Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

The Blue Stones single "Black Holes" has been tearing up the airwaves across the country, be sure catch them at Lucky Bar on April 2nd, 2019

Listen: http://bit.ly/TheBlueStones_Black_Holes

Beach Fire Entertainment + Blueprintlive present

The Blues Stones
w/ The Pistolwhips + Davenport

April 2nd 2019
Lucky Bar, Victoria - 517 Yates
Adv $15.00 available online at Eventbrite + Lyles Place.
Online HERE: http://bit.ly/TheBlueStonesYYJ

THE BLUE STONES

Listening to the larger-than-life, but tight and precise blues-rock of The Blue Stones on their Entertainment One (eOne) debut, Black Holes, it is astonishing to discover all that sound and fury is created by just two people.

Guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Tarek Jafar and percussionist/backing vocalist Justin Tessier, have known each other since meeting as kids just across the Detroit River in their Canadian hometown of Windsor, Ontario. But it wasn’t until attending university together, that they decided to combine their talents into a musical project.

The Blue Stones have an incredibly diverse palette of influences -- and although they’re a duo, it’s unfair to limit the comparisons just to The Black Keys and The White Stripes. The weight of Led Zeppelin, the grit of Hendrix and groove from hip-hop artists like J. Cole and Kanye are all there. But in an effort that’s unlike any other in contemporary rock, the result is something entirely unique to today’s musical landscape.

From the slap back echo and the Rolling Stones’ “ooh-oohs” in the gut-punching “The Drop,” through the tribute to perseverance in the catchy, bluesy “Rolling with the Punches” and the acoustic-to-electric whisper-to-a-scream dynamism of the title track, Black Holes shows a band blasting into outer space and leaving “Solid Ground” behind. It’s the voyage of a group beginning to find its way, emerging from isolation and perspiration to inspiration, reaching an audience waiting to be tapped and entertained. An Alternative Blues Rock band fighting the good fight, looking to connect in an increasingly fragmented music universe.

“The album’s about being a young adult and entering the real world from a sheltered environment, like college,” explains Jafar. “Feeling torn between taking the secure path or doing something that might be riskier, but you’re passionate about… following what you love as opposed to sticking to the straight and narrow.”

Indeed, “Black Holes (Solid Ground)” is about precisely that either/or dichotomy, caught between infinite space and terra firma, willing to take a shot at the unknown rather than settle for the familiar, in between Jafar’s restless guitars and Tessier’s heavy-hitting and massively impressive drum beats.

“We play blues-rock, though it’s not loose and dirty,” explains Tessier. “It’s lean, raw, tight, without a wasted note.”

It took seven long years – and two independently released EPs – for The Blue Stones to hone their approach, putting in those requisite 10,000 hours to perfect their craft, and then build upon that. As Jafar describes the audience participation of “Rolling with the Punches,” which is the group’s usual, rollicking set-closer, “It takes a lot to be a success. You have to stay determined and focused. And it’s always fun to have people sing the words you’ve written and just sit back and take it all in.”

There’s a similar message in the album finale, “Magic,” in which Jafar admits he doesn’t believe in it. “People these days are all looking for instant gratification, the quick reward,” he says. “If you want something that will endure, that’s not how it works. You have to put in the hours and the effort.”

The Blue Stones have done just that, with an approach that isn’t afraid to take chances, like mining Jafar’s love of hip-hop and Miles Davis into the funky backbeat of “Be My Fire” or the epic psychedelic experimentation in the pitch-dark “Midnight.”

“You never know where we’ll pull inspiration from,” says Tessier.

“This is the album we’ve always wanted to make,” adds Jafar. “We set out to show we’re more than loud and lo-fi, that we have range and dynamics.”

And now it’s time to take to the road, play these songs and add to their growing legion of admirers.

“We have dreams and we have goals, but we separate the two,” adds Tessier. “A dream is to headline Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, where we saw so many great bands. Our goal, though, is to reach out at every show and win people over one by one. That’s how we’ve always done it and it’s worked so far. We believe in what we’re doing and we have emotional connections to the songs we’re playing. We want to provide our audience with the kind of experiences we had when we were younger attending shows of our favorites. That’s what we look to pass on.”

“My whole attitude is, let’s see what happens,” nods Jafar. “And that’s allowed me to be up for anything.” “It’s not over now,” he sings in “Lay,” “Don’t lay your flag and turn away/Please don’t leave me with another regret.”

With the release of Black Holes, The Blue Stones are ready to raise the stakes and turn up the heat.

Davenport

Based out of Victoria, BC, Davenport began in 2011 as a new project from front-man Peter Day and twin brother Patrick. Their music however, began long before than that. As far back as they can remember they had been playing music together, recording and editing tracks on a Davenport sofa in their garage that would eventually become the namesake for the band.
Their first full-length LP came in 2014 with “Applying Strategies to Matters of the Heart”, which saw them featured as a Zone @91.3 Band of the Month in Victoria, BC. The album’s strong vocal melodies and sustained, ethereal guitar riffs initially defined their sound as they began playing venues and festivals around Victoria and Vancouver Island like Rifflandia and Tall Tree Music Festival. In 2018, Davenport has been joined by a suite of musicians from across the country, and they are introducing their music to Canada and beyond with a new, more polished sound propelled by percussive rhythms and driven synths.
2018 is slated to be a breakout year for Davenport. The group is currently in the final stages of production for their second full length LP, produced by friend and fellow BC musician Sam Weber. The band is embarking on their first cross-Canada tour this April with extensive touring planned throughout 2018. The band is excited to get on the road and share the fruits of their labor: the music that began as two brothers just making music in their garage.


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