Former Westwood student Derek Allard has made the news recently with the nomination of the Winnipeg alternate rock band Royal Canoe for a Juno for Best Alternative Album of the Year. Derek, drummer for the band, keeps up a rigorous touring schedule and is back in town on the 22nd of Feb to play the Festival du Voyageur.
A six-piece ensemble from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Royal Canoe gives you everything but on their own maniacally hybrid terms. It's one thing to reference a particular style, or even a range of styles. It's another thing entirely to grab huge handfuls of sounds from pretty much anywhere, throw them all together and come up with something both cohesive and totally distinctive – something that also happens to ripple and crack with energy. This is what Royal Canoe does best. Royal Canoe's dedication to crafting a seamless musical pastiche is obsessive. For live shows, they’d rather lug hundreds of pounds of keyboards, mixers and pedals across the continent (very much like a voyager canoe, in fact) than rely on lengthy backing tracks. They actually play every part, every time. And while their van is packed with hardware, much of that hardware is, in turn, crammed full of widely-sourced samples and adoringly homemade sounds. Their fearlessness about using whatever they feel like is grounded, not in recklessness, but in a decisive confidence. We're Believers, the band's latest album, was released on September 3rd, 2013 in Canada and USA, with UK/Europe releases which followed in late September.
Chek out more at their website: Royal Canoe
I like this tune off their latest offering.....
Congratulations Derek. Westwood Is behind you all the way!
"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." Steve Martin
“We Play Here!”
Welcome Back!
Hey everyone! Welcome back to Band at Westwood Collegiate. For those of you who are familiar with our program or for those of you who ar...
-
Mark your calendars... Lots of exciting performances are on the horizon for the band program. Looking forward to seeing you all there. Ja...
-
Hello , Your photos are online! We have put together a small preview. See the rest by clicking below and order your favorite photos. Pleas...
-
The study found playing keyboard instruments was particularly beneficial for brain health Playing a musical instrument or singing could he...