BIL HETHERINGTON

The charismatic frontman of Calgary’s The Neckers, Bil Hetherington has love and will travel with the group’s long-running recipe of poppy garage rock. However, more recently, the easygoing singer/songwriter has been plugging away at the long-delayed release of his solo debut, 10 soft and tender tracks that traverse the themes of romance, politics and an achy (but not quite breaky) heart. “I had a bunch of songs that didn’t really work with The Neckers,” Hetherington explains, over a pint at his former place of work, the Hop and Brew. “These songs probably date back to 2000 or 2001, so this album is actually my greatest hits.”
Produced by Lorrie Matheson, and featuring the talents of Broken Social Scenester Lisa Lobsinger, bassist Steve Elaschuk and drummer Kyle Koenig (among others), Through The Sunspots is an easy-on-the-ears collection of tunes from one of the local music scene’s friendliest fellas. The Asian Tigers now include drummer Ian Russell and guitarist Jon Hopkins alongside Elaschuck, which should help fill out Hetherington’s sound in the live arena.