Maritime band finds success with 'grease coast rock and roll'

The year is not even halfway over, but musician Andre Pettipas has already notched 70 shows under his belt.

“It’s been great,” he said in an interview with CTV News Atlantic’s Katie Kelly on Monday.

The Maritime musician splits his time between being a solo act and playing with his band, Andre Pettipas and the Giants, which recently released its latest album.

“The band is grease coast rock and roll,” he said. “It’s southern power pop rock. One guy described it as the best of '80s hair metal mixed with '90s pop rock and early emo of the 2000s.”

The new album, titled “Under Control,” was recorded at the Tragically Hip studio in Bath, Ontario, and finished at Shoebox Studios in New Glasgow, N.S.

“It’s a deep dive into my soul and the band’s energy,” Pettipas said. “We captured what we feel is our most authentic self. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.”

Pettipas and the band aren’t slowing down as they enter the summer. They plan to play at festivals like The Jubilee and Sommo, and they’re even hosting their own event on Labour Day weekend.

“At the end of summer we’re playing Giantstock,” Pettipas said. “It’s our second year for that. “We’ve got Matt Mays, we’ve got Morgan Toney, we’ve got a whole slew of buds that are going to be entertaining us for the weekend.”

Pettipas said his busy schedule suits him just fine and he doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon.

“Honestly, I don’t know what I’d be doing if I didn’t have music,” he said. “It’s my release. I wake up in the morning and think about music. I have a problem, I write a song.

“I’ve wanted to be a full-time musician since I started playing music at age 12 and two years ago, I finally just said, ‘OK, I’m going to do it.’”