Funkified rock band of brothers
Oliver Pigott of Toronto-based funk/rock powerhouse The Celebration Army has seen the music industry from many angles be it a touring solo artist or as a “mainstream incarnation” through reality (albeit surreality) TV where über-impressed “Canadian Idol” judges told him he was the most talented performer to ever audition for the show.
That’s no surprise at all. Pigott’s selftaught soulful vocals are a show-stopping mix of Queen’s Freddie Mercury and late Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell — a funky blues falsetto set to a timeless rock and roll backdrop.
“My dad was a harp blues player entrenched in the blues scene here in the city,” says Pigott, who also plays the harmonica. “His name was Jacques and he passed away when I was a kid. He would play with friends and he was involved in several projects. He was not a member of any project in particular. And it was not his full-time gig,” he adds.
“Dad was also a philosophy professor. I inherited his extensive vinyl collection and I learned all of the blues licks to those songs. We moved to Portugal after he passed away so that is where I got all of my music chops because we had no television or friends of the same culture. So I was little isolated,” says Pigott, brother of actor Sebastian Pigott noted for his work in television shows “Revenge” and especially Kal on “Being Erica”).
The Pigott brothers, who have also performed together, wrote two original songs for the quirky Canadian fantasy-drama series including “Alien Like You.”
“Being Erica” was a smart show,” notes Pigott. “You can find “Alien” pretty easily. So far, it’s been my biggest hit,” he adds with a laugh.
Pigott also studied and performed in musical theatre, and his done film work as well including his role as Joshua in acclaimed 2014 film “Lost Angels” — a poignant comment on being moulded for the so-called star-maker machinery.
He met his Celebration Army band of brothers through the Toronto music scene.
“We have all been involved in playing music for a long time. We all get around and even now we all play with other musicians. But now (The) Celebration Army is our main focus,” says Pigott.
The band includes Pigott on vocals; Nelson Sobral, guitar, backup vocals; Leandro Motta, bass and backup vocals; and Troy Larabie on drums.
Sobral also hosts open mike nights at Toronto’s live music nook, The Painted Lady.
“The band all started with Nelson. I went over to his place one day and I knew Nelson through my neighbour downstairs,” recalls Pigott. “They had a band together. I think Nelson still has the recordings. Then we got together and started writing. Then he brought Leo the bass player into the fold and they were working together. Troy and Nelson were in the same band together with my neighbour. Troy had also worked with the Pigott brothers a little, so it is quite an incestuous community I guess,” adds Pigott with another laugh. “This band came together very organically,” he notes.
Pigott is a charismatic front-man channelling “his idol” Freddie Mercury with a sensual mix of The Doors’ Jim Morrison and the moxie of Jimi Hendrix.
His theatrical finesse flows through Celebration Army songs from the badassery of Army songs (and music videos!) for “Risky Business” and “Black Blue Jeans” to sardonic axe-solo showcase “Dust My Dirt,” the kick ass hilarity of “Henhouse” potent ballad “Don’t Hold Me Now” or an audacious hard-core rock funkified falsetto recreation of Talking Heads classic “Burning Down the House.”
“We all liked the clever word play of that song,” notes Pigott. “I really appreciate writing like that and I love the esoteric and abstract lyrics,” he adds. “The Beatles are my favourite band and they of course went into that territory. I really like “House” and thought we could turn it on its head. And this was all quite by mistake,” says Pigott with a laugh. “It just happened and I think Nelson suggested it. We tried it out and immediately liked it,” he says adding it’s hard to elaborate on the meaning of the band’s original songs.
Pigott says their creative process is based on a specific philosophy.
“It is very much in the spirit of open collaboration,” he explains. “Everybody has their part to play. We come up with our parts individually and we mash them together. It happens in the moment and we do it by virtue of jamming. We come up with the basic skeleton on the spot, and record it on Nelson’s iPhone generally. Then I put the lyrics together as best I can after that. The result is something that none of us could ever conjure up on our own as individuals. It is very much a collective sound. And it requires every single member of the band to make it happen,” he adds.
The Celebration Army’s wall of sound is aurally infectious full of killer axe solos and savvy guitar/percussion soundscapes, cleverly balanced with Pigott’s unique vocal finesse and live performance pizzazz.
Recently Pigott’s been listening to vintage Rolling Stones tunes.
“I really enjoy the rough sound of that era and the fact there was not an expectation where everything had to be overly polished. People would tune up on stage and make things up as they went along. That’s kind of the way we recorded our album too. We didn’t digitally modify the drums in any way. It was a real performance and we did everything live off the floor,” says Pigott, adding they co-produced their self-titled debut with Andrew McCready of Toronto’s Keen Music. “We have about 30 songs that are still unrecorded so I am really stoked to get back in the studio!”