Despite Age, Nomeansno, By No Means Ready To Quit

Most middle-aged musicians ought to be thinking about their retirement or at least quitting before their music spoils.

They’re not supposed to be hitting the road in a cramped van for several months of exhaustive touring.

Then again, most bands aren’t like NoMeansNo, which plays an all-ages show at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 302 E. Boone, tonight.

Charter members and brothers bassist-guitarist-vocalist Rob Wright and drummer John Wright have hit - or are at least rapidly approaching - their 40s. At this point, most bands would have already peaked and sailed past their glory days.

Not this Vancouver, British Columbia, jazz punk unit.

Like wine, this band just keeps getting better with age, as proven on NoMeansNo’s latest platter of glory, “The Worldhood Of The World (As Such),” its ninth album for Alternative Tentacles and 11th album overall.

NoMeansNo got its start late. The Wright brothers were well into their 20s before they even picked up instruments. The two formed NoMeansNo in Victoria, B.C., during the early ‘80s.

Underground, the band became a favorite by carving out its own sound. The Wright brothers started with a basic punk rock foundation and cleverly expanded on it. On the surface, it was punk, but it was a lot of other things, too. Unpredictable jazzy improvisations and interludes made the band distinctive and unique.

Even today, NoMeansNo sounds like no other band in the world. And no other band sounds like NoMeansNo.

Though “The Worldhood” is the most direct NoMeansNo album in recent times (the band’s last studio venture, “Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?” being its most dissonant), it continues to showcase the Wright’s sound.

“It’s a little more snappy and up-tempo than the last thing we did. It almost sounds like a punk rock album in certain places,” quipped Rob Wright in a recent phone interview. “We’re showing our roots a little bit.”

NoMeansNo has never been a household name, mainly because it hasn’t sold out and hasn’t released any videos. Plus, it’s also adamant about remaining on the independent Alternative Tentacles label.

“We pay a price. But if you get involved with them (major labels), you pay a big price as well. If you do it our way, accept the fact that you’re not going to be a highly promoted, efficiently distributed band. You’re not going to sell hundreds of thousands of records. But we do pretty well on our own; we’ve made a success of it.”

Not being on a major label in Canada makes it hard to find NoMeansNo releases in stores.

“The people who know us will get stores to order from A.T. (Alternative Tentacles),” said Wright. “We’ve never yet found a good Canadian distributor-manufacturer to do all the work for us … in Canada. The people who do it are usually either major corporations or major corporation wannabes, and we find both of them obnoxious to deal with.”

At the show in Spokane, seating is limited.

Vancouver’s Average White Male and Spokane’s Fumes and Cause open.

Music starts at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $8.