They say any press is good press, so what about reading too much press?

Drummer Steven Hamelin of Midland, Ont. band Born Ruffians used to read all of the press written about his band. Now he doesn’t read any of it.

“I went from reading everything written about us to nothing,” said Hamelin, who joins Luke Lalonde and Mitch DeRosier for an Oct. 11 set at Sugar.

“I was taking it way too personal and it wasn’t in a bitter way, I just found that it was bothering me too much,” Hamelin added. “And then you kind of get frustrated with being misquoted and it’s not like some of the journalists did it on purpose. They just kind of did it so the quotes would fit better in the story they were writing.”

The trio released their first record, a self-titled EP, in 2006. They’re currently touring across the continent in support of their first full-length CD, Red, Yellow and Blue (2008).

Known for catchy pop-infused indie rock songs, the band draws comparisons to Vampire Weekend, a similar sounding outfit out of New York.

Just like the press clippings he no longer reads, Hamelin said band comparisons are something they ignore.

“I think it’s something that happens to a lot of bands,” he said. “A lot of them go through that. It’s something that bothers you for sure and I’m sure (Vampire Weekend) get bothered by the fact that they’re comparing a lot of other bands to them. But after awhile you really start to ignore it and just let it happen. You realize it’s just something that happens and you’re not in control of it anyways.”

While touring the group has already started working on the follow-up to Red, Yellow and Blue, debuting two new songs live recently. Hamelin said they’re already looking towards spring for recording the new material, but as with a possible tour to Australia this winter, nothing is set in stone.

Hamelin hesitated when asked to describe the sound of the new tunes. “I don’t know really. Maybe less spazzy, I think, I dunno. But they still kind of have that energy.”

Born Ruffians play Sugar Nightclub, 858 Yates St. with Plants & Animals. Doors at 9 p.m. Tickets are available at Lyle’s Place, Ditch Records and online at http://www.ticketweb.ca.

patrickb@vicnews.com