A local band that has the sound, the look and the feel of a 1960s rock group will soon have the album to round it all out.
Chilliwack band, The Lounge Hounds, is putting the final touches on their first album, Release the Hounds, and soon fans will be able to purchase it – not on CD, but on vinyl.
“They’re a real throwback to a different era,” record producer Rob Begg said. “These guys are doing something outside the box that hasn’t been done for a long time.”
The band is made up of Keith Marr (guitar, vocals), Evan Duncan (bass, vocals) and Geoff Eyre (drums, vocals). Marr and Duncan started the band back in 2008.
With their two-tone shoes, fancy suits and one member’s “bulletproof” hair, Marr describes the Lounge Hounds as a ’50s and ’60s vintage rock-and-roll band with a rockabilly twist to it.
“We wanted to do something that nobody else was doing,” Marr said.
Eyre joined the band about three years ago. He’s been in the music industry for nearly 50 years and shortly after retiring in Chilliwack, he came upon The Lounge Hounds at an open jam night at the Anavets.
He loved their sound and style. When he found out they were looking for a drummer, Eyre stepped up.
Marr and Duncan were lucky. Eyre has drummed for countless artists including Terry Jacks (Seasons in the Sun), Valdy, The Hometown Band, Tiller’s Folly and The Hans Staymer Band.
“Geoff was a legend when I was growing up… everybody wanted to play with Geoff,” Begg said. “He’s a great singer and a great multi-instrumentalist.”
Like Eyre, Begg has also worked with some big names like Bryan Adams, The Headpins, The Knack (My Sharona) and Tom Petty. Begg is originally from Chilliwack. He moved to Los Angeles for a number of years before returning to the Fraser Valley to start his own record producing business.
In the summer of 2019, Begg got wind of the Lounge Hounds from his pal Darryl Heinrich.
“Darryl is a good friend of mine and he’d always be telling me about this band he was hanging out with,” said Begg.
Heinrich keeps the band organized. He helps with lighting, maintains gear, and has even built a custom guitar case for Marr.
“Everybody needs a Darryl,” Duncan said.
Begg knew he could trust Heinrich’s ear. So, when Heinrich told Begg about the Lounge Hounds and the fact that Eyre was the drummer, Begg wanted to help them record their first album.
Begg is now trying to give the band a shot at “getting to the next level.”
“I feel great that I can bring something to them that they would never had,” Begg said. “It took for me to go to LA to learn the wisdom of how [famous musical artists] did it.”
Folks around Chilliwack have likely heard The Lounge Hounds perform at places or events like car shows, Triple Play Pub and Elements Casino.
They play cover songs from the 1950s and ’60s and they attract both an older crowd and a younger crowd.
In addition to cover songs, they have been working on some original material, too. Since meeting Begg, they’ve been recording about eight original songs.
Although none of those songs have been released yet, some folks may have heard them before and not known it was an original Lounge Hounds song.
Sometimes they slip one of their original songs in while playing a mix of live cover songs.
“We’ll do that once in a while,” Duncan said. “We’ll sneak one in but we don’t tell people it’s an original, we just keep playing. We just throw it in there to see the reaction we get.”
And the reaction has been great. Everyone keeps dancing, they applaud and cheer at the end of every song.
Over the six to eight months he’s worked with them, Begg has seen the musicians become more creative and confident.
Now the trio is getting ready to press their first album, Release the Hounds, to vinyl.
“We have a really tight package that we want to share with everybody,” Marr said. “We have positive attitudes and we bring a lot of smiles to people’s faces.”
For more, check out The lounge Hounds every Thursday night at Triple Play Pub, or go to theloungehounds.com.
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