Accessibility is key for this band
The skies were clear and the weather was fine in Jaron Chidiac’s hometown as he talked about bringing his band back for a second concert in Prince George.
The last time he and the rock group played here, however, the skies were painted over with thick smoke, the highways were almost impassible between their Lower Mainland base and their P.G. destination, and they were all exhausted from the circuitous drive through the forest fire detours.
What little sun was available was glimmering on the horizon when they rolled into Chidiac’s family driveway in the wee hours of the 2017 summer morning instead of the reasonable hours of the previous evening when they expected to arrive.
They nonetheless had such a great time, they set up a return visit a year later. They took it on statistical probabilities that the same flaming disasters would not be in their way again. Chidiac and his Vancouver bandmates are set to rock at Artspace on July 7.
“That trip was actually a really good way for the band to bond. It was a good trip for coming together,” said Chidiac.
That sounds counterintuitive for a band that arrived in P.G. last summer under the moniker The Jaron Chidiac Band but is making their return under the name Belcarra. Chidiac said he relinquished his personal name on the group partially because of that roundabout journey to his hometown, that gelling under fire.
“I wanted the name to reflect the group effort,” he said. “Belcarra is an Irish word that means a town at the confluence, or more broadly the place where people and ideas come together, so obviously coming from Prince George I responded to that idea. And it fit a lot better on the ticket stubs, which was kind of important.”
Belcarra has Chidiac on lead guitars and primary vocals. He is joined by Adrian Fitzpatrick on bass, Roan Wallace on keyboards and backing vocals, and Ricardo Germain on drums and backing vocals.
Chidiac said that he’s noticed a keyboard emphasis starting to creep into the Belcarra sound. When a rock band forms, it is naturally founded on the premise of guitars. Once that initial rush of identity grows beyond the first level, however, nuances start to take shape.
Those keyboard sounds are exciting to him, since they help define Belcarra beyond their first impressions with the audience. It’s giving them a unique personality, in his estimation.
“Everyone’s been working really hard to individually get better at their parts but also gelling as a band,” said Chidiac.
The audience has verified the work they’re putting in. Belcarra placed fourth overall in the The Best of Vancouver – an annual battle of the bands that gets huge attention and intake of music acts vying for the prizes.
The winnings for Belcarra included some cash, a 10-show contract with the Live Acts Canada booking and management agency, and a consultancy meeting with former Default member and current music producer / songwriter Danny Craig.
“The money was nice, but the best part about how well we did in the Best Of Vancouver was all the doors it opened, the network connections it’s helping us to foster,” said Chidiac. “The creative process for us has been going really well. We’ve been writing a lot; we have six songs ready to demo by the end of this month. I’ve been noticing that we’ve been trying to write catchier hooks and new material that’s easier to digest. That was one of the things the Best Of Vancouver taught us – the value of accessibility.”
The band is aiming directly at the Prince George gig as a moment of truth.
The audience at Artspace will be fresh ears and open minds about how they perform, so the feedback here will be helpful insight.
With hopes of recording some demo tracks soon, what they learn about their material in the next month or so will be a big part of their next year or more.
Belcarra will perform on July 7 with two special guests. Vancouver based singer-songwriter Elliott Slinn and Prince George local Genevieve Jaide will open the night with their own music sets.
Tickets are $13 available now at the Books & Company front desk or at the door as supplies last.