If you’ve attended a charitable event, art opening or hit up the grocery store in the last several years, there’s a chance you’re already familiar with Joel Wheeler’s quirky, offbeat brand of pop.
Wielding clever lyrics and catchy hooks, Wheeler’s band The Black Albinos has rocked an odd assortment of Nelson venues, from the Legion and the Hume Hotel to a spot behind the cash registers at the Safeway (where they played as part of a prostate cancer benefit).
But with Wheeler based in London, Ontario for much of the school year, getting a Black Albinos fix outside of the summer months has been difficult — until now.
A full length album, Escape Goat, was released in early February for digital download, and Wheeler is hoping to eventually turn it into a CD as well.
“I’ve been making tons of songs and albums since I started The Black Albinos, but Escape Goat, is the album I’m considering my official debut,” Wheeler explains via email from Ontario, where he’s enrolled in the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College.
The program (into which Wheeler was a rare straight-from-high school acceptance) covers recording and production aspects of music, as well as licensing and business concerns. In addition to helping him complete Escape Goat, it also gave Wheeler the opportunity to submit a few Black Albinos songs to a U.S. production show that places music in reality TV shows.
The album itself is a diverse slice of pop, ranging from the bouncing, synth-drenched I’d Go There for You to the Beach Boys-esque June (Spoken too soon).
“The thing that ties everything together is the focus on strong hooks and melodies, and funny, weird, or unique lyrics and song structures,” says Wheeler — and Escape Goat is a difficult album to get through without cracking at least the occasional smile.
Though several other musicians round out the band in concert, The Black Albinos is essentially a one-man show. There are even two versions of the live lineup: one for Nelson, one for London.
And while the album’s title started out as a joke, Wheeler says leapfrogging between the two cities as he recorded and wrote convinced him to stick with it.
“I traveled multiple times across the country, each time feeling like once I got to the new place, whether it was Nelson or London, that I would be able to escape my current worries or stresses. So, in that sense it kind of represents the tendency for one to blame current surroundings for problems that, if we’re being honest, are going to follow you no matter what,” he says.
“Plus, I wanted to do an album cover with a goat, because I like drawing goats.”
Wheeler got his start in music in middle school, playing bass in the Trafalgar band program. In high school he branched out into jazz ensembles, and spent three years in the Playmor Junction Big Band.
Today, he credits his acceptance into Fanshawe to all the extra playing time he gained on the local music scene.
“Nelson’s amazing musical programs and community have given me so many opportunities to learn and ignite a passion for music,” he says. “I really can’t see how I could have done without it.”
To listen to Escape Goat visit http://theblackalbinos.bandcamp.com, or theblackalbinos.com.