WHO: Deville
WHERE: The Boot
WHEN: Sunday, May 13
Third time's a charm. At least that's what Deville is hoping.
The young pop punk band out of Calgary has set out on their third tour in just nine months. Considering the band's five members – Rich, Marek, Dave and brothers Rob and Sean – only jammed together for the first time in 1999, this latest road trip is pretty ambitious.
The entire Deville project is in fact quite ambitious. The quintet has already released a full length CD, Pleasure To Burn , on the well known Calgary indie label, Hourglass Records. The CD was produced by Blair Calibaba, known for his work with one of the most commercially recognized pop punk bands on the Canadian scene, Gob.
Upon completion of Pleasure to Burn , Deville was invited to tour with labelmates Belvedere and Of No Avail from the Netherlands. The two-month trip would take them to more than 30 venues across North America. The fast and furious trip was an eye opener for the five.
"I guess I had expected bigger and better shows," confides lead vocalist Rich. "But our band did get a lot tighter."
"In theory it was easy," says drummer Rob. "It was like a two month vacation. All we had to do was get out of the van, play, get in the van and follow the other bands down the road."
Despite the guidance of the more experienced bands, following them down the road wasn't always as easy as it should have been.
"Our van broke down in B.C. at the start of the tour," recalls Rich. "We had to come back to Alberta and my dad gave us his van. We were just leaving Calgary and the entire back wheel fell off. We almost died! We were cruising at about 120, sparks flying everywhere!"
The rest of the tour would prove a little safer and a lot more productive. Deville was introduced to the American indie label, Jumpstart Records which would go on to release Pleasure To Burn south of the border.
The band would also take valuable lessons from their seniors by observation.
"We would just watch them on stage because we were pretty boring. We would just stand there," laughs Rich. "We'd listen to how they talked to the crowd. Listen to how they made their songs flow together, that kind of stuff, just how to make it a better show overall."
A short rest and Deville was back at it. This time they not only had the pressure of headlining, but they also left their home turf for an entirely American tour. The trip would start with yet another setback.
"One of our guitarists, Sean, couldn't get across the border," says Rob. "They held him back, which was a downfall. We were even thinking about turning back and canceling the whole tour. We had never practised as a four-piece before and we didn't know if it was worth it because we thought it wouldn't sound the way we wanted it to sound. But it turned out way better than we thought it would."
"We were totally winging it for the first while," adds Rich. "Our other guitar player, Dave, had to change his guitar parts all over the place and figure out what he was going to play to substitute for the empty sounds."
In the States, Deville found a much larger competitive market and the uncertainty of new audiences. On the comfort of Canadian soil, the musicians say they more or less know what to expect from city to city. But in the U.S. they found a different scene with each stop.
"One night we'll play in front of 300 kids and feel like it's our best show ever, but we won't sell a single CD. And then the next night we play a crappy show in front of 20 people and sell 20 CDs," says Rob.
"The difference between the two is that there are a lot more bands in the States. And there's a lot of better bands in the States," says Rich.
Another short rest, allowing time to start writing their next CD, and Deville is on the road again, this time a little older and wiser. This solo tour will again take them across North America, but this time they've had to rely on their own resources for booking and promotions.
"Rob has really taken on the business side," says Rich. "I think he's doing really well so far. I guess we'll see. But he's got us booked for every day and that's great."
"I'm trying to be as organized as possible," laughs Rob. "There were so many little things that caused chaos the first two times, like not having the promoter’s name, number and address so we could phone them in advance. We drove down to North Carolina once. It was six hours from Baltimore. That was the only show we had down there and then we were coming back to Baltimore for more shows. We drove all the way down and the show was cancelled. It would have just taken one phone call."
Rob has already taken on a "business voice" for the telephone, articulate and professional as he chats from his home in Calgary. And his last words of advice might be well-heeded by green bands and seasoned musicians alike: "Bring foot powder for the van!"
