3 ORIGINAL BANDS SHOWCASE DUNCAN
text/photos by barry newman
issue #58 - Cosmic Debris Musicians Magazine - Apr '99

Three smashin' bands showcased at Duncan's Phoenix Pub on March 2 - a unique concert conceived & organized by bassist Todd Smiley.
Todd was looking for a third original band, and my suggestion that Aaron Grant's Grand Mantatas out of Nanaimo would suit his show, proved to be a good hunch. I hadn't heard Aaron on guitar before (he'd drummed with me at the Queens Hotel a while back), but I'd heard from a lot of musicians that his new act was killer stuff... and it is !!

Grand Mantatas Grand Mantatas (loosely translated: "those spots on Monica's dress" -bn) boldly go lyrically where only punk music previously dared... sweet ballads about suicide, stick-ups, cross-dressing n' glue-sniffin' gals. The difference with Aaron's music is that it incorporates a whole whack of melody and diverse rock styles - switching from rock to reggae and grunge - and often sounding like a 1950's Ritchie Valens.

Grant is an excellent vocalist & his creative guitar style utilizes a nice mix of tremolo, vibrato, reverb & occasional distortion. His rhythm section with Maurie Kaufmann (drums) and Kevin Kurjata (bass) is a tight and refreshingly well-rehearsed team. The band ended their dynamic set with a faithful rendition of the Beatles' "All My Lovin".


Blackberry Henry Blackberry Henry is comprised of yet more Rocktoria'98 talent, creatively spearheaded by ex-Gabriel Hounds' singer / songwriter / guitarist Kevin Westwick, fronted by the effervescent Shannon Smiley on vocals and backed by the rhythm section of brother Todd Smiley (bass) and Erik Anderson on drums.

BH delivered a powerful package of melodic rock & spacey harmonies with a pinch of grunge and westcoast 60's feel. The highlight of their impressive set, was "I Breathe", a song which sends shivers down my spine & pumps viagra through my gills.

ed... just ed ed (editor... just "ed") is another Cowichan-based band... built around the dangerous guitar-slingin' team of Brad Lundquist & Zak Cohen.

This rock band kept dancers and guitar-freaks happy with their brand of jazzy, manic, southern-fried grunge. There is a powerful "edge" to ed's music, perhaps the result of Brad's intense writing and vocal delivery. This is tempered with Zak's more conservative touch... reminding me a bit of a Lennon/McCartney writing collaboration. But the comparison ends there. Brad doesn't even own a Rolls-Royce.

Erik Anderson's straight-ahead percussion and the exemplary bass work of J.J. Charlebois combine to give ed's steely strings the momentum to splatter Y2K bugs to oblivion.

The night was tastefully emceed by opera singer / Black Swan Jam enforcer Ross Elliot, and the sound mixed by Todd and Jeff Smiley, who is also Todd's other sister's brother. It was refreshing to see a few out-of-towners attending this unique concert, including singer Camille Miller from Nanaimo.

Hopefully the word is out that Duncan isn't just a hog farm on the outskirts of Sahtlam... there's beef here too!
Do it again Todd.


Other websites by the Publisher / Cosmic Debris:
Islands Folk Festival / Cowichan Folk Guild
Guy Langlois "Ambiance"
Monte Nordstrom
Toby Nilsson
Mary Egan
Special Woodstock
Helmut Teunissen
Minstrels Music
Corry / Shakey Reay Suter
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