The Paperboys don鈥檛 stick to a single genre, both by design and as a reflection of themselves.聽
The band mixes Mexican Son Jarocho with Irish jigs and reels, along with a healthy dose of country and bluegrass.聽
Ska, Soca and African highlife are meshed with strains of soul, pop and funk, although they definitely are not a funk band. It鈥檚 mostly acoustic, but they like electric guitars.
The band respects the heritage of bluegrass, old time and Celtic tunes but is by no means traditional.聽
In the past, The Paperboys have described themselves as 鈥淕uinness with a tequila chaser while listening to an Americana Jukebox.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e roots/folk based, but that doesn鈥檛 really do us justice,鈥� lead singer Tom Langa told The 麻豆社国产. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not out to defy labels, but we incorporate many different things.鈥�
The Juno Award-winning group is returning to perform at the Brackendale Art Gallery on Saturday (April 16) starting at 8 p.m.聽
Langa, who founded the band in the early 鈥�90s, was born in Mexico to a Mexican father and Canadian mother of Irish ancestry and, like him, his music is a mixture of genres and cultures.聽
While he was always fond of music from a fan perspective, he didn鈥檛 pick up his first instrument until 15 years of age 鈥� a late bloomer in the world of music.聽
It was the guitar that first piqued his interest, followed by the jarana, a small Mexican/baroque guitar that鈥檚 slightly bigger than a ukulele.聽
He later moved from Mexico City to Vancouver and now lives in Kerrisdale with his wife, Kalissa Hernandez, who is also in the band, and their seven-year-old son.聽
鈥淗uman relationships interest me. It doesn鈥檛 have to be love, just human interaction,鈥� said Langa. 鈥淲e travel a lot, so that inspires me, but it could also be something small my son did.鈥�
In Brackendale on Saturday, The Paperboys will be performing select songs from their nine albums, including The Road to Ellenside and Callithump, that span their 22-year history touring extensively through North America and Europe. Although Langa is the only founder still in the band, a few of the eight other members have been part of it for well over a decade. 聽
One song, 鈥淐ity of Chains,鈥� will resonate with many 麻豆社国产residents, particularly newcomers who moved to the community to take advantage of the relatively low housing costs compared with the city.聽
It鈥檚 a subject about which Langa is particularly passionate.聽
鈥淰ancouver has become completely unaffordable, especially for people in the arts. A lot of artistic and creative people have had to move,鈥� he said. He believes that foreign investment is a major contributor to the skyrocketing housing prices and the loss of arts venues. 聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 only going to get worse, and it鈥檚 something I鈥檓 not happy about, and a lot of people feel the same way.鈥�
Langa could see himself moving away from Vancouver one day, but it鈥檚 a difficult decision because his son is in school and most of his work is based in the city. Among many other pursuits, including performing in another band called Locarno, he runs the Vancouver World Music Festival and owns a booking agency.聽
Tickets for this weekend鈥檚 show are available at the Brackendale Art Gallery and Xoco Westcoast Chocolatiers.聽
