|
|
|
|||
Brad Mates, vocalsDanick Dupelle, guitar Patrick Bourque, bass Dale Wallace, keyboards Mike Melancon, drums David Pichette, fiddle A work ethic the size of Mt. Everest goes a long way toward explaining the success of Emerson Drive, an outfit that got its start in the western Alberta town of Grande-Prairie. Nothing will make or break a band like the road, and few have been forged in that crucible as fully as Emerson Drive. "It’s what you’ve got to do,” remarks singer Brad Mates matter-of-factly. “I consider these guys as talented as any musicians I’ve ever run across, but talent will only take you so far. What made this work was the willingness to say goodbye to everything and just hit the highway.” They traveled in an old bus and then in a van, playing small and large clubs, to handfuls of people and packed houses, in tiny villages and big cities throughout Canada. So when Emerson Drive hit Nashville after six years, they were ready. In fact, when the band was signed to DreamWorks Records, executives at the company, led by label head James Stroud, suggested the group do their best to capture their live show on their debut album. That directive rang like a manifesto to Emerson Drive, coming as it did in the wake of those grueling tours. The result is Emerson Drive, which Stroud himself produced, with co-producer Julian King. (“Fall Into Me,” a #3 Billboard Hot Country hit, and “How Lucky I Am” were produced by singer-songwriter Richard Marx, who has also produced tracks for Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers, SHeDAISY, Chely Wright and Shane Minor, among many others.) It demonstrates the band’s finely honed instrumental skills and decidedly edgy repertoire, but perhaps more importantly, it conjures the excitement that has made Emerson Drive so popular with crowds all over Canada and in the U.S. Songs like the #5 Hot Country hit “I Should Be Sleeping,” “Looking Over My Shoulder” and “It’s All About You” are high-voltage fun, while “I See Heaven,” “Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)” and “Light Of Day” bring romance and lush harmonies to the mix. The release of Emerson Drive (on May 21, 2002) was an auspicious moment in the history of an outfit that began with a high school talent contest. There, Pat joined a few buddies to form an impromptu group doing an equally impromptu song. Also on the bill was Brad, an 11th-grader singing for the first time in front of an audience. Pat and Brad quickly recognized their mutual talents and tastes, and the two soon formed a band with some classmates. “It really got started in my parents’ basement,” says Brad. As they began rehearsing, they’d often indulge in teenage chatter about becoming country stars, but, he concedes, “We had no idea it would ever build into something like this.” In fact, Brad’s musical background was casual. He’d soaked up both his dad’s Don Williams and George Strait albums, as well as the hard rock favored by his junior high buddies. For his part, Pat had a serious interest in music early on, playing classical violin from the age of three and performing in orchestras and at festivals throughout his youth. This pair formed the core of a seven-piece ensemble that played a couple of local gigs, including an awards show where they took in $300 just by passing the hat. The band would also cut class on Fridays to set up for that evening’s show at a local club, sometimes watching as their underage friends tried unsuccessfully to sneak in. But they soon began to take matters much more seriously. They settled on six members, used parental donations to buy a school bus they painstakingly but lovingly converted to tour-worthiness, chose the name 12-Gauge and began touring the sparsely populated region. “Almost anywhere you went involved a long ride,” says Brad. Pat’s father, Lionel Allingham, managed the band for their first three years, helping them raise funds for demo recordings and making connections for performance dates. “It all happened in stages,” Pat says of their early progress. “People started noticing us and we started doing showcases.” One particular industry showcase brought them into contact with Gerry Leiske, who was then managing a band called Farmer’s Daughter. That group boasted a guitar player named Danick Dupelle who was looking for a change. He warmed to the idea of joining 12-Gauge. Danick’s parents were musicians who, he says, “used to bring me to gigs and stash me behind an amplifier.” By the age of three, he was belting out “Blue Suede Shoes,” a song Emerson Drive performs today. Danick’s father gave him a guitar and showed him a few chords, and the youngster set to work, joining his parents’ band at the age of 11. Growing up in Ile Perrot, Quebec, he spent his teen years playing festivals and honky-tonks. Danick traveled the world with Farmer’s Daughter, opening for the likes of Kenny Rogers and Vince Gill, among others. But, at Leiske’s request, he came to Grande-Prairie to meet the boys in 12-Gauge. “I thought, ‘Wow, these guys have great harmonies,’” he recalls of his first impression. When they asked him to join the band, he jumped at the chance (though only after completing a Farmer’s Daughter album then in progress). The next piece in the Emerson Drive puzzle was drummer Mike Melancon, another French Canadian, from the town of Mont Laurier, two hours north of Montreal. “My dad’s a biker and a rock ’n’ roller,” he says of his background, “so I grew up listening to Black Sabbath and AC/DC.” Mike started playing drums in high school, then moved to Montreal to study the instrument, playing in cover bands on the bar circuit until his old buddy Danick called asking him to join 12-Gauge. The early days of Mike’s membership were interesting ones. “He couldn’t speak a word of English,” Pat explains. “We basically communicated through music. After he came in, we rehearsed for four days, got the show together and performed for 3,000 people at a rodeo in Vancouver.” Leiske was in the audience that night and, duly impressed by the band’s new incarnation, signed on as their manager. The sextet renamed itself Emerson Drive, after the Emerson Trail, which crosses western Alberta and joins the Alaskan Highway. Then they hit the road – hard. “We’d already done a lot of touring, but we had no idea what we were in for,” says Pat. “Gerry threw us out on the road and we traveled from week to week. We only got home for Christmas and maybe for a little break in the summertime. It was tough, but it’s what made the band what it is today.” Remarks Brad: “Making music is great, but you’ve got to find out if you can live together, and we’ve been able to do that in this form for three years. It’s a very special thing.” Indeed, the band thrived on the road, even weathering the demise of their bus with grace. “It broke down eight hours from home, and we couldn’t afford to have it towed,” Brad continues. “We left it in Calgary and sold it at auction four months later for $300. But it cost us $200 for storage, and we’d just put on $800-worth of new tires!” They replaced the beloved old vehicle with a 15-seat van that has yet to break down but which has been broken into, resulting in the loss of $40,000 in equipment. Still, no amount of tough luck can dim the luster that comes with attaining the goal of a record deal and making Emerson Drive a success: The album rose to #13 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Emerson Drive also includes bassist Patrick Bourque (a fan of Tim McGraw and jazz bassists Jaco Pastorius and Marcus Miller), whose hometown is Terrebonne, Quebec, and keyboardist Dale Wallace, who grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia (and counts Alabama, Elvis Presley, Asleep At The Wheel, Journey and KISS as influences). The two joined up after Emerson Drive was recorded. All of the members are proud to now be part of the U.S. country music scene. Though the band made an impressive showing at the 2002 Canadian Country Music Awards – earning the status of Group Or Duo Of The Year, receiving the Chevy Truck Rising Star Award and garnering All-Star Band honors for Mike – Emerson Drive also received considerable U.S. notice: They were named Top New Vocal Duo/Group by the Academy Of Country Music (2003); garnered a nomination for the CMT Flameworthy Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video Of The Year, for “Fall Into Me” (2003); and received a Billboard Music Award for New Country Artist Of The Year (2002). But the Emerson Drive boys aren’t ones to rest on those laurels, with touring still an important part of their lives. Says Pat: “We’ve got the chance now to go out and play for people who will be coming especially to hear our music – that’s when you realize you’re getting to live your dream.” EmersonDrive.com (Opens New Window) Source: Dreamworks Label Profile |
RELATED LINKS | ||