Watch Arkells Cover Elton John on Strombo Show
When George Stroumboulopoulos isn’t busy hosting Hockey Night in Canada, he is having musicians aplenty visit his home for a performance and chat. Nah, this isn’t a recreational activity, it goes toward his longstanding CBC Radio 2 program The Strombo Show.
Recently, JUNO Award-winning rockers, Arkells, visited Stroumboulopoulos’ pad and played a stellar, stripped-down version of Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom.”
“I’ve been obsessed with it for so long,” said Arkells vocalist Max Kerman when asked why the band wanted to play the song. “When we think about covers, a lot of it has to do with how easy it’ll be to pull off. But this song has always been this mountain to climb, because there’s like 19 chord changes.”
In addition to the John cover, Arkells also strummed “Leather Jacket” and “Cynical Bastards,” a pair of standout tunes from the band’s 2014 album, High Noon.
You can watch all three performances below:
(Also be sure to check out our video interview with Kerman regarding the Arkells 2015 JUNO Award nominations.)
-Adam Grant
“Philadelphia Freedom”
“Leather Jacket”
“Cynical Bastards”
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