Preview
OCTOBER TRIO
Thursday, May 19
Beat Niq Jazz and Social Club
Jazz drummer Dan Gaucher’s career could aptly be described as one extended road trip, and the travelling has always been in search of change. First, he travelled the Calgary music circuit from punk and indie-rock bands to the jazz program at Mount Royal College, and now he is a member of several bands, including the October Trio. Second, Gaucher’s physical move from Calgary to B.C. was a deliberate move to shake up his music and change his experiences.
"About five years ago I was looking for a more fertile environment to sort of get my butt kicked get working and just get surrounded by a bunch of really talented musicians," says Gaucher. "Basically, the October Trio is a perfect example because they’re like young little twerps and I’m the old man."
It has certainly been fertile for the 26-year-old Gaucher – within the five years since his relocation he completed the music program at Capilano College, joined the Rabnett 5 jazz group and co-founded the October Trio, and is poised to start his own group in the near future. The results from his move to B.C. have been quick and dramatic, but Gaucher’s switch to jazz was not as spontaneous.
"When I was young, I started off playing in punk bands – you know the Black Lounge and all that sort of stuff," says Gaucher. "Those were sort of my beginnings. I played in a band called Shecky Formé for years and years and sort of did the indie-rock thing and eventually through that somehow got into jazz. The funny thing is… there was no point where there was a big leap. At a certain point I just started gradually leaning more and more towards the sounds of jazz."
Jazz has special appeal for Gaucher, and while it may seem strange to some, he sees a common ground between his pop beginnings and his new musical outlet. "The same thing that attracts me (to) pop music is the opposite for jazz," says Gaucher. "I like the conciseness of a pop tune that really boils down and is specific, and I love the openness of a jazz tune. Every time we play something with the October Trio it’s a little different and it’s like we pick up where we left off and keep on moving. It’s just an evolutionary thing, it’s kind of exciting and that’s pretty cool."
Gaucher has found the connection between pop and jazz by thriving on the differences. Each genre influences the other and during Gaucher’s jazz career with Rabnett 5, October Trio and the Doppler Defect, he continues to play with experimental rock bands and a range of musical forms.
"For me it’s about variety," says Gaucher. "I find that I’ve had days where I’ll come from fucking screamingly loud experimental-rock band rehearsals and then I’ll go to a gig where I’m playing standards for a bunch of 60-year-old businessmen or whatever it might be and playing super quiet. I love that contrast. That’s what keeps me going."
The other thing that keeps Gaucher going is October Trio’s special mix. A saxophone trio composed of Gaucher (drums), Josh Cole (double bass) and Evan Arntzen (saxophone), October Trio had spontaneous beginnings only a short year ago. The band members, all Capilano College students, just clicked.
"The first day it was, like, ‘Ah, this is awesome, this feels really good.’ It felt like a band right away," he says. Building on the success of those early rehearsals, October Trio have found a way to capture that energy without stagnating.
"That’s sort of what keeps the band really fun, because it’s never stationary. It’s never the same thing…. It’s always moving forward and growing and stuff and getting bigger and bigger." |
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