Like most things, after a decade, things have a tendency to change – no exception for a Fort St. John-based musical act.
“We started the band for a folk fest in Hudson's Hope we wanted to play and I had just started writing songs at the time,” recalls Joseph te Bulte, lead vocalist and founding member of the group Last Horse Standing.
“So, Simon [Andrews], one of the guys who's still with me now, we started playing back then and the band has evolved, different players over the years.”
In May, the group underwent another transition, adding bass guitarist/stand up bassist Andy Charters and Dawson Creek's Jason Pratt, a drummer and percussionist. Andrews remains on board as lead guitar/vocalist.
Their sound, te Bulte admits, has also evolved into what he considers a folk rock/alternative country mix with about 60% of its playlist featuring original music.
In late 2019, the band began recording tracks for its inaugural album, Get It Wrong, working through the pandemic, completing the project this past February.
It was unveiled at an album release party last month.
“Our title track is called Get It Wrong. The idea behind that is not taking yourself too seriously and laughing at the really hard moments in life. Just trying to be light-hearted,” explains te Bulte.
“We've got everything on this record. We've got a spiritual song, My Fortress. We've got a storytelling song about a friend who's passed away, a blues man. Some songs about explorers. The main gist of it is rural life, life in the north, real people, real experiences.”
It's the first full-length album for Last Horse Standing since the band released an EP recording in 2016.
The new album has taken the better part of six years.
“It took us a while to come up with ten songs we all really liked, weeded out the other ones along the way.”
Te Bulte was asked why it took so long.
“We all have jobs...families,” he joked.
Full details on the new album can be found on the group's website.
