Alex Lifeson (RUSH)
Geddy Lee (RUSH)
Ian Thornley (Big Wreck/ Thornley)
Adam Gontier (Three Days Grace)
Jeff Burrows (The Tea Party)
Care Failure (Die Mannequin)
Move over Velvet Revolver...theres a new supergroup in town. The Big Dirty band is here.
Rock n Rolls latest contribution hails from Sunnyvale Trailer Park near Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Okay, we lied about the the Nova Scotia part......... but the supergroup thing is for real.
THE BIG DIRTY BAND is the brainchild of RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson who appears in the upcoming TRAILER PARK BOYS THE MOVIE opening in theatres across Canada on Friday, October 6th. His appearance in a season three episode saw Alex being kidnapped and held hostage by Ricky, Julian and Bubbles in a true Canadian RAWK moment. For Alex and the Trailer Park Boys, it was love at first sight
Fast forward to the summer of 06 when Alex and the Trailer Park Boys are back together again and this time hes brought music AND guitars!!!!. Lots of them.
Alex chose to cover "I FOUGHT THE LAW" as the first single from the TRAILER PARK BOYS THE MOVIE soundtrack. The song, written by Sonny Curtis and recorded by The Bobby Fuller Four in 1965 is not only a great tune, it speaks to a recurring theme in Sunnyvale Trailer Park and, coincidently, to a subject close to Alexs heart.but thats another story. Alex then handpicked some of Canada's finest musicians and added a rising new talent to the roster to create THE BIG DIRTY BAND.
He started with his longtime pal and RUSH bandmate Geddy Lee who laid down a bass track that will not only leave fans scratching their heads in wonderment but one that bass aficionados will be analyzing for years to come. Just take a listen to the bass solo in the outro. It doesnt get better than this.
Rounding out the rhythm section, Alex chose powerhouse drummer Jeff Burrows (The Tea Party). Jeff was gigging on the left coast when h e got the call but said he would have walked from Vancouver for the opportunity to play with Geddy, Alex and company. Jeffs coolest moment in the studio was looking through the glass and sitting at the sound console was Alex, the guitarist from RUSH, my favourite band growing up, rocking out while listening to ME play! Who says rock n roll dreams dont come true?
Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace stepped up to the plate for lead vocal duties. His band was on a U.S. tour with Staind and they had all flown into Toronto that day to do a show. Adam was whisked into a hastily arranged recording session at Alexs studio squeezed into the time between Three Days Graces soundcheck and their performance that evening. Within 45 minutes and in only 3-4 takes, Adam nailed it, Alex captured it, and so the band was formed.or was it?
Ever the mad musical scientist, Alex was not finished yet. He decided to add a little extra guitar muscle to the mix and invited the virtuostic axemeister Ian Thornley (Big Wreck, Thornley) to his Toronto studio. As an afterthought, Ian was asked to blow a few vocals as well and result is, well, listen for yourself. The lead guitar track and blistering solo are Ians and his raucous vocal texture was now added to the track. The mood at the studio was electric after Ians dazzling performance. What more was needed?
In his final move, Alex felt it would be great to tip his hat to an emerging artist by introducing the world to someone new and worthy, "like in the old Motown days".
Enter Care Failure of the Toronto band Die Mannequin, a young female vocalist with the swagger of Courtney Love and vocal prowess of Chrissie Hynde. Hers was the last track to be completed, and there was some concern that the 19 year old, who has yet to record a full length album of her own, might be more than a little intimidated by the breadth of veteran performers who had brought their A games to the studio that day. There was no need for worry. Care brought the house down with her gritty performance.
Alex finally had his BIG DIRTY BAND. I really wanted the spirit of Care's performance, the anger in Ian's and soulful lament in Adams. It's a tall order to get 3 vocals on a track without it sounding like some sort of contest, but I believe the performances and the mix serve the song in the best way possible. The track rocks!
I'm dating myself by bringing up the Jefferson Airplane but here was a great band of it's time that had two distinctive male singers and a spirited female and they made it work when they sang together. I feel strongly that we have accomplished this three vocalists that sound like they're in the same band and not just guest performers.
And lets not forget Alexs contributions as producer, arranger, mixer and as a musician, playing rhythm guitar, mandolin and banjo. But for Alex, it was all a labour of love; " This was so much fun and was so good, I'm not sure I want to stop at just one song."
Hmmmm
So crank it up and do the big dirty with Alex and friends and hear what it feels like to REALLY get dirty. Just like running through the mud when you were a kid....you just might like it!!!
Great music The Big Dirty Band , ROCK ON!!!
And let progressive rock rule the world
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Check it out...BORDER PATROL is playing a 40 minute showcase set at Station 4 in Downtown St. Paul on this Wednesday, January 24th. We go on at 9pm and play 40 minutes worth of rockin' tunes from bands like Rush, April Wine, Honeymoon Suite, Bryan Adams, Uriah Heep, Styx, Sammy Hagar and The Black Crowes! Hope to see you there! Visit our main website at www.BorderPatrolRocks.com
Hey Dirty Boyz! Just stopping by to wish you an excellent weekend! You've got it going on. Keep your music alive, as only you can, onward and upward, always.
Much love and respect,
Doc and Haak
<a href="http://tpbusa.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/lukeslytalker/THANKS.jpg" border="0" alt="Trailer Park Boys USA - Raising Park Awareness in The U S of A"></a>
MAN! Just Saw The Video AGAIN! on much and AWESOME!..got that song stuck in my head now! GREAT!...my fav part..ha..when Adam Sings..god he's awesome! anyways KEEP ROCKING!
Dudes,
Thank you so much for making me one of your friends. I love the collaboration and the film is pretty kick ass as well. How come stuff this cool has to come from Canada?
*B*
Thanks for the ADD! You guys Rock, talk about a SUPERGROUP! There must be more! How about a whole album or maybe a huge concert in T.O. I gotta say Thornley really brings out the DIRTY in The Big Dirty Band. Cheers
TED
