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THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
The Fort Smith rock band State of the Art now has something in common with AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Foreigner, and an amazing array of even more music stars.

Fort Smith rock band State of the Art has begun working with a famed British producer Tony Platt. Pictured at the band's rehearsal space in Fort Smith on March 11, are, left to right, drummer Jamie Chabun, singer/guitarist Brandon Kikoak, bassist Craig Allard, producer Tony Platt, and vocalist/guitarist Aaron Kikoak. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

The connection is Britain's Tony Platt, a famed engineer/producer who has seemingly worked with almost everyone in a career stretching back more than 40 years.

Platt is producing State of the Art's new album, expected this summer.

From March 8-14, he was doing pre-production with the band at their rehearsal space in Fort Smith, the second time he has met them in person after first seeing them play live in Yellowknife in October.

Platt said coming to Fort Smith has given him a completely different perspective on the band, and he is suggesting that some of their best material will be about their background, their ethnic upbringing and the traditions around their home community.

"And they are getting it, and that's really the main point," he said. "From my perspective, I'm here to make suggestions for them to implement. I'm not here to do it all for them, because that's an impractical proposition."

Platt was originally contacted through his website by Brandon Kikoak, a singer/guitarist with State of the Art.

"We weren't actively looking for a producer," he said. "It was just one of those things where we've pretty much taken it as far as we could playing the role of performer/producer. After a while, you just don't know what you're listening to, really."

Kikoak also said the band doesn't look at Platt as a way to land a record deal.

"It's never been like, 'Tony, you're famous. You can make us famous,'" he said. "It's never been that way, ever. It's like this guy's a pro. This guy knows what he's doing. He's got so much experience and he's very similar to us. We can hang out, we can chum and get along together."

Kikoak said the band is focusing on furthering its craft and solidifying its career.

Platt noted some bands approach him because he has helped create successful records and they think he has a magic key to unlock fame and fortune.

"What I do, because I been doing it for a long time now, is I try to look beneath the surface and see whether there's something there," he said.

Platt's initial impression of State of the Art was they were writing rock music that felt to him very much like all other rock music.

"So I kind of started from the point of view of saying, 'Listen guys, you don't live in Seattle. You don't live in New Jersey or New York. You live in this place up in the Northwest Territories and you have a different cultural base," he said. "You have a different background and therefore we ought to start looking at that as a basis for the material."

In the initial e-mail exchanges with Kikoak, Platt said he was "fairly brutal" in telling the band what it needed to do.

Kikoak described Platt's input as constructive criticism.

"There wasn't really anything that we'd written that really appealed to Tony too much," he said. "We want to progress as artists so we're willing to take really good, professional, experienced advice."

Eventually, Platt and the band agreed to work together and he travelled to Yellowknife – his first time in the NWT – to see them perform on Halloween.

In order to make an album, Platt explained he needs to have a dialogue with the artist, get an impression of the album to be made and learn a little bit about the audience.

"That's why I always like to go and see a band live," he said. "I spend a lot of time looking at the audience."

However, he admitted he was also brutal in assessing the band's performance in Yellowknife.

"It was terrible," he said.

Kikoak doesn't disagree with that assessment.

"It was our worst night ever," he said, noting he was feeling under the weather. "It was just a terrible set of circumstances. Everything was just cascading against us."

However, Kikoak said the poor performance made the band work even harder afterward.

In Yellowknife, Platt and the band worked together for four days on new songs.

Kikoak initially contacted Platt after seeing an interview on the Internet in which he discussed his role as engineer on the classic rock album 'Back in Black' by AC/DC.

Although he has worked with many established stars like AC/DC, Platt said he also often helps bands in the early stages of their careers.

With State of the Art, he is trying to encourage more of a melodic approach to their music.

"One very, very important aspect of this album is about the storytelling and we want to be telling a story on each of these songs," he explained. "You need to have good melodies that stay in people's heads."

Platt is currently looking into getting studio time in Quebec to record State of the Art's new album.

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