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greater Hamilton's weekly alternative For the Week of June 26 - July 2,2003 Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) |
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THE GRAND SONG CARAVAN |
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| The affable Dave Rave DesRoches
always seems ready to offer a smile to a new friend, and the self–proclaimed
poobah of the Grand Song Caravan beams about his latest efforts incorporating
a party into his most recent promotional outing, which takes over
The Staircase this weekend.
With Glen Marshall, Rave has selected a choice group of people to tour with; while they’re all taking care of the business end it’s very much a family affair. The duo produced New York’s Joe Mannix and Maine’s Kate Schrock’s new releases as well as Rave’s Everyday Magic. “We had a little dream that we could do something special,” laughs DesRoches. “Showcasing a group of singers — it was convenient that we could use all the same musicians but it also gives the night a theme rather than simply having four different acts. And I’ve driven a Caravan since 1997 and it’s gone from L.A. to Newfoundland and back so I thought the name might allude to the fun we’re having bringing all of the songs across the country. Plus, I’ll probably be driving this thing to all the gigs anyway.” Locals Bill Becker, Peter Ribhany, Paul Panchezak and Keith Lindsay are enlisted as the Caravan backing band, but a myriad of people came together to make this event occur. The one common theme for the second release from the Dave Rave Group is that Dave is the only standing member, creating a huge list of guest performers on Everyday Magic. The Trews (“Everyday Magic”), The Shakers (“Don’t Know What To Do”) and a major part of Teenage Head (“Love Fades”) all contribute. “We started the album in Los Angeles with Jason Frederick, but 9/11 happened so I started coming back to Hamilton to record, but I couldn’t get back into the original mood of the recordings. We basically started a new album but overall it works. And I may not have worked with Gord Lewis and Steve Marshall or the Shakers — we joke that it was a return to the future. “It was the first time Tim Gibbons, Gord Lewis and Jason Avery were all together on one album. It was neat because I got to hear each one of their individual styles. I call them the big three because they were the three main guitarists in the early ’80s influencing the rest of the city. They were the top three guitarists in the city and they were never on the same album until now.” Everyday Magic is a classic, gracefully incorporating all of the musical musings that catch DesRoches’ fancy and rolling them up into a solid pop album. “I like to go on a musical journey and let the songs pick who should play on them. Something special really happens with the right players. And the album itself covers almost the whole continent. Glen wanted an album that captured everything I’ve been doing over the last 20 years — the folk and jazz stuff I’ve done as well as some of the stuff with The Head and The Shakers — and show where I am now.” Released on Ralph Alfonso’s imprint Bongo Beat, DesRoches is developing a solid network of compatriots. “Ralph’s one of the few people in this country who has had a true vision of just how much can be done. Ralph and I have been cooking up schemes since ’96. He’s a great advisor and a great player. He put out my last on Bongo Beat. Since then he’s added Paul Hyde and Joe Mannix and he’s just added Kimberly Rew. Word is he’s going to re-issue the original Katrina and The Waves albums.” “I used to manage The Diodes and their Crash ‘n Burn Club,” says Bongo Beat’s Ralph Alfonso. “Both Dave and Paul and myself have roots in the ’77 punk era, so our ways of thinking and our work ethics are more or less on the same wavelength. We’re all from the DIY ethos of that era. In the case of Joe Mannix, I really really dug his album — the fact that Dave Rave and Glen Marshall produced it was a bonus. I only really release CDs that I personally like and that I think maybe are a bit more literate or maybe have a bit more thought and heart into what is going on. I want it to be if you like one Bongo Beat CD, more than likely you will like the rest of them, because they share the same heartbeat.” “The Caravan is the brainstorm of Dave Rave and Joe Mannix — and, I guess, a refinement of The Storytellers Cabaret tour that Dave and I cooked up last year and that Paul Hyde was also a part of,” clarifies Alfonso. “The way the Caravan is better is that there is a full backing band so the songs can really be presented in a fuller, cooler, context. “This is an amazing show in terms of the headliners and the fantastic collection of roots Hamilton players in the band,” he adds. “It’s the new folk underground and a real coming together of British, Canadian and U.S. sensibilities.” “I think it’s a great way to accent the songwriting and it’s most entertaining for an audience to see a group of people with a bunch of different styles,” muses Paul Hyde from his Vancouver studio. The latest milestone in a career that began with punk, moved into pop stardom and detoured into heartfelt poetry, Hyde’s latest album — The Big Book Of Sad Songs, Volume 1 (Bongo Beat) — focuses on showcasing his talents. “The last few years I’ve been doing more of the folk thing,” Hyde reflects. “I’ve always liked songs and wasn’t really particular about what style they were. The rock genre tends to shroud the song in all of its trappings so when I actually started doing this, I actually played a few folk festivals and it was a challenge to play just the raw song with an acoustic guitar because if it doesn’t work then you know it’s not a really good song. But when it does.” Hyde’s last solo album was 1989 and he hasn’t been to Ontario in a decade, but he’s kept busy. “Some of the songs I’ve left off previous albums because they were too slow or too verbose but those kinds of songs I find are more powerful, and I tend to write more of those.” From his own musings on nature and life in general to the songs that document old friends and foes gone by, Hyde is a wry historian and a creative wordsmith who can simultaneously pull a tear from your eye and push a glass in your hand for a sing–along. His kids are as following in the Hyde footprint but they’re not walking to the beat of folk, rock or punk. His daughter, D-One, has just released a CD and his son MC E-motionz from the Clockwork Crew is signed with Dreamworks in Los Angeles. Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere — the first single “My Mind I Miss The Most” was snatched from, of all things, a bumper sticker — but Hyde would rather weave a wry tale than rely on simple sloganeering. “Back in the day, I may have been angry and maybe I still am. I don’t know if I ever wanted to change the world, but there are things I can see wrong with it. These days I’m actually very happy. So I don’t want to ram anything down anyone’s throat — I’d rather tell them some stories to make them think.” Currently in the midst of writing material for another CD, Hyde is rumoured to be reuniting with old friend, producer, songwriter and former Payola, Bob Rock. “Yeah, since the newest Metallica album is complete he keeps threatening that,” the singer growls before breaking into a laugh. Whether it’s Hyde’s Yorkshire wit, the East Village–via–Hamilton musings of Joe Mannix, Kate Schrock’s soulful folk or the devil–may–care pop of Rave, the four performers offer an eclectic mix of styles. THE GRAND SONG CARAVAN |
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