It’s the music most often associated with the prohibition years of the 1920s and 30s, yet Vancouver’s The Burying Ground has found an audience still captivated by the unique genre.
Fresh off the release of their first album and title track, Big City Blues, the band is set to play at the Olive Bistro and Lounge Aug. 10.
“The style of music we play is not as common so it’s nice to go around and share it with people who maybe have never heard or seen this kind of music before,” said Devora Laye, who plays washboard, musical saw and adds back up vocals.
Using instruments from the prohibition era, such as a musical saw and an upright bass, the band has developed a laid back country blues vibe with the occasional hint of jazz, reminiscent of the roaring 20s and dirty 30s.
Perhaps what sets the band apart, however, is Woody Forster’s gruff baritone voice, that lands him somewhere between Johnny Cash and Peter Dreimanis from July Talk.
“Someone made a comment and compared his voice to Louis Armstrong the other day which was a very big compliment because he’s also a big influence,” said Laye.
Prior to forming his own band, Forster spent years doing vocals for a number of punk bands, which might explain his raspy vocals.
“It’s not a voice that he puts on,” said Laye, “It’s just his own thing and I think that’s unique because some people try to go for that Johnny Cash sound or just a more gruffer sound and he just naturally has that.”
On top of Forster’s unique voice, the band uses its music to raise awareness about social justice issues.
“I think it’s important through our music to spread awareness about different issues, and not necessarily just social justice issues, but also personal issues,” said Laye, explaining some of their music talks about mental health and depression.
She said one of the band’s unreleased songs called “Crooked Smiles” focuses on Canada’s current political climate under Stephen Harper.
“We’re not too impressed with the way things are going, as I’m sure a lot of other people can relate to, so we’re just trying to talk more about that,” she said.
With 15-tracks on their record, Laye admitted it was a lot for their first album.
“We recorded a couple more we decided not to use,” she said with a laugh.
“We were constantly playing and writing so we just went all out for the first album,” she said, adding their next album won’t be nearly as long.
In addition to playing originals, The Burying Ground also entertains audiences with a few unique covers such as, “Wayfaring Stranger” and “Give My Love to Rose” both by Johnny Cash.
“We have about 50 tunes that we have in our repertoire, so we’ll be playing a lot,” said Laye, explaining a few of their gigs require them to play a three-hour set.
With 17 shows across Western Canada this summer, this will be the band’s first time playing in Jasper.
“It’s fun to go places that we haven’t played before just to be able to share our music with people,” she said.
Paul Clarke [email protected]
