Around the age of 16, Seth Smith abandoned his small east-coast town in search of greener grasses… or at least somewhere where the high schools had music and art programs. Smith found this place in Victoria, where he attended Vic High for a few years before the east lured him back with that Maritime twang and a booming fishing industry.
Back home, Smith did what any recent high-school grad in his position would: he moved back in with his parents. It’s here that he really got into songwriting. With musical prowess oozing through his pores like your Auntie Margot’s spare tire protruding through the top of her spandex pants after Sunday brunch, Smith was in dire need of a way to discharge his creative energy. And so was born math rockers The Burdocks.
“After I moved back to Halifax from Victoria I stayed at my parent’s place for a while and wrote about three albums worth of material,” he says. “Then I formed a band called The Burdocks.”
After touring Canada for around three years with The Burdocks, Smith needed a bit of change from playing intense math rock, and started a side project as something just a bit more relaxed.
“Nancy [Urich, Smith’s wife] and I started Project Dog Day, which started as a solo project for me, but we teamed up with our friends and became Dog Day,” says Smith.
Now, settled in Halifax, Smith spends the majority of his time creating music with Urich in their distinctively dynamic duo Dog Day. The band features Smith and Ulrich mixing it up, switching between guitar and drums, to deliver a unique yet simple indie-rock sound.
Spending your work time with your spouse might sound like a daunting task for some, but for Seth and Nancy, it couldn’t be any more ideal.
“There is an added level of intuition where you know each other a little more and are on the same page,” says Smith. ‘We listen to the same music together. It’s very convenient. If you feel like having food at a certain restaurant there are only two people to discuss it.”
And while Smith admits that there’s certainly a bit more arguing involved when working so closely with a spouse, he quickly assures that no lover’s spat will be standing in this pair’s path around any upcoming bends of the river.
“There’s more bickering too, because you are so comfortable with each other that you have that level of over-comfort,” he says. “I wouldn’t trade it. We’ll definitely be playing together for a long time to come.“
Dog Day
June 28
Logan’s Pub, $10
dogdaymusic.com