Greater Sudbury band Murder Murder loves touring Europe, so much so that the group purchased an upright bass over there so they don't have to bring the large instrument on transcontinental flights.
When they're not touring Europe, the upright bass is left at a Belgian bar called Cowboy Up. The owners of the bar run Muddy Roots Europe, the European wing of a roots music organization.
The local band, which plays a unique blend of bluegrass and outlaw country entirely devoted to the subject of murder, headed out on its third European tour this week, promoting its new album, Wicked Lines & Veins.
Murder Murder plans to play shows in Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg during the three-week tour. The band also heads back to Europe in May for another tour.
Even without the upright bass, the Murder Murder guys have to pack pretty light, without much room for personal items, as they have to bring all the rest of their musical equipment.
Mandolin and guitar player Jonathan Danyliw said they pack a lot of socks and underwear, but maybe one pair of pants.
Playing in Europe is great, he said. “It's really nice to tour over there,” Danyliw said. It's a very different culture around music. The night life is different, and people of all ages go out regularly.”
While Danyliw said touring is more like “being a trucker” than going on vacation, he said the band does try to take in some of the sights while in Europe because it's so unique and far away from home.
“We go to a lot of Second World War museums,” he said. “Those are interesting. We went to the war museum in Dresden and we went to the one in London.
“We've done a fair number of art museums. We like to go to castles a lot because we don't have castles in Canada. We do our best to see as much as we can.”
If you're interested in learning more about the band or purchasing its albums, visit Murder Murder's website.
