Comeback Kid takes an unconventional yet hardcore approach

By Julia Osinchuk

If one was to compare music to high school and bands to students then Comeback Kid is the hyperactive overachiever that isn’t quite made from the same material as everyone else. The band takes an unconventional approach to hardcore music and has toured worldwide, garnering international attention and with signs of slowing down any time soon. In the past two years alone, Comeback Kid has been to almost every continent, touring Canada, the US, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe, New Zealand, Iceland and numerous other areas. The boys are grateful for the experience that touring has given them.

“If it wasn’t for music we wouldn’t have been able to have these opportunities to travel and experience all these different cultures that normally you’d always dream about,” says guitarist Jeremy Hiebert. “The average person probably has one or two crazy travels in their lifetime, but we’ve been very lucky and fortunate to be able to experience all these different cultures and play for kids around the world that for some reason know our music.”

Though fans wait patiently for a new studio album, Comeback Kid seems to remain keen on touring internationally. They do, however, hope to adhere to fan’s wishes eventually. The band does have a reason for the wait though: writing is a big process for them. In perspective, for a band that has been around for as long as they have, they have gained a lot of attention internationally despite only releasing three albums. Many attribute this success to the thoroughness the band takes when creating their albums and their extensive promotion.

“We’re not sure when its going to happen, but I would really like to think that next year we should have something out,” Hiebert explains. “Right now, we’re really just focused on this project [touring] and we don’t want to bog ourselves down with too much all at once. Within the next month or two though we’re probably going to sit down and see where we are with writing. If we don’t have the material we’re not going to force it out. We’re not going to release another album until we have that material and we’re actually happy with it. There are too many bands that put out records just to put out records. Those kinds of bands just fall flat on their face.”

Since starting in 2002, the band has experienced both changes in members and a shift in musical style. They have strayed away from their raw roots that they were founded upon, and their most recent album, Broadcasting. . ., features a much more layered sound, though the band insists the two changes have nothing to do with each other.

“Kyle [Profeta], Andrew [Neufeld] and I do all the writing,” Hiebert says. “We have been since the beginning. I don’t think we set out to make a darker or more layered record. Those things just kind of happen within songwriting. As time passes, we’re listening to different kinds of music, or different styles or whatever, things influence you.”

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