Making their music together
P.E.I. teen band The Darvel set to drop its first-ever single on Jan. 15
STRATFORD – When five young P.E.I. teenagers formed a band two years ago, there was instant music chemistry.
Lead guitarist Lucas MacCormack said things just clicked: Lucas Proud brought the words; Sam Read, the lead singer, chipped in with the melody; keyboard player Malcolm Orford found the right chords; Drew Cassibo completed the songs with the bass line.
“One of us will bring in a riff and it’s there,’’ MacCormack said. “We just look for something that sounds like it came from the bands we like, but we put our own spin on it.’’
Two years later, the band, now known as The Darvel, is seeing this musical synergy pay of as it prepares to release its first single, Run, on music platforms on Friday, Jan. 15. A second single, Better Off, will drop sometime in February or March.
Much of the material for the upcoming debut album, which hasn’t been given a name yet, comes from Proud, who says writing songs helps him cope with life.
“I know the album has got a bit of a concept to it,’’ Proud said when The Guardian sat down to chat with the band members in their practice studio in Stratford.
“It’s about internal struggles and trying to overcome things. There is a lot of personal stuff. A couple of the songs in there are pretty personal to me … about heartbreak, not feeling like yourself and trying to feel more like yourself again.
“Lyrically, the songs come from all (kinds of) influences. That’s how I cope with everything. I write songs. It’s the way I deal with things. It’s good that I can finally put this to use, which is amazing.’’
The Darvel, whose members are between the ages of 15 and 18, got its name from a popular Maritime band that Cassibo’s grandfather played in, The Darvel, in the 1960s.
A poster advertising one of the band’s shows at the New Glasgow Arena in Nova Scotia is proudly displayed inside the band’s studio, which also happens to be Cassibo’s parents’ garage.
“They would listen to the top five songs of the day and play the songs,’’ Cassibo said of his grandfather’s band. “They’d draw 1,000 people to their shows and charge 75 cents. They went on to make an album.’’
The modern version of The Darvel played two soldout shows at The Hopyard in Charlottetown during the past two years. They also played a series of shows on the outdoor stage at Victoria Row in Charlottetown.
“We made a lot of tip money,’’ Cassibo said. “Instead of spreading it around to the band members and spending it on food, we thought we could do something with this money. Our goal was to do an album.’’
Proud said the band has had its eye on an album for a while, but getting all that tip money was the boot in the backside the guys needed to get going. The album is still in the works but will include up to 11 songs.
Labelling what kind of genre of music the band plays isn’t easy.
Cassibo says there’s alternative rock in there. Read, whose brother, Lewis, designed the band’s logo, said there’s also jazz, describing the music as happy, sad, mellow and melancholy.