plane and heading to Brazil. It’s a trip made possible by the second-place finish at last year’s Peak Performance Project (and the $75,000 prize that entailed).
For Ross, traveling to Brazil and filming a documentary is part of building a heightened, richer experience—a far different goal than previous travels. Ross sums up his trips to Latin America easily.
“We had some amazing experiences,” he says. “We played shows all over, got robbed, hooked up with women, and swam in beautiful places.”
But none of those reasons are why he’ll be making the trip to Brazil with five of his closest friends. They’re collectively a bit older now, and their dreams have evolved from goals to plans.
“I think that we’re less infatuated with just partying and roaming—we just get off more on some kind of organized experience,” he muses from his home in East Vancouver. “You’re kind of looking for lessons and growing. It’s something that you never stop doing, you just learn that to get the most out of your time you do need to be kind of organized.” Ross chuckles and catches himself, saying, “I never thought I’d say that.”
While it’s clear that there are at least a half-dozen genres encompassed in the sound of the Boom Booms, calling your music latin/soul/funk/rock/reggae doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. With a bit of a nudge, Ross comes up with an answer.
“I think it’s soul music with world influence,” he says. “Because soul is from the heart—like love songs with a certain amount of soulness to it—and we bring that, but with our love of different grooves from dancehall and reggae and Latin stuff. I think the overall drive, I’d call it soul music.”
The Boom Booms with Carmanah and Mike Edel
January 14
$12-$15
Sugar
theboombooms.com