Novaks grab MusicNL award

Wesleyville native Mick Davis was en route to Victoria, B.C. for a gig when he caught up with The Beacon last week via phone.

"We're in the mountains here. Hope we don't lose our brakes," laughed the singer-guitarist for the St. John's-based rock trio The Novaks.

As a result of being on the road, the band was unable to attend this year's MusicNL Awards ceremony in St. John's on Nov. 15, where the group won the award for Pop/Rock Group of the Year.

The band, who play a punchy blend of power pop meets classic rock, released its second full-length album, Things Fall Apart, through Maple Music earlier this year.

Mr. Davis said he has been appreciative of all the support the band has received from the Newfoundland and Labrador Music Industry Association, which oversees the awards.

"Everything we've ever done, they've been behind us," he said.

However, Mr. Davis said he remains aware that awards like these are being handed out amongst friends, amounting to "pats on the back," as nice as being recognized with one is.

"If we didn't get one, we weren't going to cry about it. I guess the point is, we're going to do what we do regardless of who acknowledges us. We're going to carry on as who we are as long as people keep coming to the shows. That's all the recognition we need."

For the last little while, playing shows is all the band has been about.

They did a seven-date tour of the Maritimes in September that was followed by a St. John's show in early October, and are now in the midst of a 15-date cross-country trek with the Canadian alternative rock group The Arkells.

Mr. Davis said the tour has been The Novaks most successful one yet, with lots of crowded shows and enthusiastic supporters. Their tourmates, The Arkells, have been a fun bunch to share gigs with, he said, and the band itself has been playing "better than ever."

Amongst the tour highlights was a gig in Edmonton in front of 500 fans.

"They came out really early - it was 9 p.m. - and we just figured 'Okay, The Arkells,' but they were there for us. I had no idea we had that many fans in Edmonton. All up front, they knew all the words to the new record, and we couldn't believe it."

The tour has also given him an opportunity to bond with his older brother Trev Davis, who used to perform with Mick Davis earlier in the decade in Sunday Noise. "He's tolerable," Mick said of his older brother with a hint of humour in his voice.

The group also had a noteworthy summer gig opening for 70s rock icons Kiss, a band Mr. Davis idolized in his childhood. However, he said the experience was a mixed bag.

"They were amazing and quite good - it's just such a spectacle. For me though, it almost seemed like a tribute band," he said of the pyrotechnic-loving rockers, who now feature only two original members - bassist Gene Simmons and guitarist Paul Stanley.

"Whoever was playing Ace Frehley, when he'd sing or do a guitar solo, you'd know it's not him, so I might as well be watching one of those Kiss tribute bands."

Looking beyond the tour, Mr. Davis said he's anxious to doing more recording. There was a four-year gap between the band's first and second albums, a feat he is unwilling to repeat.

"We don't want to get left behind again. We want to stay busy creatively. We could put out one song or five songs or whatever - we just want to do something and make sure it's not four more years before we get a record out.

"I don't want to leave it in the hands of a record company anymore saying when we'll record. I think if we have an idea, the time and the money, we should go out and do it."

The band will be back on The Rock for a Dec. 28 show at the Rock House in St. John's.