Banned & Outlawed is performing in the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) country music week celebration tomorrow at Bottle Screw Bill's Pub in Calgary! You can catch them from 10:30-11:00 PM representing Hazel Ridge Manitoba.

Brothers Jon and Dan Hnatishin make up the two person band, and they're excited to put on a good show!

"It's pretty exciting, it's our first time here (at CCMA country music week). I haven't been to Calgary since I was a kid, we were walking around downtown last night and we were like 'wow, this is pretty cool," Jon said.

If you're watching their show, you can expect all original music, as well as the first ever listening of some music they haven't released yet!

"We're actually playing some new stuff on that bill too. We're releasing an EP probably next month or the month after that so we're playing two of those songs on that EP there, and it will be the first time we've ever played it live," Jon said.

The two-man band says country music is built on three chords and the truth. To them, having the truth and real experiences in their music is very important.

"Life stories, life experiences. That's what we like. Lyrics is really what drives it," Dan said.

The brothers explained that the music they write is based off of stories from their dad and grandpa, as well as their own experiences.

"For our song writing, we're writing off of our experiences and our family experiences, and that's pretty much it. And we hope that people can relate to it," Dan said.

The brother's focus on three-chord country music with a focus on lyrics comes from the music they heard growing up and their inspirations.

"We always grew up listening to country music, our parents, my grandpa, always listened to country music, and we just like the three chords and the truth. We don't like the pop country, we like the real classic country. The simple stuff," Dan said.

The stuff that's actually true to us and are our actual stories," Jon added.

As for who their inspirations are, they pointed to artists like Johnny cash, Waylon Jennings, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen. The brothers enjoy these artists' music because of the lyrics and the stories they tell.

"You really have to think about it and think about how you can relate to that song," Jon said.

"Their song writing is like, you gotta read between the lines is what I like. You gotta think abut their lyrics and what they're talking about. And it's all truthful stuff I think, that's why I loved that."

These inspirations even directly inspired their band name!

"We like guys like Eric Church, Morgan Wallen, Waylon Jennings, we like that outlaw vibe I would say," Dan said.

"It's like a different style of outlaw country, it's songs that are different from regular mainstream country, which we think is pretty cool," Jon added,

When they're not performing, both brothers are also electricians. Along with their dad, who is a mechanic, they're working on making their own tour bus! They're revamping and repairing an old bus to become their very own tour bus. When these brothers talk about real experiences and the blue collar lifestyle, you can tell they mean it, as they may be the only band that travels in a tour bus they made themselves!

Go check out Banned & Outlawed tomorrow at 10:30 PM at Bottle Screw Bill's Pub in Calgary tomorrow! They will also be in Calgary again on the 23 and 24 at Ranchmans, so you'll have another opportunity to hear them live.

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