After 45 years with 54-40, bassist Brad Merritt looks back on life on the road, the band’s remarkable longevity and what keeps the music alive.
By Carter Hammett
It’s almost hard to believe that one of Canada’s perennial fave bands 54-40’s been around for 45 years (!) But it’s true: high school chums bassist Brad Merritt and vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Neil Osborne co-founded the band while still in high school back in 1981.
Known for such hits as “I Go Blind,” “Ocean Pearl” and “Since When” the band is gearing up for a series of summer dates “all over the place,” says Merritt. “We’re playing Bala, Ottawa, Muskoka, you name it,” he says. “We’ve driven everywhere in Canada; every single province and every territory.”
Indeed, this is a band that knows life on the road all to well, and it started from the very beginning of things.
The band got a 1981 Econoline Van “that got us around for several years. Dad helped with the financing. That van got us all over North America. We put over 300,000 km on it. We went out as five guys including a sound man but there were only two chairs and two seatbelts. We installed a bench and you could sleep on it. One guy slept under it!”
And with so much time spent on the road, there are bound to be a few adventures. Like the time “ we were going to Portland or Seattle and we had no issues going over the border but this time we got turned back. I thought, this is a job for my father so we drove his car across the border and then we switched vehicles.
“Another time we were coming back from San Francisco and we crossed the Bay Bridge in Berkley. I’m speeding 75-80 and this siren goes off. I’m driving the vehicle and there’s two bench warrants for fines I didn’t pay. Neil says lets change seats . The state trooper looks in the van and Neil shows him the registration. State trooper lets us go and says you’re tired you should let your buddy drive!
“My fave time was driving around Kamloops near Blue River late at night. We stopped for a pee break and saw the Northern Lights; the Milky Way. That was 40 years ago and that image’s stayed with me a long time.”
A staple on college radio for years, the band’s landmark albums include 1987’s Show Me and 1994’s Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret, named for a fave Vancouver punk hangout. Since then the band has gone through several line ups and musical incarnations including jangly folk rock to dark and moody stuff like Trusted by Millions. The band hit a watermark after American rockers Hootie and the Blowfish recorded “I Go Blind” which became a huge hit. Royalties from that single track enabled the band to pay for their own recording studio.
The new album’s called Porto, which was released in January 2026 and recorded in Portugal with long-time collaborator Warne Livesey. “Neil took the lead on it. We originally wanted to do a destination record like California or Vancouver to that point, but we wound up in Porto at a studio called Arda Recorders. It was very old school. They had analog gear and both the drum kit and keyboards were from the 1960’s! But the place had the right vibe so we rented a villa and stayed 15 days. “
And produced another solid album in the process. Now with summer upon us, the band takes to the road yet again for another series of shows guaranteed to please young and old fans alike.
“We’re a Canadian band and we’re coming to your town!” says Merritt. “The careering part is done but we’re still having fun.”