Preview
SOLID GOLD BEAVER
Friday, July 1
Broken City
Canada Day is kind of an odd holiday. Canadians rarely get excited about things, especially ourselves. So Canada Day – like those Roman candles that fade from the sky in the time it takes to shotgun a beer – is often anticlimatic, leading one to propose: forget the fireworks this year, let’s have music.
"That’s the Canadian thing," says Broken City’s Craig Evans, the organizer of the Canada Day celebration entitled Solid Gold Beaver – a daylong tribute to Canadian music by a bunch of local bands.
"(People) want to get drunk on a patio drinking Molson’s and listening to the Tragically Hip," he says. "Although I think with our clientele there won’t be much Hip being played."
Evans, inventor of the infamous Moustache Rock parties at The Night Gallery, has wanted to do a tribute to Canadian music for quite awhile. With the help of a German DJ, the timing now seemed right.
"This German DJ was really interested in playing Broken City on Canada Day," explains Evans. "We thought about it and figured, nobody really wants to listen to a DJ on Canada Day."
That’s when plans started taking shape. The initial idea was to have about six or seven bands for the Can-con hoseathon in a quaint patio-party setting. "I sent out a first round of e-mails and I wasn’t getting much response," Evans says. "I was going to let it be it’s own beast."
Interest seemed low at first, but then the sleeping beast awakened when a flood of eager participants came forward. Evans is now faced with organizing nearly 20 bands for a full day of Canadian rock debauchery. The lineup, which is subject to change, has 18 artists playing Canadian cover tunes from 11 a.m. until they can’t play anymore. Dude Cops (featuring members of The Dudes and Fake Cops), Ray O Rocket (featuring members of raovaq and Hot Little Rocket), The Failure, The Means, The Brenda Vaqueros, Red Not Evil and a dozen more have all been asked to show up with a handful of Canadian classics ready.
"I always tell bands to go with three (songs), but learn four just in case," says Evans.
Lorrie Matheson is no stranger to tribute nights and is looking forward to performing with bandmate Brooker Buckingham at Solid Gold Beaver. "I’ve played tributes to The Clash, Devo, Calgary bands and Moustache Rock. I think the roof will definitely be blown off the place," he says.
Although learning the songs is challenging, it’s often picking them that’s the real struggle. "We were going to go with some classic rock like April Wine," says Matheson. "But we’re going to go for a more indie, new wave, punk rock set. There won’t be any irony. We’ll just be playing fast and having fun."
There’s a certain pleasure that comes with playing cover songs, as Matheson explains. "Writing your own music is great, but when people recognize the tunes there’s a universality about it that just makes it a great time."
Evans hasn’t put any guidelines in place. "I think the main thing about throwing a good party is not to impose too many rules," he says. "So the idea was to keep in mind the theme – Canada Day – any Canadian song as long as it’s somewhat popular. Any music, of any genre, of any decade."
While throwing a good party came first for Broken City, throwing it for a good cause was always part of the plan. The club will be matching all door sales and donating the money to the Mustard Seed Street Ministry.
Highlights from Solid Gold Beaver will be broadcast live on CJSW 90.9 FM from 4 to 6 p.m. on The Road Pops on Friday, July 1. |
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