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more issue #6
Big Rude Jake
Big Rude Jake produces a sound that is self-described as swing punk. His tunes contain hints of jazz and blues laced with ska and swing, with a punk rock edge. This mix produces a sound that seem to defy description, but one thing is for certain, the crowds love it. This may be attributed to either their dedication to performance, or to their commitment to creating three-dimensional music. This high-energy band from Toronto has been undergoing an evolution and refinement in their sound for the past seven years. They have broken away from the seemingly mundane norm of three or four piece combos. The sextet (no skimping on man power here) is made up of Jake on vocals and guitar, Hal Greer on bass, Mark Caruana on guitar, Michael Johnson on trumpet, James Seagar on trombone and keyboard, and Buster Lockhart on drums. Throw into the mix guest appearances by Gordie Johnson and Ashley MacIsaac and you have the ingredients for a great and memorable show. Their first release, Butane Fumes and Bad Cologne, (marketed with out a distribution deal) sold over five thousand copies and toped Sam the Record Man's indie charts for nine months. This effort was followed by a limited edition cassette called 23/19/94 Live. Blue Pariah, their current release, was produced by Gordie Johnson. It showcases their unorthodox sound at its best.
What follows are excerpts from an interview I had with Jake just before his show at the Gate.
Jake on swing punk...
Big Rude Jake is a band outta Toronto that has been operating and developing its sound for seven years; we call our sound swing punk. We play swing punk because I am the swing punk...I'm the punk that likes it when it swings. I think that I've had a natural process from being a punk rocker back in music... I started listening to sixties ska and fifties rockabilly, and from there people introduced me to swing music... When it came time for me to form a band, I really decided that something that swung would be more to my liking, but the punk attitude was still there... that's kinda how the sound kinda came out... we've had a couple of new inspirations over the years, but that's kinda been the main thrust.
On diversity within the band...
Well it helps create a variety... Buster Lockhart is a school jazz drummer that likes slash metal and punk rock and so he keeps us on the edge a lot. James Seager--who's our Whirlitzer piano player and our trombone player--he's also a school jazz musician with a degree in classical music and a masters in jazz performance. He's played with pop bands, rock bands, jazz bands, and a whole lotta other things. He keeps us going in terms of excellence because of his great playing. Hal [Greer] is our bass player, and he's also an experienced jazz player, but he is also good at rock n roll... he used to play bass for Rompin Ronnie Hawkins in the sixties and he keeps us really earthy. He's really got a great feel and he keeps us rooted in the swing and in the blues, which is really important. Mark [Caruana, the guitar player] is a guy who really loves lounge guitar and great melodies, and he really pushes that. And Michael [Johnson] is our trumpet player and one of the great things about his background is that he's actually played with some funk bands and some ska bands and some blues bands, but also he's a great actor. He's written and directed several plays and he's performed on stages right across Canada... his desire to perform is a great motivator for the whole band, he keeps us going performance wise.
On personal music taste...
It depends on my mood, it swings back and forth, I'm trying to listen to some more modern stuff. There's a lotta bands out there that are discovering what we have discovered that roots music out of the rock genre has a lot to offer you creatively. There are a couple of great bands out there that have come along in the lounge scene and swing music scene... all these musicians have a different take on borrowing heavily from blues and from jazz and giving it a modern slant. Everyone of them has their own interpretation, our's is most probably the most punky of them all. I'm listening to my peers right now...I'm digging what they are digging... there's some really powerful stuff happening.
On Blue Pariah...
It's a great little record. It helped me explore a couple of areas that I wanted to get off my chest. You probably noticed on the record that there are a lot of different genres all thrown together...there's a ska song, there's a blues song, a couple of swing songs... there's a whole lotta different things thrown together. It really helped me get them off my chest and really get them out there. I think that it will be the one that's going to really show people that we are serious about what we are doing here... were not kidding around.
On being a Canadian artist...
As a performer... it's a double edged sword if there ever was one because the government has legislated law to protect cultural industry and to help develop the industry so that it is more competitive with the Americans. Media is the second largest export leaving the United States after aeronautics. So after they are finished selling bullets, guns and airplanes they sell records, movies, books and magazines and so on. It's a big industry and it's the industry which we the people of the first world can really benefit from, especially as consumers. We would do well to continue to export media. The problem is that the private industry in Canada is timid, laid back, cautious and boring. A lot of experimental bands are able to get backing from the government, but they aren't able to get a deal with the industry. I guess that just means that there is more leg work for the bands. I quite honestly feel that if we were an American band we would be signed.
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