JOHN HARDING
editor@pqbnews.com
If the recipe for a good time includes a dash of the unexpected, Hagana is a master chef.
The sun was setting behind the Vancouver Island mountains as we sat on the deck of the Lasqueti Island Hotel pub. There’s a band getting ready to play, tucked into the patio’s corner, and we’re not sure exactly what to expect. Sure, Hagana’s posters that are splashed about the place say they are three guys from Scotland and they play this kind of music and that kind of music, but posters never tell the real story, do they?
It’s Lasqueti Island, after all. It’s going to be some easy-listening James Taylor-type of stuff or, in deference to the reputation of the Island, some kind of Grateful Dead/Cream hippie-inspired rock, right? We did think the music may match the distinctive smell of the area, which had nothing to do with food — think smoke from B.C.’s most lucrative crop.
Then, Leo Fox (guitar and vocals), David Chisholm (drums and vocals) and Gary Pycroft (bass) start playing. It’s all original, driving, fun, tight and has enough elements to keep all sorts of people engaged, entertained and dancing, everyone from an aging Ontario-bred punk to a pop-loving young woman to middle-agers who could easily have been doing the same kind of dance at Woodstock.
Hagana, three lads from Edinburgh (although it should be pointed out Pycroft is Belfast-raised), has started its three-week Canadian tour on Lasqueti. Yeah, go figure, but there is a family connection involving Fox and Lasqueti. His wife is from B.C. and her mother spends much time on Lasqueti, or something like that — the interviews remain foggy after some spritzers (hey, I wasn’t going there to work).
And the Rolling Stones always warmed up for their world tours in Toronto — clearly this is the same kind of situation. What?
“We absolutely love the place (Lasqueti),” said Pycroft. “It’s surreal.”
Hagana returns to Lasqueti on August 10. It’s worth the ferry ride from French Creek for sure. There aren’t many rooms at the hotel and the power and water goes off for the night when the pub shuts down, but it’s clean enough, inexpensive and, well, let’s call it quaint. And bring cash for the ferry ($21 return) and most everything else — the one ATM we found works on Lasqueti Island time, which is a concept too difficult to explain in this short space.
Before they return to Lasqueti, Hagana also has shows planned in Vancouver (Aug. 2 at the Fairview Pub), Victoria (Logan’s Pub, Aug. 8) and the Waverley Pub in Courtenay (Aug. 9). You should check their Facebook page for more details on gigs (facebook.com/haganaband).
Back to the band and the music. Non-musicians like your correspondent like to make comparisons in sound. It may be a bit insulting to musicians like Hagana who have obviously put a lot of time, effort and talent into their original music, but the comparisons serve as a decent fallback plan for the musically-challenged writer who will happily spend hours explaining to you the importance of The Ramones.
“Tonight is a lot lighter because obviously the set up is not our usual kind of thing, but if anyone sees us in Vancouver or Victoria or Courtenay, it’s a lot heavier and a lot tighter,” said Fox.
First and foremost, Hagana seems sellable. Some lucky manager and label could make these boys and themselves a lot of money. They have a knack for staying true to their hard side — an absolute cracker of a tune, Wait A Minute, is my favourite — while another track (Ordinary Lives, for example) has the soul, feel and melodies of a can’t-miss chart-topper.
Again, Hagana has a distinctive, original sound, that blends rock, punk (don’t be scared, it’s not ugly gob-inducing punk I’m talking about here) and even some rockabilly. In fact, many of the songs — did I mention I really liked Wait a Minute? And She Said is also fantastic — include a mix of all genres, which, in a strange way, blends together in a refreshing, original, fun way. There are hints of Green Day in some songs, Nirvana in others, softer, poppy 54-40 in yet others. There’s even some rockabilly Stray Cats mixing with classic rock riffs. Hagana’s sound has variety, which seems like a great idea for any band that wants to please a diverse crowd, sell albums or both.
These guys are definitely having fun, which comes out in their music and bleeds through the crowd, almost forcing you out of your chair to the dance floor. They are engaging, respectful gentlemen off stage, too, and have jobs at home. Pycroft, for example, is a youth social worker, and Chisholm is now a full-time music producer with his own studio in Edinburgh.
Chilsholm produced the band’s latest CD, One Year, which is available, well, we’re not sure. Chisholm was pitching the CDs from the drum stool Friday night, saying they were hopeful to sell enough of them to pay for their flights home (“So don’t buy them if you want us to stay.”)
Check out Hagana live while they are in Canada and for more information, visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/haganaband
