The David Sinclair and Keith Bennett Duo aren’t flashy when they take the stage – they let the music do the talking.
“When people see an acoustic guitar and a harmonica they have certain expectations, and we give them more than that,” said Sinclair. “Audiences kind of expect to hear some blues and stuff like that, but we throw in some jazz, pop and even do some classical and crazy arrangements of things.”
It was their instruments that brought Sinclair and Bennett together, and as luck would have it, their singing strengths also combine pleasantly.
“It turned out that our voices blend really well together so when we do vocal things the harmonies are quite strong,” he said.
Sinclair, who’s the guitarist in the group, said his partner is inseparable from his instrument.
“Keith is always on the harmonica. When he goes for a hike through the woods he’s playing that thing all the way.”
Their musical journey is never-ending, Sinclair said, and they continually expand upon their rich expertise.
“We play some original stuff to us, and a few tunes from when I was with a group called Body Electric, we had a couple decent tunes in that band and some of those have been reworked and adapted for our duo.”
Sinclair said their creative method of arranging classic songs brings out a strong sense of originality.
“For instance we do an arrangement of Sing Sing Sing, an old Louis Prima tune, but I went to the Bennie Goodman Orchestra version and pulled out as much as I could out of that. So between an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, we’re playing an orchestral version of this tune. It’s like ‘that shouldn’t be done with an acoustic guitar and harmonica,’ so it’s a good challenge to pull off.”
It was years ago while they were working separately as musicians that a mutual fan suggested they team up.
“I knew Keith because we had worked together in the studio, but never in this context,” Sinclair said. “We did a gig and it was hugely successful, certainly beyond our expectations. It seems like every gig we played we have had fantastic response from folks.”
With decades of experience in songwriting, Sinclair feels like an effective song doctor, but said his priority is now in playing the music.
“I love playing the guitar and exploring new areas and developing that now,” he said. “There’s no end to what you can learn and what you can develop. It keeps your brain working, and that’s one of the coolest things about it. there’s always something you can learn.”
The duo will be performing at the Dream Café on Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $22 and can be purchased by calling 250-490-9012.
