Get ready to hear fine stories set to music Friday night as the Steve Brockley Band and a Million Dollars in Pennies appear in concert at the Salmar Classic Theatre.
The concert will celebrate the release of the B.C.-based folk-country trio’s second album LeBoeuf.
The Steve Brockley Band released their self-titled debut album in 2010 to critical acclaim and, after spending the last couple of years touring across Canada playing club dates, house shows and festivals, the boys are currently based out of a wood-paneled Buick named John Candy, to promote LeBoeuf on a cross-Canada tour.
The band is Steve Brockley on guitar and vocals, Kevin Bertram on upright bass and Salmon Arm’s own Leon Power on drums and mandolin.
Their new album was produced by John Raham (Be Good Tanyas, Frazey Ford, Po’ Girl) with songs written by Brockley, and includes all of the signature staples of the band – storytelling, clever metaphors and great musicianship.
But this one is a much more personal album for the band.
“When we recorded the first album, we were brand new and we just got in the studio and recorded and mixed the whole thing in three days – quick and dirty,” says Brockley. “On this one, after spending the last couple years on the road together, we felt we owed the new material the best possible opportunity to come alive. We took the time we needed to capture the songs without chasing them away.”
Born in B.C. and formed in Montreal, the Steve Brockley Band can’t easily be defined by one sound or musical genre. Though it is apparent that the band is part of the tradition of folk music, they’re able to take the style in new directions without making the audience feel uprooted.
Getting to the heart of a song is their main goal. Not just digging into the notes, but nailing those spaces in between the notes. When you’ve got a good song, you want to let it breathe. A percussive double bass swagger, drum grooves from the gut and a rolling, finger-picked guitar bring their brand of folk music to life. There’s no rush to the end of a song – if it’s right, it happens. The main thing is not to hurry, so nothing good gets away.
The band has been selected to perform at Toronto’s North By North East (NXNE), sister festival to SXSW and the largest festival of its kind in Canada.
Much closer to home this year, Mike Shaver and Stephanie Webster of a Million Dollars in Pennies, will share some of the musical results of last year’s highly successful cross-Canada bike ride, as well as new material created during a winter of near-hibernation.
“We’re still sifting through the trip and I think that will take several years – so many pictures and memories to work through,” laughs Webster. “We’ve had a quiet winter, haven’t done very many shows so I am excited to play for the hometown folks.”
One of the new songs is dedicated to drivers the couple encountered on their adventure by bicycle, Webster says with a grin.
Their music is a mixture of mellow and some upbeat, she says, noting the enormity of adjusting to being in one spot, getting jobs and spending a mostly quiet winter after the grand, life-changing, busy trip meeting new people, seeing new things and being so physically engaged.
“I’m looking at music through different eyes, from the wide, world view to the introspective,” she says. “For me personally, it’s a really interesting shift in how I related to music… It’s become a lot more personal for me and I’m struggling with certain aspects of it, and other times it’s liberating.”
Webster says she and Shaver are both very excited to be playing with the Steve Brockley Band.
“Their new album is incredible and they’ve been on the road for more than a month, so they’ll be good,” says Webster, feeling inspired by the recent sun and ready to shake off winter. “I’m excited to support what they’re doing as well and to bring people out to enjoy incredible music.”
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert starts at 8. Tickets at $20 are available at Acorn Music, Synergy and the Shuswap Pie Company.
