One Chord Struck

Offering a mixed bag of folk, rock and pop, One Chord Struck, an up-and-coming rock band from Langley BC, try to avoid fitting into any one classification. Their live shows are testament to the band’s versatility. Their stage sets range from heavy rock and punk to acoustic numbers to straight ahead pop music.

The band features Cale Caputo on guitar and lead vocals, Jared Poirier on bass, Josh Carlson on drums and sound engineer extraordinaire Jordan Hillier. The group has been performing together at local coffee houses and community events for over five years. Over time, these boys have expanded their musical repertoire to include a large number of original compositions amongst the wide range of cover tunes.

Friendship and a love of music are the core values of the group. The four members have been friends since their days as music majors at Langley Fine Arts School. Prior to forming the band, each of the members performed together in various jazz bands and vocal ensembles at LFAS. Exposure to a variety of musical genres allowed each member to bring his own unique style to the band. Quite often, Poirier subtly works jazzy bass lines into even the heaviest of songs while Caputo’s twelve-string guitar abilities reveal years of classical training. However, the love of rock and pop music beckoned. Caputo and Poirier began performing as an acoustic folk duo in 1998. In a bold move, the two focused more on Caputo’s originals than well-known covers. Such risky business paid off as coffee house crowds appreciated their sets and the duo began to build a small local following.

Risk is nothing new to this group. Caputo, while on a family vacation, boldly marched into a radio station in Castlegar, BC and asked the local DJ to play the demo of his song, the acoustic rock number “Only Time.” Unsure of what to do, the DJ took the disc and listened to it. Not only was he impressed enough to play the song, the station’s programming director invited Caputo back to the station to play it live on the air. Cale was fifteen years old at the time. The song was put into feature airplay rotation and received positive response locally.

While still in high school, Caputo and Poirier began working on more original material with producer Bill Buckingham at Palace Studios in Vancouver in late 2000. The results were astounding. They had transformed from an acoustic folk duo into a polished pop act. Buckingham mixed Caputo’s acoustic twelve-string and electric guitar over shimmering keyboards and Poirier’s bouncy bass lines. One track from the sessions, “Wrong Way Home”, was featured CBC Radio. Another challenge presented itself. The group had to expand in order to play the new material live. First, they recruited Hillier, a much sought after sound engineer, to help flesh out the band’s sound. Finally Carlson joined in 2003 to round out the rhythm section, bringing his melodic drumming style and a much needed rock edge to OCS’s live show as well as serving as an excellent sparring partner for Poirier.

With influences ranging from the early rock ‘n’ roll greats Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers to modern rock icons like Metallica and Radiohead, One Chord Struck are continuously evolving and adding to their eclectic mix of originals and covers. Over the last year, the band has gigged constantly through out the Lower Mainland. From pub and lounge sets at various Vancouver night spots like the Lamplighter and the Media Club to headlining spots at the venerable Roxy and Vancouver’s St Valentine’s Day Massacre, they have expanded their fan base as well as exposed themselves to new scenes and other types of music. Change and growth are good things, and the members of One Chord Struck wouldn’t have it any other way.