Barrage at Disneyland
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The Interview
Questioning people about what comes to mind when they think of the violin and professional
violinists produced some stereotypically standard responses. (Actually, the first
reactions I generally got were always along the lines of “Why are you asking me
this?” coupled with a confused look and an obvious desire to see me get the help I
truly need). After that, though, words and phrases most commonly stated among responses
were “classical”, “formal”, “symphony”, “stuffy”,
“classically-trained”, “talented”, and “Huh? I dunno, wanna go
get something to eat?” Others heard far less often were “bluegrass”,
“Riverdance”, “country”, and (this is what you get when you query
Disney people, folks), “Billy Hill!”
Come on; admit it…at least one of those words popped into your head, too. Somewhere along the line we’ve mentally programmed ourselves to link certain instruments to certain styles and categories where they seem to stay imbedded, until someone else shows us something contrary that makes us rethink things a bit. Well, that’s where Barrage comes in. An 11-piece band hailing from Calgary, Canada, Barrage features seven violins, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion, and a style all their own.
Talented? You bet. Stuffy? Not a chance!
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Barrage doesn’t just take to the stage and play, they blast into your very senses with a resonant explosion of youthful energy and enthusiasm, instantly propelling you into their own musical universe. And once you’re in, you’ll want to continue exploring everything this universe has to offer.
Simply looking at them it could seem hard to believe that such talent and versatility is to be had from such a young pack of performers (the ages in the group range from 18 to 30, with most members falling into the 18-21 year old range). Yet they have just that, plus an extra dynamic that makes their show as visually captivating as their music is engaging. During some numbers they even take on the task of “Canadian step-dancing”, (appears similar to Irish step-dancing - quite high-energy), simultaneously drawing bows across strings to create exceptional melodies in a seemingly effortless combination.
Their style of music is…well, who better to describe it than members of the group themselves? Ask them and you’ll get a flurry of individual answers: “Eclectic.”, “A cornucopia of sound.”, “The epitome of alternative.” “A kaleidoscope of musical colors.”, “World Beat.” Trying to pin them down to one specific genre isn’t easy. Just as soon try to describe a rainbow using a single color. You can’t. It’s backwards. It’s the perfect mix of colors together that form the rainbow, and in the same manner, a spectacular mix of individual musical styles that make up Barrage.
During their June visit to Disneyland, I had an opportunity to sit down with several members of Barrage. Not surprisingly, interviewing the band turned out to be as comfortable as sitting at a coffeee house chatting with a group of good friends. Here are some portions I thought you’d enjoy:
Q & A
LaughingPlace: Okay, first off, “Barrage”. It’s not just a
noun anymore! It seems pretty obviously descriptive for you, but how did you come to
choose it?
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Denis: Well, we used to be called “Fiddlers GF” before this… (He notices the look of puzzlement on my face) …exactly. Nobody knew what it meant, and it didn’t mean much of anything. It was a pretty ridiculous name so we ousted that one and we were looking for a name that really suited the band for a long time. One of our managers was actually thumbing through a thesaurus and the first word he came to was “barrage”, and he was like, “Wow, what a coincidence, this is exactly what the group is all about.” Stuck ever since.
LP: How long have you been together?
Denis: Two years in August.
LP: Who brought you together?
Denis: A guy in Calgary by the name of Dean Marshall. He used to be the keyboardist. Now he stays at home and writes tunes and such for the band. He’s still the backbone behind it and he was the one who put it all together, but he doesn’t tour with us anymore.
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LP: Has he written all the original tunes, and does he do your arrangements?
Lynae: Yeah. He arranges everything.
Denis: All the original tunes are his.
LP: Do you write at all?
Tim: On our own time.
Denis: For other projects.
LP: You do a song in your sets we’ve seen here at Disneyland with solo vocals. Is that something Dean had in mind from the beginning, or something you all came up with later on together?
Lynae: That’s been there for a long time.
Denis: That was pretty much there from the beginning. We’re working on new vocal tunes as well, nothing out right now. I mean, we’re working on a new CD which is gonna take us probably a good year to complete or so. Just ‘cause our schedule is so busy, it’s really difficult to get into the studio. But we do have a couple of vocal tunes that we’re working on and hopefully soon we’ll be performing them. They’re pretty much up to snuff right now but we’re gonna rehearse them a little bit more.
Tim: The thing is, as many things as we do musically, it’s just one of many things that we do onstage.