Dave Genn of 54.40 chats new album 'Porto' and what's important to the band
- jaybroderick
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
By: Michael Drukarsh - LoudTO had a wonderful opportunity to sit with Dave Genn, lead guitarist and newest member (well, 22 years ago new) of 54-40 to discuss their latest album Porto coming out in January. The 16th studio album for the band, Porto was recorded live, with everyone mic’d up together on the floor, over 12 days in Portugal with acclaimed Canadian producer Warne Livesey, something Dave says was very old school and not experienced by him since the early 90s.
Speaking of the early days, Dave discussed the process of recording and whether it has changed over the years when a band like 54-40 has such a long history. According to Dave, "when you've been a band this long and making records you're changing your creative process all the time, you're changing producers, you're changing studios and the way you are approaching songs. Writing from a different angle to keep things fresh."
When asked about songs such as “Time Will Tell” and “Virgil” (new singles released from the new album) and where the personal lyrics came from, Dave pointed out that Neil writes the words and while he can't speak for him, he did say that Neil feels this album is very much a sequel to the late 80s album Fight For Love. Both are woven with Junging philosophy and positive messages. On top of that, the band wanted to create a riff rock album.
It's becoming rarer for bands that have been around for such a long time to put out new music, I was curious whether Porto was written in hopes of garnering new fans or to cater to the devoted fan base. According to the band's guitarist, while both are important, writing and recording new music is most important to the band who want to remain creative and challenged. "We can go out and play 16 hits from the 80s and 90s that we all know how to play but it will get very boring very fast... we don't want to be a jukebox, we want to keep being creative. We enjoy the process of making records."
After 49 shows coast to coast with Foreigner and a new record recorded overseas, 54-40 is ready for a break and their last stop before the new year is the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto so the band can take some time off during the holidays before firing up again later in the new year.
As we wrapped up the interview I asked if Dave had any parting words. "Take a listen to the new album. Most importantly we are very very proud of it. We really enjoyed the experience of going overseas and making the record and we think the results speak for themselves.
Release date: January 23, 2026
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