Elbow Beach Surf Club
Encyclopedia
History
The band was formed by Michelle Doucette, Lindsay Roe, and Kevin Barnhorst in the summer of 2006, following several jam sessions Roe and Barnhorst had held in the backyard of the "Grange House"; at that time the place of operation for GuelphGuelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
's Burnt Oak Records. Fueled by the musical activity around them, the band finalized its roster by the end of the summer and began playing shows, with Doucette departing the group to pursue other projects, and Kirsten Palm, Brad McInerney, and Dave Bazinet entering into the fold.
Elbow Beach's initial performances were well-received, and witnessed the group's tacit blending of both surf and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
. Enthused by this success, the group released its first self-titled EP Elbow Beach Surf Club 14 February 2007 on Burnt Oak Records. On this release, Helen Spitzer of Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...
and Brave New Waves
Brave New Waves
Brave New Waves was a Canadian radio program which aired on CBC Stereo, later known as CBC Radio 2, from 1984 to 2007. Airing weeknights from midnight to 4 a.m., the show profiled alternative and indie music and culture, including film, comics, literature and art...
stated:
- ...This debut EP rushes forth under the momentum of the three opening tracks: the red-hot economy of opening salvo "Surf Theme"; the sweet melodicism of "The Letter" (folding the tartness of SS CardiacsSS CardiacsSS Cardiacs was a Canadian indie rock band, briefly active in the early 2000s.First formed in 2004 by Jessie Stein, Andy Lloyd and Dana Snell, the band released its sole album, Fear the Love, on Blocks in 2005. Stein's brother, José Miguel Contreras of By Divine Right, also participated in the...
into Republic of SafetyRepublic of SafetyRepublic of Safety was a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2005 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally consisting of vocalist Maggie MacDonald, guitarist Jonny Dovercourt, bassists Kat Gligorijevic and Kate McGee and drummer Evan Davies...
's crunchy centre); and the sweet, skronky sax on "The Waltz" that might remind certain old-timers of '80s Can-rockers Condition. The ground EBSC cover on the remaining 10 minutes shows they're no one-trick pony, though you can't help but hope they'll kick out a few more short, sharp and instantly gratifying hooks. Instead, you make do with the group channelling J. Geils Band's "Freeze Frame" and make your own plans for the beach. A quick and tasty morsel that more than proves they have the necessary chops.
Following the release of Surf Club, Elbow Beach played a handful of shows in support of it, earning them broader exposure than they had previously enjoyed, and culminating in a performance at Pop Montreal
Pop Montreal
Pop Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 acts are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, mostly located in the Mile End area...
alongside their Burnt Oak labelmates. Their sound also began to diversify as a seeming result of their improved chemistry, taking on a more visceral and experimental quality, and embracing previously unexplored musical genres. This was acknowledged in Sarah Liss' November review of their 29 October 2007 Burnt Oak Records follow-up EP Billy Club:
- Don't be thrown off by their far-out Sex-Wax-a-delic name, or by the snarly tangle of echoing reverb guitars that ride the wave of the Billy Club EP's lead track "Turf Dream"—Guelph's Elbow Beach Surf Club are definitely not the Southern OntarioSouthern OntarioSouthern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
answer to The SurfarisThe SurfarisThe Surfaris were an American surf rock band formed in Glendora, California in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles, California area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" on the A-side and "Wipe Out" on the B-side of a 45 RPM single.-Career:The original...
, or even The VenturesThe VenturesThe Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
. Rather, the energetic collective take a handful of standard genres that could fall under the indie-rock umbrella—post-punkPost-punkPost-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
, math-rockMath rockMath rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...
, garage-pop—and devote themselves to experimenting with style and texture, adding layers of scratchy distortion to muted femme vocals, burying subtle sax (courtesy of satellite Republic of Safety member Martin Eckart) at the bottom of the mix and smashing together contrasting guitar tones. The songs here occasionally threaten to blow apart at their seams; not coincidentally, some of Billy Clubs best moments come when the group comes together in choral harmonies, as on "No Volume" and "The Nest".
In September 2008, after a lengthy hiatus due to an injury incurred by drummer Dave Bazinet, Elbow Beach Surf Club broke up. Following the band's dissolution, several of EBSC's former members discussed publicly the possibility of reuniting as "Billy Club", a new group named after the eponymous album and reprising the band's final line-up minus Roe; however, this did not happen.
Members
Former members of the band include:- Lindsay Roe – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Kevin Barnhorst – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Kirsten Palm – keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, backing vocals - Brad McInerney – bass, guitar, backing vocals
- Dave Bazinet – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocals - Michelle Doucette – percussion
See also
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
- Canadian rockCanadian rockCanadian rock describes a wide and diverse variety of music produced by Canadians, beginning with American style rock 'n' roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern popular music called rock...
- List of Canadian musicians
- List of bands from Canada
- :Category:Canadian musical groups
External links
- Elbow Beach Surf Club on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Elbow Beach Surf Club on CBC Radio 3CBC Radio 3CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
- Elbow Beach Surf Club on Hype Machine
- Elbow Beach Surf Club on i (heart) music
- Elbow Beach Surf Club on publicbroadcasting.ca
- Review of Elbow Beach Surf Club EP by Exclaim!Exclaim!Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
Magazine - Review of Billy Club EP by Exclaim! Magazine
- Interview with Brad McInerney about EBSC by Wave Length Music Series
- Interview with Lindsay Roe and Kirsten Palm about EBSC by The Cannon