Sandman Viper Command, out of Burlington, Ontario are not named after a GI Joe play-set, surprisingly.
"We were a little embarrassed getting our band name from the movie Outbreak," says Rob Janson, singer and guitarist for the lo-fi rockers. "We have a couple movie buffs in the band and they don't want to give the impression Outbreak is their favourite movie of all time."
But with growing interest as a buzz band in Toronto's rock scene and a new seven-inch, all the questions about its name will become common knowledge soon enough. "Early on in our career it was our MySpace, the one interview we did, and the script from Outbreak was the third thing on Google. Now that we have a bit more presence, hopefully it's buried down on the list," jokes Janson.
The four-piece began playing together in their parents' homes, followed by four years of playing around southern Ontario. Performing ramshackle sets with high energy has lead to early 2000s garage rock comparisons. Resembling Two Hours Traffic at their softest and The Danks at their hardest, Sandman Viper Command creates fuzzy-pop hits that hint at indie rock of the '80s and '90s.
With a set of tunes from its first album, Everybody See This, and the upcoming Rough Love EP due out in March, the band returns to Halifax before embarking on a cross-country tour. Hopefully they'll have an easier go at it this time than at an October Khyber show which was cut short due to a boozy power failure.
"During our set Dan, our guitar player, kicked over a pint of beer all over his pedals. They ceased to work, and it was a pretty hectic experience," says Janson. "But those kinds of things tend to happen to us while we're playing. We're pretty used to it at this point."
Sandman Viper Command
Saturday, March 5
CD Heaven, 118 Wyse Road, Dartmouth, 5pm, free and The Gallery Pub, 2037 Gottingen Street
