When it comes to musical genres, the Bow Valley, which attracts many bands, sees its share of folk, rock, country, punk, Celtic, classical … and everything in between.
But it’s not every week that a band rolls into town carrying the banner for all the vaudevillian, gypsy, punk, foot stompin’ ruckus bands out there.
OK, in all likelihood there’s only one such band – and Blackberry Wood plays Banff’s Elk and Oarsman, Sunday (Dec. 22). While Blackberry Wood performs in many different variations, at the Elk, it will be a three-piece, with Kris (vocals, guitar) joined by Maren (trumpet) and Shannon (standup bass).
It’s been a busy year for the Vancouver band, which released the 11-track Strong Man vs Russian Bears in 2012, charted high on college radio stations and hit the U.K. for gigs at the massive Glastonbury Festival.
The band’s been as large as nine members and as small as the trio that will visit the Elk. Currently on a mini tour in the West, the trio, “is always out supporting the album,” said Kris, Thursday (Dec. 12) from the Tournament Capital of Canada, Kamloops, B.C. where they performed as a six-piece.
Strong Man follows early 2012’s 10-track Travelling Horse Opry.
Up next, said Kris, is likely another album next year. “New thoughts are starting to come and there are a lot of new things with the band, including new players.
“Our trumpet player got an amazing job, she’s a musical director on Saltspring Island, it’s like a real job. So we needed a new trumpet player.
“Also, in Banff, we’ll have The Contraption with us. It’s like a drum sculpture that sits in the middle of the stage and plays the drums.”
Kris refused to be more forthcoming in relation to The Contraption; other than it needs to be seen.
When it comes to the band’s original songs, Kris is the longest-running member of the band, “and I do most of the songwriting. Me and my girlfriend started the band a long time ago and she sometimes plays festival with us, especially if it’s a friendly one and we can bring our little one with us.”
For Blackberry Wood’s albums, they’ve enlisted the producer services of Steven Drake, who’s written for The Odds, mixed The Tragically Hip’s Trouble at the Henhouse and other projects, has worked with 54-40 and “has written a few hit songs,” said Kris. He’s also worked with Marcy Playground, Dustin Bentall and Spirit of the West, among others.
For his part, much of the band’s somewhat latter-day sound is a result of the fact, “that I’ve been totally inspired by music from the 1900s to the 1940s,” said Kris. “I got into older music like listening to something called ‘hick hop’ (country rap) a while back and then I started listening to older country guys.”
On the other hand, Kris studied jazz and jazz history, “so it all comes together in our music. It makes for a really neat sound for all kinds of situations. Older people like our older country sound, younger people like a lot of rock, so we have a strange mix of gypsy punk.”
On the upside, said Kris, Blackberry Wood’s varied genre influences make them popular at a range of summertime festivals; from folk, to jazz to country.
“Our sound just worked out that way and we keep things indie. We have some help from booking agents, but I do a lot of the business work myself.
“The band’s been to a lot of interesting places, like Glastonbury, which is always really interesting. It’s fun dealing with all the people and a festival like Glastonbury is pretty unpredictable and chaotic – and the organizers are pretty crazy too.
“We do some covers, we have old English folk songs, some Johnny Cash, The Cure … but we do the arrangements so it sounds like us. It all come together people seem to be understanding it more and more.
“We’ll say something like, ‘we play alt country gypsy circus’ and, surprisingly, people will say, ‘oh, that sounds great.’
“Whatever it is, we have a lot of fun playing it and we love to get people up and dancing.”
