FORT SMITH, Northwest Territories – Musicians frequently tell their tale of leaving the small town to find fame and fortune under the bright lights of the “big city.” Rock band State of the Art has chosen not to follow this beaten path.

This quartet, three of whom are Inuvialuit brothers from the town of Inuvik, Northwest Territories north of the Arctic Circle, has stayed with its northern roots. Now relocated 750 miles southwest in Fort Smith, population 2,600, the band prefers to find work and its following above the 60 degree latitude.

“Certainly it’s not as fast as the city but we’re from up here and it’s comfortable at our own pace,” said Aaron Kikoak, 23, one of the band’s two lead singers.

It isn’t that Aaron, or older brother Brandon, 25, or younger sibling Jaime, 21, haven’t experienced the cosmopolitan lifestyle of a metropolis. Since their days starting in the coffee houses of Inuvik a decade ago, each have resided in the larger Canadian centers of Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg, cities with populations around one million. What, or rather who, they found in the Prairies was the long sought after fourth member to play bass, Craig Allard, 23, from Winnipeg, who’s been with the group for two years.

Allard and the Kikoaks have called Fort Smith home for the past two years. Surrounded by the tranquility of the Slave River and Wood Buffalo National Park, this remoteness permits State of the Art to maintain a creative spark.

Hard rock with melody would best describe the band, one of the lead acts at the 15th annual South Slave Friendship Festival in Fort Smith Aug. 14 – 17. Brandon credits a diverse range of musicians from AC/DC to ZZ Top to Johnny Cash for inspiration.

State of the Art has an edge. Two of the ballads on the soon-to-be-released 10-song CD, “Marshall Law,” including “Popular Demand,” ask its listeners to become socially involved.

“It’s a police state in a small way because authority seems to think they can do what they want,” Brandon replied as to why the band composed a couple of activist songs. “People should stand up more often rather than going with the group all the time.”

He says too often he’s witnessed subtle signs of racism by the police and the government on an underground level, nothing overt but enough to rankle Brandon and his friends.

“Yeah, we’re aggressive but that’s not what we want to promote,” the younger Aaron countered to his brother’s political bent.

Notwithstanding this advocacy, “Marshall Law” is the culmination of years of a band that has fought geographical isolation with some success. Last year, State of the Art, under the previous name of Mother Divine, journeyed through a 25-gig, 50-day and 5,000-mile tour of western and northern Canada before coming home exhausted.

In preparation for the CD release, this has been a more relaxed summer. There was just one trip for the foursome who returned to Inuvik for a four-day gig where they were warmly received.

“Towns in the Northwest Territories have heard of us but we didn’t know where those towns were,” Brandon said about the group’s regional success.

Certainly State of the Art will continue its stay in Fort Smith long enough to locate all those communities north of 60 degrees.